Salvation

Dealing With Moral Virtues

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Wisdom’s Instructions on Moral Virtues

Book of Proverbs Chapter 18

We can say that virtue is acting according to the “Will of God” for our lives.

The Bible tells us that only fools walk outside the will of God!

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.

1Jn_2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

1Pe 4:2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

Each of us must come to understand what the will of the Lord is!

Eph 5:17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

We should come to an understanding that:

1) We should stand in awe of our Creator, who is wise, powerful, and loving.
2) We can entrust our entire lives to our Almighty God.
3) We can rejoice in the wonder of His salvation.
4) We can rest in peace while the world goes through turmoil after turmoil.
5) That God holds people accountable for their sin.
6) That God opposes the pride of mankind.

Man, in his pride, desires to run his own life and refuses to recognize that God is God of all creation, but He has a humble Spirit.

We must avoid having a sinful attitude.

We must understand that the Book of Proverbs declares that fools walk a path of death.

*Pro 18:1 Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom.
Pro 18:2 A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself.
Pro 18:3 When the wicked cometh, then cometh also contempt, and with ignominy reproach.

There are many interpretations of this verse, but the most accurate interpretation seems to be that people who think only of themselves, who are selfish and antisocial, are fools.

They are foolish because they have a great desire to live as they wish, but they will meddle in the affairs of all others.

We are to separate ourselves from the world: 2Co_6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

We are not to live a life like an isolationist, which is foolish behavior!

Gen 2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

We are social people, and we will not develop properly by self-discipline in solitude.

To depend upon us for all things is not beneficial, and it is not good, but to do this while we intermeddle in the business of all others is downright sinful.

Pro 20:3 It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling.

Pro 21:24 Proud and haughty scorner is his name, who dealeth in proud wrath.

What is being obstinate? It is stubborn, having only your own opinion, your own purpose, your own resolutions.

Not yielding to reason nor in arguments. Having your own way at the expense of all others.

This fool has no desire to listen to what others have to say, as they have made up their minds that they are right and everyone else is wrong.

They are interested in only their own opinion.

They will not listen to the arguments of others.

They are so full of pride in themselves that they want to impress others with what they have to say.

These are not people who should be allowed to stay in the Church.

The Church is far better off without wicked people in the Church.

This is not to say that we should police all who come into the doors of the Church, but the Bible does say we will know them by their fruit.

One pastor said that these are blessed subtractions.

Wicked people may contribute to some organizations but not to the Church.

They bring contempt to the Church.
They bring ignominy or shame to the Church.
They bring reproaches or disgrace to the Church.

They will also bring this same damage to themselves and to their families, unless they repent.

It is the wisdom of God that will bring blessings.

*Pro 18:4 The words of a man’s mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook.
Pro 18:5 It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow the righteous in judgment.
Pro 18:6 A fool’s lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes.
Pro 18:7 A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.
Pro 18:8 The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.

It is the mouths of those who fear the Lord that will edify the Church.

Pro 20:5 Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out.

Joh 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

In contrast, if that wicked person is allowed to stay in the Church, then there will be problems.

Pro 10:11 The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.

When we accept this person, we are showing partiality and not considering the right and wrong of it.

Anytime we show partiality to the wicked, we are wrongly judging the righteous man!

These wicked people may seem to be very wise in the Scriptures, but so was Satan.

Mat 4:6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Mat 4:7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

The Bible teaches us against such things.

Psa 82:2 How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.

This wicked person may be the richest man in the congregation, but we are to act according to the Word of God.

These things have divided many Houses of Worship today.

The Bible says we are never to show partiality to the wicked, nor are we to speak against the righteous and the innocent.

Fools bring on most of their problems because they cannot control their speech.

In most cases, it is their quarreling over matters we consider evil that sets them apart from the Church.

Many churches today are accepting the testimony of certain movements when there is no repentance, which goes against the Word of God, when the Word of God is the foundation of the Church and not the words of man.

God calls for repentance!

Jhn_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.
Jhn_3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
1Pe_1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

Many denominations are quarreling over these things today when the Lord Jesus says, “ye must be Born Again”.

When we throw the Lord Jesus out of the Church, we have no Church!

We are warned: A fool’s mouth ends in destruction!

Their senseless, uncontrolled words will be their downfall.

If they could keep their mouths shut, they might even fool the Church.

Pro 17:28 Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.

Talebearers or those who go around whispering about others also cause divisions in the Church.

We call it gossip, and it will destroy the reputation of the righteous man.

Spreading rumors inside the Church is an abomination to the One we come together to worship.

In fact, the reason we gather together is to worship the Living God!

Pro 6:16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
Pro 6:17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
Pro 6:18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
Pro 6:19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

We must avoid selfish attitudes and sinful words that hinder our relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ and cause division in the Church.

We are to love one another and seek our security in the Lord, who is the foundation of the Church.

*Pro 18:9 He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.
Pro 18:10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.

Being slothful is being lazy, being idle, and it is destructive!

Those who are wise are people who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for life now and eternal life in the future.

This is a never-ending life of “Grace”.

Fools trust in themselves, some in their wealth, and others in this corrupt world.

I used to think our own government, no matter which party was in charge, would be far above corruption, but I now know this is not so after seeing the Democrats do everything they could to destroy are nation and our Republic.

Things are getting worse just as the Lord has said.

2Ti 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
2Ti 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
2Ti 3:14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

We can blame a lot of these problems on the Church because the Church has become weak and lazy, and slothful.

The Church has become a great waster of the work the Lord Jesus has done to save us!

Many in the Church purposely tear down rather than build and preserve the Gospel.

This is why God will first judge the Church before He judges the world.

God will separate the goats from the sheep in the House of God, and the goats know who they are, but the sheep have become far too docile to take a stand on the Lord Jesus and the Gospel.

We can trust that our Lord God knows what He is doing and run to Him for safety.

God is The Almighty God.
He is the great I Am Yahweh.
He is Jehovah.
He is the Lord God.
He is wonderful.
He is the everlasting Father.
He is the Prince of Peace.
He is our Counselor.
He is the High and Lofty One.
He is the Lord Our Righteousness.
He is Emmanuel.
He is the Alpha, the Omega, the beginning, and the End.
He is my Savior and Redeemer.
He is my Strong Tower of safety.
He is my Rock and Fortress.

Those who reject these things are fools.

*Pro 18:11 The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall in his own conceit.

There are not enough riches in this entire world that can save those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ from the wrath of my Heavenly Father.

The rich think that their wealth can save them from anything, and they are wrong when it comes to the wrath of God.

1Ti 6:17 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
1Ti 6:18 That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;
1Ti 6:19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

To all others, the Holy Spirit says.

*Pro 18:12 Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.

The rest of the world seeks salvation in their own abilities.

That word haughty means proud and disdainful with contempt for all those who trust the Lord.

They are proud people who trust only in themselves.

In their own strength, in their own intelligence, in their own abilities.

As fools, they will not even be able to stand against the storms of this life, and it will break them.

Pro 16:18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

*Pro 18:13 He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.

We must first hear the whole story before we can speak to a matter.

Only a fool thinks he has all the answers!

This is being arrogant and putting yourself above others.

A wise man will wait until he has heard the whole story of the matter and then see if he can help in some way.

Only God and His Word have all the answers to life!

*Pro 18:14 The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?

Our spirit can only sustain us if we live according to Christian principles.

Christian principles give us the strength to look past our troubles to our future, and this will make all our troubles bearable.

Pro 17:22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.

Those who are deep into depression and despair are difficult to rescue.

*Pro 18:15 The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge; and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge.

God has no respect for those who are ignorant except for the fact that He will send someone to tell the ignorant the truth so they can decide for themselves.

If a person desires to avoid harm to body, mind, and soul, then that person must acquire knowledge both in relation to things of this world, which are material, and seek spiritual things that are from Heaven.

Most of us who have tasted the wisdom of God are now trying to find out more.

We know we need to grow in wisdom, but it requires our faith, our belief in the truth of God!

Jas 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
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.
Jas 1:7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

If we truly begin a search for wisdom, it will lead us to fear of the Lord, the place of true wisdom.

1) Our hearts must be dedicated to obtaining this knowledge.
2) Our ears are open to receive this great knowledge.

Eph 1:17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
Eph 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

Our security can only be found in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ have nowhere else to turn for lifesaving knowledge!

They are open to all the destructive forces in this world, which is the domain of Satan.

Eph 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

Joh 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.

Only those who are filled with God the Holy Spirit is secure in this world and the world that is to come.

2Co 4:10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
2Co 4:11 For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

God has a purpose for everything we face in this life, every problem and every difficulty.

This does not mean He causes all our problems; that is what Satan does.

We must keep our focus on Heaven and not on our problems!

2Co 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2Co 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

When we become too ashamed to ask for God’s help, we will suffer more than we could have.

Our Heavenly Father does much more than just listen to us; He will answer every prayer that reaches into Heaven.

We must live our lives in such a fashion as to make sure our prayers reach Heaven, and it begins when we have the “Fear of the Lord”.

We must never seek an unfair advantage over others, because God will not allow it.

We must seek that God’s righteousness is at work in us as we go about the business of serving the Lord!

God’s wisdom will affect our behavior toward others!

*Pro 18:16 A man’s gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.
Pro 18:17 He that is first in his own cause seemeth just; but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him.
Pro 18:18 The lot causeth contentions to cease, and parteth between the mighty.
Pro 18:19 A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle.

It is a proven fact that generosity and politeness have opened many doors.

There are two kinds of gifts, the gift of selfishness and the gift of kindness.

A man sometimes bestows a favor on another to get back something of a higher value. This gift is a bribe.

Bribery is the cause of much corruption in our world.

The true children of God will not offer bribes, nor will they accept them!

The gift of kindness is the true gift and is the real power.

It makes room for the giver in the heart of the receiver, and it bringeth him before truly great men. Great men recognize and honour the generous.

We may be able to use gifts here on this earth to help open doors, but we never need gifts to go before the Lord!

The door of access to our Heavenly Father is always open to His children!

We must be very careful when we hear something that seems bad about someone.

God’s children must hear both sides of each story.

The first one to plead their case usually seems right. When we hear from the first side, we often feel that the first one to plead their case seems right, and we are quick to take their side.

Our neighbor may come and judge us for our quick reaction without hearing the story from the other side.

Our judgment may be different once we have heard from the other side.

We may have to demand cross-examination of both parties before we can know the truth.

In the Bible, the casting of lots was used to find answers and make decisions, and they had every faith that God would be involved.

Pro 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.

As true believers, we should be able to settle disputes just as peacefully as they did; we supposedly have the mind of Christ and have the Holy Spirit living within us.

We should never turn to the world for help!

As we witness to the lost, it is important that we argue and defend the truth of the Scriptures before all whom we may face, giving exactly what God has said and the meaning of it.

As Christians, we are wise to do everything we can to prevent conflicts in the Church before they arise.

Once it has taken place and relationships are harmed, it will be hard for them to be restored.

People who are angered and hurt are difficult to win back.

These things divide churches if not solved before they get out of hand.

We see that to please God, we must make it clear that we cannot be bought; we are not for sale.
We must never take sides based on partial information.
We must handle differences of opinion according to the Scriptures.
We should do everything we can to live peaceably with others.

*Pro 18:20 A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled.
Pro 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

There is sometimes great power in the words that we say.

We need to think before we speak and try not to wound the spirits of those around us.

Some people indeed make their living speaking words, and most of them do not care what they say if it gets a laugh or causes some dispute.

They just laugh at those who do not think the way they do

It is far better to seek to encourage and build up people.

We are commanded to show respect for each other.

Heb 10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

What we say comes from the heart, so impure words come from an impure heart.

Pro 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

Each of us is responsible for our own spiritual growth.

We are responsible for getting our children headed down the right path.

Pro_22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

The families of our nation are failing in this command of God.

If we keep our minds focused upon the Lord, we will think right.

Php 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

There is certainly death in the power of the tongue, but there can also be life if we think before we speak.

The great example we have before us is the Word of Life, the Love Letter that God has given to us.

God just speaks, and things happen.

God does not speak bad things because it is out of His character and goes against His goodness, but He does not hesitate to tell us the truth of this world and the world that is to come.

*Pro 18:22 Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.

When we find that wife that God designed for us, we know we have a good thing.

This is also pleasing to our Heavenly Father, and He will bless this marriage.

Unfortunately, not every wife is a good wife, and not every husband is a good husband.

To be honest, we will not know how to choose a good wife until we become children of God.

Besides salvation, the choosing of a good wife is one of the most important decisions we will make in this life.

What does God actually say: 2Co 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

We should understand that God ordains each marriage for life, so we must be wise when we are searching for a wife.

1Co 7:10 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband:

1Co 7:39 The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.

These things go for the husband also.

If our marriage does not work out, we must be careful to observe the Word of God and allow God to decide if we need another wife or another husband.

God is very good at leading two people together and making it a blessing.

*Pro 18:23 The poor useth intreaties; but the rich answereth roughly.

In the Bible, the poor are those because of circumstances beyond their control, cannot work to support themselves.

God has very little pity on those who can work but are too lazy to do so.

God has very little pity on those who cannot work because of sin.

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.

Those whom God has allowed to become rich are to help those who are poor.

1Ti 6:17 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
1Ti 6:18 That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;
1Ti 6:19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

How to use our resources is another thing we need the wisdom of God to do righteously.

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

We should understand that one true friend is far more valuable than many who just claim to be our friends.

The one who gave us our first cigarette was not our friend.
The one who gave us that drink of alcohol was not our friend.
The one who gave us drugs was not our friend.
The one who talked us into doing something foolish was not our friend.

A true friend will stick by you no matter the circumstances.

Even in this, we have the Lord Jesus Christ as our example because He is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

It is the Lord Jesus Christ who died in our place so we can live an eternal life.

Nothing can separate us from our Savior!

Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Rom 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God bless the Word of God that gives us such great wisdom from the only source of true wisdom.

Amen

Adopted Into the Family of God

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Privilege of Adoption into the God’s Family
 
Book of Galatians Chapter 4 Verses 1 through 20
 
Our lesson does a great job of presenting the truth of Faith and the Grace of God and being adopted into the family of God.
 
All our lessons have been good this quarter.
 
I may go a little bit differently today as I usually do.
 
 We know some churches of Galatia were teaching that a person could be saved by the Law, the Law being the Laws of Moses.
 
You know that title itself should tell us that the law was lacking.
 
The Bible is best stated as the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
 
These churches had allowed some Judaizers to come in with a false teaching and they had turned from the teaching of “faith” by the Apostle Paul.
 
They now felt they could be saved by being good, doing their best, and being religious.
 
Being religious means people who have given themselves to religion and are so influenced by it that they are different from the world.
 
Christianity means we are a follower of the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ by faith!
 
Christianity is a personal experience with our Savior!
 
We should all do our best to be good according to the Word of God.
We all should be faithful in worshipping God and in a good church.
 
We must not think this is the means of our salvation!
 
The Bible is very clear and forceful, that doing these things does not save a person!
 
When we get alone with God, “are we” speaking to Him as a maturing Christian or as a baby Christian?
 
He knows what we are and none of us can be perfect until we meet Jesus when He returns, and He will return!
 
If we ever want to get to Heaven, we had better know that we must be perfect, and perfection only comes with a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ!
 
Mat 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
 
In the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, He explained the big difference in just obeying the Law and the truth of God.
 
There is a big difference between obedience and holiness!
 
The big difference in being a Christian is, “we do not need a written list of laws because we have the Holy Spirit living within us” and He will put His laws in our minds and write them down in our hearts.
 
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. 
Heb 10:18  Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. 
 
In the Lord Jesus Christ, we have the perfect conception of love, and this is what He wants from us.
 
Gal 4:1 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
Gal 4:2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
 
Under Roman law, a child was an infant until they were seven years old and were a child until they reached the age of twenty-five.
 
During this time a bondservant would be the one to teach that child or be responsible for taking that child to the tutors or a schoolmaster.
 
During this time, these children “had no say so in the affairs of their father” even though they were heirs to whatever their father owned.
 
In this, they were no different from a bondservant who would never be an heir.
 
Only after maturity does this person become a true heir and then lord of that property of his father.
 
Even if that father no longer lived that guardian or governor would direct that heir until he reached the proper age, and the heir had no power to make those decisions concerning his inheritance.
 
The father could and would determine that period of time before that heir had the authority over his own inheritance!
 
We can see that even though this son was an heir and a future lord, he was no more than a slave until that time set by his father.
 
Caesar had ruled that under the Gallic tribes of Galatia, the father had sole power of life and death over his wife and children.
 
Gal 4:3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:
 
There was a time when the entire world was under bondage to one nation, or another as described in the Book of Daniel.
 
Daniel 2 Verses 37 through 44.
 
To the Jews, this bondage meant the sacrifices, the rituals, and the sacrifices of the Old Testament that directed all the facets of Jewish life.
 
It meant philosophy and the traditions of men, and their teachings.
 
It meant the ordinances, rules, and regulations of men, including the oral law.
 
It meant all the laws of the Old Testament.
 
It was impossible to keep all those old laws.
 
Act 15:10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
 
Gal 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
 
All things of religion will choke the life out of Christianity if we allow it!
 
The elements, of the world mean the things of this world that we use to get right with God and try to secure the favor of God.
 
This also includes anything we can use to justify ourselves to God, anything we can do through our own efforts, and we will never get close to God doing these things.
 
But there came a time when God decided it was time to change the things that brought us under bondage to this world.
 
Gal 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
Gal 4:5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
 
The fullness of time here represents the time that our Heavenly Father decided to begin the Church Age and end the Age of the Law as the schoolmaster.
 
The Age of Grace began.
 
Eph 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
 
We can say the fullness of time is the time appointed by God and was foretold by the true Prophets of God.
 
We should know by now that Jehovah God is in control of all the things in this world.
 
This world lives every day under the providence of God!
 
God’s preserving and governing of all, by means of second causes.
 
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
 
The Lord Jesus Christ is the glue that holds His creation together!
 
When the first part of our Savior’s work was completed, He went back to His throne in Heaven until the Church Age reaches its fulfillment and then He will return.
 
Heb 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
Heb 1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
Heb 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
Heb 1:4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
 
There should be no doubt that we are in these last days.
 
The Lord Jesus Christ came to this earth to deliver this world from sin!
 
This was His sole purpose, and He completed that work.
 
Today Jesus Christ walks “in our bodies” until He returns to Redeem us.
 
Jesus was not some angel!
 
The first coming of Christ was not by chance!
 
Jesus Christ came in the timing set aside by God the Father!
 
He did not come one day early, and He did not leave one day late. He is always on time!
 
Jesus Christ was born of a particular person, at a particular time, in a particular way, and under a particular system, the Law.
 
Jesus was subject to the same system in which He came to save all the world from it.
 
The world had been specially prepared for His first coming!
 
The Law had done its work.
The world was full of spiritually starved people ready for a change.
The world was at peace under Roman rule.
The world was under the Greek language making communication possible no matter where you went.
The Romans had built roads everywhere making travel easier.
 
God’s messenger, John the Baptist, was in place.
 
Mar 1:1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;
Mar 1:2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
Mar 1:3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
 
Heb 9:26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
 
Why did Jesus come? He came to redeem God’s people!
 
God’s people are all those who have “faith” in the work of Jesus Christ!
 
Every believer becomes the adopted sons and daughters of God!
 
Gal 4:6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
Gal 4:7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
 
When we trust in the work of Christ for our salvation we receive the Holy Spirit of Jesus, the Holy Spirit.
 
Paul asked these Galatians: 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?
 
These people knew they had never felt the presence of the Holy Spirit until they heard the preaching of the Apostle Paul.
 
Because we have the Spirit of Jesus living within us, God looks upon us as His sons and daughters.
 
What is the first thing we should do?
 
2Co 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
2Co 6:18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
 
We cannot allow the remnants of our past to influence our new life!
 
That unclean thing is what is called an idol.
 
As we come out from the world we begin to meet our true family, the family of God.
 
As we have learned earlier, the Holy Spirit is somewhat like a downpayment on our eternal life, until Christ returns to take us home.
 
We become heirs and sons because of our faith in Jesus Christ and the Grace of our heavenly Father!
 
1Pe 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
1Pe 1:4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
1Pe 1:5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
 
Then the last time will be the day of the Rapture of the Church, the end of the Church Age.
 
Chapters 2 and 3 and the first verse in Chapter 4 of the Book of Revelation.
 
The word adoption means to place us as God’s sons and daughters, and He will never release us back into this wicked world.
 
1Jn 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
 
For many days now, we will be telling ourselves we just want to go home.
 
Rom 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
Rom 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
 
We are no longer servants to this sinful world.
 
Gal 4:8 Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.
 
I believe every one of us agrees with this verse.
 
There is no God but Jehovah who can change one thing on this earth!
 
When we look back on our old lives before our faith in Jesus, most of us do not like who or what we were.
 
We may have had knowledge of God, but we did not know Him in a personal way, and this is what God wants from us, a personal relationship.
 
We did not know life until we met Jesus!
 
We served the false gods of this world until we met Jesus!
 
Many of us worshipped that almighty dollar because the things of this world are only idols.
 
Eph 2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
 
We were in bondage to the things of this world.
 
Now we know better so, why in the world would we ever want to go back into that lost world?
 
Gal 4:9 But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?
Gal 4:10 Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.
Gal 4:11 I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.
 
It is a privilege to know the truth of God, a privilege we had better not abuse.
 
We should also understand that God knew us before we were even born on this earth.
 
In some places in the Bible, it shows that God talks to us while we are in the womb of our mothers.
 
God will not do for one that He will not do for another! Only He knows what is best for us.
 
It is a humbling fact, that God cared enough to send someone to us to tell us about Jesus and the Gospel.
 
There is nothing in this world that can give life.
 
Heb 7:18 For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof.
Heb 7:19 For the law made nothing perfect, “but the bringing in of a better hope did”; by the which we draw nigh unto God.
 
The Apostle Paul is not condemning the observance of these things but teaching them that God will never justify them for observing these days.
 
Bondage to these things forfeits the liberty of the Gospel!
 
We are not bound to observe any ritual of any church.
 
The only things Jesus said for us are Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, but even these things cannot justify us.
 
We do these things because our Lord did these things, and He said to follow Him.
 
So, we follow Him in Baptism, and we partake of the Lord’s Supper in remembrance of Him.
 
Paul knew that these churches in Galatia were about to turn back to the Law and Paul was doing His best to tell them how foolish this was.
 
Every religion in this world is a religion of works!
 
People trying to please their god making these religions, religions of works.
 
The only thing that pleases God is “faith” in the work of His Son for our salvation!
 
Once we decide that we need to do something to make God love us, we are headed for trouble.
 
Heb 10:38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
Heb 10:39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
 
We are walking a dangerous path when we turn our backs on God!
 
When we speak to some in the church who seem to be losing their faith, we must remember they are still our brothers and sisters in Christ and the children of God.
 
Gal 4:12 Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am; for I am as ye are: ye have not injured me at all.
 
Paul has not been too harsh to these churches because they are still family notice the word brethren.
 
This is an example for us all. Our own Pastor preaches hard, and some may not always agree with the message, but we had better remember that he is a minister of God called to preach the messages God has given him by the Holy Spirit.
 
He is also a brother in Christ who is in the same family as all God’s children.
 
If He does not preach God’s message, then he will answer to God.
 
If we do not listen to that message and apply it to our lives, Jesus may remind us of that when we meet Him in the clouds.
 
Every message is real when it matches what God has said in the Scriptures.
 
We do not have to abide by any message that goes against the Word of God!
 
Paul was being criticized for his messages of truth when it was the Judaizers who had the false message.
 
Even now Paul did not treat them as his enemies.
 
Paul assured them that they had not injured him, they had only injured themselves.
 
God gives us this time after our salvation to earn rewards given to us when we get to Heaven.
 
These rewards are far more than the promised Mansion and eternal life.
 
We can even be blessed as we witness for the Lord Jesus Christ here on earth.
 
God has all these things in mind when He sends a message to our Pastor for him to preach to us.
 
Gal 4:13 Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first.
Gal 4:14 And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.
Gal 4:15 Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me.
Gal 4:16 Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?
 
Even on a bad day when our pastor is feeling bad, he will always give us the truth of God!
 
Our Pastor is never ever our enemy!
 
Paul had a physical affliction that bothered him from time to time and he asked the Lord to remove it, and the Lord said to him, “My Grace Is sufficient” for it to overcome your weakness.
 
When a true man of God is preaching full of the Holy Spirit, God’s power to him will overcome all his deficiencies.
 
It is the message that is important, not the physical condition of that man of God!
 
When Paul first came to these people he was welcomed with open arms.
 
It was the legalism of the Judaizers that made things change.
 
This is what a false message does. It will cause friction in that body of believers.
 
Many a church has split for these same things.
 
1Ti 5:17 Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.
 
Tit 3:8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.
Tit 3:9 But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.
Tit 3:10 A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject;
Tit 3:11 Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.
 
Verse 15 also hints to us that the physical problem that Paul had was with his eyes.
 
The people who reject the truth of Jesus Christ are outside the church.
 
We are not to hate them, but we must know this fact and witness to them if we are able.
 
Notice it said if you have witnessed to them at least twice then you are not obligated to go that person a third time but someone else can go.
 
It was the Judaizers who were religionists who were Paul’s true enemy and the enemies of the Church!
 
Gal 4:17 They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them.
Gal 4:18 But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you.
 
Notice Paul did not mention names. Everyone present knew who Paul was referring to.
 
Gal 1:7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
 
All those who pervert the Gospel of Jesus Christ are false teachers!
 
We must always be on guard and reject false preachers and teachers.
 
These Judaizers were very zealous in their work, trying their best to reconvert as many of the Jews as they could and convert any Gentile to Judaism who listened to them.
 
They did not care if they got saved or not.
 
Their goal was to stop Christianity in its tracks.
 
Most of the world is trying to do the same today but this is impossible!
 
The very first thing they will try to do is to discredit that Pastor (preacher) who teaches the truth.
 
False teachers try to focus people on the law, work, effort, rituals, sacrifice, and rules.
 
False teachers reject the Grace of God.
 
Today false teachers claim some imaginary powers that they do not have and work for the money they can get from those who trust them.
 
Today God does all healing without the help of some mediator.
 
The power of healing belongs to God Himself and He does this work through prayers!
 
The true preacher seeks to focus people on this Almighty God who gave us a plan for salvation.
 
It is His plan and there is no other plan than His that will work!
 
God’s plan works only through the Lord Jesus Christ. These are His conditions, and we must not question His plan!
 
The Lord Jesus said: Mat 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
 
Jesus also said: Mat 15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
 
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.
 
Those who deny the truth of Jesus Christ are all antichrists!
 
2Jn 1:7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
2Jn 1:8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.
2Jn 1:9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
 
Gal 4:19 My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,
Gal 4:20 I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you.
 
We as a church should welcome those Evangelist and Missionaries who preach the truth and in our church our Pastor makes this selection, and this is the way it should be in every Gospel church.
 
There is only one Gospel!
 
The true preacher seeks only to help believers.
 
The true preacher considers all believers as his dear children.
 
The true preacher will guard the church from error.
 
The true preacher’s heart is tender and warm, protecting and providing for the church.
 
Most people think of a growing church as one that adds many new members, but the truth is a growing church is a church growing in its relationship with Jesus Christ and His Heavenly Father who becomes our ABBA Father
 
Nothing else in this world is more important than our relationship with our Savior.
 
These are the same ones who are God’s children!
 
Amen.

The Family of God

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Schoolmaster Is No Longer Needed

Book of Galatians Chapter 3 Verse 19 through 29

As we read these Epistles to the Galatians, we can ask why the Laws of Moses were then given.

We know there were teachers in the Galatians church who taught that a person must be justified, and we must.

1) They taught that if that person did the very best he could and honestly tried to obey the Law of God and do much good then he could be justified.

2) if that person practiced religion, by keeping all the rituals, keeping all the ceremonies, keeping all the rules of the church, then he could be justified.

3) If he submitted to the basic ritual of the church, circumcision, church membership, baptism, and whatever else they thought of, they could be justified.

None of these things are bad things, but keeping these things will not justify anyone in the eyes of God!

Only the Lord Jesus Christ can justify any individual!

The Lord Jesus said you could wrap up all the 613 laws of the Jews into two laws:

Mar 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
Mar 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
Mar 12:31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

Then Jesus said:

Jhn_14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Jhn_15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

It is only by love that we can show our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ!

It is only by love that we can show we truly believe in the Son of God!

When we truly love someone, we would never do anything to harm them in any way, and we would listen to what they say.

It is in our believing, truly believing, in the work God’s Son has done for our salvation, that we can be justified!

When everything in this world goes sour, our faith must remain in the Lord Jesus Christ who died, so that we can live.

If we cannot believe that God has everything under His control, we will never trust Him.

This is where our faith kicks in.

The fundamental act that saves anyone is “faith” in the Lord Jesus Christ.

What is the will of God for every individual on this earth? It is the will of God that all mankind be saved.

1Ti_2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

This is why the Devil tries to keep us at odds with one another.

God the Father accepts our faith for righteousness just as He did Abraham.

1) The law was given to make us aware of sin.
2) The law was only temporary.
3) The law was not given by God, but through a mediator, therefore it is inferior.
4) The Law has no power to give life.
5) The law declares that the whole world is a prisoner to sin.

The law is usually a designation of the law God gave to Moses.

1) There is civil law which is given for the responsibility of neighbors.
2) There is the ceremonial law which legislated Israel’s worship life.
3) There is the moral law which we call the Ten Commandments.

It is the Ten Commandments which God identified as God’s timeless standards of right and wrong.

In all the Jews had 619 laws covering everything in their life.

We must understand that it is by “Sound Doctrine” that we will see life-changing behavior that is based upon love.

1Jn 2:10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
1Jn 2:11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.

1Jn 3:14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.

We know that love has just about left our world, and this world has become a place where lust dominates people’s behavior.

Eph_2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

This is easy to see, and abortion is the result of lust.
Lust is the power behind all immorality!

We need to take these things seriously for without love we see nothing, but compromise and we just cannot compromise the truth of God with the ways of this world as we see going on today.

Just how do we know that by the Law no one can be seen as righteous?

*Gal 3:19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

1) The law condemns so it cannot give life.
2) The law was temporary commencing with national life of the Jewish people.
3) The law was not given immediately, like the promises to Abraham, but by mediator, Moses, in the presence of angels.
4) The law was a contract between God and man, with life depending on the total fulfillment of its terms and not like a promise.

The law was added but not to interfere with God’s Promise to Abraham.

Rom 5:20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
Rom 5:21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

The law was only the knowledge of sin!

Rom 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

That sin could appear as sin! Most people know what sin looks like even if they will not admit it.

Rom 7:13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.

The strength of sin is the law!

1Co 15:56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

The law was not given to restrain or to punish sin, nor to show us how evil this world has become.

The laws are given to show us that evil is already in this world and is very active in this world.

If our politicians would only understand this, they would go back to the Ten Commandments to make us aware of just how wicked and evil our world is today.

We already know that “seed” which was to come, is in fact, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Promised Messiah.

Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

The seed of Abraham is the same seed of the woman! It was no accident that both of these passages use the same singular form of the word seed.

We can also say that the seed of the snake, who was taken over by Satan, will show up one day as the Antichrist which may not be far off.

In fact, he may already be on the scene. We should also understand that Satan has had a wicked individual ready from day one because he does not know what day the Lord will return.

We could name off all sorts of wicked and evil men, but we all know this is true.

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.

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_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.
2Jn_1:7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

The law was ordained by angels:

Deu 33:1 And this is the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death.
Deu 33:2 And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.
Deu 33:3 Yea, he loved the people; all his saints are in thy hand: and they sat down at thy feet; every one shall receive of thy words.
Deu 33:4 Moses commanded us a law, even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob.

This was the teaching given to all the Jews:

Act 7:51 Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
Act 7:52 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:
Act 7:53 Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.

Of course, we know that this was Stephen, and these Jews picked up stones and murdered a great man of the early church.

The Apostle Paul was aware of what happened to Stephen because he was an eyewitness though he never threw one stone.

Paul did not know for sure if this same thing might happen to him.

Gal 2:2 And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.

The leaders of the Church in Jerusalem were solid in their convictions, as was the Apostle Paul and we must be the same.

The law was added because of transgressions, till the “seed”, the Messiah, should come.

Once the Messiah came the law was to be set aside!

Now the perfect life that Jesus led is our model on how we are to live because only the Lord Jesus had the willpower to keep all those laws in what was referred to as “The Law”.

We know that the Law is still in place for all the unbelieving world!

*Gal 3:20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.

The fact that the “giving of the law” a mediator was needed marks the nature of that transaction as a compact entered into between two parties.

The law came from God, but it was given by angels and then from angels to mankind.

Deu 33:2 And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.

Act 7:38 This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:

A Mediator implies that there were two parties God and man.

Then Moses became that mediator between God and man.

The law was given secondhanded, but not the promise of God.

When mankind broke the covenant of the law, then the law had no meaning other than good words to live by!

The God of promises is One and only One. Grace came as a gift to whosoever has the faith to reach out and receive it.

The Giver is everything and the receiver is nothing.

God the Father is the Bestower of the free gift to this entire world, and because He worked His Grace through His Son, is all we need to know.

Is the Law then against the promises of God?

*Gal 3:21 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.

If God was the author of both the law and the promises, how can they be an opposition.

The Apostle answers: If the law had given life, then there would be no need for the promises.

Life was forfeited by sin, by breaking the law came death!

The law was only words and rules!

The law only injected the idea of behavior into the mind of man!

As the descendants of Adam and Eve all we know is to rebel against the laws of God.

The law demands obedience, but it leaves us on our own to comply or not to comply.

The Lord Jesus Christ was the only person who fulfilled the covenant of the law between God and mankind.

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.
Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

God had to poor Himself into the flesh of a man and then die to accomplish this for us.

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

It is the life of Jesus, that is now our standard for living, and not any law!

*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.

If we have a Bible written according to “Received Text” then that Bible will teach us that we are all sinners.

That word concluded means: “leaves no means to escape”.

God says if we search all the Scriptures, we will find no other way to please God beyond ‘Grace”.

This verse shows us all, that there is no other way to get to Heaven except by the “Grace of God”!

Rom 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

From the time we are born till the time we die, we are all lawbreakers and all under the penalty of sin!

In fact, we are all as prisoners under solitary confinement as in a dungeon with no hope for life outside that cell.

The one purpose the law had was, to encourage all mankind to seek Jesus Christ, that is, righteousness by “Faith”.

When we believe the work that Jesus did for our salvation, then Jesus will judge us righteous and each believer becomes a “partaker of the Divine nature of God!

Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

Before the Lord Jesus paid the price required for our sin, His blood, we had no means to become righteous in the eyes of God.

We can see it took the Apostle Paul some time to straighten this church out after they had received some False teachings in their midst.

Faith in Christ frees us from the penalties of the law.
Faith in Christ makes us the children of God.
Faith in Christ makes us one with God.
Faith in Christ makes us heirs to the promises of God.

*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.

In a real sense, the law is a prison for all mankind!

We can all understand the full “Gospel” revelation of salvation by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ!

The law is nothing more than a prison that binds us.

1) The law shows us exactly where we fail.
The law shows us exactly where we come short in our relationship with our Heavenly Father.

The laws tell us to do this and we in rebellion do that.

It is like a speed limit sign. When we pass that set speed we are breaking the law. It is really very simple to understand, and we only have to do it one time.

2) The law accuses and condemns us.

Just as soon as we break the law, we are charged for it.

The law is in black and white and there are no gray areas.

We cannot say we did not break the law because that just drives us deeper into sin.

Breaking the law leads to a life of conviction.

There is no way we can know how many are running from the law today because they know they are guilty.

3) The law has no life and no power to deliver anyone from the punishment due him.

The law cannot deliver anyone from their sin.

The bond to the law is perpetual. That person is guilty until the day they die, and the punishment is established.

The only hope for man is for someone to appear with the power to release him before he faces that judgment.

That someone has appeared, and His name is Jesus.

We who need to be set free must accept His deliverance.

The choice is ours! We can accept Him, or we can reject Him.

if we do not believe that Jesus has the power to free us from our bondage then He will not!

It is only “faith” that can give us the answer!

The law was nothing more than a Schoolmaster, or a Guardian, to lead us to know that we need Christ.

In the day of Paul, the Guardian was a trusted slave who had one job and that was to deliver the child they cared for to the Schoolmaster, then at the end of the day he would bring that child back to safety.

This is what the law was supposed to do but the law had no power to do this.

The law shows us that we cannot obtain righteousness by ourselves.

We need to look to Jesus Christ, and we can be justified by our faith.

Only, ONLY Jesus Christ can bring us face to face with God on good terms, the terms of Grace.

The law can only take us to bondage!

The law only points to us as the children of the Devil.

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.

*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.

How do we know that we are justified by faith, and not by the law, and not by doing the best we can?

Because faith makes us the children 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.

God is stirred to adopt us because of the work of His Son.

Faith causes us to focus on the Son of God the Lord Jesus Christ.

God will accept everyone who focuses on His Son Jesus.

God will not accept those who reject His Son Jesus.

This is exactly what the Scriptures say, so why are so many in this world confused? False Teaching and False Preaching.

When we honor the Son of God, God is well pleased!

When we say the word righteousness then, we are talking about the Lord Jesus Christ.

By believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, we become the children of God, and our Baptism was the sign of this relationship, though Baptism is not a requirement for our salvation.

Baptism would be one of the first works we would do after our salvation.

Once the Schoolmaster is no longer needed it is the life of Jesus Christ that becomes our Schoolmaster.

Jesus is the pattern of what every person should be!

When we give our faith to the Lord Jesus Christ, God clothes us in the righteousness of His Son until the day we receive our glorified bodies.

When God looks down on us from Heaven, He only sees the righteousness of His Son, and He accepts us as His own children.

If we belong to Jesus Christ, if we are a part of Him, who is the promised Seed, then we are the seed of Abraham. We are heirs according to the promise given to Abraham.

We can call this adoption because we are placed as sons and daughters. After all, Jesus is the Son of God.

We should understand that our Heavenly Father has complete power over His children as long as He lives, and He can never die.

Adoption is a serious thing!

Adoption is a permanent thing!

Those who are adopted have all the rights of Jesus Christ the only Son of God.

Those who are adopted have lost all rights in their old family and therefore a “new person”, so new that old debts and obligations connected with their former family are canceled out and abolished as if they never existed.

This is the meaning of being adopted into the family of God.

We have a new relationship with God.

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 have a new Father!

Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

We have a special relationship with all our other brothers and sisters.

Eph 4:4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
Eph 4:5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
Eph 4:6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Eph 4:7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

We just become a new person.

Eph 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
Eph 4:23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
Eph 4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

We are ready to meet the One who gave us all these things when He died on Mount Calvary and then arose from that death.

1Th 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1Th 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

*Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

Our faith in Jesus Christ makes us brothers and sisters in Christ. We are one in Christ.

We are all together the Bride of Christ.

We all stand on equal footing at the feet of Christ!

The Lord Jesus Christ reaches out and embraces every believer, and it does not matter that we are so different from Him.

He treats us as His equal though we can never be His equal!

When we look at other believers, we know to treat them as our equals, and we all are equal.

When we look at other believers, we should be able to see the righteousness of Christ in them as God the Father sees in us.

We pay no attention to the color of their skin, their nationality, their sex, their social status, or any other difference.

Psa 119:63 I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts.

*Gal 3:29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

To be justified by faith we become heirs of the promises to Abraham!

Abraham was to receive God’s blessings which include God’s acceptance, God’s righteousness, and eternal life in the New Heaven and the New Earth as a child of God.

Amen

The Curse of the Law

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Curse of the Law and Redemption in Christ

Book of Galatians Chapter 3 verses 10 through 18

We must understand that to be righteous, we must live by faith!

As we continue in this Chapter, we will see that Paul continues with the example of faith by Abraham.

We cannot live in this world without faith and certainly will not have eternal life without faith in the Word of God.

Today, it takes a lot of faith just to step outside the safety of our homes and go to work or anywhere.

We must first have faith that the automobile will take us where we need to go.

When we lose faith in that car then most of us will trade it or at least get another one.

Most of us who have a weapon have one because of the lawlessness we see in this world.

Our own nation is not as safe as it used to be, and we have more laws than we ever had.

As a child, we could walk to meet our friends or walk to town and not worry about harm.

We would walk to school without worry.

Our children and grandchildren do not have this same safety, and protection becomes necessary even in the safety of our homes.

Laws are useless to those who will not obey them.

The Liberals in our nation do not understand this, yet they shield themselves from this lawlessness with walls, guards, and all sorts of weaponry that they want to deny us, the average taxpayer.

Lawlessness is increasing in our nation, and we see no end to it!

We left last week’s lesson seeing that God’s blessing comes to those who have “faith” in the Word of God.

Abraham’s righteousness came from his faith in what God had told him!

If God’s blessings come by obedience, then we can see that God’s curse will come by disobedience!

Therefore, the Laws of man put mankind under a curse just as the Laws of Moses did to the Jews.

We cannot say that these laws are all bad, it is the lawbreakers who are bad!

The word curse means; to be condemned and doomed to punishment by the righteous judgment of God.

Let’s put God’s curse into His words.

2Pe 2:9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
2Pe 2:10 But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.
2Pe 2:11 Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord.
2Pe 2:12 But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;
2Pe 2:13 And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;
2Pe 2:14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:

When does this judgment take place? At our death and it is immediate even though the final judgment will come till the end of the Millennial Kingdom of Jesus Christ.

All those who deny the Lord Jesus as our Savior will wait in Hell until the end of the Millennial Reign of Christ, then they will face Him in judgment.

Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

The thing about death is we never know when our death will come.

We live in fragile bodies of flesh, and we had better know that God the Father has both life and death in His hands.

So, why does the Law put a curse on mankind? Disobedience.

*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.

Why does the Law have such a curse?

It is really simple! No one wants to keep the Law!

Many people believe they are to live as they see fit and some do.

As we have seen recently, there is a hierarchy in our Nation and our government who believe that the laws are made for the little people and not for them, they are so special.

The curse is the “mark of death”, the “mark of condemnation”, or guilt: alienation from God both in this life and throughout all eternity.

There is a righteousness that comes by the Law! This righteousness promises life to any person who can obey the Law perfectly.

If there is someone who can meet every requirement of the Law during his or her lifetime and never once falls below God’s standard, then that person can escape the penalty of sin, which is death.

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

If you choose to live by the Law rather than faith, then there is no place for error!

The only person we know for certain who has done this is the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, our perfect Savior!

Jesus secured righteousness for each of us because He lived in righteousness!

The Gospel message is that instead of claiming this right for Himself, He offered to give His perfection and His righteousness to the people of earth because He took our sins upon Himself.

Jesus Christ accomplishes the same purpose that God the Father had for the Law!

Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

This verse in Ephesians 1 verse 7 is where we get that phrase, “God’s Riches At Christ Expense”.

The law is filled with cold letters with no power to give life!

We should know that the Law was only a temporary arrangement between God and man.

The law was to extend only from Moses to Jesus Christ.

Gen 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

God never intended the Law to be the way to salvation!

The Law was given to show us our guilt, our sin, and our awfulness.

We realize this once we walk in the Grace of God!

We can look back and see how awful we really were.

The law was given to show us our guilt.

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 has never had the power to give life!

The Law is in fact, much inferior to God’s “Grace”.

*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”.

In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit said the same thing.

Hab 2:2 And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.
Hab 2:3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
Hab 2:4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but “the just shall live by his faith”.

There is only one answer, and it is the Lord Jesus Christ!

1Jn 5:10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
1Jn 5:11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
1Jn 5:12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

None of this is confusing so, those who hate Jesus have chosen to defy God!

No one is justified by doing the best they can because God will not excuse sin.

God does not excuse sin, but God will forgive sin under the right condition and that condition is recognizing the work that Jesus has done for us for our salvation.

Once we have truly trusted God, we can be justified because the just shall live by “faith”.

We can only have life by the principle of faith, not the principle of works!

Heb 10:38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
Heb 10:39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

When we believe in God and believe the promises God has made to us, and we do what God says, then the power of faith energizes us to live a justified life.

*Gal 3:12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.

The Law is all about performance.

Rev 18:5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

The Apostle Paul explains this to all the Christian Church.

The life element of the Law is not of faith, it is of work, and we simply cannot work our way to Heaven.

By “faith” we will receive the gift of God, which is salvation and eternal life in God’s House and it is a free gift.

By our work means we are trying to pay for salvation which dishonors God who has offered us His free gift to us.

The Lord Jesus Christ has “redeemed” us from the work of the Law!

*Gal 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
Gal 3:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

The word “redeemed” means ransomed; delivered from bondage, delivered from distress, delivered from liability, delivered from penalty, or from the possession of another, by payment of an equivalent.

In the Scriptures the Greek word used for ransomed (exagorazo) meant, to buy up that is ransom, to rescue from loss, redeem.

In reality, the work that the Lord Jesus did on that cross freed every believer from the dominion of the Mosaic Law and that price was His death!
We must also realize that the Lord Jesus died for all the sins of this world by all people!

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.

Rom 8:34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

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

Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

Heb 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

1Jn 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
1Jn 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

Our Lord Jesus Christ substituted Himself, His perfect life, for our sinful life.

What did God tell Abraham?

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.

When we stand before God, we will stand in the righteousness of our Savior, perfect because Jesus was perfect!

When we see that word cursed, it does not mean that a man is cursed because he is executed upon a tree.

It means that man was cursed because he was judged as a lawbreaker.

This is the curse that Jesus Christ took in our place.

We were lawbreakers but Jesus led a perfect life according to all those 613 Jewish laws.

Rom_10:5 For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.

It is because He did this that He opened the door to the blessings of God to all mankind, but we must believe.

Heb 2:3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;

This is how God the Father kept His promise to Abraham for God will never break a promise.

This is where the Muslim break rank with the Jews, but still try to cling to Abraham and it does not work that way.

All those who believe in Jesus Christ, the true Messiah, will receive the promise of God’s Holy Spirit which is the answer to the promise of a “divine nature”.

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.

This is the answer to God’s Promise of a “new birth”!

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 3:4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

This is the promise of being made a new creature. (a new creation of God).

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.

This is the answer to the promise of being made into a new man.

Eph 4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Without being a home to the Holy Spirit none of these things can take place!

So, when we hear people say, just be the best you can be and God will accept you, we know that this could never be true.
So, when we hear people say, there is more than one way to get to Heaven, we know that this could never be true.
So, when we hear people say that God will never break His promises, we can know that this is the greatest truth of the Bible.

*Gal 3:15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.

Promises, Promises, Promises.

God has given us a permanent covenant, that is lasting.

A covenant is an agreement between two parties, a special relationship.

We should understand that once a covenant has been made and executed, it stands, it stands forever.

It cannot be annulled or added to!

God seals His covenant with us with promises, so He cannot ever break His promises!

God and Abraham’s seed are bound to keep their word to one another.

We can now see the meat of this covenant.

*Gal 3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

God made this covenant with Himself!

What the Apostle Paul was teaching these Galatians was that trying to get saved according to the Law would only end in death and eternal separation from God.

That seed of Abraham to which the promises were made is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ.

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.

We see the word “seed” is singular and not plural and that seed is Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is the descendant who was to inherit the land promised to Abraham.

We see the land of Canaan belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ. And he will settle with israel for one thousand years.

Canaan of course is a type of the New Heavens and New Earth. Which will be the home where the Bride of Christ will be located.

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.

Jesus Christ and His descendants will receive the Promised Land which are the New Heaven and New Jerusalem.

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

Those who do not think Abraham was looking for the same things that all believers are looking for today are wrong and there are many others who also believed the Gospel before Christ came.

Heb 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
Heb 11:14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
Heb 11:16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.

*Gal 3:17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.

How do we know that we are justified by faith alone?

God gave His covenant of “faith” four hundred and thirty years before He gave Moses the law for the Jews.

1) When the Law was given the Promise of Faith to Abraham had not yet been fulfilled so the Law could not make the promise to Abraham void.

The promise to Abraham and his descendant Jesus Christ still stood.

Joh 1:17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

2) The covenant made with Abraham told mankind how he was to follow God to receive the promises of God, “that is by faith”.

The Law was given for a different purpose entirely!

The command to follow God had already been given and established by the covenant of faith to Abraham.

By the Law no man can be justified, but only “by faith” in the Promises of God!

God’s Covenant of Faith by the Grace of God is sure!

It cannot be revoked or changed!

As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ and the work that He has done for our salvation, we shall inherit the promises made to Abraham and the Lord Jesus Christ.

These things are not that complicated if you accept the Bible for what it says and the promises God has made, still knowing that God can never break a promise and still be God.

Luk 21:33 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

*Gal 3:18 For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.

How do we know that a person is justified by faith alone?

Because God gave His covenant and His inheritance by Promise and not by the Law!

All through the writings of the Apostle Paul he came back to make this same point in every church and every group of believers because it is the truth.

The inheritance given to Abraham by Promise is that of “righteousness” which is being accepted by God and given the privilege of living with Him forever.

God does not accept righteousness in any other fashion than the Word he has given to us.

Who would not want that?

Who would not give all they have for such a promise, but God offers it for free just for “Faith”?

God would not break a promise because it would go against His nature and His character.

It is a great privilege to be offered a chance to live with the Almighty God forever throughout eternity.

Jesus said:

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”.

Jesus would not have said this if it were not true!

Amen

Oh, Foolish Church of Today

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Salvation by Grace Through Faith

Book of Galatians 3:1-9

If we are not firm in our beliefs right now, then we need to learn as the Apostle reintroduces the Doctrine of Salvation to these Galatians.

We must understand that we can have the most solid church in the world, but if we allow one false preacher or teacher to come into our church with his false message, it will cause confusion to one or more of our brothers and sisters, and it may take months to straighten out the mess they leave behind.

Salvation comes to us only through God’s ” Grace” and only through our “Faith” in Him!

Faith is accepting that the Word of God is true! Not just a few words but all His Word. Not just certain Words but all His Word! Not just the red letters, but all the letters.

If we get confused by the red letters, which are the very words of Jesus, then get a Bible written all in black ink.

We can remember “grace” as “God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense”.

The Spirit of Jesus, God’s Holy Ghost caused all the Scriptures to be written according to what God wanted to say.

All the writers were like typewriters with the Holy Spirit leading their fingers to the right keys or as the printer with God inserting all the letters of type.

From last week’s lesson, we read:

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”.

Paul has already taught these Galatians that no one can keep those 613 Jewish Laws to God’s satisfaction, nor can any man-made law save anyone.

Our own government writes biased laws that will never accomplish anything.

Every Jew sought “righteousness” through those old laws, and this is the reason that they had to bring a sacrifice to the High Priest which brought forgiveness for one year only.

The next day after that sacrifice they were already guilty of sin again.

There is only one way to meet God’s demands, and it is by “faith” in the work of His Son, the Messiah, who has completed to save us.

It is easy to say God’s demands or God’s commands when everything God does is for our salvation and eternal life.

Jehovah God has never been unrighteous!

Any doctrine that makes the death of Jesus Christ unnecessary for our salvation is irreverent toward our Heavenly Father and revolting to Christians who know better!

These Galatians had taken their eyes off of Jesus and looked to the world for the truth, and many a church has done this today.

Just look at how many places of worship closed their doors and refused to celebrate the birth of our Savior. The Church is the Body of Christ.

It is a shame that we cannot celebrate our Savior which began with His miracle birth!

In order to die for our sins, God had to pour Himself into a body of flesh that could die and then resurrect from that death because God simply cannot die, but He raised Himself to show us the power of His resurrection.

To bewitch is the work of a Sorcerer!

it is believed that these Judaizers were influential Jews who were gladly accepted into the Church in Antioch and were immediately given positions of authority and their full intention was to destroy the Church and grow Judaism.

It was intentional.
It was revolting.
It was wicked.
It was Devilish.

It is clearly seen that our teachers and preachers need to be vetted or well-known for the truth before they are allowed to teach in any church or any place of worship.

We had better realize that religious rituals have saved nobody.

We had better know that a false doctrine only opens the gates of Hell and there is no escape.

There is no such place as purgatory and those who believe only put some so-called priest in a new luxury car as I saw in Mexico as they wear holes in the collection boxes trying to pay God to move that soul from a so-called purgatory to Heaven.

*Gal 3:1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?

That word “foolish” means; void of understanding sound judgment.

In Scripture it means wicked, sinful, acting without regard to Divine Law or the Glory of God.

It can also mean proceeding from depravity.

One of the most stupid things we can do is to leave the Church after we have heard and understood the truth!

The Greek word that was used also meant to be foolish or unwise.

The Apostle Paul was just saying, why have you Galatians allowed these people to come in and rob you of your happiness?

The “Good News” of Jesus Christ brings happiness when any news of this world will rob us of our happiness!

It is the errors of this world that totally ruins our lives and our future lives!

The simple way that Jesus has made for us to get to our real home just seems too hard for many people and they falsely believe they must have to do something to earn it when there is nothing we can do but be obedient to the Word of God, all the Word of God.

2Co 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
2Co 11:4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

So many people believe that we need to hear from some great mighty man of God such as the way that the Catholics see the Pope, to be able to understand the simplicity of salvation that they just cannot imagine a God so humble that He would die for them.

In truth, we do not have to understand it, for who can explain “Grace”?

Grace is the unmerited, undeserved favor of God!

Without God’s “Grace,” there is no saving power.

One of the greatest Scriptures in the entire Bible says:

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

False teaching can stop all salvations in every place of worship!

It was the Law that placed Jesus Christ upon that cross!
It was love that kept Him there.
It was “Grace” that made Him do all these things.

God would have sinned Himself had He not died for His creations!

When those fancy-mouthed religionists came to the Church in Antioch it was to put a stop to Christianity, and they could have succeeded if not for the power of Grace.

Grace still means: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.

Errors deceive people and when those errors are intentional, they will destroy you!

The word bewitched means to fascinate, or cast a spell, to mislead or deceive.

The Judaizers were very capable, persuasive speakers with dynamic personalities.

They had charisma as some would say.

These are qualities I sometimes wish I had, but in reality, if you get any knowledge from these things I say every week then you got them from the Holy Spirit because I do not possess those qualities.

I just try to go where the Lord leads me.

When those Judaizers spoke, the things they said just made sense to these baby Christians.

When they said, you need to keep such and such ritual, it just made sense.
When they said, surely there must be some work that needed to be done, it just made sense.
When they said God had certain laws for us to obey, it just made sense.

It all sounded reasonable and logical, but it was all false teaching!

God said we might never understand His “Grace”, and we may never understand the amazing love of God!

We do not have to completely understand “Grace”, we just have to have “faith” that what the Lord Jesus did for us was what is needed for us to be saved.

Be sure to understand that if not for Jesus, we would have certainly seen the wrath of God on our person.

We will never understand the wrath of God without a complete understanding of God’s holiness.

Since God is a Holy God then those around and near Him must also be holy!

God cannot be near sinners for very long because in our flesh we can never be holy unless we are a home for the Holy Spirit.

All those who do not have the presence of the Holy Spirit in them will feel the wrath of God!

The Word of God tells us that showing His wrath is the proper thing for Him to do at sinners.

Isa 5:24 Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
Isa 5:25 Therefore is the anger of the LORD kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

The truth is error will lead us away from Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit will only lead us to the Lord Jesus Christ.

The elements of love and compassion are always connected to God’s anger and He would rather show these than His anger but His anger is promised if there is no repentance.

When Paul preached, he preached the straight truth that Jesus Christ took our place on that cross and by this action, He took away all our sins and put them upon Himself.

Jesus Christ bore the punishment for everyone who has ever lived and forever who will come in the future until He returns to take us home.

Why is it so hard to understand that God sent His Son into this world to die for us?
Why is it so hard to believe that God expects all His creation to understand this?
Why is it so hard to believe that God took their faith and love in His Son and accepted them for their righteousness?

Over eighty percent of this world believes in some god, I just believe that my God is the most powerful of them all and that He would never lie to me about anything.

If this makes me to be a fool, then so be it but my God says they are the ones who are fools!

Just how do we receive the Holy Spirit?

*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?
Gal 3:3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

Just how do we receive the Holy Spirit?
Just how do we begin our Christian Walk?

There is one thing all believers know and the believers in the churches of Galatia knew it too: no person earns, wins, or merits the Holy Spirit of God!

We are too polluted and with all the news about “climate change,” we all know something about pollution and what it means to us today.

We all fall far too short of the glory of God to get anywhere near the Holy Spirit!

Even when sinners are doing nothing at all, their minds are usually in the gutter or they are planning their next sinful act.

If we go back to the very day that we got saved, we know that it was by faith that we received the Holy Spirit because there is no law in the Bible that allows for this to take place!

We know by what happened in our own heart that God took our faith and counted it for righteousness and the Holy Spirit moved right on in.

Since the Holy Spirit has moved in there no evil spirit can ever move back in because the Holy Spirit is far too powerful to allow that to happen.

We may not be what we could be by complete obedience to the Holy Spirit and for certain we can grieve the Holy Spirit, but He will never leave us neither will He forsake us.

Jhn_14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
Jhn_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.
Jhn_15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
Jhn_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.

These are all things that the Holy Spirit will do when He enters into us!

He will not enter into us without our faith in the work the Lord Jesus Christ has done to save us.

Those who question if there is such a God will know the answer to that question once they accept the truth of Jesus.

Every person must hear the glorious message of “Faith”!

Rom 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Each believer can only grow and be perfected after that person has preached the Word of God to them.

The hearing of “faith” is the only way a person can ever become acceptable to God!

The Holy Spirit is God’s gift to each believer!

This gift cannot be earned.
This gift cannot be won.
The Holy Spirit can only be given and can only be given by Jehovah God!

The Holy Spirit is given at the moment of our salvation, and the Bible refers to this giving as what we would call a down payment.

Eph 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

In the days of the depression people would put back what they called “earnest” money to be used in an emergency or maybe a downpayment on an item they sorely needed but could not afford.

The word earnest in the Greek meant a pledge or token given as assurance of the fulfillment of a promise.

As a believer, we need to focus our love, our attention, and our life upon the Lord Jesus Christ!

Without this, we cannot be accepted by God the Father.

Php 3:20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
Php 3:21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

These Galatians had already suffered greatly because they had first accepted Christ.

*Gal 3:4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.

If we do not know now, we will suffer because we have placed our faith in the God of the Bible, Jesus the Messiah.

This happened immediately to the Jews for forsaking Judaism.

They suffered ridicule, abuse, isolation, and persecution from any Jew who knew them beforehand.

Since this suffering had already taken place for believing the truth, they would surely look foolish if they turned away from the Lord Jesus so, they suffered in vain.

If they repented and came back to Christ, then this suffering would have not been in vain.

In fact, every Christian who turns away from this world and turns toward Jesus the Messiah will still suffer today.

Such things as “denying self” would at first bring some suffering.

“Taking up our own cross” and following the Lord Jesus would have suffering.

Just “separating” ourselves from this world will bring suffering, even today, especially in certain countries.

The Lord Jesus said many of our rewards and blessings would come from this action against us.

Mat 19:29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

Then Paul asked these Galatians again just how did you obtain the Holy Spirit?

*Gal 3:5 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

We can be sure that we will receive nothing from God unless we have this “saving faith”!

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.

I know we see this Scripture a lot, but we need to realize just how important our faith is.

No one would climb aboard an airplane if they did not have the faith that it was safe to do so.

In fact, no one could even sit down in a chair if they did not have enough faith that chair would hold them up.

Faith is important to us in our everyday life, but it is most important when we put that faith in the hands of the Supreme God!

Our faith is not what it is, our faith is what it does!

Our “Faith” does the necessary work so that we do not have to do any work for our salvation.

A wise man once said; “The only thing I can give to Jesus toward my salvation is a dirty rotten sinner”.

We know that the Apostles of Christ had some power to heal along with some other powers shared with them by the Holy Spirit, but it always was built around faith.

So, these Galatians had seen some miracle healing and some other miracles.

Act 14:8 And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked:
Act 14:9 The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed,
Act 14:10 Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked.

Now we must not be confused about these powers the Holy Spirit shared with the Apostles.
Today we have the complete Canon of Scripture, and these powers are not given to men.

We should be able to understand that miracles did not happen at random throughout Scripture but occurred in three major periods.

1) In the days of Moses and Joshua.
2) In the days of Elijah and Elisha.
3) In the days of Jesus Christ and the Apostles.

There were select miracles outside the scope of time, but not many.

During this time of Jesus and the Apostles, miracles were given to authenticate a message!

God gave enough of His power to these men and in these periods only, along with a New Message, the “Good News”.

Miracles came in the time of the New Testament to validate the New Message given by Jesus Christ to the Apostles.

With the completion of the canon of Scripture the need for miracles as validating a sign disappeared.

Any miracle associated with the Word of God today is done by God Himself!

The gift of miracles is much broader than the gift of healing.

The gift of miracles would also mean “power” or “a work of power”.

There is also a distinction between miracles and the gift of miracles.

Still, the ability of any individual to perform miraculous acts ceased with the Apostolic Age.

God does times still answer the prayer of a believer but this is His choice and for His reasons, but He does not do this through a medium of another person.

Those who claim such power today are false preachers and liars!

Again, God may heal in response to prayers, and He does I am living proof!

Even when God allowed this power to a few men, we should remember that God did not heal every person including the Apostle Paul.

2Co 12:8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
2Co 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2Co 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

Paul admitted that he was stronger under God’s power than he would have been if God had healed him, and it is the same for most all of us. I know it is for me!

There is no longer a need for any of the powers given to men because we have the full Canon of Scripture given to us by the Holy Spirit and it is the Holy Spirit who provides the things we need working through the truth of the Gospel and our “Faith”.

Remember there was a city where even Jesus could not perform any major miracle because they had no faith.

Mar 6:4 But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.
Mar 6:5 And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.
Mar 6:6 And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.

Next Paul gives us the example of Abraham.

*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.

All Abraham needed was the “Word of God” and “his faith” in it!

Abraham was justified by his faith alone!

What is the truth?

It was the Word of God that promised Abraham the “Good News” of the Messiah even though it could not happen during his lifetime.
It was the Word of God that told Abraham that the Law puts man under a curse.
It was the Word of God that promised that only the Messiah could redeem Abraham from that curse.

Abraham was the founder of the Jewish nation, but Abraham was a Gentile!

It was Abraham who was the first Ambassador of God. He left the only home he knew and was searching for a new home, a Promised Home.

Abraham left a place where many gods were worshipped and Abraham began to worship the One True God, Jehovah.

Abraham’s one work was for him to follow the Word of God and have faith in the Truth of God. Abraham had to believe, and he did.

Not many of us would have been like Abraham yet we frown on the few times that Abraham failed God.

Abraham left his family, his friends, his job, and his nation to go to a place he had never seen nor ever heard of.

Abraham believed God and he was judged righteous for that one reason!

Abraham had no law to follow the laws of Moses had not been given!

Abraham simply believed what God told him!

We should know that God did not give these same promises to anyone else.

Rom 4:16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,
Rom 4:17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
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.

Abraham’s faith preceded his obedience to God, and it is the same for us today.

*Gal 3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
Gal 3:9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

God promised the Gospel to Abraham many years ago and Abraham knew he would never see its completion, but Abraham was looking out for his children at a time when Abraham did not have any children.

Abraham trusted God to give him children from a barren woman!

To Paul, the Scripture was the Word of God just as we believe today, and it is true.

There was no Bible for Abraham to place his faith.

Abraham had a voice in his head or some vision to place his faith.

The Scriptures declared the Gospel truth from the time of creation!

It was by Abraham’s faith that he was justified because Abraham was not a perfect man and none of us can be until we believe and God accounts that faith it for our righteousness.

Abraham did finally have one son who was Issac, a miracle birth.

When we study the Word of God, we will see that the events in the life of Isaac were a parallel to the life of Jesus Christ.

1) Isaac had a miraculous birth:

Gen 15:2 And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
Gen 15:3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
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.

2 Isaac (was delivered) Isaac was to be offered up as a sacrifice.

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:

3) Isaac was delivered from death by a miracle of God.

Gen 22:10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
Gen 22:11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
Gen 22:12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
Gen 22:13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
Gen 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.

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.

So today, as we witness for Jesus Christ, it is the truth of the Gospel that will win every lost soul.

We do not need to change it but teach it as it is the truth of God.

Salvation still comes by Grace through Faith in the promises of God found only one place in the Scriptures given to us by the Holy Spirit who lives in every Christian.

In fact, the Lord Jesus Christ still walks this earth in the body of every Christian.

Amen

We Must Stop Being Hypocrites

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Paul Confronts Peter

Book of Galatians Chapter 2 Verse 11 through 21

There is a short verse in the Book of Thessalonians that we need to learn, understand, and adhere to, throughout our Christian Walk.

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

There are virtues we need to cultivate in our devotion to God and this Scripture is far more important than we realize when we first read it.

We sometimes forget that the Holy Spirit lives within us.

When we “grieve the Holy Spirit,” we lose any power we have as Christians and are no longer a good witness for the truth of Jesus Christ.

1Th 4:7 For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.
1Th 4:8 He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.

It was no different for the Apostle Peter, and the Apostle Paul awoke Peter to this fact.

We know that Paul was clearing up a few things for these Thessalonians before he began his discussion on the Rapture and the return of Jesus Christ.

This Church had a special need for guidance and sometimes even our most devoted Christians also need additional guidance.

We will never reach a point in our lives that we should not be growing in our relationship with Jesus Christ.

Sanctification is a lifelong project!

At Jerusalem, all Church leaders had confirmed Paul’s authority!

We know that Peter had been the leader of the Apostles from day one.

Though we cannot make excuses for the actions of Peter, we must insist that we all need to watch our conduct at all times for it seems that someone is always watching for good or bad reasons.

Act 15:22 Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren:
Act 15:23 And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia:
Act 15:24 Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:
Act 15:25 It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
Act 15:26 Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Act 15:27 We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth.
Act 15:28 For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;

This Silas and this Judas were two men from the Church at Jerusalem who would verify the results of the first Council of the Church, to these Galatians.

They were chief men of the Church at Jerusalem.

Later we will see that this same Silas also known as Silvanus as the companion of Paul on his second missionary journey.

Silas became a great missionary himself.

It seems that Silas, like Paul, was also a Roman citizen.

Silas was with Paul when they were in jail where the Philippian jailer and all his family got saved.

Act 16:25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
Act 16:26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.
Act 16:27 And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.
Act 16:28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.

It is verse 37 that tells us that both Paul and Silas were both Roman citizens.

Act 16:37 But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, “being Romans”, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out.

Not much else is known about Barsabas other than he was a great man of the Church in Jerusalem.

This Judas surnamed Barsabas, seems to have been gifted the gift of prophecy which at that time could have meant that he was one of the Preachers at the Church in Jerusalem and he returned to that Church.

It was after these things had taken place that the Apostle Peter visited this Church in Antioch.

It also appears those Judaizers had remained in this Church at Antioch.

This is the background where we see Paul confront Peter, and he had every right to do so though we may not know the whole story, we do know that the Holy Spirit included it in these writings of Paul.

*Gal 2:11 But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.
Gal 2:12 For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.
Gal 2:13 And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.
Gal 2:14 But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?

We may not know the exact reasons that Peter came to the Church in Antioch, but who would turn down the leader of the Apostles if he came down to visit.

Paul may even have invited Peter to visit at any time.

This Church at Antioch was a great church, but it was also the first Gentile Church established outside of Jerusalem.

This church was a mission minded church, and it was important that a good example was set before all the Gentiles and the Jews, but especially before the Gentiles by the Jews.

When Peter arrived in Antioch he sat down with and enjoyed the company of the Gentiles, as we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. We all have the same Father!

When some other Judaizers came to visit at Antioch they were astounded that Peter was enjoying such fellowship with these Gentiles and he had allowed those same Judaizers to rebuke him for eating with the Gentiles who they still considered to be Heathen.

We know Peter was a great Preacher and a great man of God, but this thing could ruin his testimony unless it was stopped immediately.

It went against the decisions made at that First Church Council.

This thing caused Peter to stumble for a moment.

If the great Apostle Peter could stumble, we can be sure that we can!

Even today, the most used excuse used by the “Lost” is, that we the Church are all a bunch of hypocrites.

I used to say this myself and it shames me.

Peter sure acted like one and we know these things are true or this story would not be in the Bible.

It should be obvious to us that Peter’s error was not in preaching a false doctrine.

The error Peter made was using bad judgment!

Though we seek moral perfection it evades us much of the time.

We can believe that this situation was provided by the Devil and these same Judaizers were still full of the Devil, and they would haunt the Apostle Paul most of all his days.

In Peter’s case, we find him bold and then timid many times, even when Christ was teaching him.

These are not excuses, but just the truth!

We are not to judge Peter when we know God has forgiven him.

Remember Peter preached one sermon where over three thousand souls were saved in one day.

I have not heard of anyone else who had such results from one sermon.

We can also realize that Paul rebuked Peter for this one thing, and it needed to be done, but Paul was not rude to Peter nor was Paul showing personal animosity.

Without a doubt we can see that both Paul and Peter possessed the same Holy Spirit just as we all do.

These things did not cause friction between Paul and Peter as Peter wrote.

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

In reality we can still blame these Judaizers who continued to cause turmoil in the Church even though they were rebuked at the Jerusalem Council.

I do not know of any man of God who has already reached perfection except for those who are already with the Lord.

Paul and Peter are both in perfection today!

Paul also knew these things as he wrote.

Php 3:12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
Php 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
Php 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

When this thing passed Paul was still missionary to the Gentiles, but he would still drop by a Synagogue of the Jews if the opportunity arose and Peter was still missionary to the Jews, but he would still help any Gentile who had a need and he may have dropped in on all the Gentile churches from time to time

Both these great men of God had death sentences on their heads, but God kept them protected until God took them home.

*Gal 2:15 We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,
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.

Every believer, no matter where we come from, is justified by one thing and it is our “faith”.

Not just any faith, but faith in the work that Our Lord Jesus Christ has done so that we can be saved.

Paul admitted that he was a Jew by nature.

The Jews considered themselves to be religionists and the Gentiles to be Heathen Gentile sinners.

We could say “rank sinners”.

Paul is saying that if the Jews being religionists would claim the same thing the Gentile Sinners claimed, who believed in the work of Jesus Christ, then they all could confess they were saved by “faith”.

Any Jew who came to Jesus Christ for salvation was admitting that their religion, their works, and their law were not able to save them. Only the same faith that the Gentiles had could save them!

Is there a work that any man can do or any law that can make us perfect? That answer is no!

If our salvation depends on any work or any law, then we are lost as Job’s Turkey and Job did not have any turkeys.

God says we have only one hope! Faith in Jesus Christ.

The word “justified” means to reckon, to credit, to account, to judge, to look upon as righteous.

It does not mean to make us righteous!

We are not made righteous, but we are accounted as righteous!

Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

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;

Justification is necessary because we are born sinners!

We cannot live as we desire, we must live as God desires, and until we are saved, we are the enemies of God, even though He still loves us.

Those who are not saved do not want God in their lives, they have alienated themselves from God.

This is not God’s choice but our choice!

Remember it is God’s will that we all be saved!

We cannot turn away from God and then expect the blessings of God!

Why would God justify any man?

God will only “justify” any man because of Jesus Christ.

God will credit our faith as righteousness if our faith is in Jesus Christ!

Jesus Christ has secured the ideal righteousness for each of us!

Jesus did this when He came to this earth and lived a righteous and sin free life!

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.
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.
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.
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.

The world refuses to understand that Our Lord Jesus Christ came to this earth to die!

By His death, all sinners can be saved if they were willing to trust what God has done for us.

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.
2Co 5:20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.

Jesus came to die, but Jesus also came to resurrect from that death, because God cannot stay dead.

It is impossible for Him to do so!

It is His life from the dead that has given us eternal life!

*Gal 2:17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.
Gal 2:18 For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.

Does Jesus Christ make us sinners, by our trusting in Him that we are justified by faith in Him alone?

Is Jesus Christ a minister of sin?

Are we sinners because we reject the law?

It is the Law that makes us sinners, for the Law condemns sin!

The law only shows us where our failures are!

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.

When we sit down and think about what God has done for us, we are driven to please God and not rebel against Him.

Jesus Christ bore all our guilt and all our punishment for the crimes that we committed against His Father.

When we bow to our Heavenly Father, it is for our love and adoration in appreciation for such “Amazing Love” that He has for us.

We try to be good, not to earn righteousness, but to serve Him because He has saved us.

Jesus Christ teaches us that “Love” is a much greater force upon this Earth than “fear”!

1Jn 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

We cannot ever repay God for what He has done for us, and it is a sin to even try to.

We are bought and paid for with the blood of Jesus Christ!

So He does own us, not just because He created us, but because He sent His Son to reclaim His right to us and all He asks of us, is to enjoy life and our reasonable service.

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.

Ecc_5:18 Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion.

God wants us to enjoy this life He has given to us keeping in mind that nothing upon this earth is as great as the things in Heaven.

We should also keep in mind that there is no life if we do not have the truth of God in our lives.

If we do not believe our good fortune comes by the hands of God, then we do not believe in the omnipotence of God.

This is not teaching a prosperity Gospel, but our Heavenly Father does take care of His children.

This sometimes means that when we are suffering, He may take us home rather than heal us.

No one loves us as much as our Heavenly Father!

We will find that the closer our walk with Jesus the more we will enjoy life, and it does not take much prosperity to enjoy life!

*Gal 2:19 For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.
Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Gal 2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

There are some things we must do to live unto God.

1) We must die to the law!

People have a bad habit of comparing themselves to other people in order to show that they are better or worse than those people.

To be a Christian, we must compare ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ and we will immediately see that we just do not measure up.

The Lord Jesus Christ lived a short thirty-three or more years in the flesh, and He lived a sinless life in every one of those years.

We do well to live one day without sin!

The Law shows me just how much of a sinner I am and how far I am from the goodness of my Lord Jesus.

I will never reach perfection as long as I am in this body of flesh!

The law tells me I need to be punished for my sin, and that punishment is my payment for the sin I have committed.

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

My “faith” in the work of Christ will release me from the power of sin to keep me in bondage!

The only hope I have to get to Heaven is to die to the law!

2) I must be crucified with Jesus Christ!

How can I do such a thing?

I must believe that the Lord Jesus died in my place! He took my death to Himself!

My Lord Jesus bore the punishment for my sin, so I do not have to.

It is my “faith” in this truth that counts for my having died in Christ.
It is my “faith” in my identifying with Christ that counts for my pardon.
It is my “faith” in the Lord having already been punished for my sin that counts for my freedom from the bondage of sin.

Rom 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Rom 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Rom 6:7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.

We should be able to see that these are the words our Pastor uses when we are Baptized.

3) I can now live for God because God lives in me!

I am crucified with Christ and God sees me as having already died and like His Son, I have resurrected from that death!

The Lord Jesus Christ is now in charge of my life, He owns me!

The Lord Jesus Christ is still walking upon this earth because He is walking in my body!

I am just a branch growing and getting nourishment from the Vine that was my old body but is now the Body of Christ.

Joh 15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
Joh 15:2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Joh 15:3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
Joh 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
Joh 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
Joh 15:6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
Joh 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

4) I can now live for God because I trust in the “Grace” of God!

The Lord Jesus Christ is the “Righteousness of my God”.

If I set aside the “Grace of God” then My Lord, My Savior died for nothing!

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:
Php 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
Php 3:11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

We know that Paul had to confront Peter because there is just too much to lose if we do not gain the life of Jesus Christ!

Amen

The Power of God’s Grace

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Danger of a Different Gospel

Book of Galatians Chapter 1

The people native to Galatia were emotional, impulsive, and changeable people.

They were fickle, impetuous, arguing, loud, boastful, and immoral people.

They had a love for the strange, the curiosities, and the unknown.

They were attached to a false religion that was a worship of nature, and these types of people are all over the world today, nature lovers.

Galatia was an area that had a heavy population of Jews who were staunch in the religion of Judaism.

There were also many Greeks who had a strong Hellenistic influence.

Hellenists were normal people who spoke the Greek language.

Some Jews were also called Hellenists because they had settled in foreign countries and had adopted the prevalent form of Greek civilization.

Act 6:1 And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.

Another verse says.

Act 9:29 And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians: but they went about to slay him.

These were Jews who had become Greeks in their beliefs.

We can also find them at the first Church in Antioch.

Act 11:20 And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus.

Some of these were also true Greeks who had become proselytes of Judaism.

We can see that Paul knew beforehand that planting a Church in Galatia would be no easy task.

It is only the Gospel that has such power of conversion because it is the truth!

The message of the Book of Galatians will pierce the heart of any generation.

The message of the Book of Galatians will also stir Christians to action if we understand its message.

*Gal 1:1 Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)

Notice Paul immediately establishes that he is an Apostle of Jesus Christ and God the Father who had raised the Lord Jesus from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Paul introduces Galatia to the triune God.

What was Paul’s commission?

John 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

What is the Great Commission?

Mar 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Mar 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

The phrase “and is baptized” simply means “making a public profession of faith”.

We can add this commission as Paul saw it.

2Ti 4:1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
2Ti 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and 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.
2Ti 4:5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
And Paul continued.
2Ti 4:7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

This message of Paul extends to every man called by God to preach.

Next Paul tells us who gave him his commission:

(not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)

Paul states that no man gave him this commission but the Lord Jesus Christ Himself after God the Father had raised Him from the dead.

There would have been no need to preach a Gospel if God the Father had not raised Jesus from the dead!

We serve a living Savior!
Our God is alive because He is the Almighty Living God.

What did God tell Moses?

Exo 34:5 And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.
Exo 34:6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
Exo 34:7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

This is the God who we serve!

But notice if ignore this God that Moses saw, then we more than likely send our children, our grandchildren, and our great-grandchildren to Hell also.

If that man standing behind the pulpit of any church does not have the same calling as the Apostle Paul, then he does not deserve to be called pastor, preacher, evangelist, or any name associated with the calling of Jesus Christ!

These Galatians needed to understand this as well as those who were once Jews.

Some are called by the Holy Spirit to be Preachers, Pastors, Evangelists, and Missionaries for sure, but every child of God also has a commission given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Mar 5:19 Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.

Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
Col 1:28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
Col 1:29 Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.

There should not be any doubt that we are all called to be witnesses for the Lord our Savior, Jesus Christ, God’s Messiah.

It was a painful moment when Paul first became aware that some counterfeit preachers, who were Judaizers, questioned the validity of his calling, but Paul was strong in the Lord and full of the Holy Spirit.

How can a counterfeit preacher judge anybody’s calling, but they do because they belong to the true counterfeit Satan?

It was they who had no calling at all except for Satan’s calling.

*Gal 1:2 And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia:

The Preacher of God must be recognized as the Lord’s man by all Christian believers!

Paul was not alone; he had some Christian believers with him who agreed with everything Paul preached.

Timothy and Titus were probably part of those with Paul and there were others.

Paul knew that there was safety in numbers.

Paul never forgot that He was a member of the Church.

Paul spoke out to the Churches of Galatia with not a word of praise or privilege.

All the other Churches, even the Corinthians received a kinder salutation because they had not “erred concerning the faith” as had these Galatians.

The word Church was used for:

1) A body of believers, “the entire congregation of Christian people dispersed throughout the world”.

Paul was not the only one who was spreading the Gospel at this time, Paul was the one who was writing the Bible as the Holy Spirit led Him.

Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon “this rock” I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

2) The word Church could also mean a particular congregation under the same ministry of God’s Word.

1Co 16:1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye.

3) The word Church is also used for those who assemble in one Church to worship the Lord Jesus Christ.

1Co 14:28 But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.

It should also be very clear that all around the world some gather together to worship some god, but not the Lord Jesus Christ, they are not part of the Church, and neither should they be called a Church.

The news sources have a field day when every building they see where people gather is called a church when this is not true.

If we are not the brothers and sisters of the Lord Jesus Christ, then we are not part of the Church!

If we are not in unity with the Word of God, we are not part of the Church!

True brothers and sisters in Christ have a deep rich bond and relationship when that bond is with Jesus Christ.

We should be clear when we attack the preacher who preaches the truth of Jesus Christ, and then we have given up our privileges in the Church.

It is the Word of God, the entire Word of God, from a legitimate translation of the original Scriptures, that the Church is based upon and there are no additions, and it cannot be modernized because if God gave a new Word today it would be a replica of the Word, He has already given to us.

There are no errors in the true Word of God!

The Word of God is true in every generation and the Word of God will be here when most all the world is gone.

The Word of God is alive.

1Pe 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
1Pe 2:10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

A true Christian will defend every other Christian and come to the aid of brothers and sisters when they are attacked when they are declaring the truth of God.

And then came Grace.

*Gal 1:3 Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,

To be sure there would be no Church and no believers without there being first the Grace of God!

Act_20:24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

2Co_13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

This verse perfectly describes the true Christian!

It is Grace that is the gift of God!

Eph_2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Tit_2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

It is the Lord Jesus Christ who is the person who came by Grace, He is the living picture of God’s grace!

It is because of the Grace of God that we can find peace in this world!

Eph 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

Act 15:11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

There should be no doubt that we are saved by the “Grace of God”!

That grace comes to us in the form of the Lord Jesus Christ!

*Gal 1:4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:
Gal 1:5 To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Here is another place where we can see the will of God!

It is the Will of God that we be delivered from this present evil world.

It is the will of God that we are delivered from sin, and this was done by the sacrifice of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus, God’s Messiah.

We cannot talk about being pardoned without mentioning the atoning death of Jesus Christ.
We cannot talk about justification without mentioning the atoning death of Jesus Christ.
We cannot talk about the acceptance of God without mentioning the atoning death of Jesus Christ.
We cannot talk about eternal life without mentioning the atoning death of Jesus Christ.
We cannot talk about salvation without mentioning the atoning death of Jesus Christ.
We cannot talk about God’s “Grace” without mentioning the atoning death of Jesus Christ!

Our salvation depends upon the voluntary act of Jesus, our blessed Lord, to “reconcile” His Heavenly Father to us and to be a sacrifice, not only for our guilt but also for all the actual sins of all mankind.

Oh, What a Savior!

The Father gave a Son. The Son gave Himself!

The Lord Jesus did not merely denounce our sins, this would have been a mockery, Moses and all the Prophets had already done this.

His death was for our sins!

This was the Job of Paul and every preacher since Paul, to explain the difference!

Many have failed to make this clear.

The Lord Jesus had the power to die for our sins and He had the power to resurrect from that death.

The Lord Jesus gave Himself for us because we needed to be washed in his blood!

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;

To God be the Glory forever and ever. Amen

When the world looks up to that glorious nighttime sky, most of them take no notice of it because they believe it happened by accident, but if you really look, you have to see the Glory of God.

God the Father does little things all the time and He always has, but they go unnoticed, but when God the Father does something big, He wants all the world to take notice.

God wanted all the world to see the truth of His Son Jesus!

Our Heavenly Father did these things that He might deliver us from sin and this present evil world!

The world was evil in the days of Jesus, and it has gotten very much worse today, but for those who believe in the truth of God, our sins have been paid for we are sin-free.

Paul said all these things to cause these churches at Galatia to remember that they were saved by the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that there is no other gospel, period.

*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.

When we need to be praising God, we see America going against the Word of God because people have forgotten the truth of God which says we are to “love one another”.

What is wrong with America?

2Ti 3:3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
2Ti 3:4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
2Ti 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

Before we get to verse six, we see that Paul has presented the truth of the Gospel in the previous verses.

We just cannot afford to allow false teachers into the Church!

There is no other Gospel than the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ!

When any church departs from the faith, they are no longer a church, they are just a group of people gathering together for no means except to fall into Satan’s trap!

After learning the truth of the gospel by the grace of God, Judaizers had come and given them a false gospel which was not the Gospel.

God loves us so much that He has provided a way for us to become righteous and acceptable to Him and this is the only way.

There will never be another way to get to Heaven than going through the Lord Jesus Christ and there are still thousands of people who think there is another way.

This is the only way God has shown His love to us where it is meaningful.

We cannot be justified in any other way than by the grace of God than comes by the Lord Jesus Christ

God will still love us when He sends us to Hell, but He has to judge sin!

Martin Luther said, “From Christ who called you in grace”.

Grace is the Lord’s free and unmerited favor and goodness, as opposed to all notions of salvation by moral or ceremonial righteousness.

The person who turns away from the Gospel is not turning away from a set of beliefs or principles, nor a church.

That person has turned away from God who sent His love to that person.

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

We cannot throw away this scripture and then say we are saved!

*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.

Sometimes that false teacher only has to add a little addition or leave out a little truth and it becomes a false Gospel.

It is the same as some teacher intentionally subtracting a truth of the Gospel.

Col 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

I think this is the teaching that is going on in many so-called churches today.

It is evident what God feels about these teachers, they will be accursed.

Accursed means separated from the will of God who they are separated from, and suffering even more than the Lost on “Judgment Day”!

You have to ask yourself why anyone would do such a thing, and the only answer is the Devil.

2Co_11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

Anyone preaching a false Gospel is one of Satan’s demons or Satan himself.

We must understand that the “Gospel” is more important than the Apostle Paul even though the Apostle Paul was probably the greatest Christian who has ever lived.

The “Gospel” is greater than all the angels in Heaven. Even if an angel came from Heaven and preached another Gospel, we would have to reject him.

The “Gospel” is greater than any man who has walked upon this earth and any man who does so in the future.
The truth of the “Gospel” is settled and cannot be changed here or in Heaven!

The preachers of any false gospel are doubly cursed. This means they will be sent to the hottest part of Hell!

*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.

The Judaizers came into the churches of Galatia suggesting that Paul preached only one side of the Gospel and there was room for their false preaching, which was the Laws of Moses.

This is the same thing going on today where the false church is told that there is more than one way to get to Heaven.

Paul taught that there is no Gospel other than what they had heard from him, which is the truth.

There can only be one truth!

These are the same questions we ask ourselves today!

We should ask ourselves; “What has been the effect of the Gospel on my life”?

“Have I been redeemed” out of this world, a world that will pass away, into a place that is supposed to be the grandest of all places?

Do I live according to the will of my Heavenly Father?

Paul asked himself if he was to satisfy men or to satisfy God.

Paul came to the conclusion that if he indeed pleased men who had not heard the Gospel then he would not be a servant of Jesus Christ.

We can learn so much from the actions of the Apostle Paul!

John and Peter came to the same conclusion.

Act 4:19 But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.
Act 4:20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.

1Th 2:4 But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.

It is the same with our own Pastor Preacher Sam.

It is His job to preach the truth of the Gospel even if we do not like the message!

We must understand that the Gospel has some hard truths.

The Lord Jesus asks us to put our faith in a man we have never seen who claims to be God when the world at that time killed because they said He was a fake.

Jesus asks us to believe in a place that we cannot even imagine the glory of.

Paul wrote to the Corinthians;

1Co 13:9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
1Co 13:10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
1Co 13:11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
1Co 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
1Co 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Which is a love greater than just being affectionate, it is closer God’s love

I do not believe Paul was a self-made man of God,
I do not believe that Paul used the Gospel as a way for an income.

I do believe Paul sought to please God and not man.
I do believe Paul proclaimed the true Gospel.
I do believe that Paul had a radical change of life.

Our goal must be to be more like Jesus, and this begins just as soon as we accept Him as our Savior.

Php_3:21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

What is the Gospel truth?

1Pe 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
1Pe 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
1Pe 1:20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
1Pe 1:21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

So, it boils down to faith!

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.

Paul admitted that once he was a man-pleaser, a time when he sought the approval of man for his actions.

Paul now said because the Gospel had changed him, he no longer sought the approval of man but the approval of God.

Paul said honor, position, and wealth were no longer important to him.

Paul now wanted one thing and one thing only: the favor and the approval of God!

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.

Amen

Greater Things Lie Ahead for Those Who Love the Lord

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

A Better Sanctuary

Book of Hebrews Chapter 9

As we study the Book of Hebrews, we are learning that the New Covenant is far better than the Old Covenant.

The sanctuary in the Old Covenant was the Tabernacle and later on the Temple, which was built similar to the Tabernacle in design.

What was the purpose of the Tabernacle?

1) The Tabernacle provided a way for God to dwell in the midst of the nation of Israel.

Exo 25:8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.

This sanctuary was called the Holy of Holies and only the High Priest could enter this place and then, only once a year.

Today upon our own salvation, we become that Holy of Holies as the Holy Spirit moves into our hearts.

2) The Tabernacle provided a way for God to reveal His glory.

Exo 40:34 Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
Exo 40:35 And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

3) The Tabernacle provided a way for sinful people to approach God because it was the center of sacrificial worship.

Lev 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

4) The Tabernacle was a reminder of the separation of our Holy God from sinful people.

5) The Tabernacle was built in anticipation of the redemption in the Lord Jesus Christ!

Heb 8:5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

The entire Tabernacle worship system reminded the nation of Israel that a Mediator was necessary to approach God!

They had a need to learn that no one can approach God without a Mediator!

They found that God is holy, and His holiness demands moral and upright people to serve Him.

This was the reason for the Ten Commandments!

The Ten Commandments are our Schoolmaster!

They learned that God cares for His people and would dwell with them under certain conditions.

They learned that “blood” was important to worship this Holy God.

They should have learned that the Levitical priesthood was pointing ahead to a Mediator, who would once and for all reconcile sinful people to a Holy God!

They also should have learned that when God makes covenants, He will keep them!

That when God makes promises, He will not break them.

That when God makes an oath, He will follow through with it.

That God means what He says and also says what He means!

They should also have learned that far greater things lie ahead for those who love God and are obedient to Him!

*Heb 9:1 Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary.
Heb 9:2 For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary.

We should understand that there are rules that must be observed if, we want to be acceptable to God, God being the Lord Jesus Christ!

There are some rules that must be observed if we want to have fellowship with God!

Today we understand that according to the perfect Word of God, it is only by the work of the Lord Jesus Christ that we can gain access to Heaven’s Tabernacle!

The tabernacle of Moses was an earthly sanctuary or tabernacle, and it was set aside for the worship of God, but it was only an earthly sanctuary.

Heaven’s sanctuary is served by the Lord Jesus Christ who provides all good things.

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.

The Tabernacle of Moses was of God and was made according to the Tabernacle in Heaven.

Heb 8:5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

There are many things that we need to understand about that Tabernacle.

The walls of white linen symbolized the righteousness and the holiness of God.

Our Savior, the Lord Jesus, is set apart from this world!

When we look at our Savior, we must see that He dwells in “righteousness” and “holiness” and He cannot change His ways and still be God!

When we attempt to approach God, we must approach Him in “reverence” and “awe” of His “majesty” and His “power”.

We must approach Him in “adoration” and in “worship”.

We must approach God in thankfulness.

We must approach God with our praise of Him!

We just do not praise God as we should, and it is evident in the modern Church!

It is the Lord Just Christ that fulfilled the symbolism of those white linen walls!”

2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

There was only one entrance to this earthly Tabernacle.

It was made of fined twined linen and was blue, purple, and scarlet representing the robes Jesus wore at His false trial.

That door taught us that there is only one way to enter into God’s presence. There are not several ways as the world would have you believe.

God has to be approached even though it is He who will first call you.

No person can live with God unless they approach God!

It is the Lord Jesus Christ who fulfilled the symbolism of this door!

Joh 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

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.

Jesus Christ fulfilled the symbolism of the “Brazen Altar”!

Mar 10:45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Jesus Christ fulfilled the symbolism of the “Brazen Laver”!

Joh 13:8 Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.

Then there was the Sanctuary of the Tabernacle.

*Heb 9:3 And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all;
Heb 9:4 Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;
Heb 9:5 And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly.

There were distinct parts of this Sanctuary which symbolized the distinct parts in our approach to God.

**Jesus Christ fulfilled the symbolism of the walls and the roof.

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.

**Jesus Christ fulfilled the symbolism the veil or the curtain.

The outer veil taught us that a person cannot rush into the presence of God.

We are to never disrespect to our Holy God! This is lacking so much in most Churches today!

There is only one way into the “deeper things” of God!

There are deeper things we must know of our God than just making a sacrifice and the forgiveness of our sin.

We must worship in Spirit and Truth with this deeper knowledge of our Savior!

Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
Joh 17:4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
Joh 17:5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

**Jesus Christ fulfilled the symbolism of the candlestick or the lampstand.

We all need light and illumination in order to know and to serve God!

Without the light of Christ we would remain in pitch darkness that comes by this world we live in, and we would be unable to serve the Lord or even to know Him.

2Co 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
2Co 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

**The Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled the symbolism of the Table of Shewbread.

The knowledge of our Savior is the “Bread of Life” in this world!

He is the nourishment upon which we are to feed upon.

Joh 6:33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

**The Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled the symbolism of the Altar of Incense.

The “Altar of Incense” symbolized our prayers that have reached into Heaven.

Prayers are an especially important part of our worship!

We can have no relationship with our Savior without prayer!

Rom 8:34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

**There was also an inner veil to the Holy of Holies and the Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled the symbolism of this inner veil.

This inner veil taught that fellowship and communion with God Himself is the supreme act of worship.

Christ and Christ alone is the way to have fellowship with the Almighty God!

It is much more than just a head knowledge!

Our relation to God must be up close and personal!

Do not say you are worshipping God and then, be unable to enter this inner veil!

Heb 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
Heb 2:18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

*Heb 9:7 But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:
Heb 9:8 The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:
Heb 9:9 Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;
Heb 9:10 Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

The “Ark of the Covenant” was built like a trunk out of acacia wood and covered with gold.

The lid on top of the Ark was called the “Mercy Seat”.

**It is at the “Seat of Mercy” where we meet with the Lord and not the “seat of God’s wrath” whom the world will meet.

Exo 25:22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.

Isa 37:16 O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth.

The Ark contained three items.

1) The broken tables of the law.

Deu 9:9 When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which the LORD made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights, I neither did eat bread nor drink water:
Deu 9:10 And the LORD delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the LORD spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly.

Deu 10:5 And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the LORD commanded me.

2) The golden pot of manna.

Exo 16:32 And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt.
Exo 16:33 And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations.
Exo 16:34 As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.

3) Aaron’s rod

Num 17:10 And the LORD said unto Moses, Bring Aaron’s rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels; and thou shalt quite take away their murmurings from me, that they die not.
Num 17:11 And Moses did so: as the LORD commanded him, so did he.

Notice this rod of Aaron could have been no longer than the length of the Ark of testimony which makes it a different rod than the rod of Moses.

**The Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled the symbolism of the “Ark of the Covenant”!

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.
1Jn 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
1Jn 2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

When the Lord Jesus Christ returns, we will not need symbolism for we will see the Lord in His perfect truth!

*Heb 9:11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
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.

We should also understand that even in Heaven, when we are in that Heavenly Tabernacle, we will be expected to worship God our Savior.

If you do not like to worship now, you would not like to worship in Heaven!

There will be many differences:

1) The Heavenly Sanctuary will have a “perfect” High Priest.

The High Priest of Heaven is not a man but is the Son of God!
He is perfect and He is also eternal, and He will always be the High Priest of Heaven!

Heb 8:6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.

Heb 7:26 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;
Heb 7:27 Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.

2) The worship in that Heavenly Sanctuary will be “spiritual” and it will be “perfect”!

In it, we will be led by the Lord Jesus, the Son of God in the very presence of God.

On earth we are imperfect beings, but in Heaven we will also be perfect.

3) The Heavenly Sanctuary and worship will have a perfect sacrifice.

There will be no animals sacrificed.
There will be no human sacrificed.
There will be no sacrifices at all!

God has already sacrificed Himself, so no other sacrifice would have any meaning.

There will no more sacrifice because there will be no more sin!

On earth, we could not escape sin, death, and condemnation, but in that Heavenly Sanctuary these things do not exist!

4) The Heavenly Sanctuary and Worship is for saved people only. The Heavenly Sanctuary is a place for those who are pure!

Heb 9:23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

You see these things are the good things to come, because there is nothing good upon this earth but God!

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.
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.

Amen

Sanctified By Grace

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Gospel of Grace and Sanctification

Book of Romans Chapter 6

What is sanctification and what does it really mean?

Sanctification means to be set apart for God’s use.
Sanctification is the act of being made holy.

The Almighty Living God is separate from His creation because He is the Creator!

God has always existed, but this world we see around us is only a few thousand years old.

Probably at least six thousand years and no more than ten thousand years old.

Do not fear what the evolutionists say. When they say millions and billions of years, they try to trick us into believing that if enough time passes anything can happen and this is just not the truth!

All miracles come by the hand of Jehovah!

Since God is separate from His creation, then to sanctified is to separate ourselves for the purpose of serving Him.

Sanctification is a lifelong process, at least from the time the Holy Spirit moves into our heart until our death.

Since Jehovah exist in holiness, then all that love Him must come into this same holiness!

Being Christian is being like the Lord Jesus Christ the true Messiah (God With Us)!

This is the act of sanctification being more like Christ every day.

We should be growing in the Lord Jesus Christ every day of our lives, until we are finally sanctified and have reached perfection becoming glorified when we meet Jesus.

We do not need a group to vote to see if we are Saints. We become Saints when the Holy Spirit moves into our heart.

We always ask what is the will of God for our lives? It is the will of God that we be sanctified!

1Th 4:3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:
1Th 4:4 That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;

2Th 2:14 Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We can only begin our sanctification by receiving 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.

If we continue in sin after our salvation, we can never be sanctified, and we should question our salvation. Was it real?

We must consider ourselves dead to sin!
We must consider ourselves alive to Jesus Christ, who had no sin!

*Rom 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Rom 6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
Rom 6:13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
Rom 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

What is the truth of the Christian?

We know we are still sinners only saved by the “Grace” of God!

We are alive today and forever through the Lord Jesus Christ!

We do not allow sin to rule our lives anymore! The Holy Spirit gives us this power!

We do not allow any part of our body from our head to our toes to be used as instrument to commit sin!

We allow the will of God to be our will!

We allow the ways of God to be our ways.

We can do these things because we have the Holy Spirit living within us and all other strength comes by the Lord Jesus Christ.

We wear the seal of God!

Rom 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

Rom 6:7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Rom 6:8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
Rom 6:9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.

We are dead to sin, but alive to our Heavenly Father!

We no longer serve the Devil; we are servants to our Holy God!

Sin offends God and in reality, is as a disease that if left untreated, will lead to our eternal death.

Being saved does not destroy this sin nature, but gives us the power to not allow it to rule in our life.

Our bodies are not the source of our sin, but are the instruments used by the Devil to promote his sin.

We cannot allow sin to rule us!

We had no power to do that until the Holy Spirit came to live within us!

We must be constantly on guard against allowing any part of our body to be used for sin, this includes our mind.

What comes from the heart will enter into the mind so we must keep our hearts pure.

Because of God’s “Grace” sin cannot rule us!

If we were under the Law, then we would spend our lifetime struggling to keep that Law which is impossible.

The Law only brings disappointment and discouragement, it can never bring salvation!

When we fail the Law, it brings us shame and we feel unacceptable to God!

We feel unworthy, but remember, we will never be worthy of God’s “Grace”.

Our Heavenly Father is not this great Judge waiting to pounce all over us when we fail.

Our Heavenly Father is this Merciful God who offers His “Grace” because we have identified ourselves with His Son Jesus!

Our Heavenly Father loves His Son so much, that He accepts all those who love His Son, who is our substitute for the keeping of the Law.

Our Heavenly Father has claimed each and every believer as His own child!

God is a gracious and loving Father who cares for and suffers with His children and provides forgiveness, when His children come to Him and willing to forgive His children when they fail Him.

1Jn 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
1Jn 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
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.

Since all this is true, the question is often asked; is the child of God allowed to continue in sin?

God is really quick to answer this question.

*Rom 6:15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

As a true child of God, we will never feel comfortable if we deliberately try to hurt or disappoint our Heavenly Father.

So, we must strive to avoid sin!

We should question the salvation of those who remain in sin, but still claim to be a child of God.

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.

If sin dominates your life and you feel you have no power over that sin, then get back on your knees and ask our Heavenly Father to forgive you by Jesus Christ.

Any power we have is multiplied by the strength of our Lord Jesus!

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

In fact the Lord Jesus says we can do nothing without Him and I believe Him!

Joh 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Our Heavenly Father is a loving Father, willing to teach us all these things and will discipline us when we need it.

Heb 12:5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

God shows His love when He disciplines not His hatred, “He has already judged us and justified us” and this is eternal!

Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Our Heavenly Father can easily see if we have become His servants!

*Rom 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

When we yield to sin, we are on the road to death just as God explained to Adam before Adam became the first human with a sin nature.

Joh 8:34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
Joh 8:35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
Joh 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Not the death of this flesh which comes to everyone, but a complete separation from a Holy God throughout eternity.

Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

It is that “judgment” we had better concentrate on while we are still living!

Our Lord Jesus has made us free from the penalties of sin!

If we yield to the truth of God, He will become a part of us now and remain with us throughout eternity.

Eternity is that place where my Heavenly Father lives and He has allowed me to live with Him!

We had better understand for whom we serve determines our eternal destiny!

1Co 10:21 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.

One man wrote: “We must walk as an open confession to the Lord our God”!

God is a forgiving God if we pray to Him with a sincere heart!

*Rom 6:17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
Rom 6:18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

We should always keep in mind that we have made a choice when we chose to follow the Lord Jesus Christ.

We chose righteousness!
We had no righteousness until we chose Jesus!

I was once a servant of sin!

Now that I have chosen the Lord Jesus Christ, I am still a sinner though I try not to be and ask for forgiveness constantly and I walk in His righteousness because I have none myself.

Now I try to obey the Doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is the “Gospel” of “justification” and the method of sanctification.

I have been justified in the eyes of our Holy God!

I obey God’s commandments!
I believe upon the name of 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.

I am now freed from that sin debt I owed and freed from the consequences of that sin!

I can never be charged with that sin ever 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 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

I now give myself to my Heavenly Father through His Son to do with me as He pleases according to His Word!

*Rom 6:19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
Rom 6:20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.

Where will righteousness lead us? Righteousness will lead us to holiness.

My members are all the parts of my body that I once gave to sin.
My eyes, my ears, my mouth, my hands, my feet, my heart, my thoughts, and any other thing that I gave to sin including, lust, fornication, adultery and anything else.

I became a slave to sin, and sin has no ending! Sin multiplies until it has destroyed me!

If I gave so much to sin, then I need to be just as giving to righteousness and the Lord Jesus Christ!

I once served uncleanness willingly, let me now serve righteousness just as willingly.

The power of sin cannot be overcome, but by the Lord Jesus Christ!

God knew all these things and sent His Son Jesus to solve the sin problem for every human being, but it takes “faith” in the work of Christ Jesus to break the power of sin!

Rom 7:5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.

When we allow “faith” to replace the power of sin and righteousness to work to our sanctification, we will see sanctification work till our holiness.

My goal and our goal must be to be more like the Lord Jesus Christ!

Rom 13:12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
Rom 13:13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
Rom 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

We must become slaves to righteousness as we were once slaves to sin.

This is what true repentance is all about!

A complete change of direction and a complete change of mind, toward the things of God!

Sin has only one goal and it is the destruction of our soul!

*Rom 6:21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
Rom 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

Once we realize the power that sin held over us, then we will become ashamed that we left our Creator to become a part of that sin!

What gain can we have from sin? There is only one gain from sin, and it is death, so there is no gain from sin!

The fruit of sin is death of the soul!

There can be nothing good come from sin!

It is only by the work of the Lord Jesus Christ that we can be made free from the penalty of sin!

Sin corrupts.
Sin destroys.
Sin dooms all those who seek its fruits because no good thing comes from sin!

Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Notice that word make.

We must be made free and not set free, there is a significant difference

Many a person have been set free from prison only to find their way back into prison.

We are “Born Again” into the family of God and “made” free from sin and the penalty of sin!

These are the precious promises of a Holy God!

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

It is from these promises where we have our hope!

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.

The gifts of God bring eternal life!

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

Sin deserves death because sin is rebellion against the ways of God who is life.

Life and death are two extreme opposites!

Sin goes against the nature of our Holy God!

God is pure and morally pure in all His ways!
God is holy and full of glory!
God is a God of justice and righteousness!
And most important God is full of love and grace from which comes His mercy!

This death is:

To be cast far away from God.
To have no part of God.
To be banished from God’s sight.
To be separated from God’s presence forever.
To be condemned and punished for rejecting God’s plan of salvation.

Sin will receive these wages of this death, a complete separation from our Holy God!

Jas 1:15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

Eze 18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

Sin demands the wages of sin.

Righteousness receives the free gifts of God!

Not such a hard choice, but a choice we all must make.

To not choose at all, is still this death!

Amen

We Must Be Born Again

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Necessity of the New Birth

Book of John Chapter 3

There are several ways used in the Scriptures that speak of the New Birth.

1) Regeneration actually means “new birth”.

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;
Tit 3:6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
Tit 3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

2) Restitution of all things.

Act 3:20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:
Act 3:21 Whom the heaven must receive “until the times of restitution of all things”, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

3) Passing from death to life.

1Jn 3:14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.

4) Becoming a New Creature.

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.

5) Jesus simply says, “We must be Born Again”.

We can call all these things the Doctrine of Salvation!

*****Joh 3:1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
Joh 3:2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

We could say that Nicodemus is remembered as the secret disciple but in fact Nicodemus was also a Pharisee.

In fact Nicodemus was a member of the Sanhedrin Court, the Supreme Court of Israel.

Nicodemus was a ruler, a high ranking official in the government of Israel.

It is obvious that he had seen Jesus perform miracles that as Nicodemus said, He could not have done “except that God be with Him”.

Nicodemus first came to Jesus to prove Him wrong, but the truth has a way proving to yourself that it is you who are wrong.

We could also say that the Holy Spirit was convicting Nicodemus of the truth!

Nicodemus came to Jesus as formal religionist who had forgotten the work of a Shepherd.

Nicodemus had to ask the Lord, “just who are you” because he did not know Him, but the Lord would ask Him why did he not know, if he was who he said he was.

Jesus was and is much more than a Teacher called of God!

Act 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

In truth, miracles and signs are not that important because the Word of God is most important.

The importance comes when we know the Lord well enough that our lives are changed forever!

Religion will get in our way of knowing Christ.
Religion will only allow us to reverence Christ.
Religion will not allow for the Spiritual change that comes from knowing the Lord in a personal relationship.
Religion will leave you in the darkness, while accepting Christ for who He is, will allow the Light of the Lord to erase that darkness forever!

The truth is once Christ begins a work in our soul, He will carry that work to an ultimate completion!

What was Jesus’ answer to the question of Nicodemus?

*****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.

Jesus says bluntly, that unless there is a “Spiritual Change”, then no one can see the kingdom of God!

We know what that word “Born” means so, what does that word “again” mean?

1) Again means we must have a clear understanding of these things!

Luk 1:3 It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,

2) Again means it must be repeated, it must be a personal relationship, a complete change!

Gal 4:9 But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?

3) Again means it must be from above! We cannot be “Born Again” by using the things of this earth.

Joh 19:11 Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.

Being “Born Again” means a complete change of mind and a complete change of direction, away from the bondage of Satan.

We entered this world by a physical birth, so we cannot enter the Spiritual world without a Spiritual birth!

We are dead to the Spiritual world until the sin of this world has been removed!

Eph 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

So how can these things be possible?

*****Joh 3:4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?

How were we first created?

Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

God first gave us life made in His image.

When Adam chose to not obey God, He chose death instead. So all his children even down to our own generation are now born in the image of Adam and face eternal death.

Now mankind loves this world, that will end in death, more than they love Heaven in which is eternal life.

So we must be “Born Again” in the image of God.

We are “Born Again” by accepting the life that is in Jesus Christ and therefore now we are to be in the image of Christ or Christlike or we say Christian.

This is not a maybe thing, this is a certainty, or we will never enter into God’s Heaven really God’s New Heaven!

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

We should understand that what the Lord was saying to Nicodemus was not impossible for him to understand, just as we understand.

We all must have an inward cleansing and an inward experience of Holy Ghost influence.

What Jesus was saying to Nicodemus was, “in your present moral state you are unable to accept the idea of the New Birth!

This is what is wrong with the world today!

The Kingdom of God begins with a complete submission to the Will of God! To enter this Kingdom there must be our New Birth!

We must understand that we need a “new life” based upon a “New Foundation” that is not of this world!

Act 26:18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

**The “born of water”. For the Jews, the High Priests had to go through a ritual cleansing before He could offer a sacrifice to the Lord.

To the Christian that ritual cleansing has been replaced by the water of regeneration by the Holy Spirit.

Tit 3:3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
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;
Tit 3:6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
Tit 3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Why is this necessary?

*****Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Job 15:14 What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?
Job 15:15 Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight.
Job 15:16 How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water?

Our flesh, that is void of the Holy Spirit, cannot be at peace with God! The flesh that is washed and regenerated by the Holy Spirit, will be at peace with God and possess the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Jas 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
Jas 3:18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

We should not wonder why these things are true!

*****Joh 3:8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

We cannot see the wind, but we know that the wind exists because we can feel it and we can hear it as it moves from place to place.

Even today modern scientist cannot truly know where or when the wind is going to blow or where the wind came from.

They certainly cannot understand those gentle breezes that move around us each day.

To understand what Jesus is saying, no one can understand the workings of the Holy Spirit except God.

We can learn many a lesson from the Book of Job and we can learn this lesson to.

Job 33:4 The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.

This is something we all need to understand!

The Holy Ghost must be allowed to do His work by convicting us of sin!

1Co 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

Even with the greatest Teacher of all speaking, Nicodemus was so full of religion and worldliness, he just could not grasp what the Lord was teaching Him.

*****Joh 3:9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
Joh 3:10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?

We should understand that this was not some new doctrine for the Jews, even the songs they sang in worship gave this doctrine.

Psa 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Psa 51:11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Psa 51:12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
Psa 51:13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

This is the same doctrine of the Millennial Kingdom when the Lord next returns to this earth.

Eze 36:25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
Eze 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
Eze 36:27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
Eze 36:28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.

The was very little excuse for a Pharisee or a member of the Sanhedrin to not know these things!

They were too busy looking upon all others to take a look at themselves!

Jesus will have these same words for us when we refuse to study the Word of God, as we are commanded.

What is sure is just what the Lord says. If we cannot receive the truth of our existence upon this earth, we will never understand the Heavenly things that are also real!

*****Joh 3:11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
Joh 3:12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

The words of the Lord are certain and their fulfillment sure!

When we do not believe the words of the Lord, then we have rejected the Giver of all life!

On this day Nicodemus could not believe what he was hearing from the Lord, but we know that maybe he went back and studied what the Lord had said and compared it to the Scriptures for in the end Nicodemus became a believer!

As for those who doubt the Lord today, they need only look at the nation of Israel and the Jewish people as a guarantee of the truth of God!

God expects us to believe and accept every Word He has given to us and we cause our own problems when we do not!

God divides our world into only two groups, those that believe and repent and those who do not believe nor repent!

1Jn 5:9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.
1Jn 5:10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
1Jn 5:11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
1Jn 5:12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

It is a fact that no man in the flesh has ascended up to Heaven because they would perish from the Glorious Majesty that is God.

The Lord Jesus Christ had to take on the form of a man after He came to this earth to keep from destroying mankind. He came to save and not to destroy.

We should also know that the Lord Jesus returned to Heaven in His glorified body and whatever that body looks like is the way our body look when we see Jesus.

1Jn_3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

Before these things can take place, the Lord Jesus had to die!

*****Joh 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
Joh 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

The serpent in the wilderness is a great Biblical truth.

The escapees from Egypt had journeyed in the wilderness safe in the harms of God and had become discouraged forgetting that had been redeemed and God had met all their needs.

When God had heard enough of their complaining God sent fiery serpents among the people and those who were bitten would die without God’s help.

God gave some instructions to Moses on how this people could be saved.

Num 21:8 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
Num 21:9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

These people could only live if they put forth the effort to gaze upon that serpent that was raised, so more of them could see.

Jesus said: “if you are familiar with this story in the Bible you could better understand what He had come to this earth to do”!

It may not have been until Jesus was raised upon the cross at Mount Calvary that Nicodemus totally understood what the Lord was teaching him that day.

God came down from Heaven and took upon Himself the body of a man just, so this body would die to pay the sin debt of all this world.

It took the pure Lamb of God to be such a sacrifice!

We may ask why God would do such a thing and we will get the same answer every time!

*****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 see that to God, salvation is a love thing!

1) The fact is: God “So” loved.
2) The evidence was: God gave.
3) The purpose was: to save.
4) The proof was: God sent His Son to die.
5) The means of salvation: it is only through the Lord Jesus Christ that salvation and eternal life in the Kingdom of God can take place!

To the Jews this was a wakening. They had thought that Jehovah God was only the God of the Jews.

This world we live in, is not the perfect place that so many depend upon.
This world we live in, is not to be the world of the angels that did not leave with Lucifer.
This world we live in, is not a world of creations such as Adam that was said to be very good.
This world we live in, lies in wickedness!

God made us to be as common as the sunshine but those that close their eyes, the sun is no good to them.

Salvation extends to all the ignorant and the educated, all the very worst and all the very best. Salvation is for all!

When we that know the Lord think about it, there is no greater gift that God could have given to us!

Most all the world of false religion do not believe that God can love, and they are so very wrong!

God loves with so much affection, it cannot be matched even by the love of our Mothers!

1Ti 1:14 And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
1Ti 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
1Ti 1:16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.
1Ti 1:17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

God does not allow unworthiness to cloud His eyes!
God does not allow religion to cloud His eyes!
God does not allow cruelty to cloud His eyes!
God does not allow anything to stop His love for us all!!!!!!!!!!

God has a loving nature!

1Jn 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

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.

God wants everyone in this world to know His love!

1Jn 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

God also wants this world to know that His love is complete when we accept His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Joh 16:26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:
Joh 16:27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.
Joh 16:28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.

There is not enough of paper in all the world to write down all the words that describe the love of God!!!

It is God’s love that draws us to Christ and it is Christ who brings us to everlasting life!

But there are always those who chose to go their own way trusting this world to show them 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.

We know that love of God does not mean that all the world is saved.

We know that God is not disappointed in His design because we know God had this plan of salvation in place before the first day of creation.

We must believe that God has provided the only means of salvation and we must volunteer to reach out and take this precious gift of God!

God’s love is based upon the “redeeming” work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
God’s love is based upon the energy of the Holy Spirit.

Therefore salvation can come only by the combine work of the Triune God, the Holy Trinity.

We know the proof of God’s love, shown His greatness when He raised the Lord Jesus Christ up from that garden tomb!

Jesus Christ is now the Mediator of God’s love!

If we should ever wonder, it is not the believer who can ever be condemned, it is only the unbeliever!

Every sinner holds righteousness in his own hands!

The unbeliever is condemned already because they remain under the present curse upon this world brought on by the sin of Adam!

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

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

The sinner is condemned because they have not believed the truth of God!

1Jn 5:10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
1Jn 5:11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

Amen

Let’s Pray!