Faith

There Are No Obstacles to the Plan of God

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Claiming the Promised Possession

Book of Joshua Chapter 3

Israel had been on this journey from the slavery of Egypt for forty years. All those who were above the age of twenty when they left Egypt had now died off and those that remained were standing before the River Jordan ready to cross over it into Canaan Land.

Why had it taken forty years? Because those who had died did not trust that Jehovah could fulfill His promises.

Why is there so much doubt in the Church today? Because so many in the Church do not believe that the Lord can fulfill His promises.

They get caught up evolution and things such a climate change.

If you are looking for a place where the climate does not ever change, then that place would be the New Heaven.

We must be truly clear; God does not break His promises!

Still, as the armies of Israel and all their families were as prepared as they could be to enter Canaan Land, there was a great obstacle that was before them, and it was the River Jordan at full flood stage.

*Jos 3:1 And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over.

The Promised Land to Israel lie on the other side of the River Jordan, but it just as well be a million miles away with the River Jordan’s flooded waters rushing towards the Dead Sea at least it seemed this way to these people.

They had been taught for hundreds of years that the promise of a national home was on the other side of the River Jordan in Canaan Land.

All these things bothered these people, but they did not seem to bother Joshua.

They were not completely sure of their new leader, but this was about to change.

To Joshua who rose up at daybreak, things were all going according to the plan of God.

It was faith that kept Joshua moving and it was faith that would win the day!

The spies sent out by Joshua had returned the previous day and the plan of God was in motion.

The Promised Land represented a new life for the people of God, a victorious life instead of a life of slavery.

It always seems that as Christians there are things that we must overcome in this world, and this is not going to change, because this world takes care of its citizens, and we are not citizens of this world.

We are seeking our own Promised Land.

Then the command comes to move forward.

The plan of God is always to move forward and never to retreat. There are no obstacles that God cannot overcome, and faith is still the key to pleasing God.

*Jos 3:2 And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host;
Jos 3:3 And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it.

If we understand that the Ark was a symbol of God’s presence with His people, they were instructed to follow the Ark which would be carried according to the instructions God had given to Moses.

We can just imagine the faith of those lead priests as they took that first step into those flooded waters of the River Jordan.

These people had no choice but to believe and trust in the power of God!

Faith is the key to our relationship with God and trust is putting that faith into action!

The Ark carried within it the Word of God given to Moses and this is a type of the importance of following the Word of God.

These children of Israel had followed a “cloud by day” and “fire by night” for forty years, but an even greater symbol to follow is the Word of God which they would now follow.

They would follow the “Mercy Seat” into the flooding waters, and they would find “Grace”.

The “Mercy Seat” is also the place of “Hope”!

It was the symbolism of these things that taught these children of God a valuable lesson!

Today we have the completed Word of God and as we studied in the Book of Hebrews and all the Bible, we need to listen to what the Lord Jesus Christ has to say about our Christian life.

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;

He is the brightness of God’s glory to lead us to the true Promised Land!

It was important for this people to keep some space between themselves and the Ark of God.

*Jos 3:4 Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore.

The space that was determined would be about one thousand yards.

There are those that have determined that this was the distance a person could travel on a Sabbath Day, called a Sabbath’s Day Journey and it was determined this day as the children of Israel gave space between themselves and the Ark of God.

It would have been an impressive sight to see the waters of this flooded river cease to flow and that first foot of the priests step down upon dry ground.

We can be sure that when we become the children of God, we will go to places we have never been to before!

We will see things that cannot be described.

The path to Heaven’s Gates is a narrow path.

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

We could say that the River Jordan at flood stage could represent the obstacles we face as Christians in our day by day walk with the Lord.

If we do not have enough faith to follow the Lord, then how can we expect to have a good relationship with Him?

How did this trip begin for these children of Israel? They had to sanctify themselves.

*Jos 3:5 And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the LORD will do wonders among you.

Just what is “sanctification”?

To sanctify ourselves we must realize that God has given us a purpose and it is not to serve this world!

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.

1Th 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

What must we realize?

Rom 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
Rom 7:15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
Rom 7:16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
Rom 7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

How can we begin the sanctification process?

Joh 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

There is no getting around the Word of God!

Those that reject the Word of God, “all the Word of God”, cannot be sanctified!

To reject the Word of God is to reject the truth and to reject the truth is to believe the lies of this wicked and evil world!

Sanctification begins with the Lord Jesus Christ:

1Co 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
1Co 1:31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

We must recognize the Our Lord Jesus Christ is God, the God of the Bible:

1Th 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Our Sanctification comes by the sacrifice of our Savior:

Heb 10:10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Our sanctification is by the work of the Holy Spirit:

1Pe 1:2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

We must recognize the Word of God as the absolute truth and know that to be sanctified takes place by being washed in the Word of God.

Eph 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
Eph 5:27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

There is no other means of sanctification. It is between you and God before your death.

For these children of Israel they had the Word of God given to Moses which was inside the Ark of the Testimony and the words that Joshua was speaking to them this day.

They either believed or they could reject the Word of God and die the death of not knowing the truth!

It was time to get moving.

What did God say?

*Jos 3:6 And Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people.
Jos 3:7 And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.

Jos 3:13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.
Jos 3:14 And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people;
Jos 3:15 And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)
Jos 3:16 That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.

I just wonder what these priests were thinking as they were deciding on that very first step into the rushing waters of the River Jordan.

We must remember that it was harvest season and the River Jordan overflowed her banks during this time.

We should also remember God has a reason for everything He does.

1) God wanted to encourage the faith of these people.
2) God wanted to magnify Joshua at this time as He had Moses.
3) For all of us, we can see that God does not allow obstacles to interfere with His plans.

Joshua had told this people that God would make a way for them to cross Jordan.

And we can also see that God will lead the way when danger is all around us.

God instantly created an invisible dam.

If the River Jordan was a picture of problems and difficulties that confront God’s people, then it is by our own faith that we can conquer these things.

1Jn 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
1Jn 5:5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

This miracle came about because of the faith of God’s people.

We see that we can say we have faith, but if we do not put action to that faith, which is trust, we will never overcome the obstacles of life!

So what happened?

The priests were the first ones to take that first step of faith when they obeyed the Word of God given to Joshua and walked forth into those raging waters.

We must understand that when there is no way, even then can God provide a way!

The waters of the Jordan started piling up in a heap and we see that it was noticed all the way to the city of Adam which was about eighteen miles from where this crossing was taking place.

The River Jordan was completely cut off.

This crossing was made because believers chose to trust God rather than turn away and wait till harvest time was over.

We can have courage to do most anything if we have faith in the truth of God!
We can be firm in times of danger.
We can remain calm while others are not.
We can be steadfast when others will turn and run.

We are going to need all these things as we enter into these last days!

There is another song in God’s song book that says “The sea saw it and fled, and Jordan was driven back”

Psa 114:3 The sea saw it, and fled: Jordan was driven back.

This crossing by Israel was in full view of the residents of city of Jericho.

Two things were happening:

1) The children of Israel saw that Jehovah is in charge of our world and all things Spiritual and Natural are under His control.
This one thing gave these children of Israel the confidence they needed in Joshua, as the Lord had said and confidence in the truth of the Word of God but also confidence in the “promises” of God.

2) This thing also showed the people of Jericho that all they had heard of the children of Israel were true. They were the people of God and their God, Jehovah was real.

The children of Israel crossed over the River Jordan on dry ground right in the middle of the flood season.

This was a momentous event for the people of Israel and a thing to be remembered.

This thing should be a warning to all of America that if you want to survive then we must identify with the Lord Jesus Christ!

As Christians we must learn to walk by “faith” and not by sight.

If we walk by sight, then most everything we see will appear to be an obstacle when there are no obstacles to the plan of God.

God’s plan moves forward with every tic of the clock and nothing upon this world can change the outcome or even slow down the plan of God!

God’s plan moves along at God’s own pace!

Amen

God’s Plan is Always Moving Forward

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Joshua Israel’s New Leader

Book of Joshua Chapter 1

Who is this, Joshua?

The name “Joshua” as written can mean “Jehovah is his help” but it can also mean “Jehovah the Savior”.

Joshua is sometimes written Jehoshua, and Jehoshuah but in the New Testament we see it written as Jesus.

Act 7:45 Which also our fathers that came after brought in with “Jesus” into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David;
Act 7:46 Who found favour before God, and desired to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob.

We should not be confused by these things and if we study the context of the Scripture we will not be.

We see the same thing happen in the Book of Hebrews:

Heb 4:8 For if “Jesus” had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
Heb 4:9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

Joshua did not have it in his power to give rest to the people of God, only the Lord Jesus Christ has this power!

Again look at the context of this Scripture.

This Joshua is the son Nun to distinguish him from any other man name Joshua and there were others.

Joshua as a child was born into the slavery of Egypt and reached the age for military as he traveled to freedom with Moses and all of Israel.

No doubt as a young man He worked in the brick fields of Egypt.

We can believe all these things because it is Joshua, led by the Holy Spirit who has written all these things for us.

It is Joshua who also wrote the final words of the Book of Deuteronomy after the death of Moses again led by the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit does not make mistakes, so there are no mistakes in the “Received Text”!

We can say the Book of Joshua was written to the Israelites to teach them their great history and the mistakes they had made.

We also know that All Scripture is written for the Church!

2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

The Book of Joshua shows us how Israel conquered and divided up the land promised to these descendants of Abraham by Isaac and Jacob.

The Book of Joshua shows all readers that God is faithful to keep His promises.

The main purpose to the Book of Joshua is to teach the Doctrines of God to the Israelites and to all readers of this precious book of the Old Testament, which means the New Testament Church.

Some of those Doctrines are:

The Doctrine of Faith.
The Doctrine of the Holiness of God.
The Doctrine of Sin. God will not tolerate evil and wickedness, not forever.
The Doctrine of “Mercy and Grace”. Yes, we can see the “Grace” of God in the Old Testament and His “Mercy”!
The Doctrine of the “All Powerful” God of Creation.
The Doctrine of the “All Knowing” God of knowledge.
The Doctrine of the Sovereign Ruler of all Creation.
The Doctrine that states that God places people in certain locations for His Own Purposes!

*Jos 1:1 Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying,
Jos 1:2 Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.

Moses at the age of 120 years old had now been taken out of the picture by God Himself, his purpose complete and God told Joshua to fill in the gap that Moses left behind.

It is our duty to answer the call of God!

Moses was a mighty man of God. How could anyone fill in for him?

Moses had already selected Joshua by the word of God and had already begun his training.

Deu 31:14 And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thy days approach that thou must die: call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tabernacle of the congregation, that I may give him a charge. And Moses and Joshua went, and presented themselves in the tabernacle of the congregation.

Deu 31:23 And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them: and I will be with thee.

It was Moses that had established Israel as a nation through the guidance of Jehovah making him the father of the nation of Israel.

A band of Egyptian slaves had become the nation that had set back Egypt for many years which they have never really overcome.

It was time for Israel to leave off mourning for what was, and accept what God had planned for the destruction of the sinful nations of Canaan Land

Gen_15:16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

On a much smaller scale than the worldwide flood, Israel was the hand of God for the destruction of the sin full people of Canaan Land.

They needed a strong leader and God gave them Joshua.

Joshua was now the Commander-in-Chief of the new nation of Israel.

We should understand Moses was a great man of God, but his death did not affect the plan of God.

God simply selects some other human to keep the plan of God moving forward at all times!

If Joshua for some reason rejected the call of God, God would simply have chosen someone else.

When God plan is in action, He will then provide all the tools and materials necessary to keep moving forward in the work God has given all the Church to accomplish.

The “providence” of God is always in His hands, and it does not depend upon any one upon this earth, or anywhere else humans are seeking to run and hide.

*Jos 1:3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.

It was the death of Moses that opened the door for Joshua, so we see that it is God who is the giver of life and only He can take a life.

Satan may have had the power of death before the work of the Lord Jesus was completed, but he could not cause death at his will, he needed the permission of God, and he still does today.

Satan answers to God, Jehovah God and he is also condemned to Hell which is why the world is moving so fast toward wicked, immoral corrupted, iniquity.

Some of the promises God made to Abraham were becoming reality.

The walk of Abraham had defined the boundaries of the nation of Israel more than four hundred years prior to the day of Joshua.

Moses had led the children of Israel right up to the shores of the River Jordan, right at the most awkward time of the rainy season, but God had a reason even for this.

It would be Joshua that led the crossing of Jordan!

What were the boundaries that God set aside for the nation of Israel?

*Jos 1:4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.

South: the desert of Negev.
North: Lebanon. Mount Lebanon the tallest mountain of Syria.
East: the Euphrates River.
West the Mediterranean Sea.

To this day, Israel has never possessed all this land and will not until the return of Christ Jesus.

Why? Many of them became cowards.

Many of them refused to obey the Word of God.

The closest that Israel ever came to control of all this land was in the days of King David and King Solomon.

It is at the death of King Solomon when Israel became a divided nation and disappeared from History for a time.

A divided nation cannot stand in this world of sin!

America is more divided today than it has ever been in our brief history and America could disappear from history and it is because of our corrupt, and wicked, and immoral government!

Why is this so true? Because America has booted God out!

Why did Israel begin to show dominance for many years? It was because God was with them until they demanded God to leave.

What was God’s promise to Israel?

*Jos 1:5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

What wonderful words given to a new leader.

God promised Joshua that no nation would be able to stand against him.

To us this means as a believer, we will have a full life, a victorious life, if we continue to serve the Lord with all our heart!

We know that as this new nation of Israel moved forward, they would face many obstacles.

We can also say the same thing about them today as much of the world hates them without a reason.

This tiny nation of Israel has met many a foe on the battlefield, all of them trying to erase them as a nation, but God has not allowed this to happen, and the Bible says He will not allow it to happen.

God promises those who love Him a full and victorious life, but we must also move forward claiming victory over the obstacles we face.

We can do this because we are never alone!

With the power of God there is no obstacle that we cannot overcome!

It begins with obedience!

1Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
1Jn 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
1Jn 5:5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

We have the promise of our Savior that He will never forsake us.

Even on those days we may not feel our Lord God, we have the assurance that He is with us.

Our life is not about feelings, our life is about the promises of God!

This is one of the greatest promises God has given to us, that He will never forsake us!

No matter what trouble, no matter what difficulty, no matter what problem we face, God will never leave us and He will walk with us through these things!

*Jos 1:6 Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.

Joshua had been an eyewitness, as these people had rebelled against Moses many times.

The challenge of Israel was very great to be a conqueror of the many nations of Canaan Land.

They needed a leader who was equipped to manage these times and it was Joshua.

Joshua was God’s man!

What was Joshua first task? He was to trust God! He was to be strong and very courageous!

When God calls us, He knows that our task will not be easy. If it was easy, then anyone could do it without God!

The army of God must be strong and courageous.

When we put on the armor of God we are not dressing for peace, we are dressing for war!

We are to be obedient to the Word of God.
We are to never stop sharing the Word of God.
We are to meditate on God’s Word day and night!

The result of obedience to God will always be prosperity and success! This does not mean riches.

It means all that we put our hands to, that is in the will of God, will prosper!

Again, it takes strength in the Lord and obedience to overcome discouragement!

*Jos 1:7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.

God did not place Joshua in this position of leadership to be lord over this people!

They would follow Joshua if he continued to follow the Lord.

Until till the last days of Joshua’s life, every day brought a new enemy to defeat.

Every year brought a new enemy.

Every day he had to send the young people of Israel into battle, and he would witness the blood shed of many of them.

These things are hard on any commander. Joshua would need much courage and strength.

No matter where we are on the battlefield of the Lord, we must know that we cannot do these things in our own strength so our relationship with the Lord must be steady and enduring.

We must follow the Word of God not veering to the left or to the right.

The pathway to Heaven remains a narrow path and few will ever find it.

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

God will reveal to us the obstacles we will face by teaching us the deep things of God!

1Co 2:10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
1Co 2:11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
1Co 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
1Co 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

The key to our prosperity in this world is obedience to all the Word of God!

Again this does not mean riches!

How are we to study the Word of God?

*Jos 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

In order for Joshua to succeed as the Commander-in-Chief of Israel, he was to know and obey all the Word of God. (Which is a type of Christ)

This has not changed for every national leader today! They have the same instructions, no matter who they are or where they are located!

We must never turn our backs to the Word of God as we see this world do so today.

If there is a godly leader in this world today, they are noticeably quiet and ashamed of the Word of God, because they are too silent!

God will give us purpose, a sense of achievement and a fulfillment throughout our Christian Life, but only if we obey God by meditating in His Word day and night, throughout our lifetime.

In other words, we should always be doing what God says to do!

Deu 5:29 O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!

This is the key to our success in the plan of God!

Again, we must be strong and courageous in the things of God!

*Jos 1:9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

If God says a thing one time, then it is enough, but when God says things three times then He knows how easy it will be for us to get discouraged when we see what is going on in our world.

We must never let these things keep us from serving the Lord!

We must be strong and courageous as we walk through our Christian Life.

We must know that when God gave these lands to Abraham, all Abraham had was his faith and he had enough faith that he could trust the Word of God is true.

Abraham trusted in the promises of God, and it is no different for us here today.

Now in this day of Joshua more than four hundred years later, Joshua is in position to begin fulfilling some of God’s promises to Abraham.

We should know that the land promised to Abraham was indeed the land called Palestine. Palestine is an area and not the name of some country.

We should also know that the land promised to Abraham also refers to the New Heaven.

Canaan Land is just a symbol of God’s Promise.

Rom 4:13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

The inheritance that Abraham had so much faith in, refers to the entire world, the New Universe which God is going to recreate in the very end.

It is not this world we live in now that is so full of sin, immorality, and wicked corruptness!

This world that is wasting away, deteriorating, running down, that our world calls “Climate Change”. They have seen nothing yet!

2Pe 3:4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
2Pe 3:5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
2Pe 3:6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
2Pe 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
2Pe 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
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.

The promise to Abraham refers to the New Heaven and the New Jerusalem, our Heavenly Home!

Rev 21:10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

All these things Abraham knew and, on this day, Joshua would begin that journey with Israel as they would cross the River Jordan.

This is where Joshua would derive his courage and his strength!

It was the promises made to Abraham that drove Joshua to be the great man of God that he was, and we should be encouraged just as Joshua was encouraged.

Gen 12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
Gen 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
Gen 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Joshua told this new nation of Israel, “let us go an obtain the promises of God”.

This is exactly what the Church is doing today!

*Jos 1:10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying,
Jos 1:11 Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the LORD your God giveth you to possess it.

After forty years the long-awaited command came. “prepare the people for we are going to cross the River Jordan”.

We should remember that this people of Israel would have been several million people.

There is not an army on the face of the earth that can go from rest to moving forward for war in three days, which shows us how Moses had prepared this army.

This was not just the army but also all their families and livestock.

We should also think about those three days!

Three days to our Lord Jesus was the time of His death to His resurrection.

In three days, this rag tag bunch of slaves would resurrect as the nation of Israel.

We should be able to see the typology of all these things.

What do we know? We know that God had spoken to Joshua and the crossing of the Jordan was to be done at once.

As Israel had been at camp until this command came, they had certainly seen that the River Jordan was running out of its banks at this time of the year.

In our service to the Lord, we had better understand that the natural things must be exhausted before the supernatural is brought in.

At this time we believe the “manna” had ceased and the word “victuals” would mean the food that was natural to their surroundings.

Jos 5:12 And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.

We also believe that before this command was given, that Joshua had already sent out those spies to Jericho, and they had returned.

On this side of this flooded river was Israel ready for war and on the other side stood the walled city of Jericho, which had to fall for Israel to be successful.

Jericho had already heard of the wars Israel had already fought, and won, and the city was afraid of Israel.

Between them lay a vast expanse of rushing water.

Joshua commanded this people of God “to prepare”, then “passover” and then “to possess”.

We must understand as a soldier in God’s Army, we must always be prepared, and we have that “Heavenly Manna” with us at all times if we are carrying the Word of God.

We must feed on the Lord Jesus Christ; He is our Passover!

No doubt that many of these people had the fear of death for war brings death!

But to the child of God, death has but one meaning and that meaning is New Life.

There would be no possessing of that land until they crossed over the flood waters of the River Jordan.

As Christians we have nothing on this side of Jordan, but the New Heaven, the New Jerusalem lie on the other side.

What lies on the other side will be the treasures of God!

A share of the inheritance of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Still that raging river seemed unsurpassable.

But the Lord will always say:

Jos 3:5 And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the LORD will do wonders among you.

When the flood waters of this world are raging, then this is when we need to trust the Lord the most!

Mar_6:50 For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.

We must never forget that as we travel in this life, the Lord Jesus Christ will walk before us showing us the way!

We know that God would stop the flow of the River Jordan and several million Israelites would cross the River Jordan on dry land!

Amen

The Principle of Faith

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

A Better Principle

Book of Hebrews Chapter 11

What does the word “principle” mean?

According to the Websters dictionary the word “principle” means: In a general sense, the cause, source, or origin of any thing; that from which a thing proceeds; as the principle of motion; the principles of action.

We should be able to understand the “principle of faith”!

Let us talk about “the principle of faith”.

It is the “principle of faith” that is the foundation of the Church.

1Co_3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Our salvation can come only by “the principle of faith” in the Lord Jesus Christ and the work He has done for our redemption!

Act 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

The “principle of faith” is the same for all people!

Act 20:21 Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

Faith is the only way we can approach God!

When we are in conversation with God, we must have faith and we must show God our “faith”!

Jas 1:6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

It is because of the principle of faith” that we can be forgiven of our sins!

It is true that our only responsibility in our salvation is believing the “Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ” but we need to believe all the Word of God!

Joh 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Joh 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Jas 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

We must understand that the many different translations of the Scriptures can contain errors, but the “Received Text” has no errors at all, and we need a translation that comes from the “Received Text”.

“Saving Faith” involves three things:

1) Knowledge:

There are certain basic truths that must be believed!

We must believe the things that Jesus claimed to be!

Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Unless we believe these things, we will die in our sin!

Joh 8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: “for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins”.

The Apostle John wrote these things by the Holy Spirit.

Joh 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
Joh 20:30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
Joh 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

2) Conviction:

There must be an inner conviction that the things that Jesus has said are the complete truth!

Joh 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
Joh 16:8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
Joh 16:9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;
Joh 16:10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
Joh 16:11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

3) Trust:

As a result of our knowledge of the Lord Jesus, and Holy Ghost conviction that these things are true, then we must place our “trust” in the truth of God, and these things will be settled in our heart.

Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, “and shalt believe in thine heart” that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

It is our own responsibility to take our knowledge of the Lord Jesus and our inner conviction and then trust in the Word of God!

God will not do this for us!

We must get up close and personal with the Lord!

It all begins with “faith”!

So, how can we describe faith? The Bible has one definition.

*Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Heb 11:2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.

In this Chapter there are men and women who believed what God has said and the Holy Spirit gave us some of their names.

Without a doubt the key to God having good memories of us depends upon our “faith” in Him!

Here in this chapter of the Book of Hebrews is the only place where the Holy Spirit gives us a definition of “faith”.

In the rest of the Word of God, we get to see examples of those who had great “faith” and those who had little or no “faith”.

“Faith” is the single most important thing we need in our relationship with God!

We will see that without “faith” we cannot please God, and if God is not pleased with us, He will have no part in our lives!

Along with “faith” we must have “hope”!

Our “hope” lies in the promises of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Our “faith” must be in that “hope” and this “faith” must lead to our “faithfulness” to the Lord our Savior.

“Faith” is our act of believing in the truth of the Word of God!

We have “historical faith” in the fact the character of God does not ever change!

What He has done in the past He will do a similar work in the future according to what He has said.

James says:

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_2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
Jas_2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

This is not works as in working for salvation!

This is the work of faith being Christian in our thoughts, our ways, and our actions.

Our “faith” is meaningless if we are not growing to be more like Jesus Christ and is therefore dead.

We must understand that with our heart we believe unto righteousness.

We must put action to our “faith”!

Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Now our heart does not have to see, yet our “faith” knows these things are true as having seen this truth in the actions of those who have done these things.

We cannot be justified without our work of faith!

Rom 3:27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.
Rom 3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

A work of “faith” is not like obeying some old law!

Rom 4:4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
Rom 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

This is the “faith” that must continue to grow with us, as we grow as Christians, so it is our faith that leads to our growth in sanctification.

Sanctification is the act of being made holy in the eyes of God!

As we grow in Christ, then we need to add to our faith daily, again because our faith lies in the unseen promises of God as if we can see our redemption, which we can!

2Pe 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
2Pe 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
2Pe 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
2Pe 1:6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
2Pe 1:7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
2Pe 1:8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The elders of our faith in time past understood these things.

The elders of our faith also knew of our Creator and our Savior being the same person!

*Heb 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
Heb 11:4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
Heb 11:5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

We know our Lord and Savior is so powerful that He just speaks, and things happen!

We know that our Lord is so powerful that He created all we see and things that we cannot see, out of nothingness.

The very reason there are no creators today, is the fact they cannot create without using something that God has already created.

God is a God of order, and we can only look into the night-time sky and see order in our universe.

We do not see chaos as would have been the case of some Big Bang Theory!

We have a Universe, or some say Cosmos, because “God said” for these things to take place and they took place.

You see, we do not need “a hope so faith” which is in reality meaningless, we need “a know so faith” in order to please our Creator.

Gen 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Notice it was “faith” that Abel offered, meaning much more than the sacrifice that He offered to God.

This has been the same since the beginning of the human race!

Any sacrifice to the Lord is meaningless unless it is accompanied with believing “faith”.

Our “faith” is our sacrifice that has meaning to our Savior!

The reward of “faith” is God’s approval of the things we do according to the Word of God!

When God approves us, then God accepts us!

God will never approve us when we go against the Word of God, because this immediately shows our lack of “faith”.

It seems our politicians do not understand this.

You cannot claim Christ Jesus and go against the Word of God! This is sin that is condemned!

I was not here when God created our world, but I know in my heart that He is my Creator and today I know even more, because I know He is my Savior!

You see, it was not the sacrifice of Abel that God remembers, God remembers His “faith”.

God cannot remember anything of Cain because Cain had no faith!

He will hear those dreaded words:

Mat_7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

It is with “faith” that we can see the power of “righteousness”!

The power of faith is what is written in the “Gospel of Jesus Christ”!

Righteousness is the approaching of God, “exactly as He says to approach Him”.

It cannot be done in any other way or fashion!

It cannot be done without the shedding of “Blood” as proven by Abel!

Heb_9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

It is by the shedding of blood by the Lord Jesus Christ that we can obtain righteousness!

This was true in the time of Adam and Eve, and it was just as true when the Lord Jesus shed His blood on Mount Calvary, just so we can be saved, but it is our “faith” that makes this true.

I was not there to see what the Lord has done for me, but by “faith” I know He did this for me:

1Pe 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

Cain may have been religious, but His religion could not save Him!

Most religion is about religion, form, and ceremony and none of these things can make you righteous because they lack “faith”!

They are just mindless rituals!

It is “faith” that gives us the power to have our own daily walk with God and it is faith that will deliver us from the death of the curse because of Adam’s disobedience.

Enoch just believed God, everything God said was ok with Enoch, because He believed every Word God said, and this is exactly what God demands of us all today!

Any disagreement with the Word of God is sin!

Just what does it take to please God? It takes “faith” that the Word of God is true!

It takes “faith” enough to believe that God is exactly who He says He is!

*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.

We will never be able to please God if we cannot believe every Word that He has given to us!

God exist just as He says.

God has done everything that has been written of Him!

We must believe we have a Creator!

We will never be acceptable to God if we cannot believe Him!

It is time for those so-called Christians on the border line of faith to understand this!

The Bible is specific!

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.

This is not so hard to understand!

Many people do not understand the word “condemned”

Oh, they love this verse close to it where it says, “for God so loved the world”.

We cannot pick and choose what we believe in the Word of God!

It is an all or nothing Book!

We cannot grow in our “faith” if we have none to begin with!

We must practice that hope mentioned in 11:1.

This is hoping for the things God has promised and them making a personal claim to those things just because God promised them!

We must diligently seek God!

To be diligent is to be seek God until you have found Him, and He is not hard to find for those who believe Him!

Act 17:24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
Act 17:25 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
Act 17:26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
Act 17:27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

We must hunger and thirst after righteousness:

Mat 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

We must ask, we must seek, we must knock:

Mat 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
Mat 7:8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

We must seek the Kingdom of Heaven because it does exist.

Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Mat 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

We must pray and fast, we must persevere in our prayer life!

Mat 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
Mat 17:21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

Many people pray and pray and pray, never finding the answer to their request, when they do not even have enough “faith” that God can do as He says.

They will never get a prayer answered!

We should understand the greater our need, the greater the time we must spend with our Creator, asking God, conversing with God, listening to God, sharing God, believing God and most important, living for God!

There is always an answer to those who seek God in true “faith”!

The more we stay in touch with God the more our “faith” will grow.

It should be truly clear, God will never reward sinful, carnal trust, nor will He ever reward doubtful trust!

If God did ever answer a prayer for those who doubt Him, then that person would think they could live their lives as they wish, and God will never so this.

God will certainly answer the prayers of the righteous with a believing heart.

Jas 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
Jas 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

1Co 3:3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

God will never answer any prayer that goes against His Word, nor should we expect Him to!

No one can read the Scriptures with attention, without feeling the intensity of God to produce confidence in His “Mercy” and His “Grace”!

To be a Christian, is to show the character of God to the world.

The world should be able to see our “faith” and our “faith” will set us apart from the world we live in!

We must put action to our “faith”!

When we doubt God’s goodness, then we are biting the hand that feeds us!

The work of God is our victory in the Lord Jesus Christ. When we reject this victory, we remain cursed, because we have no “faith” in the truth of God.

We can honestly say that there is really not much faith in this world and in fact when we see all those so-called Churches allowing the immoralities of the world inside the Church, we can truthfully say that there is not much “faith” left in the Church.

Wake Up Church, God’s Word does not ever change!

Now God gives us some examples of “faith”.

*Heb 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

We should pay close attention to the things addressed by Noah.

There was a time in the history of this world when this earth had become so wicked that it was filled with corruption and violence.

Humanity had reached such a sinful level that God simply would not tolerate it and God was left with no choice, but to destroy this wickedness.

There was only one man, on earth who was a godly man, and his name was Noah.

God will never destroy the godly with the wicked, so God warned Noah about the coming “judgment” to this world.

Though many doubt the story of the world-wide flood, it is still the complete truth because God said it was and there is much proof of it today.

There is no place upon this earth that you cannot see signs of this worldwide flood!

This is a place where our faith is so important!

We already know that God had made a promise to His Son Jesus before Jesus created this world.

2Th 2:13 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
2Th 2:14 Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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 world-wide flood happened just as God has said and the evidence proves it!

This is important today because God has said it will happen again.

Not with a world-wide flood, though there certainly be flooding, but this time “with” fire for the exact same reasons and we can see that without a doubt our world is returning to days that were the same in the days of Noah!

Mat_24:37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Luk_17:26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.

All those with “faith” are expecting this to happen and to happen right after the “Rapture of the Church”

Just as Noah received a warning, the Lord Jesus Christ has warned His Church, but He has also warned this world.

Those without “faith” have been made aware of these things for centuries!

If you do not believe in the world-wide flood, then you are calling the Lord Jesus Christ a liar, and you need the Lord Jesus to be saved.

You are calling the Word of God all lies and you cannot please God so, to those who read this it will be your warning.

After the “Rapture of the Church” you will see a world with all evil, wicked, and immoral people even worse than the days of Noah!

A world that is trying to live by science and corrupt governments, and focused upon pleasure and riches, cannot please God!

*Heb 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
Heb 11:9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:

Abraham also had a faith that is not even understood today!

Abraham was born Abram in what would now be modern day Iraq and Abram was not a Jew and no Jewish nation even existed in all his days.

God made Himself known to Abram and told Abram to leave his homeland and all his kinfolk and go to a land that Abram was not familiar with.

God made some sincere promises to Abram and today we are still seeing the fulfillment of some of those promises.

What did Abram have that few others had in his day.

Abram had the ability to see God as our Creator and Abram believed all the Word of God given to him.

It never appeared that Abram was a poor man, but only later does it say that because of God’s blessing he would be considered to be a rich man in his day.

Gen 12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
Gen 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
Gen 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

It may not be spoken of Abraham, but Abraham took his beliefs and shared them with his family and all those with him, and it appears that most all of them believed also.

Abraham might not have known that his wife Sarah would go childless when he married her, but God was well aware, and we see the desire of Abraham to have a child.

Abraham learned a valuable lesson from God, and it was when God makes a promise all we need do is believe it and not doubt what God says and also that God will do what He says and He does not need our help, He just wants us to have faith in His truths.

God told Abraham he would be the father of many nations and Abraham did not yet have a child and he was ninety years old.

Gen 17:1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
Gen 17:2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
Gen 17:3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,
Gen 17:4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
Gen 17:5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
Gen 17:6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

1) God would cause a people to be born of the seed of Abraham.
2) God would bless all nations through this seed born of Abraham.
3) God would give Abraham a promised land which in fact was the land of Canaan.

What did God ask of Abraham?

He asks Abraham just to have faith in what was told to him.

Abraham had a decisive, obedient faith.

He obeyed God and did as God ask him to do.

What did Abraham not do?
He did not hesitate.
He did not argue.
He did not question.
He did not waver back and forth.

Note: Abraham did not know where he was going, and this was not important to Abraham.

Abraham did not know where following God would lead him.

Abraham just believed the promises of God, and this is all God asks of us today and God has given to us much more information than what Abraham had.

We should clearly understand, we cannot say we believe God and then live our lives in disobedience!

To be true, no person can know where his faith may lead him, but we must not fear following God!

How did the Lord Jesus Christ put it?

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.

You see Abraham was not looking for the things of this earth!

*Heb 11:10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Abraham lived in a tent and a tent does not require a foundation.

Abraham had seen the things that were built in his day and none of them were great masterpieces of construction because man had built them.

Abraham understood much more than we give him credit for!

Abraham could live his life without the things of this world that hold us in peril most all our days.

You see obedience is in our hands and providence is God’s business!

As far as being a witness, we take God’s seed and scatter it where the Holy Spirit is working and God Himself is in charge of all results.

Our job then is simply to obey!

Obedient “faith” is the only way to eternal life and good preachers cannot even preach this message today without making their congregation mad at them so, many do not preach salvation at all.

Obedient “faith” creates a life which many will want to copy. This is why the Lord ask us to live by faith.

This is why the Lord will give more “Grace” to those have “obedient faith”!

By “faith” Abraham gave up the known world and rested on the promises of God!

Abraham was not called because he was any better than others.

Abraham answered the call of God simply because God called him.

1Co 1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
1Co 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1Co 1:28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
1Co 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
1Co 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
1Co 1:31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

Abraham believed God and God accounted it righteousness for Abraham.

Rom 4:13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

It is the wicked and evil riches of this world that has caused so many to end up in Hell, and Abraham knew if you could see it here, then it would not be in the City of God.

Why was the promise to Abraham so important to us today?

Because the promise God made to Abraham was the promise God made to us all through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Rom 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
Rom 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
Rom 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Rom 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
Rom 8:20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
Rom 8:21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

I am not looking forward to seeing Jerusalem here on earth though it would be great to visit the land where Jesus walked.

I am looking forward to seeing the New Jerusalem that is in the City of God!

The same city Abraham was looking for!

*Heb 11:39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
Heb 11:40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

There are great rewards that come by “faith” in the promises of God!

We can be encouraged when we read about these Old Testament saints of God.

We know that God was encouraged because He has written these things down for us.

Their faith was an encouragement to the early Church.

Their faith pointed others to God and still does today.

Their faith was their greatest testimony!

These things are the greatest testimony we can leave behind once we have left this world and joined the Lord in Heaven.

What was this great faith based upon? The future promises of God.

We must get it through our thick skulls that the God’s promises are in the future!

No doubt a Christian life does have its many rewards, but it is our future life where we will reap those greatest rewards.

So, with “faith”, its best blessings are in the future.

Just as with the Old Testament saints the object of our faith is still in our future.

The faith of the Old Testament saints looked forward to the promise of salvation.

The Church looks back to the work that the Lord Jesus has done for our salvation.

We should remember when the Old Testament saints died, they entered into a place called Abraham’s Bosom having to wait for the fulfillment of the Messiah.

Abraham’s Bosom

Before the finished work of the cross, everyone who died and believed in the Messiah went to a separate place in hell known as “Abraham’s bosom”.

This was also referred to as “paradise” in another scripture.

It was separated from Hell by a fixed gulf that could not be crossed by either side!

Just before the Lord Jesus died on the cross with the two thieves, He promised one of them he would meet him in Abrahams Bosom the very same day.

And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise. Luke 23:43 KJV

The bible tells us Jesus descended to the lower depths before He walked with the rest of the saints in town for 40 days.

This means Jesus went into Hell but into Abraham’s Bosom, to free those who believed in him and took them out before he ascended to heaven along with those more than five hundred saints that came out of those graves.

The saint of God that dies today goes directly to be with the Lord having being made perfect at death.

Our death now turns to eternal life in the glory world!

Amen

What Have You Offered the Lord

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

A Better Sacrifice

Book of Hebrews Chapter 10

The sacrifices under the Old Testament dispensation were all shadowy representations and types of that one great sacrifice of the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all, whereby “He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.”

We know that these sacrifices came by the Laws of Moses, and they are “types” of the truth of Jesus Christ, but we know that the sacrifice did not begin with the Laws of Moses.

It is in the Garden of Eden in the early days of Adam and Eve where the Law of Obedience to the Word of God was first given!

All the sacrifices in the Old Testament can be considered to be “types” of the Sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ!

As in all things, it took “Faith” for any sacrifice to be received of God and then it must be a sacrifice true to the Word of God.

Heb 11:4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

For instance “God says thou shalt not kill” so human sacrifice will only bring death to those who murder.

Heb 11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
Heb 11:18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
Heb 11:19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

Abraham’s “faith” was in the fact that if God took His son Isaac, then God would have to raise him from that death.

We know that God did not allow the sacrifice of Isaac and He will not allow the sacrifice of any human by those who are Christian.

All vengeance belongs to our Heavenly Father!

The only acceptable sacrifice was the sacrifice of God’s Own Dear Son, Jesus!

Heb 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
Heb 9:13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
Heb 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Let us begin Chapter 10 of the Book of Hebrews:

*Heb 10:1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
Heb 10:2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.
Heb 10:3 But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.
Heb 10:4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.

We should understand that there has never been a perfect man!

Every individual will fall short of what they could become if they have not learned obedience to the Word of God!

Humans are lustful and immoral and the proof of this is seen every day in this world.

All this movement called LBJQT is about lust and immorality and rejection of the Word of God!

LGBTQ is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning. These terms are used to describe a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

All these things are abomination to the Lord Jesus, but God is willing to forgive even these things but just like all others so full of sin, they must repent after salvation.

God does not expect us to repent before salvation because we just do not have it in us to do so.

God says to come as you are and be saved and then the Holy Spirit will cause us to repent of our old life.

This works the same for every sinner!

It is by the Holy Spirit who will give us the power to repent as we are “Born Again” into something new!

We can never live with God until we are “Born Again”!

If we had to the power to clean our sinful lives ourselves, then we would not need Jesus nor the Holy Spirit and many believe they have it in their own power to do this today and they are so wrong!

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 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Joh 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

Even in animal sacrifices, those animals had to be pure and flawless, so why should we ever expect God to require less from humans?

1) An animal is not the same nature of a human no matter what evolution teaches.
2) An animal has not the same value of humans in the eyes of God.
3) An animal was not capable of consenting to be a sacrificed or volunteer to be substitute for that human that offered it.

There was no power in the sacrifices of the Old Testament to gain salvation and a fellowship the with God!

There is no power in our own sacrifice of ourselves because it brings our own death, and we would get not one step closer to the Lord.

It is only because of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ that we can have New Life!

Joh 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

God knows we believe this when pray the sinner’s prayer!

Hos 14:2 Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.

Rom_12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

We must be capable of consenting to the fact of our sin before God will hear us!

It is only by the Holy Spirit that comes to live within us after we are saved, that we will have the power to repent!

God had no pleasure at all in the sacrifice of animals especially when the true meaning of those things was ignored!

*Heb 10:5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
Heb 10:6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
Heb 10:7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.

The perfect sacrifice for our sin was in a Body specifically prepare by Jehovah God!

Psa 40:6 Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.
Psa 40:7 Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,
Psa 40:8 I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.

It should be obvious, that both the Psalmist and the Holy Ghost inspired writer of the Book of Hebrews, were speaking of the Virgin Born Son of God.

Do not listen to false teachers and preachers who reject the “Virgin Birth”.

The Lord Jesus had to be born of a virgin or his sacrifice would be the same as all those other sacrifices, which is worthless!

He also had to live a perfect life, so that He would be the ideal person to die for our sin!

He also had to be eternal Himself, in order to cover our sins eternally!

Remember Jesus died for all past sin from the day He hung on that Cross and all future sin since that day!

There is a reason His arms were reaching to the East and West of His body!

When God knew that no one person of earth could die for our sin, He came Himself to be the perfect sacrifice!

I am heartbroken to know that Jesus the Messiah had to die just I could be saved!

1Jn 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
1Jn 4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
1Jn 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
1Jn 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
1Jn 4:5 They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
1Jn 4:6 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

We must understand that God the Holy Spirit has taken the time and with patience to write down all the Word of God, just so we can come to this conclusion.

There is only One Body of Christ!

One in nature.
One in truth.
One in glory.

Jesus was mortal and natural.
Jesus is Supernatural and real.
Jesus is mystical (the Spirit of Jesus) yet magnificent in His truth.

Paul by the Holy Spirit wrote:

Php 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
Php 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Php 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Php 2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
Php 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
Php 2:11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

We must understand that the Lord Jesus Christ had to do the Will of God, or He too would have been a false Messiah!

The Lord Jesus Christ took away the First Covenant by fulfilling it, so He could establish the New Covenant!

Notice that verse 7 should have been in Red Letters because this is Jesus speaking, though by the Holy Spirit!

*Heb 10:8 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;
Heb 10:9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.

Because the Lord Jesus Christ was the perfect sacrifice and the sacrifices of the Law were imperfect, then those sacrifices became useless!
,
This what the Scriptures above have proved.

The sacrifices of the Law were powerless to remove sin because of a lack of faith!

The removal of sin would take a perfect sacrifice!

God loves His created beings, and it is God’s will that as many as will believe be saved.

1Ti 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
1Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

The Lord Jesus came to do the will of His Father!

This is the same thing that our Heavenly Father expects from us, to do His will for us!

The fulfilling of the will of God is spoken of as a substitute for sacrifices.

The Divine will of God is our redemption through the Lord Jesus Christ and is perfectly fulfilled by Him!

No other sacrifice will work and there is no other way to approach God, but by His Only Begotten Son!

*Heb 10:10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

The perfect sacrifice, the offering of the body of Christ, makes people holy once-and-for-all.

This work of the Lord Jesus Christ perfectly satisfied the holiness, the righteousness, and the justice of God once-for all!

When a person comes to God by the Lord Jesus Christ, the sacrifice of Christ Jesus is applied to that person and covers all that person’s sins!

Only then, can we have a complete fellowship with our Heavenly Father, all because of the work Jesus Christ did for us!

Rom 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Rom 5:2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

All the shame that comes from our sinful lives will be removed, because we can be at peace with our Creator.

Rom 10:11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

Our sin could never be removed by some earthly priest nor the sacrifices that they offered!

*Heb 10:11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:

The earthly priests were never done with their work.

Our Heavenly High Priest has completed His sacrifice, by making one sacrifice that last forever!

The Lord Jesus gave His own life willingly, that we could be reconciled to His Heavenly Father!

1Pe 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

*Heb 10:12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
Heb 10:13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.

The fact of the matter is, that after completing the work He came to do, the Lord Jesus Christ is now at this time, sitting at the right hand of God.

He would not be in this place if His work were not finished!

He accomplished these things because He obeyed!

No matter how much we think we know about our Heavenly Father, the most important thing we can do is to obey Him no matter what He ask of us!

Remember God will never ask us to do unreasonable things!

Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

How long will the Lord Jesus Christ be sitting at the throne of God?

He will sit there until God the Father has separated the goats from the sheep!

This is what is going on in our world today!

The Lord Jesus Christ has already taken away our sin and now He is in place to deliver us from sin, from the evil in this world, from disease, from corruption, from death, from evil spirits, and from Satan.

We will find none of these things in Heaven!

These things are reaching their peak today as we have seen and continue to see!

He will deliver those who love Him eternally!

Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Eph 1:8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
Eph 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

Eph 1:19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
Eph 1:20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
Eph 1:21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
Eph 1:22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
Eph 1:23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

Those old sacrifices could do none of these things!

*Heb 10:14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
Heb 10:15 Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,
Heb 10:16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
Heb 10:17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

Notice it is the work of the Lord Jesus Christ that has caused our sanctification!

To be sanctified is to be set apart to God!
To be sanctified is to be made holy!
To be sanctified is to be consecrated, dedicated to the service and the worship of the One True God!

Joh 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

1Co 1:2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
1Co 1:3 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

1Pe 1:2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

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.

1Co 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
1Co 1:31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

Amen

The Gospel and National Israel

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Gospel of Grace and National Israel

Book of Romans Chapter 10 verse 1 through 13

Who are the Israelites?

Rom 9:4 Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;
Rom 9:5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

Israel was the nation chosen and adopted as God’s people and those to whom Jehovah God first revealed Himself.

Their job was to tell the world about Jehovah God, but they chose to try to keep Him to themselves.

Gen 32:28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.

Exo 4:22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:
Exo 4:23 And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.

They were privileged with the great patriarchal covenants and were given laws that were to teach them the truth and this truth was that no one could keep all those laws. (613 laws not just 10)

We know those Laws were given to teach them about the Messiah.

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.

The Israelites never came to know true “faith” and so never attained to God’s “Grace”.

When we mention the Jewish Law, most people think of the Ten Commandments but in reality, there were 613 commandments given to the Jewish people and God knew that no one could keep all those commandments all their lives and it only took one failure to be condemned.

They rejoiced in their Levitical Service and had great expectation of the Messiah which they are still looking for now because they rejected the Lord Jesus Christ.

The worship services in the Tabernacle and the Temple were to remind them what was due unto God on one hand and how much was graciously provided by Him on the other hand.

All the Old Testament promises will be filled with promises of the Messiah and the Millennial Kingdom (the one-thousand-year rule of Christ).

The Atonement, the kingdom of Heaven, the reign of Israel upon this earth, but they thought all these things were just for Israel and did not include the Gentiles and they rejected “faith” and decided that righteousness could only come by the keeping of the Law.

Rom 4:13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
Rom 4:14 For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:
Rom 4:15 Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.

Their entire system of worship was calculated to reveal the Divine greatness and holiness of Jehovah God and human insignificance and sinfulness.

Instead of becoming a humble nation of servants, they became a nation full of pride and self-righteousness!

When God wanted holiness Israel showed rebellion!

They were looking forward to the important things that are still in their future, because when the time came to move forward, they became legalist and rejected God’s Messiah.

All the promises God has made to Israel are to be fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ who was rejected!

The Lord Jesus Christ who is God in the flesh!

Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Joh 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
Joh 1:5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

Israel made some tragic mistakes!

The Apostle Paul understanding all the Old Testament scriptures having been trained under Gamaliel the great Jewish teacher of that day and now a “Born Again” child of God, full of the Holy Spirit clearly saw the failures of Israel and the truth of Jesus Christ.

What was the main problem for the Israelites? They had a zeal for God, but not according to the Scriptures given to them by those Prophets they murdered because they rejected their message.

*Rom 10:1 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.
Rom 10:2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.

Paul had a burning desire for the salvation of the Israelites. Paul absolutely loved this people!

We have no reason to hate the Jews, the Israelites!

We read earlier of those that God had turned over to reprobate minds, who God knew would never accept the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul knew that the Israelites would never be placed in this group of reprobates.

In fact, we know that God has blinded the eyes of this people and will one day remove those blinders and they will clearly see their mistakes they made concerning the Word of God.

Rom_11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

This blindness in fact will be removed when the fulness of the heathen (Gentiles) come in.

This will happen at the “Rapture” of the Church. God does not consider those who have this zeal to be reprobates.

We know that the first Christians were in fact Jews and many Jews are still saved today.

Keep in mind that not all Israel are Israelites. Many are called Israelis today.

God is speaking to those actual descendants of Abraham through his wife Sarah!

What is the truth of these Israelites? They have a zeal but not according to the knowledge of Jesus Christ!

What is the truth of the Gentile (Heathen) the Church of the last days? We have the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, but we do not have the zeal to serve Him as we should!

Over and over we see the evidence of the Laodicean Church Age, yet the Church denies it.

What did the Lord Jesus say?

Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

We see the modern Church has pushed God away with the modern pastor believing that He knows better than the Word of God that we have been given.

There is no such thing as a new understanding of the Scriptures! God does not change His Word nor His ways!

Mal_3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not;

The modern Church is now trying to establish its own righteousness which has been the same problem for the Israelites all along!

*Rom 10:3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

These Jews knew many things about the Messiah, but it was not based on a complete knowledge!

The Church has the complete knowledge, but many today think they know better than God who gave us His complete Word.

There will never be some new “Gospel”!

Israel was ignorant of God’s righteousness!

Israel was ignorant of God’s method of “Justification”!

Israel was ignorant as to how to be acceptable to God!

This acceptance can only come by the acceptance of the Lord Jesus Christ and what He has done for our salvation!

Everyone is born with a sin nature and this sin nature can only be done away with by the Work of Christ that allows us to be “Born Again” a Spiritual Rebirth!

You cannot reject Jesus Christ and then receive this new life!

Jesus Christ is the source of all “Spiritual” gifts, the Holy Spirit is the Administrator of those gifts!

Eph 4:8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and “gave gifts unto men”.
Eph 4:9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
Eph 4:10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, “that he might fill all things”.)
Eph 4:11 And “he gave” some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Eph 4:12 “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ”:
Eph 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

You see the true Church is made up of those who have come in the unity of the “Faith”!

Not the many denominations, and certainly not of those who take the authority of Jesus Christ out of the Church!

If you believe, then you had better believe that when God removes the blindness and restores sight to these Jews, they will all be in unity of “faith”.

For Jesus Christ is the end of those old Laws and the key to “Righteousness” to everyone who believes in Him and the work He has done for our salvation!

*Rom 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law of righteousness to every one that believeth.

We had better understand that once false teaching has taken place it is hard to get people straightened back out!

The Church has been struggling with this for years and the Jews have never overcome this at this time.

Without the Lord Jesus Christ you cannot receive the Holy Spirit!
Without the Holy Spirit you can never have the mind of Christ!
Without the mind of Christ you will still depend on your own self-righteousness which is worth exactly nothing in the eyes of God the Father!

Joh 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Joh 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
Joh 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

What does the Holy Spirit teach us?

Joh 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, “whatsoever I have said unto you”.

It is the Lord Jesus Christ who is the end of the Law.

Mat_5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

These are most important things, yet these things are left out of the teaching of many denominations causing disharmony in the Church.

We had better cling to the basic truths of the Lord Jesus Christ and remember the Holy Trinity of God!

Not three Gods but One God in three persons, all bound up in the truth of Jehovah God, our Maker!

Moses tried to explain these things to the Jews, but they rejected them.

As much as they claimed Moses, they still rejected the things He taught them of the Messiah!

*Rom 10:5 For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.

Most everyone who claim the Lord Jesus Christ think that the “Gospel” is some cafeteria plan given to us from God, where we can pick and choose the things to place our faith.

God has no cafeteria plan!

God has one plan, and it is all bound up in the Lord Jesus Christ!

The Law is simply our teacher to get us “justified” by “faith”!

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.

As humans, we have no righteousness of our selves. You can like this or dislike this, but it is still the truth because God said it!

Just as you cannot pick and choose the parts of the Bible you accept and the parts you reject, those Jews could not pick and choose which of those old Laws they would keep, or they would reject.

The difference being there is no “Grace” built into those old Laws.

When we try to reach God by law and works, simply by doing the absolute best we can, we should be able to see there is a terrible flaw in this way of thinking.

No one, but Jesus Christ has ever been able to keep those laws perfectly!

Lev 18:5 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD.

It is a losing effort every time!

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.

There are only two ways to become righteous before God:

1) Keeping the Law and being perfect in the keeping of the Law, which no one but Christ was able to do.
2) Trusting in the righteousness in that person, Jesus Christ, who was able to keep all those 613 laws!

We can see that there is only one choice!

Rom 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Rom 5:2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

When this makes sense to you, you will begin to understand the truth of Jesus Christ!

You see everyone is seeking the forgiveness of sin, but this forgiveness comes only by the “Grace” of God, because there is no law that can bring “Grace” except for the law of Christ Jesus the true and only Messiah!

Php_3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Though Paul has been criticized, we must understand that “ALL” Scripture comes to us by the Holy Spirit if that Scripture comes to us from the “Received Text”!

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

The name of the writer is unimportant for all those writers were guided by the Holy Spirit of God!

When we doubt the Word of God, we are not doubting the writers, we are doubting a Holy and Righteous God who cannot deceive and who cannot lie!

We must know that there is nothing unholy in the glory of Heaven!

That being true and it is, then it must take a perfect righteousness to be accepted into God’s home in Heaven!

Joh 14:2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
Joh 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
Joh 14:4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

This righteousness can come only by faith in the work the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us to receive this acceptable righteousness!

*Rom 10:6 But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)
Rom 10:7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)

“Saving faith” is that “faith” that concerns itself only about the Lord Jesus Christ!

Unbelief says, “Who shall ascend into Heaven”? Unbelief says, “Who shall descend into the deep”?

Unbelief always has questions!

Faith takes her stand wherever Jesus Christ is located!

Salvation can come only by the Lord Jesus Christ!

It takes a real imagination to believe the lies of this world!

It takes a truly lively imagination to believe in evolution!

Faith is done with imaginations and faith is done with dreamers!

Faith deals in reality!

The Lord Jesus came to this world to pay the sin debt of all peoples and He died to do so!

Faith is the truth!

The Lord Jesus Christ arose from that death proving He is God!

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:

The Gospel is the truth, so for these reasons, all questions are answered about salvation!

If we look within ourselves, we can know these things are the real truth.

If we look at the world all we see is lies, deception, and wickedness!

The truth of God will satisfy the soul and the Word was indeed made flesh and dwelt among us!

Joh 1:9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
Joh 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
Joh 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
Joh 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Joh 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Joh 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

In our search for a place called Heaven, we soon realize that we do not have it in our own power to get there, so we need a Deliverer, in fact a Messiah!

Psa_102:19 For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth;

In order for this to be true, then this Deliverer must be able to conquer sin, death, and Hell to remove these things from us.

Psa 139:6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
Psa 139:7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
Psa 139:8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

It is only our Heavenly Father who has this knowledge so only He could be this Deliverer, this Messiah!

As long as we depend on our own righteousness we will be lost forever!

Joh 3:13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

Jesus Christ is that Deliverer who brought the wonderful things of Heaven within reach of those who trust Him!

God has made these promises available to us if we just believe Him!

*Rom 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

What is true faith?

Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Heb 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

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 has placed His Word within our reach!

It is easy to understand.
It is to be remembered.
It is to be practiced.
It is the Word of Faith!

Eph 4:8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
Eph 4:9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
Eph 4:10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

We are not required to find some way to Heaven!
We do not have to find a way to avoid Hell!

The Lord Jesus Christ has solved this problem that we have all had since our birth!

The Gospel of Jesus Christ only requires “faith” in this reality!

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is applied to us, when we confess with our mouths that we believe this truth!

Why? Because of the great love that God loves us!

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 may never understand this, but it does not make it any less true!

The means to get to God’s New Heaven is located on the tip of our tongue if in our heart we will believe Him!

We must confess the truth of the Gospel with our mouth, believing He is that Great Deliverer sent down from Heaven to make a way for us to join Him in His home!

Joh 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
Joh 14:2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
Joh 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
Joh 14:4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

Jesus says, do not worry about this I got it all under control. (My words)

God’s “justice” was perfectly satisfied with death of His Son!

God was perfectly satisfied with His Son dying for us!

So God raise His Son up from the dead to live forever and those who confess this to live with Him!

Rom 4:25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

How could such a plan be conceived and then followed exactly as it was written not be true?

Act 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
Act 17:31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

God has done these things so we will repent and return to Him, our Creator!

This cannot be done on a whim; it must come from the heart!

*Rom 10:11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

Salvation is available and that shame comes when we do not give consideration of what a loving God has done for us.

God did not give these precious gifts to just one nation. God’s offer is to all the world!

God’s message is to all peoples!

There is only one Gospel and there can be only one Gospel!

Whoever believes in the truth of Jesus Christ will be saved!

God has made it just that simple!

The Gospel has made its way around this world, and this could only have happened by the power of God!

There may still be a very few places where Jehovah God is not known, but it can only be a very few and even those places will soon hear the “Gospel” of our Savior and our Deliverer.

The “Gospel of Jesus Christ” is universal!

Isa 45:22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

We do not have to be ashamed of our Savior!

When we are covered in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, we should have no fear of this world!

We must never be ashamed to confess the Lord Jesus Christ before any man, any woman, or any child!

God’s love is never limited to any people!

*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.

The Lord our God treats all humanity the same!

There is no distinction between humans in the eyes of God!

There is only one race, and it is the human race!

Every human being is related to God in the same way because He is our Creator!

God does not show partiality!

We are all His creations.
We all have the sin nature of Adam.
We are all loved by Him.
None of us can be saved, but through the Lord Jesus Christ by the righteousness that is in Him.

God does not save one person one way and another person a separate way.

We must all come to Christ!

No person is favored over another person in being saved or being condemned!

Act 10:34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
Act 10:35 But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

God will respond to all that call upon His name!

Every good thing that comes to this world comes by the hands of our Loving God!

Jas 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

This means that terrible things do not come by the hands of God!

The truth being that we must call upon God to receive the riches of His “mercy” and His “grace”!

*Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

This statement is not in the Bible to be a deception, it is in the Bible because it is the truth!

This same promise goes out to every man, woman, and child upon this earth!

This is a prophecy that is fulfilled from the Old Testament!

Joe 2:32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.

It means when we call upon the name of the Lord, then we believe in the righteousness of His Son Jesus!

It means every person with such a belief.

Joh 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

You cannot get around Jesus Christ to make your own way to Heaven!

Jesus Christ is the answer to spending eternity with God our Father!

We must follow in the ways of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Luk 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Luk 9:24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

Amen

Grace and Justification

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Gospel of Grace and Justification

Book of Romans Chapter 4 through Chapter 5

Here are a few especially important things we need to know in our relationship with our Heavenly Father.

1) We can never be “Justified” by our works!

Without the Holy Spirit abiding within us, we are still lost!

Gal 3:2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

What does the Holy Spirit do for us?

The Holy Spirit does His work through a twofold ministry in our lives.

A) He will work on Christ’s behalf, through our witness, to bring conviction to those not yet in Christ (John 16:7-11).
B) He will also minister to us as the teacher of our spirits to guide us into all truth (John 16:13; 14:17, 26; 15:26).

2) Faith is the key to our relationship with the Almighty God!

Gal 3:6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
Gal 3:7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.

3) Those who try to keep the Law must keep all of those Old Laws, which are impossible!

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.

4) It is the same for all races and all cultures of people!

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.

5) The promises of the Lord Jesus Christ come only by “Faith”!

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.

6) Those old laws were given to all the world to teach us how to live!

Gal 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

It is by “faith” in the Works of Jesus Christ for our salvation that we receive the Holy Spirit.

7) Once the Holy Spirit moves in, He will never move back out!

There are so many who believe we have to work our way into Heaven.

In a sense work gets us to Heaven, but it is not any work that we have to do! Jesus Christ has done all the work that was required for us!

What does Jesus say? What work does our Heavenly Father accept?

Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, “that ye believe on him whom he hath sent”.

Joh 6:38 “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me”.
Joh 6:39 And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.

*Rom 4:18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
Rom 4:19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb:
Rom 4:20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
Rom 4:21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
Rom 4:22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.
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.
Rom 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Rom 5:2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

God has given us the fitting example of Abraham to teach us about “faith”.

Against all probability, Abraham believed in the promises of God!

Our “faith” must be in the things that the God has spoken!

Our “hope” lies in the promises of God!

Abraham had nothing to give to God but these two things and this is why it is called “Grace”.

You see, we must be fully persuaded that what God promises, He is also able to deliver.

No one can stand before our Holy God who is not righteous, and it is these things that bring to us righteousness enough to stand before God and not perish!

Our “faith” must be in the work that the Lord Jesus Christ has done for our own righteousness. Why?

We must believe that God sent His only Son who was delivered for our offences (our sin) and raised by God for our “justification”.

Therefore peace with our Holy God comes by “faith” in the things He sent His Son to do for us!

Gal 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

All God ask from us, is to believe in what He has done for us!

Now God has done all these things it is time for all humans to show “faith” or to reject these things in a lack of “faith”!

A notable example given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ from the New Testament:

Luk 18:10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
Luk 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
Luk 18:12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
Luk 18:13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
Luk 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

The truth is, most all the world has turned their back on God and seek a path to salvation that will never be true, because we cannot choose our own path to Heaven!

It is by “Faith” that we are “Justified”!
It is by “Faith” that we can be at peace with God!
It is by “Faith” that we have access to God’s “Grace”, God’s favor, and welcomed into the presence of God!
It is by “Faith” whereas we find hope for the Glory of God!

We can have peace with God because He has nothing to be held against us throughout the remainder of our lifetime on earth and we will spend eternity with Him in His house.

The Lord Jesus Christ was our “Substitute” in making payment for our sin.

God our Father was satisfied with the sacrifice (payment) of His dear Son.

God the Father is forever satisfied that our sin debt was paid, and He will never bring it up again, nor will He ever judge us again.

We will never be a part of God’s “wrath”!

We will one day be a part of God’s Glory!

These are all things we can know in this lifetime!

We should also know that this world will now hate us!

*Rom 5:3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
Rom 5:4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
Rom 5:5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

We cannot allow the trials and tribulations of this world to destroy us. We now have a renewed strength because we are at peace with God!

We do not have to live in despair and hopelessness.

We can in fact, learn from all these things and become stronger because our strength is now in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Php 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

You see the Holy Spirit who lives within each child of God will stand up to all trials and temptations and all we need do is listen to Him!

You see, we are now able to defeat all things that come against us!

Rom_8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

Because of this we can have patience in the trials of this life and there will be no trials in our glorious life.

When we endure the trials of this life, and there will be many, we come out stronger and better able to stand against any future trials in this life.

This is where we stand in these last days!

Luk 21:17 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake.
Luk 21:18 But there shall not an hair of your head perish.
Luk 21:19 In your patience possess ye your souls.

It is in these things that we will be able to see these last days approaching, which, we are now in!

The Lord says we are on the winning side, and we can in our “Faith” know that this is true!

When we lean on the Holy Spirit who lives within us, He will hold us up!

As long as we have this “hope” in the truth of God, we will never be ashamed of our Savior who will never disappoint us.

It is in our strength in Jesus that the world will see, and it is this strength, His Strength, that we are better able to cope in this wicked and hopeless world!

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.

It is by the Holy Spirit, who lives within us, that we can feel the “Love” of God!

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.

There is great peace that comes by the awesome love of God!

*Rom 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
Rom 5:7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.

God knew that there would never be a human capable of being pure enough to be sacrificed for sin and God hated the fact that so many of false worship would attempt to sacrifice humans and most all of them were babies.

The false gods Chemosh and Moloch, sometime called Baal-Peor or Baal-Zebub, required human sacrifice and God hated these things done to the innocent, but even babies are not pure enough to be a payment for sin.

Every nation on earth is still sacrificing babies today calling it women’s rights.

The only sacrifice that God would ever accept was His own, the sacrifice of Himself!

Gen 22:8 And Abraham said, My son, “God will provide himself a lamb” for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

We were an ungodly people, yet a Holy God left the portals of Heaven, came, and lived as a human, but a sin free human, and sacrificed Himself so that we can be saved.

God is perfect, all humans carry the sin nature of Adam, it was the only choice that could be made, and it was made.

There are a few fathers who would die for their children but few, especially in today’s world, but because of His great love for us the living God gave Himself so that we might live.

As farfetched as this sounds it is still the truth!

The Lord Jesus Christ died for our benefit.
He died for our sake!
He died in our behalf!

Since God cannot die or He would not be God, then He poured Himself into a body of flesh that could die, and we call Him Lord Jesus!

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.
2Co 5:16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
2Co 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

What is a ransom? The price that is paid to recover a person from someone who is detaining them.

It was Satan who required a perfect human for sacrifice and since there are none, we each became our own sacrifice, but this brought eternal death!

God knew this and therefore sacrificed Himself.

1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
1Ti 2:6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

What is a propitiation? Propitiation is to restore or to reconcile our friendship once again to our Heavenly Father!

Jesus Christ is represented as the propitiatory sacrifice for the sin of the world!

His blood alone atones for and covers our guilt!

This is the thing we could never do for ourselves and why no one is ever good enough to be a sacrifice for our sin.

1Jn 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
1Jn 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

I pity those who reject these things because these things are the real truth!

Jesus Christ died for me because there was no man who would die for me.

I had no value.
I had no goodness.
I was opposed to God.

But God loved me enough to save me!

*Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Rom 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

How did God prove He loves us? God did not wait till we made a commitment to provide our means of salvation!

The sovereign Creator of all we see and all we cannot see came to this earth and took the form of a human and died in our place!

This is unbelievable love that you cannot find on this earth.

How many of us would willingly give up our sons to save somebody we do not even know? I dare say not any.

God gave His only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ to save worthless, useless, rebellious, sinners who could not save themselves at any cost!

The God of all creation died in a humiliating manner that we might have the opportunity to live forever with Him!

The wrath of God was reserved for all those who had rejected Him, yet He still chose to offer eternal life!

This is something God will never forget and all those who have rejected the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ will certainly see His wrath even more so for not believing the truth of Jesus Christ.

We have already read that even though so many know these truths, they have still intentionally chosen to rebel against our Almighty God.

It is no wonder they are said to be fools!

God has proven His love yet most of this world has shown no respect for that love.

Joh 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
Joh 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Joh 15:14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
Joh 15:15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

We see truly little love left in this world!
We see very few who really want to hear the truth!

2Th 2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

1Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

People ask, just what are we saved from?

1) We are saved from the destruction that we cause ourselves, yes.
2) We are saved from a place called Hell, yes.
3) We are saved from a dying world, yes.
4) Greatest of all, we are saved from the wrath of an angry God, who did not want to show His angry side!

It is the work that the Lord Jesus Christ did willingly to save us that has allowed us to miss seeing the wrath of God!

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

We who were once enemies are now in the family of God!

*Rom 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

That word reconciled means becoming friends after a state of disagreement and enemies of our Creator.

Rom 8:5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
Rom 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Rom 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
Rom 8:8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

There is great peace that comes when you know you are no longer an enemy of God!

When we live for ourselves, we become enemies of God!

When we oppose our God, we become His enemy!

As long as we reject our Savior, we are promoting evil in this ungodly world!

If you are not on the Lord’s side, you are certainly on Satan’s side!

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.
Joh 8:45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.

How are we reconciled to God?

God has accepted the death of His Son in our place.
God has accepted that His Son Jesus has borne all our sin from the time of Adam until the end of the Church Age.
God has accepted the condemnation of His Son as the condemnation of all humanity.

Sin we are made free from sin by the work of the Lord we are also made free from the punishment of sin.

It is God who has provided this reconciliation!
It is God who reached out to us!

All we need do is receive these free gifts of a Holy God who cannot become unholy.

What is the atonement?

*Rom 5:11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

It is by the Lord Jesus Christ that we now have hope that there is something more than this short span we call life.

How can we look at our world and all the life that is in it and think that there is not something more even after our death?

You see, we can have that joy in this life knowing that there is much more to life than what we see in this life.

There is so much more that comes by a life in Christ Jesus.

We can rejoice in the hope of the glory of God!

We can rejoice in the midst of the tribulations of this world knowing that there are greater things to come after this life.

We can rejoice knowing that we are loved by our Sovereign God who watches over us as His own dear children.

We had no strength in ourselves to provide these things, but God does!

We can now be at peace with God knowing we have been forgiven!

Rom 11:15 For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?

Our sentence was death, but God has given us new life and life eternal.

He has also given us a work to do ourselves with His help because we are not remade, but made a new person (Born Again).

2Co 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
2Co 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
2Co 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

The truth of God will awaken a new life within us that should show on our outer being.

What is real love? It is Jesus Christ!

Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Joh 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

Amen

The Gospel for the World

/ 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

/ 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!

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.

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!

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.

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

God Will Fulfill His Promises Without Our Help

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Abraham’s Tragic Lapse of Faith

Book of Genesis Chapters 16; 17

We could change the title this lesson to “God Does Not need Our Help to Fulfill His Promises”.

The one most important thing to consider is that God will never fail in keeping His promises!

The second most important thing to consider is that God works according to His own timeline and not ours!

God has a plan and a purpose for each of us who have called upon Jesus Christ to save us.

In Abraham’s day, righteousness came by his faith and faith is still the key to our relationship with our Heavenly Father today.

It can be said that we are our own worst enemy most all the time.

When we believe that God has put all the processes in our world in place and just allows them to run their course, then we are wrong.

If this were true, then our prayers would not bring results.

Certainly, God has put many processes in place, but the fact remains that our Lord also has His hands on all of His creation.

Our Lord God Almighty has His hands on us who believe at all times or He could not be referred as being our Heavenly Father and He would not say we were His children!

The Lord has a perfect plan and has made many promises and God’s plan and His promises will be completed just as He has stated and all we need do is to believe and act according to His perfect Word!

*Gen 16:1 Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.

Today we will see the birth of the Arab nations and why there is so much hatred between the Arab nations and Israel.

If they would acknowledge these things, then there could be a true and lasting peace!

One of our greatest failures come because of our lack of patience.

Patience could be said to be a calm an unruffled temper in which we bear the evils of this life.

Believe me, we need a lot of patience to deal with this evil, corrupt, wicked and evil world!

Our faith tells us that Jehovah will never break a promise. Our lack of patience demands that we see those promises fulfilled in our lifetime.

Every believer knows that we will never die so we are selfish to think God will complete His promises in our lifetime.

God promised Abram a son by his wife Sarai, but Sarai had been barren for 75 years and she just could not believe she could have a child.

She was right in her thinking but wrong in placing limits on the power of God.

His power is unlimited!

In reality this was a lack of faith because the Lord had said Abram (Abraham) would have a child and that child would come by Sarai (Sarah).

Gen 15:4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.

We must understand to go against any part of the Word of God, no matter how small, will bring consequences, sometimes severe consequences as in the case of Abram.

Hagar was a slave girl given to Abram and Sarai during the time they spent in Egypt where Abram had made another mistake telling Pharaoh that Sarai was his sister which she was, but she was also his wife.

In the New Testament and in typology, Hagar would be a type of the Old Covenant, the Law and we know that the Law enslaves its followers.

Satan makes slaves. You would think that all who hate slavery would also hate Satan and his ways.

The children of Hagar were born into slavery and so is everyone who put themselves under the Law.

Gal 4:22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.
Gal 4:23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.

That promise being salvation by “Grace”. Sarah represents “Grace” and she is a type of Grace in the Bible.

So let us see these things.

*Gen 16:2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

We should also understand that Sarai had always wanted children and was probably key to Abram bringing Lot with them as they traveled.

We should also realize that Abram was not sure if he were the cause or his wife was the cause of their lack of children.

Why was Sarai barren? If we study the Word of God, we will find that many people lived in certain circumstances so that in the future God could work a great miracle that would not have been believed otherwise.

Listen to Jesus:

Joh 9:1 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
Joh 9:2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
Joh 9:3 Jesus answered, “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him”.

God still does these things but most of them go unnoticed! Sarah would have fit into this category!

Sarai could not believe that she could have children, but she felt the promise of God to Abram was so important that it needed a little help to be fulfilled.

She gave these thought to her husband and he listened to her, much as Adam did to Eve and they both were proven wrong and their wrong were sin with severe consequences.

In fact she was so wrong it clouded her judgment.

God does not need our help He just commands us to obey, and He always does what He says He will do.

Had Sarai been right then we would not need God nor the Word of God because it would not be believable.

In fact God did not have to do any of these things, He could just have easily have been a tyrant, and voiced His commands.

*Gen 16:3 And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.

We should also notice that Sarai never considered Hagar to be her slave but one of her maids.

Sarai gave Hagar to her husband, which in the eyes of God was also wrong though it was a custom of that day, for a man to have more than one wife.

1) So many today try to do things to help the Lord fulfill His promises and He does not need our help at all to do as He says He will do!
2) So many today try to conform to the customs of the place they live when God’s law is for every where we live. We are never to act upon the laws of the world that go against the Word of God.
3) So many today feel like the end will justify the actions of today, when only one thing will work consistently, and this is obedience to the Word of God and “faith” that God will do as He says. Which He has proven to be true!

The Word of God proves these things to be true, over and over again if we would just show that true “faith”!

We should be very careful before acting upon the suggestions of others, when we are trying to be obedient to the Lord.

What may seem right to many, may actually be wrong by the Word of God.

The world will never lead us to Jesus because the world hates Jesus because Jesus points out sin!

*Gen 16:4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.

When we go against the Word of God bad things happen almost immediately.

Sarai wanted to be a part of God’s plan for her husband, but she began to question God’s promises, something we should never do.

She felt that she and her husband were already past child-bearing years and they were by todays medical standards, but nothing is impossible for God.

Mar 10:27 And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, “but not with God’: for with God all things are possible.

Luke 1:37 “For with God nothing shall be impossible”.

Heb 6:18 That by two immutable things, in which “it was impossible for God” to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:

This is the reason there are no true atheists, they are afraid of the promises of God, but so-called believers just do not always believe the Word of God as commanded!

What we have seen so far is that impatience leads to a collapse of “faith”!

Abram had been walking with the Lord for more than 10 years now and impatience brought temptation because of strong arguments from his wife.

Abram begin to question the Word of God.

Heb 10:35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward.
Heb 10:36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.

Here we see we need the patience of Job! God “will never” break a promise He has made to us!

*Gen 16:15 And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son’s name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.
Gen 16:16 And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.

Ishmael became the oldest son of Abram when he was born when Abram was 86 years old, but Ishmael was not the son promised of God!

Some of the things said of Ishmael even before he was born.

Verse 12: He will be a wild man. His hand will be against every man and every man’s hand will be against him. He will dwell in the presence of all his brethren.

The one group who fit this description today are the so-called Palestinians!

He was born at Mamre.
He was circumcised at the age of 13.
He grew up a true child of the desert, wild and wayward.
He knew how to insult, and he knew how to mock those around him, for no reason.

All these things happened because of the impatience of Sarah and Abram allowed them to take place.

God came back to Abram to assure him that His promise was real.

*Gen 17:1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
Gen 17:2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.

It was twelve years later that Jehovah returned to Abram with these words.

Abram had lived these 12 years thinking he was in the will of God but not so.

The truth is we all need to walk with God. Not Allah but Jehovah the true God!

Some of us may walk alone while many will walk in groups of others together, preferably all in one accord.

If we do not walk with the Lord, we will never be aware of His presence in our lives!

The Lord does what the Lord does every day, we can be a part of it, or we will be left out entirely!

If we strive to be perfect, our example being the Lord Jesus Christ, then we must walk before the Lord.

In other words we must do all we can do for the “Glory of God”!

We must live moment by moment in the presence of the Lord, aware that He has His loving eyes upon us at all times!

This is walking before the Lord!

We cannot be perfect in this life, but we are obligated to try our best.

Our effort means more to the Lord than the results and our effort works toward God’s “Grace” in our lives!

1Th 4:11 And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;

Abram had been desperate to achieve what he thought God wanted, but Abram had fallen into the same trap that many may fall into today.

When God says He will do something, then we just need to accept it as fact and trust Him and go one with our lives in peace.

God does not need our help to fulfill some promise He has made!

God made this covenant (contract) with Abram and all Abram had to do was to patiently wait on the Lord!

There was only one thing for Abram to do. Humbly go to the Lord.

*Gen 17:3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,
Gen 17:4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.

We may sometimes wonder how God will do as He says and when we do this, we make God to be small with little power, but we serve a Great Big God, and we need to be aware of God’s Awesomeness!

We serve an “AWESOME” God!

If we need to arouse our faith the best place to start is upon our knees!

When we humble ourselves before the Lord, we show Him that He is in charge of our lives, and our only wish is to have His will to be our will!

God reminded Abram that He had made this covenant with him and not to someone else and his age had nothing to do with it.

In fact, if God had given Abram his child at a young age, then Abram would not have felt the power of God to do as He wishes.

We can only give the Lord the sack of dirt that we are! We have nothing else meaningful to give to the Lord!

The covenant God made with Abram was of a “promised seed”. Far beyond that of a human child, but of the Messiah!

This seed included the Messiah.

We must see Jesus throughout all the Old Testament for He is there.

The only way for Abram to see what the Lord was saying was to look through the Lord’s eyes.

It would not hurt for us to do the same thing.

Find a place in the Scriptures and jump in and be one of the characters.

This new covenant would require a name change.

*Gen 17:5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.

The name Abram means “an exalted father”.

The name Abraham means “father of a multitude”.

God told Abraham he would not only be a great father, but he would be a father of a great multitude as the father of all those who have faith in the promises of God.

God also changed the name of Sarai to Sarah.

Sarai means “my princess”.

Sarah means “the princess of a great multitude”. Not just a princess, but the but the mother of the promised child and in this case a type of Mary the mother of Jesus the Christ (Messiah).

*Gen 17:6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.
Gen 17:7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
Gen 17:8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

This is not so much an expansion of God’s covenant with Abraham but in reality, God just explaining the meaning of His covenant.

There will be descendants of Abraham upon this earth as long as this earth exists!

We see that Abraham becomes a person that God wants to have a close personal relationship with.

A type of each Christian today.

God established not only the Messiah but His followers as the “promised seed” and He would be God of the “promised seed”.

That “promised seed” is all those who believe the Word of God, and the promises of God, as did Abraham and this belief is accounted to them for righteousness, just as it did Abraham.

This is what the Apostle Paul tried to teach the Jews who rebelled against such teaching.

The Covenant with Abraham is the foundation of our hope from which the riches of God, at the expense of the Lord Jesus Christ, will be fulfilled!

This has been God’s guide in dealing with us since the time of Abraham and will continue until the “Rapture” of the Church and the Millennial Kingdom for the Jews, who could have missed out on the wrath of God if only they had believed as did their patriarch Abraham, this also true for the Arab nations.

God separated the lands of the Jews and the Arab nations and even these would have worked better, if it not been for the descendants of the wild man Ishmael who still causes most of the problems in this area of the world.

Rom 4:13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
Rom 4:14 For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:
Rom 4:15 Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.

This covenant was sealed with a sign.

*Gen 17:13 He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
Gen 17:14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.

Circumcision was a special badge of God’s chosen people Israel, not the Church!

The circumcision of the heart is the sign of God’s chosen people the Church, all believers!

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.

Again the Apostle Paul tried to explain these things, but the Jews remain blind to the Word of God as do most all of the world!

We can be sure that God never said that rites, rituals, or ordinances, bestow anything upon anyone, but are only signs of something that has already taken place.

Col 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
Col 2:17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

Now God mentions Sarai, (Sarah).

*Gen 17:15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.
Gen 17:16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.

We must understand to have a personal relationship with the Lord is to change our relationship with our family.

We will never know if Abram blamed Sarai for being childless.

Abraham had already proven he could father a child, so it was Sarai who was barren.

If this was true, then God reassured Abraham that Sarah would be the mother of a multitude.

God gave Sarah a new name and the relationship of Sarah to Abraham was mended.

If Abraham believed all God’s Word, then he would have to believe these words of God!

By the thinking of man this thing was impossible, but nothing is too hard for God!

We should notice that even with all the promises given to Abraham, one of those things was to treat his wife with respect and honor.

Our relationships with our family should be a priority after we come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Savior!

A Christian man must be head of his family, as Jesus Christ is Head of the Church!

Abraham may have had a little problem in believing this thing or he reacted with a laughter of delight, we will never know which one.

Jesus said Abraham acted with great delight.

*Gen 17:17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
Gen 17:18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!
Gen 17:19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.

We should believe Jesus!

Joh 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.

We should believe the Apostle Paul.

Rom 4:20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
Rom 4:21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
Rom 4:22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.
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.

It brings great joy when we realize God has done something in our lives that we did not expect!

Abraham did show his great love for Ishmael, but it would be the seed of Sarah by Abraham, Isaac, whom God’s covenant would continue through.

It was Abraham who would name his only child by Sarah and his name would be Isaac.

Abraham may have thought his dreams would be fulfilled through Ishmael, but God had already said he would be a wild man, and this would have been out of God’s will.

Those who are wild reject authority!

Abraham would have to pass his heritage down through Isaac as God had commanded.

Ishmael would also be blessed but not the “promised seed” so Islam is a false religion!

Note: We can arouse our “faith” by having a fresh stirring experience with the Lord, a refilling of the Holy Spirit daily, and a true walk before the Lord!

Amen

Understanding Apostasy

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

An Understanding of Apostasy

Book of 1 John Chapter 2 verses 15-29

In last week’s lesson we learned about Spiritual growth and in this week’s lesson we will learn why we need that growth.

Whenever the Holy Spirit takes the time to warn us about certain things, then we need to pay attention to what He says.

Reading the Scriptures every day is a wonderful thing and we all should do so, but sometimes we need to put our nose to the grindstone and really study to see what the Lord is saying!

This is one of those places!

When we think about “apostasy” in the church, we are talking about those who are forsaking the Lord Jesus Christ and His teachings.

The Apostle Paul says there will be a “falling away” from Christ!

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;
2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

In the Book to Timothy, Paul says “departing from the faith”.

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;
1Ti 4:3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

Again in the Book to Timothy Paul writes they will not “endure sound doctrine”.

2Ti 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
2Ti 4:4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

These are all Scriptures dealing with “Apostasy” and there are many more.

How does the Apostle John teach us about these things? He says:

*1Jn 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

We cannot experience true victory in Jesus, until we have victory over this world of evil!

This is a world dominated by Satan and we must have victory over Satan and Jesus provides that victory!

Our faith is based upon the invisible things of God’s world, which He offers to us.

If we turn around and seek happiness in this world which will one day end, we are forsaking the truth of God!

This world may seem to be a good world, but it is an evil world!

We live in a world where our worthiness is determined by the amount of possessions we own!

Does this mean we cannot appreciate the wonders of God’s creation? Absolutely not!

God has provided all the things necessary for us to live a comfortable life and have joy in our lives.

The truth is, the heavens and this earth are just temporary things that are aging and passing away.

We live in a corruptible world, as those with powers use these same elements of the earth to indulge in corruption and sinfulness.

We must not become attached to the things of this world which will be destroyed!

There are no perfect governments on this earth.
There are no perfect societies upon this earth.

Even the church has forgotten to strive for perfection!

We may be loyal to some good things upon this earth, but we must stand against all the bad things of this earth!

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.

We may live in this world, but we are not to be friends of this world!

Jas 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

What is the real truth of this world we live in?

*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.

We can sit upon a mountain top and view the wonders of God’s creation and just say how beautiful is God’s creation, but when we get back home, we see something for different.

When we look out upon the societies, we see everyone lusting after the things of the flesh.

We see people giving in to the desires of the flesh.

We live in a sack of flesh that will indulge in any sinful behavior if and when it is given that opportunity!

In most cases it begins with the things we see!

The danger of these things is that we desire things that go against the truth of God.

We desire and go after these things to possess that are forbidden by the Word of God.

We may look upon another man’s wife with desire and this is the sin of adultery even if it goes no further than that desire!

Mat 6:22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
Mat 6:23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

It may sound unrealistic, but we must make a vow with our eyes!

Job_31:1 I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?

What was the downfall of the great King Solomon?

Ecc 2:10 And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour.
Ecc 2:11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.

There is no profit from the things of this world!

Then there is the pride of life.

The pride we have that is centered upon ourselves, goes against the Word of God!

When we believe that we are so special that God will just bend over backwards to accommodate our own desires.
When we believe we can do all things without God we will be sadly mistaken.

There is no future without God!

Mat 12:50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

When we fall into these traps, they become so deep they are hard to climb back out of them.

In fact we will not be able to on our own, we will just pass away with the rest of the world!

*1Jn 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

There is only one thing that we need to do every day. We need to do the will of God!

We must understand that there is nothing outside the scope of God’s sovereign rule!

Our own salvation falls under this rule of God!

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:

God does as He pleases and, it pleased God to provide us a means of eternal salvation!

God does not and will not ever adjust His plan to accommodate our will! We must obey His will for us!

But there is the permissive will of God, where God will allow certain things that fall in place with His eternal plan.

The truth is the Lord Jesus Christ died according to the preconceived plan of God for our salvation.

This does not mean that wicked men were not responsible for His death!

God knew there was no other way that we could be brought back in fellowship with Him!

We should stand in awe of our Great God who could conceive such a plan of salvation!

We can entrust our eternal days to our Almighty God!

We should rejoice in our salvation!

We can rest in peace as we observe all the things in this evil world we live in!

God holds people responsible for their sins, at the same time He has a plan of redemption!

Col 1:9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

God proves that He is in total control of this world, but He allows us to make our own choices!

God lets us know that He loves us! It grieves God when we make the wrong choices!

God’s will, will abide forever!

Joh 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
Joh 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
Joh 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
Joh 10:30 I and my Father are one.

We must also realize that we are in the last of the last days!

*1Jn 2:18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

There may not be more people who disagree with the doctrine of Jesus Christ, though I believe there are many more.

What we can be sure of in these last days is, that those who do reject Jesus speak with louder voices drowning out the Church because the Church has become so passive!

All the sinful movements move through our nation and others with much fanfare but if something good tries to do the same things then they are forbidden or drowned out because the Church refuses to take a stand and many even endorse this evil!

These loudly proclaim that God could never be a human and so the Scriptures are so full of errors that to believe we can know the actual Word of God makes us a people who border on insanity.

These antichrists broadcast their message freely, on every level!

There are also more antichrists in the church than ever before, and they too loudly proclaim a false doctrine driven by the world giving in to immorality.

John says we are approaching the midnight hour when darkness will assume to rule our world.

The Antichrist could step onto the stage of this world at any moment. He may already be there but hiding in the shadows!

This Antichrist is not the spirit of antichrist that is in our world now, but this will be an actual person.

This Antichrist will rise to be on the stage as a world leader and the world will listen to him because he will speak with the voice of Satan who has transfigured into a spirit of light.

2Co_11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

There are so many today denying the truth of God and the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ, we can be certain that the Second Coming of the Lord is very soon!

What is the truth?

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;

We are in that day of the great falling away!

*1Jn 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

Where do antichrist come from? They walk right out of the doors of the church proclaiming they have been misled.

Teachers who proclaim some new doctrine.

Preachers who have mixed the doctrine of evolution with the truth of creation.

Preachers who have allowed the government to dictate the doctrine of the Church.

Churches that have opened the church doors to the world denying the true Christ who is the foundation of the Church!

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;
1Ti 4:3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

How can we know them?

*1Jn 2:20 But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.
1Jn 2:21 I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

That word unction means as believers we have the anointing of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Spirit lives within each of us to guide us and to protect us from false things.

A non-believer or an antichrist cannot have the anointing to the Holy Spirit so they cannot know the truth of doctrines of the Bible!

Joh 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Joh 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
Joh 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
Joh 14:18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
Joh 14:19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
Joh 14:20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
Joh 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

The Holy Spirit knows all things about Jesus Christ that we need to know so He will lead us away from the antichrist!

*1Jn 2:22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
1Jn 2:23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.

We are God the Father’s “little children” and we need to be warned!

Those who deny that Jesus is the Messiah are liars!
Those who deny that Jesus is a Person in the Personage of God, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit are all liars!
Those who deny that Jesus was 100% man and 100% God at the same time are all liars!
Those who deny the truth of the Word of God are all liars!
Those who deny that Jesus is God have chosen to believe the Anti-god!

Mat 10:33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

Those who stand against God the Father and His Son are doomed to damnation!

Mat 10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

There are really no true Atheists in this world, but the world is full of people who claim some god and the only God is the Lord Jesus Christ!

Mat 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

I think the Holy Spirit answers every question that can be ask about our Savior right here in this passage!

Those who are sure we have a Creator had better know that God the Father sent forth His Son as this Creator and to reject any part of these things is to deny Him!

*1Jn 2:24 Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.
1Jn 2:25 And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.

What we have heard from the Apostles is the “Gospel” of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is the “Gospel” that has all the answers of life and life eternal!

If we do not know God, how can we ever say we are pleasing to Him.

“And let’s just get one thing very straight right now, God is MALE and not female”!

How can there be a “Bride of Christ” if there is not the Groom, God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ?

It is the “Gospel” that must continue in us all our days once He has come into our hearts!

God has given us 66 books all bound up in one and any study of these books will lead you to the Lord Jesus Christ the answer to life, the answer to salvation, the answer to eternal life!

What words best describe the “Gospel”?

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.

Gal 1:6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
Gal 1:7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
Gal 1:8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
Gal 1:9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
Gal 1:10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
Gal 1:11 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.
Gal 1:12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

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.

There is only one “Gospel”!

It is by the “Gospel” that comes eternal life in fellowship with the Almighty God!

As long as we are upon this earth there will be those deny the “Gospel”!

*1Jn 2:26 These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.
1Jn 2:27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

John has already taught us that these who would “seduce”(entice, deceive, lead astray) would come from inside the Church.

1Jn 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us;

Those, some inside the church, will teach that there is some other way to restore fellowship with God and this simply is not true.

No one is good enough.
No one is righteous enough.
No one is rich enough.

We must always be on guard against false teaching because there is just too much at stake.

We will never regain fellowship with our Creator if we try some other way than the “Gospel”!

If God the Father, sent God the Son to die for us then, how could we ever believe that there was some other way?

God sent His Son to save mankind, if there had been some other way then there would be no need for the “Gospel”!

God then sent God the Holy Spirit to protect His investment!

Without the anointing of the Holy Spirit to seal our redemption we would still be lost!

Tit 3:4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
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;

Rom 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
Rom 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

We cannot deny the Triune God and still say we understand the “Gospel” of Jesus Christ!

We are doomed to failure if we do not abide in our Savior!

*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.

What is the greatest test of being a Christian? Do we rest in the truth of the “Gospel”?

Do we dwell with Jesus?

Are we ashamed of Jesus Christ?

Have we made our home with the Lord?

I can openly confess that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior!
I fully believe that God has shown His love for me by Jesus Christ!
I can confess that I love God because He first loved me!

1Jn 4:15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.
1Jn 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
1Jn 4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

I will have boldness in the Day of Judgment because “I know my name is written down in the Lamb’s Book of Life”!

I know the truth of God and this truth has made me free from the penalties of sin!

Joh_8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Joh_8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

I will never be ashamed of my Savior!!!!!

I am at peace with God because He called me to meet His Son!

I have been “Born Again” into the family of God!

Have You?

Amen

Let’s Pray!