The Gospel for the World

December 18, 2021 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Gospel of Grace for the World

Book of Romans Chapter 3

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

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

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

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

Rom 10:11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Rom 10:12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Rom 10:14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

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

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

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

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

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

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

We all have been “judged” guilty of sin!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

One man wrote: The Way

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

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

We have not yet reached our destination!

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

We are called to follow not formulate!

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

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

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

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

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

What is “the way”?

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

What is “the way”?

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

A sinful nature is useless to our Creator!

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

The Holy Spirit begins to describe them here.

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

The sepulcher is a grave.

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

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

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

How can such foulness come out of people?

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

We can see this truth outside the Church.

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

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

What else does the Bible say?

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

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

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

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

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

What is the reality of the sinful tongue?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sinful acts are disrespectful of all others!

They ignore God though they believe He does exist.

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

They stay focused on their own misery.

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

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

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

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

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

The Law:

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

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

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

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

Jesus preached:

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

There is no manufactured law that can save you!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

All the world is guilty before God!

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

We all fall short when compared to our Savior!

The Law can only show us that we are sinful.

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

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

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

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

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

The Law proves we are sinners!

God’s Grace proves His Mercy!

Amen

The Gospel of Grace for the Jews

December 11, 2021 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Gospel of Grace for the Jews

Book of Romans Chapter 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So how do we describe religionists?

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

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

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

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

Yes, there are also the Christian religionists!

Verse seventeen describes to us the religionists.

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

Every so-called religion does this!

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

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

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

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

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

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

We must never forget what our Lord Jesus has said!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

God had already warned the Jews!

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

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

There is only one truth!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This kind of changes our perspective when we think about!

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

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

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

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

What does the Lord say about adultery?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This is the same as robbing from God!

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

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

We are dishonoring God before men!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rom 15:8 Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:
Rom 15:9 And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name.

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

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

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

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

Speaking in tongues is not a sign of your salvation!

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

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

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

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

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

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

The disobedience of Adam made us all sinners!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What did Jesus say to the Samaritan woman?

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

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

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

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

Now who are the true Chosen People of God?

Listen to Paul.

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

We have no righteousness within ourselves!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It is the Holy Spirit who converts each sinner!

Tit 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

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

What does God see today?

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

Some things just do not ever change!

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

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

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

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

These who call themselves Jews must take that ultimate step:

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

Amen

Why There Is A Need For God’s Grace

December 4, 2021 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Gospel of Grace for the Gentiles

Book of Romans Chapter 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

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

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

This was a lay church!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1) To obey Him!

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

2) To lead others to obey Him!

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

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

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

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

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

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

What two groups will see the wrath of Jehovah?

1) The ungodly!

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

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

2) The unrighteous!

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

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

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

Jesus used these words:

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

This is the mission of the Church!

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

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

How does the Holy Spirit answer our corrupt government?

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

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

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

Ignorance of our Holy God will never be an excuse!

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

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

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

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

I believe Him!

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

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

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

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

The heavens declare the “Glory” of God!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

They even claim to be wiser than our Creator!

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

Why would we be so foolish?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

They become foolish and foolish hearts grow darker daily!

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

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

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

We are all bound for Hell!

God offers us a place called Heaven!

It is not such a hard choice!

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

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

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

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

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

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

We do ourselves no justice by becoming fools!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Apostle John said:

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

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

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

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

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

Joshua said it like this:

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

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

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

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

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

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

These are things that our Savior does every day!

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

This is why our world gets darker every day!

He has been doing this since the beginning of time!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So what does uncleanness really mean?

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

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

People serve themselves at the expense of all other people!

This is what idolatry means!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Those who have rejected the Messiah have made themselves gods!

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

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

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

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

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

So why would God give them up?

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

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

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

It is that thing called “choice”!

God is not speaking of harlotry or adultery, here.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What is our world?

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

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

Jehovah said:

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

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

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

So what is a reprobate mind?

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

How can we explain the reprobate mind?

First God did not cause this reprobate mind.

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

God just simply leaves them in this condition!

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

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

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

Isa 1:22 Thy silver is become dross,

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

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

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

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

They are full of unrighteousness!

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

It was not just fornication it was abnormal sexual activity.

It was not just wickedness it was depravity.

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

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

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

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

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

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

It was not just whisperers but slanderers.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What do all these things bring?

The “Judgment of God” and they knew it!

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

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

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

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

God will not be mocked.

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

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

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

Amen!

Freedom to Follow the Lord Jesus

October 9, 2021 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Freedom To Follow

Book of Exodus Chapters 13 through 14

What do we know for sure? Before any humans appeared on this planet called earth, the Almighty God was preparing it as a place of life.

God has created a temporary dwelling place for all those who would call Him their Heavenly Father.

Jehovah did not just cause this Pharaoh of Egypt to release His people to the world, but He would travel with them to the Promised Land.

Today when we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, He will be with us forever!

We should be incredibly careful where we take the Holy Spirit who lives within us!

Just as sheep in this created pasture, we need our God Jehovah, every moment of our life!

Because of sin we were wandering this world in disbelief, but once the “Gospel” became a reality to us, we returned to our true Shepherd.

1Pe 2:25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

We always give far too much importance to our flesh, when it is nothing more than a place our soul resides.

It is the soul that is the jewel in the eyes of God!

From the day we are born, this flesh we live in begins to die when our soul will never die in the manner of our flesh!

When we were lost, we traveled in the unknown, but once we give our heart to Jesus we repent of our wickedness, we know where we are headed and we know we will never be alone again!

Heb 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

As we witness the travels of the children of Israel, we should keep in mind that we travel with our Heavenly Father who always has His eyes upon us!

Psa 139:1 O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.
Psa 139:2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
Psa 139:3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
Psa 139:4 For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.
Psa 139:5 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
Psa 139:6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.

We must understand that our freedom comes through following the Lord Jesus Christ!

How does that song go? “Where He leads me, I will follow”.

Joh 12:26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.

Much of our future is unknown to us though our ending is known, but nothing about our lives is unknown to our Savior!

We live in a world that is so full of design that many say we live in an accident, but we also should know that there is no such thing as an accident.

All things come about according to the plan of our Heavenly Father!

From that first scratch, bruise, or broken bone, we begin to see that life is precious!

It is life that is God given!

Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

For the children of Israel their journey to the land promised to Abraham has begun.

*Exo 13:21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:
Exo 13:22 He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.

Israel began their journey in peril.

They were pursued by the Egyptian Army.
They had the Red Sea before them.
They were moving toward an unknown and dangerous wilderness.

We must always realize that God has a plan for us, and God had a plan for these people who had been freed from bondage.

How did God lead these people?

By a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.

The wilderness was hot and dry, but the shade of that cloud provided some comfort if they would just follow it.

This cloud never went too fast nor too slow but at just the right pace.

We never have to live in a panic when Jesus the Messiah is our Savior!

We can understand this cloud to represent a type of the Bible we have today.

The Bible that is written according to those ancient Hebrew and Greek Scriptures will make our way clear into the Kingdom of God.

It is the same for that pillare of fire.

Psa_119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

It is the Word of God that will guide us through the wilderness of this world.
It is the Word of God that will show us the path of life.
It is the Word of God that is the armor for our soul to keep us safe from the likes of Satan.
It is also the Word of God that gives us the conditions for a personal relationship with our own Redeemer and Maker!

The Lord Jesus is our “faithful” Guide to the true Promised Land!

Joh 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

We must understand that God will always lead us in the path of righteousness. He will never lead us astray of the Word of God.

Human rights never come before the truth of the Word of God!

We must be willing to die while taking our stand on the Word of God!

That witch Pelosi has this thing backwards, and so do all demoncrats who stand on abortion and the so-called homosexual movement.

She and her cohorts need to actually read about the God they say they believe!

God will never condone disobedience by any human! Just ask Adam.

God will lead those who love Him to their promised destiny, the New Heaven.

We must understand without the Divine guidance of the Word of God, we would remain lost in this dying world that unbelievers now call “climate change”.

We do not have to fear anyone or anything if we are truly following the Lord!

Pharaoh had decided he still needed these who were slaves to rebuild Egypt, as if God would allow it.

Government leaders forget the past too quickly, but nothing takes God by surprise as this man was leading his army to its death, just as his arrogance had destroyed his nation.

*Exo 14:10 And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD.

The children of Israel knew this was the mightiest army on the face of the earth at that time.

The children of Israel knew they did not have it in their own power to stop this enemy.

The children of Israel felt that there was no direction safe for them, but all they needed to do was to follow that pillar of cloud by day and that pillar of fire by night.

It is the same for us today!

When it seems as if every direction is a bad direction, we must simply just follow the Lord Jesus Christ and the Word of God.

They had no weapons of the world, but they had the Living God.
They had no military training, but they had the Almighty God.
They knew nothing about war, but they were on the winning side!

They cried out in a lack of faith.

We should understand there are no words that speak as loud in Heaven as those words “Lord Save Me”!

Satan may be powerful, surely more powerful than we are.
Satan has great resources from the world.
Satan has many followers.
Satan will strive off of corruption.
But Satan is a loser!

Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

We must understand we will not make it to the Promise Land without having much resistance from that same Devil!

When we think we must flee, God simply says to stand still:

Eph 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

When we are facing a sure death, we must remember through death comes eternal life in the Glory World, if you have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ!

Fear is something we do not need in our lives!

Fear is useless and it is destructive to our character!

*Exo 14:11 And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?
Exo 14:12 Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.

The biggest reason the strength of the Church is fading today is that same lack of “faith”.

We believe that so-called scientist and so-called professionals have gotten so smart that they can prove God to be wrong.

What fools we are to trust in this world!

We may have more comforts than these children of Israel had, but the world has not changed or improved at all!

We know more how to destroy each other!

We allow hatred and foolishness to rule our ways when we need to lean on our Redeemer!

Once we know the Lord Jesus Christ, we must have no fear of death!

If these children of Israel had the faith of Abraham their father, they would have believed the promises that Jehovah made to Abraham.

Those four hundred years were over, it was time to go to the Promised Land.

Gen_15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years

Exo_12:41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.

This being true, just where was their faith? Most of them had none and they could only think about one day at a time.

Believe me when I say it, it does not really matter where a Christian is located when we die!

2Co_5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

We must not fear death!

We just need to stand still and watch the Lord fulfill His promises.

*Exo 14:13 And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.

We must understand that no matter what problem we face, God has the same response. Fear not!

Sixty-two times God uses this exact phrase.

Luke 12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

We should also understand that God does not do things He does not want to do.

Sure He may give us some things we do not need to teach us a lesson just as he gave all those riches to Solomon.

We are to learn from our mistakes! We are not to repeat the same mistake over and over again!

“Stand still” is another challenge from the Lord.

We are going to face problems that there will not be a solution for, but we must not just run away from such things.

To know the Lord Jesus Christ is to know the Problem Solver!

This army was no obstacle for Jehovah God.

In fact Jehovah knew what this Pharaoh would do, and Jehovah would just rid the world of this evil and wicked man.

What were those words of Moses? “Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you today”.

These same words will work even today!

We do not have to worry at what this world can do to us!

We must just stand still in the salvation of the Lord.

What is wrong with our nation today? Christians cower down in fear of the things of this world.

Many are convinced that they should not go to Church because of Covid, where is their faith.

Many are convinced that God is not in control.

The Word of God has told us these things would happen in the latter days so look around and you will see these things are happening according to the Word of God.

The Lord Jesus Christ is never caught off guard! Just read Matthew 24.

if there was ever a time, we need to take our stand on the Word of God (that pillar of cloud by day) then today is that day.

If we do not stand and stand firm, we will see our freedom to worship erode away.

We are the enemies of the world because the Word of God is against what is happening in our world.

Abortion is pushed down our throats all the way to the day of birth.
We are to cower down to the homosexual movement which to God is an abomination. Sodom and Gomorrah have taken over our societies.
Socialism is becoming a reality. Communism will follow if we do not stop it now.

People once came to America for freedom now they are enticed to come for their vote towards an evil agenda.

If the Church remains on the outside and allows these things to continue without taking a stand and let God do what God does.

If Israel had not stood still, they would have never seen the Red Sea part to allow their escape to freedom and the destruction of this Pharaoh who was in fact a type of the Antichrist.

These lessons in the Old Testament were put there by the Holy Spirit for us to learn from and we had better do just that because God does not ever change.

We preach it, we teach it, we had better believe it!

All that Egyptian army including that Pharaoh died that day and Egypt has never been a great power in this world again.

The Egyptian people suffered because of an arrogant Pharoah and because they put their faith in false gods.
It is the same for China today.
It is the same for Noth Korea.
It is the same for most all oppressed people.

Another thing we must quit doing is crying out and complaining to God when we are not willing to show the “faith” that is so dear to our relationship with Him.

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.

The Lord Jesus Christ is never pleased with our lack of “Faith” and He is God!
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Joh 10:30 I and my Father are one.

*Exo 14:21 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
Exo 14:22 And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.

We must forever understand that God is not bound by the laws of nature which He put in place Himself.

God can push aside the laws of nature as He pleases for His own purposes!

The Red Sea became “the gateway” to the Promised Land.

The Red Sea became “an instrument of judgment” upon Pharaoh and his army.

We may understand what is called “climate change” as the beginning of the “judgement” of God on this sinful world!

We understand as Christians that we may see the beginning of these things before the “Rapture” of the Church.

Those waters that were like jell as the Children of Israel passed over the dry sea bed.

Exo 15:8 And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.

CONGEALED means Converted into ice, or a solid mass, by the loss of heat or other process; concreted.

This was not just a happening but a miracle and could not have happened any other way!

Only God could have done this thing!

Isa 63:11 Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? where is he that put his holy Spirit within him?
Isa 63:12 That led them by the right hand of Moses with his glorious arm, dividing the water before them, to make himself an everlasting name?
Isa 63:13 That led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble?

It was Jehovah God who delivered the Children of Israel!

It was Jehovah who brought “Judgment” on Pharaoh and his army.

*Exo 14:23 And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.

No doubt the Pharaoh witnessed something he did not understand but he still commanded his army to follow.

It was blind rage that cause Pharaoh to act. Remember what Jehovah had told Moses.

Exo 6:1 Then the LORD said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land.

Exo_14:8 And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand.

Psa 77:14 Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people.
Psa 77:15 Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.
Psa 77:16 The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled.
Psa 77:17 The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a sound: thine arrows also went abroad.
Psa 77:18 The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook.
Psa 77:19 Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known.
Psa 77:20 Thou leddest thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Once this mighty army was within those walls of water the Lord was not about to allow them to escape.

*Exo 14:24 And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians,
Exo 14:25 And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians.

While trying to stop these children of Israel from escaping him, he found that he could not escape the hand of God himself.

God looks down from Heaven for two reasons. Either for “mercy” or for “judgment”.

This mighty army became confused.
This mighty army became afraid and wanted to retreat.

This is a similar scene from all those armies of the antichrist that will attack Israel during Armageddon.

God offers “mercy” but when “mercy” is refused then comes the “Judgment” of God!

The Lord never breaks a promise!
The Lord always delivers His people, no matter the problem, no matter how difficult it may seem!

What is God’s promise to me and to each Christian?

2Ti 4:18 And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

This army felt so useless they quit on their commander in chief!

This is also a scene that will be seen in the wars of Armageddon!

For these Egyptians they believed that the thunder and lightning and the fire and the hailstones to be Heaven’s artillery turned against them and this was true.

God had this army where He wanted them with no means to escape and God then spoke to Moses.

*Exo 14:26 And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.
Exo 14:27 And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.

Jehovah wanted these children of Israel to understand that it was He behind the arm of Moses and the gods of Egypt were nothing but idols of falseness.

God also wanted these people to follow Moses.

At a signal from Moses those waters that were congealed immediately returned to their place and overwhelmed Pharaohs mighty army and even Pharaoh was a victim of his own anger.

Not one escaped!

It is even said that Pharaoh’s magicians Jannes and Jambres perished with the rest.

2Ti_3:8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.

We see a description of all those that oppose the truth of God. They are reprobate concerning the faith in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

There is no better description of most of those in Washington D C today who are trying to destroy our nation.

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.

God will not claim them unless they repent.

Rom_1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

The Children of Israel could now begin their journey to the Promised Land without the fear of this Pharaoh and his mighty army.

But they were still a rebellious bunch.

Amen

Eternal Victory

August 29, 2021 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Eternal Victory of the King

Book of Matthew Chapter 28

There is so much of this world that knows about the Lord Jesus Christ that His existence cannot be denied!

All human history has been transformed by the person of Jesus Christ!

Even the calendar was changed because of the truth of Jesus Christ.

The Roman ruler of the known world acknowledged the truth of Jesus Christ.

So we can see that the resurrection from the dead of the Lord Jesus Christ is the most important event in all of history.

It is the greatest day for all Christians and all humanity!

You cannot be a Christian and deny the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ!

The Word of God does not give Christians the option of denying the deity of Jesus Christ!

You are not a believer, if you deny the virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.
You are not a believer, if you deny the true life and death of the Lord Jesus Christ.
You are not a believer, if you deny the “bodily” resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

When we say the “Good News” the “Gospel” then these are the things that should come to mind!

Verse 1

*Mat 28:1 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.

Sunday, the first day of the new week should remind all who have been “Born Again” that we cannot die. Oh, we may give up this wicked body of flesh, but our souls are bound for Heaven to be forever with our Holy God.

Sunday is the Lord’s Day!

As Saturday, some say the Sabbath, the day of rest ends, we should lift our eyes toward Heaven and on the Lord’s Day gaze upon the face of our Creator.

Sunday is the “Day of the Lord” and the day we need to worship the Living God!

It is the day to claim the Word of God for the coming week and all weeks in our future.
It is the day to show our gratitude for all the things our Lord has provided and to thank Him for all the things He has promised to provide!
It is the day to show the world we truly love the Lord.
It is a day to lift our eyes toward Heaven and just “Praise the Lord”!

It is the third day after the Lord Jesus was buried that Mary Magdalene and that other Mary, which to me means she was not the mother of Christ Jesus.

Surely the mother of our Lord would not have been described as “the other Mary”.

She may have even been the sister to the Mother of Jesus as there were many forms of the name Mary such as Miriam.

We know at the death of the Lord Jesus she was with Mary the mother of Christ.

Joh 19:25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.

It was these two Marys, that came to the tomb at the dawning of that Sunday morning.

*Mat 28:2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
Mat 28:3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
Mat 28:4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.

As these two saints of God approached the location of the Tomb of Jesus there was suddenly an earthquake.

We should note that no one saw the Lord Jesus Christ exit from that tomb.

In fact the Lord Jesus Christ had left this tomb before any of these things occurred.

This angel had rolled away this stone that had been rolled into place by Joseph of Arimathea.

Mat 27:59 And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,
Mat 27:60 And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.

We must never think that this angel removed the stone for the Lord Jesus to exit the tomb. He removed the stone so these women and any others could look into the tomb and see that Jesus was no longer there.

There had been at least four soldiers guarding the tomb of Jesus from the moment He was buried, and it can be said that these hardened soldiers became so afraid that they passed out.

Mat 27:63 Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.
Mat 27:64 Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.
Mat 27:65 Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can.
Mat 27:66 So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.

This also should give us some idea of how we may react when we first see the Lord face to face.

Every precaution was taken to ensure that no one came to remove the body of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our Savior did not need any help to leave that tomb!

Joh 10:17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.

We should also understand that these guards, once they awoke, were also afraid for their own safety.

This tomb was like a jail in the sense that a guard could be executed for allowing a prisoner to escape, especially one whom the government had taken such precautions.

We should understand that the power of God is awesome, but it can also be terrifying.

These guards witnessed things that were unbelievable, and they did not know what to do.

Remember these were hardened soldiers who had been through many of the wars of Rome.

They became so afraid of their lives they went to the Chief Priest rather than their own commanders.

For these women, they did not know what to think, seeing all these things. Their only concern was for our Savior.

This is also a great lesson for us.

No matter what is going on in this world, we must stay focused upon our Savior!

This angel answered because he understood the conversation that was taking place between these women.

*Mat 28:5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
Mat 28:6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

We can be sure that these believers were afraid just as any of us would have been.

This angel calmed their fears by saying “I know you are seeking Jesus”.

The same Jesus who was crucified because there is only one Jesus Christ.

It is this one event that brought recognition to Christianity even though it is still being denied.

These women saw a real angel and maybe two according to the Book of Luke.

Luk 24:3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.
Luk 24:4 And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:
Luk 24:5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?

It is possible that there were even more angels about the tomb only showing their selves to converse with those who came.

These angels appeared as men and nowhere in the Bible do, we see women mentioned as angels.

Angels are the messengers of God!

These women had no reason to fear because they came because they loved the Lord!

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

The Lord Jesus Christ gave Himself to be crucified for all mankind, but it is important that we believe this!

2Co 5:14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
2Co 5:15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
2Co 5:16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
2Co 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Knowing these women still had doubts these angels said come and see.

Much of the world had an opportunity to see the truth of the Lord, but the Lord Jesus said we need to have “faith”.

They also told these two Marys to tell His disciples that the Lord Jesus had risen from His death and was going to Galilee just as Jesus had told them.

As they hurried to tell the disciples they met the Lord Jesus Christ who called out to them.

We can read about this thing in the four Gospels, and we can believe them all as the truth.

We should note that the Lord Jesus used the phrase “my brethren” even at this time.

The one thing we know for sure about these things is that this tomb is still empty, it was only needed for three days.

When those guards awoken, they feared for their lives so much so they reported to the Chief Priests rather than their own commanders, for they would have been put to death!

They may have even taken the money they were given and left Israel.

*Mat 28:11 Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done.
Mat 28:12 And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers,
Mat 28:13 Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.
Mat 28:14 And if this come to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him, and secure you.
Mat 28:15 So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

1) We should understand that there is no excuse for trained soldiers to fall asleep on guard duty.

There were enough of them that they could sleep in shifts.

This thing would be under the penalty of death for a Roman soldier to do such a thing.

2) The followers of Jesus Christ had no motive to steal the body of Jesus Christ.

The things that He had said He would do could only occur if He was in that tomb.

The disciples never made such a plan to kidnap the body of Christ.

What could they have possibly done with the body of Christ if they did possess it?

3) We should understand that the theft of the body of Christ would have been a Capital Crime punishable by death because the tomb had been sealed with the seal of Pilate and that of Rome.

None of the disciples were ever brought to trial nor arrested.

4) These soldiers realizing these things went to the only place that might save them from death.

They realized they may have seen an act of God.

They were very familiar with the false gods of Rome who were said to have such powers.

5) They were certain that no one would believe what had happened to be the truth.

So we see the Chief Priests and the Elders of Israel sough to discredit these things the soldiers reported.

It seems that money still works to buy a new story or to create lies.

What we need to understand is that the truth will always prevail.

Pro 12:19 The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment.
Pro 12:20 Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil: but to the counsellors of peace is joy.

Treachery had been used to arrest the Lord Jesus Christ.
An illegal court had tried Him.
False charges had been brought against Him before Pilate.
Now bribery was being used to discredit the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

As believers we know that the truth will always prevail.

Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

We know many things the disciples did from the other three Gospels, but we now read where the disciples went to Galilee just as the Lord Jesus instructed.

*Mat 28:16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
Mat 28:17 And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.

We see that Matthew closes out what the Holy Spirit gave to him with the command to all Christians.

To Matthew the Lord Jesus Christ was the Son of David as prophesied and the soon coming King of Israel and King of all the world.

Mat 1:1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Mat 5:35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.

Now Matthew writes that the Lord Jesus is risen just as He had said.

Now in the power of the resurrection, we are all to go forth proclaiming the Lord Jesus and His eternal kingdom.

The eleven disciples traveled to Galilee to meet their Savior as He had instructed but some still had doubts that Jesus would be there.

We can trust what the Lord tells us because He would never lie to us!

We have appointed places where we are to meet the Lord and we should never doubt that He will be there!

1) We will meet Jesus in our worship if it is in Spirit and Truth.

Joh 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

Our worship is not where we go, our worship is where Jesus is at, and He is only in places that preach the truth!

Mat 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

2) We will meet Jesus in our Bible study.

Joh 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

3) We will meet Jesus in our prayers.

Joh 14:13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Joh 14:14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

4) We will meet Jesus in our devotions.

There is a good chance that not just the eleven disciples met the Lord Jesus at Galilee.

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

We should be able to say that more than 500 people, some believing and some in doubt until they saw Him, if we need more proof of the Resurrection Messiah.

The Lord Jesus is real, and He is our Savior and He will return as the King of this world!

If you want to remove your doubts just go and visit the Lord Jesus Christ and you will find Him.

Act 17:27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

Though many still doubt, believers know that the Lord Jesus Christ has the power of God because He is God!

*Mat 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

The Lord Jesus has the power of God for one main reason, to save those who are lost.

Php 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Php 2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
Php 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
Php 2:11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

To those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ, you should know that you will still bow to Him.

His authority is over all the known universe and all the invisible creation.

He is the Lord of the angelic host.

Isa 2:12 For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:

The Lord Jesus Christ will rule this world for 1000 years!

Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

The most important thing to the believer is His power to forgive sins.

Joh 5:22 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:

Joh 5:27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.

There is no one or nothing that has more power than the One True God!

The power of the Lord Jesus Christ gives us confidence that our sin has been forgiven and we have that personal relationship with our Creator.

He asks only one thing of us.

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

Some mistake this as a commandment only to Pastors and Preachers and other such men but this commission is for every believer!

There is no more important Scripture in all the New Testament!

As believers we are to replicate ourselves.

We are to go each of us to make disciples who will then go forth themselves in a continuous fashion.

The Church is set forth as a place to worship the Messiah.

The next phase of the Church is to make disciples.

Any other business of the Church comes after these two things have their priorities in place.

Feeding, clothing, and helping others beyond the teaching of the “Gospel” should never be undertaken until these commandments of the Lord are working as commanded!

The Lord Jesus Christ came to seek and to save and He gave His life to accomplish these things.

What did He teach us?

Mat 10:38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

Mat 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Teach the “Gospel” no matter where we are located understanding that wherever God has placed us is our mission field.

Baptizing is just making a public confession of our faith, but our Lord Jesus was baptized, and we should follow in His ways.

We must know that God is a Holy Trinity that cannot be denied.

The Lord Jesus says, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost (Spirit) which is Jehovah God the Great “I Am” of the Bible.

After our salvation we are to follow as best we can in all the things of Jesus Christ.

To ignore these things is to reject the truth of the Messiah!

What the Lord Jesus Christ did must be studied and studied to the point of learning so we can teach others.

The things that the Lord Jesus Christ taught should rule in our life and our societies today.

Our world has reached this point of wickedness because the Lord Jesus Christ has been rejected!

We must understand we are never alone; the Lord Jesus is with us forever, even here on this earth and forever with us when he takes us home to a place prepared for us!

Amen

The Debt of Sin is Paid

August 14, 2021 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The King Paid the Debt of Sin

Book of Matthew Chapter 27 Verses 26-31, 39-44, 46-50

Just so we know, for Jesus Christ to be crucified, He was nailed to the cross as it lay flat on the ground.

Each hand was extended, and stretched as far as they could be stretched.

Both feet were pulled together and stretched and one nail through both feet.

The cross was then raised up and thrust into the hole that was prepared with a violent shock, with the intent of causing the joints of the body to become dislocated.

The whole weight of the body hung upon those three nails.

The pain was tremendous and lasted until death, which in most cases was not very long.

In mockery, a mixture of true wine and gall was offered to help with the pain, but the death was real.

This type of punishment was used only by the Romans, and only upon slaves and the vilest of criminals!

The Lord Jesus Christ was tried for treason against the Roman government, and even Pilate knew He was innocent of this crime.

Barabbas was found to be guilty of sedition and murder and kept in prison to be crucified on the day that Jesus took his place.

A great lesson it itself and a great type in the Bible.

The Lord Jesus Christ died for the vilest of sinners!

The guilty was set free, while the innocent was slaughtered upon a cruel Roman cross.

*Mat 27:26 Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

Barabbas was guilty of all charges brought against him and was guilty of much more that was not known.

The purpose of the scourge was to weaken the body of that person, who would then be crucified so that they would not live through the next day.

In fact, hundreds of them did not live through the scourging.

The Roman scourge was not an ordinary whip, but had at least eight leather thongs added to it and they loaded with lead and armed with sharp bones and spikes.

Every blow cut deeply into the flesh causing intense pain.

Our Savior was stripped of His clothes and wrapped around a pillar and His back suffered tremendously.

Isa 50:5 The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.
Isa 50:6 I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.
Isa 50:7 For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.
Isa 50:8 He is near that justifieth me; who will contend with me? let us stand together: who is mine adversary? let him come near to me.
Isa 50:9 Behold, the Lord GOD will help me; who is he that shall condemn me? lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up.

It is after this that the soldiers took Jesus into their own common hall and mocked Him.

*Mat 27:27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers.
Mat 27:28 And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.

We now see Our Lord Jesus in the hands of cruel wicked Roman soldiers.

We see Satanic hatred of the Messiah.

Scarlet colored robes were worn by superior officers and this robe may even have been a worn by Pilate.

Such a robe would have been cherished by his private guards.

After these Roman soldiers had their mockery of the Lord Jesus Christ, He was sent to Herod where Herod’s soldiers would not be out done by the Roman soldiers.

Here the Lord wore a purple robe. Those in power of the Jews and their soldiers clothing had to be distinguishable so there would be no confusion of the people.

Then Herod’s soldiers place on our Lord Jesus a purple robe of the type kings wore.

Luk 23:11 And Herod with his men of war set him at nought, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate.

Joh 19:5 Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!

The robes of Christ Jesus are a great Bible study!

Add this one:

Rev 19:13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

Rev 19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

This is the robe our Lord Jesus will wear when He returns to “Judge” this world!

Just a robe was not enough to satisfy these wicked Satan inspired men.

*Mat 27:29 And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!
Mat 27:30 And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.
Mat 27:31 And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.

Mockery is a shameful act for anyone to take part in.

The Lord Jesus had already said he had not come to be the King of this world and at this time He was certainly no rival to Caesar as these things are still in our future.

A crown of thorns was a painful thing, but we can be aware that when the Lord Jesus sees us now, He sees us through the blood that poured from His head down to His eyes.

Heb_9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

When the Lord Jesus Christ returns, He will be much more than just King of the Jews!

Then these cruel men took it upon themselves to beat the Lord Jesus on His face and spit upon Him.

To a Jew being spit upon was a matter of great reproach.

This gives us an idea of how the Roman government felt about the Jews and much of the world today still feel this way.

Our Lord Jesus never said a word.

Isa 50:6 I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.

It was only after all these things that our Lord Jesus was sent to that cruel cross.

*Mat 27:39 And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,
Mat 27:40 And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.

You know, the mockery of the Lord Jesus Christ did not cease at His death, it is alive and well today.

Today you cannot bash the so-called transgender people.
You cannot bash the so-called gay movement.
You cannot bash the BLM movement.
You cannot bash Antifa.
You cannot bash the abortion industry.
But the bashing of the Christian is allowed and even encouraged!

So be it, bash me if you will, just remember the Word of God is the truth and the truth will always be the truth!

Prophecy reads:

Psa 22:6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.
Psa 22:7 All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,

Golgotha was near a road that saw much traffic, and passersby were numerous without counting those who just wanted to see our Lord suffer.

The fact remains that most of those who passed by did not know why the Lord Jesus Christ was even crucified, and just trusted the government that He was guilty of something when He was totally innocent.

We cannot always trust what our government is doing to be the right thing to do, especially today!

We can trust that all those mocked the Lord are now wishing they had not!

Psa 109:25 I became also a reproach unto them: when they looked upon me they shaked their heads.

As far as power goes, the Lord Jesus Christ could have saved Himself at any time.

As far as prophecy goes, the Lord Jesus Christ was committed to saving my soul and the soul of every believer.

Jesus Christ seemed to have failed in His mission.

Satan was feeling great confidence.

The Jews, the hypocritical religious leaders, were now confident they would keep Rome’s affection.

God was laughing at these foolish people.

The Lord Jesus Christ was carrying the sin of the world to Hell where it belonged, and Satan will one day soon join that sin and burn with it!

The Lord Jesus Christ claimed a great success!

His purpose for coming to this earth was being fulfilled and in about 40 days, the Church would be born with 11 disciples and 109 Jews who loved the Lord enough to serve Him.

The enemies of the Church mistook a minor victory, in their view, for a complete and total failure!

Jehovah God cannot be defeated!

You see the enemies of the Church were never satisfied with the death of Jesus Christ, they were filled with hatred and revenge and abuse, when true criminals were not even noticed.

We can see that these things have not changed today!

The Lord Jesus Christ had not claimed to be King, He will upon His return!

He did claimed to be the Son of God and He had proved that over and over again with the miracles and the other things He had accomplished and when He rose from the dead, He set this world on fire with the “gospel”!

Remember the Lord Jesus had fulfilled every prophecy that had been written of the Messiah up until the day of His death and He will fulfill all the Bible written about Him because all the Bible is written about our Messiah and King.

*Mat 27:41 Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,
Mat 27:42 He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.
Mat 27:43 He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.

First, we would think that men of such high office whether they be religious or government officials, would be above this sort of behavior, but it is not surprising as it still goes on today even more so.

Our own government leaders have sunk to new lows. It makes me wonder how in the world they were elected in the first place.

We must remember that being a part of the unbelieving crowd, they seem to lust after shameful things.

The Lord Jesus Christ is our Savior!
The Lord Jesus Christ will return as King of this world and even now is our Spiritual King!
The Lord Jesus Christ was that 100% Son of Man, and He did trust God perfectly!
The Lord Jesus Christ above all is the Son of God!

These foolish men could not humiliate the Lord Jesus, He had already accepted how He would be treated and asked our Heavenly Father to forgive them.

Luk_23:34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

It was God who hung upon that Cross and He had fulfilled what He came to do.

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.

The Lord Jesus Christ was all He claimed to be!

He was the Savior!
He was the King!
He was the Son of Man!
He is the Son of God!

All these who hated the Lord Jesus were just foolish men with no power at all.

They were just doing that the Lord knew they would do, just as today.

The rulers of this world are doing exactly what the Lord knew they would do.

In their ignorance they are doing what God expects them to do.

They only difference is that our Savior has given them all room to repent!

Joh 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Joh 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

If the wicked men and women of this world think they are a challenge to the almighty God, they are thinking far above their knowledge and just fueled by Satan’s hatred!

If the Lord Jesus Christ had used the power that He did have to save Himself, we would still be lost in our sin!

“Elected officials who walk with the lawless and the wicked” just show that their morals are non-existent, and they are not worthy to hold public office.

This would also include religious officials who stand with those who oppose the Word of God. They are just servants of Satan!

The criminals on each side of the Lord joined in at this time, but one would repent later.

*Mat 27:44 The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.

What we witness once a mob gets started, people will just join in not even understanding what is happening.

These two criminals had never met the Lord Jesus Christ until this moment when He was crucified with them.

Mat 27:38 Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.

One of those thieves realized that Christ Jesus was innocent.

Luk 23:39 And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.
Luk 23:40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
Luk 23:41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
Luk 23:42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
Luk 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

You see just realizing the truth of the Lord takes the pain of death away!

Without a Baptism and with a simple plea of faith this one thief became a saint of God!

As death came unto the Lord, even God’s creation began to mourn!

*Mat 27:45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.
Mat 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

We sometimes get confused with Jewish timekeeping, but it is really not that hard.

We what had the Lord said?

Joh 11:9 Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.

Mat 20:3 And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
Mat 20:4 And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.
Mat 20:5 Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.

The time of reckoning always began at six in the morning so to the Jew the seventh hour was then the first hour.

The sixth hour would then be noon.

When the Sun was the highest darkness came upon Jerusalem and the darkness remained until three o’clock in the afternoon.

This was a terrifying darkness not like a solar eclipse.

It was sudden and it was real!

Our Lord Jesus had taken all the darkness of sin upon Himself, and He would be the payment for all that sin as a Holy God required a blood sacrifice.

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

It was at this point when our Savior cried out knowing that He had been forsaken for the first and the only time.

God’s only begotten Son, the Sovereign Lord of all beings, both visible and invisible was at the point of a real physical death!

It is easy to say the Lord Jesus was bearing all our sins and the sin of all humanity, but He was also bearing the wrath of God that was against us!

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

You see this is the gift that we so easily take for granted!

Jesus Christ was dying my death and the death for all humanity! This is only affective for those who believe the Lord did this thing!

The Lord Jesus Christ was doing all that was necessary to free all humanity from the penalty of sin, the death of sin, and the judgment of sin so that we may live forever.

This is the free gift we have been given!

Rom 11:33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
Rom 11:34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
Rom 11:35 Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
Rom 11:36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

The Apostle Paul was a great preacher because he understood all these things and has passed this things on to us.

Those that stood by watching for His death never understood what the Word of God was teaching them.

*Mat 27:47 Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias.
Mat 27:48 And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.

Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?

Psa 22:1 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Again, we see that these who caused the Lord Jesus to be crucified, did not know the Scriptures.

All through His time upon this earth Jesus was called the son of David because, by inheritance Jesus was in-line to the throne of Judah.

Psalm 22 was a Psalm of David.

Almost every one of us have reached a point in our lives when we thought we were forsaken.

The Lord Jesus Christ was standing in His Father’s Judgment Seat and facing the wrath of God because He bore the sin of the world.

God, in the Hebrew, El, is pronounced Ale.

The Lord Jesus was definitely calling out to Jehovah God!

The Lord Jesus was not calling out to Elijah!

These people had their theology so messed up they had missed the Messiah.

Earlier the Lord Jesus was offered vinegar mixed with gall and He had refused to drink it.

Mat 27:34 They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.

At this time Jesus was offered vinegar.

Roman soldiers that travel from nation to nation could not take of the water from place to place no more than we can today until our bodies have had time to adjust.

Vinegar is the last stage of the grape juice when it is sour and when mixed with water it allowed the soldier to stay healthy without the effects of the water alone.

This time the Lord Jesus accepted this drink.

His task was over. He had given His life for my sin and for your sin!

*Mat 27:49 The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him.
Mat 27:50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, “yielded up the ghost”.

“It was finished”

Mar 15:37 And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and “gave up the ghost”.

Luk 23:46 And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost”.

Joh 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, “It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost”.

You can read all four of these Scriptures and you will see that this is something that we cannot do.

Oh, we can commit suicide, but we cannot give up our soul at death.

God takes our soul because it returns to Him to do with it as He pleases.

This is why it is so important to have our name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life!

The Lord Jesus Christ held the power to His own death.

Joh 10:17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
Joh 10:18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

This power only the Lord Jesus has!

Rev_3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

Rev_20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Rev_22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

The Lord Jesus gave up His Spirit!

The Lord Jesus Christ willingly died for me and for you!

What did the Lord Jesus do after His death upon the Cross?

1Pe 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
1Pe 3:19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
1Pe 3:20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

After His death.

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

The Lord Jesus Christ died so that we can live!

Amen

A Savior Determined to Save

August 8, 2021 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Betrayal and Trial of the King

Chapter 26 Verse 47 through verse 75

We must never forget why Our Lord Jesus laid aside His glory and came to this earth!

Mat 20:28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Our Savior never deviated from this task!

Nothing happened to our Savior that He was not in full control of and that He did not allow to happen to Him!

No one took the life of Jesus, He laid down His life Himself!

Our Lord Jesus was betrayed by His friend, but Jesus knew this was going to happen all along!

*Mat 26:47 And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people.

What will sound tragic to us in this passage, is actually God in control from start to finish.

We will see Our Lord Jesus betrayed, arrested, tried, and deserted within just a short period of time.

Our Lord Jesus, falsely accused, was falsely arrested, had a false trial, and sentenced to a real death.

Jesus was deserted by His closest friends and forsaken by His Heavenly Father for a short period of time.

What do we see? We will see a Savior, determined to save those He loved and all the unlovable, such a I.

What is reality? Sin is mighty, but it cannot make God cease to love us!

There is nothing we do that can make God love us less!

We know a good bit about Peter and his ways, so we can just imagine Peter as he is awakened from his sleep to see Judas leading the enemies of Jesus Christ.

As a soldier, I have a hard time forgiving traitors, such as John Kerry and Jane Fonda and some others.

They may have wondered where Judas was all this time, but they now knew.

All these arrangements had been made so that it would have been impossible for our Lord Jesus to escape.

These people never understood the power of God nor do so many today!

These things were allowed because of that power of God!

We can see that Judas even walked a little in front of the crowd trying to hide his wickedness.

Luk 22:47 And while he yet spake, behold a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him.

We cannot hide our feelings about the Lord Jesus Christ!

Luk 22:48 But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?

Jesus was betrayed by an act of love.

*Mat 26:48 Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast.
Mat 26:49 And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him.

We should think of nothing strange about this kiss. It was the means of greeting in the oriental world.

Its value was somewhat like the handshake of our culture.

Remember a day, when a handshake was more binding than any legal document!

Makes us think that if Our Lord Jesus returned today and He could, how most of those who professed Him, would then reject Him?

Jesus could not preach in many modern day Churches.

Jesus would be shunned for His stance on sin!

How most would betray Him today?

We should ask ourselves this question. Would I betray my only Savior?

We can see that Judas had planned this betrayal very well.

It was dark except for torches.

Those behind him did not know the Lord Jesus by site so we can see the reason for the deception of Judas.

We can see in typology, this is the way of those who claim Jesus but are hypocrites!

They serve their own self-interest!

When we plan and plot to sin, we are just deceivers and the worst of sinners!

The plan to sin is bad, but the deception is even worse.

Those who will deceive the Lord Jesus Christ have no problem at all in deceiving others!

These are the type of people who make up our government today!

Jesus never showed any hatred even when He knew what Judas was doing!

*Mat 26:50 And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him.

The Lord Jesus Christ still loves the unlovable!

Judas had to search his heart to answer this question! Just why had he done this terrible deed?

It was Judas’ last chance to think about what he had done and repent, but he could not find it in his heart to repent even though he did have great regret for what he had done.

You see feeling sorry is never enough, we must repent.

To repent is a complete change of mind and a complete change of direction and Judas never found the peace for his soul again and he committed suicide.

When we approach the Lord Jesus Christ, we must recognize that we are sinners in need of forgiveness!

We are fools to reject the Divine love of God He has shown to us by His Son!

Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

It was the fiery darts of the Devil that the Lord Jesus felt on the side of His cheeks!

Then, just before Jesus felt the cruel hands of His enemies, Peter still groggy from his sleep drew out his sword.

*Mat 26:51 And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest’s, and smote off his ear.

We know it was Peter according to the Book of John.

Joh 18:10 Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus.
Joh 18:11 Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?

It is said by some that Peter almost messed everything up in the plan of God for His Son.

If we believe this, then we would have to believe that our Lord Jesus was not in control of this scene.

We must understand that there is never a time that God is not in complete control of the things that happen in this world!

We may not understand why bad things happen to good Christian people, but we must agree that these things were allowed for God’s purpose.

Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

There was a purpose behind what Peter did, and a purpose for why the Lord Jesus restored this man’s ear to full use.

We can certainly believe that Malchus had a whole new outlook on this man called Jesus!

The Lord Jesus did not need anyone’s help to fulfill the will of God for Him!

Jesus had already committed Himself to the Cross and nothing could change that!

They first took Jesus to Caiaphas who was the true High Priest at this time, but let’s just say he followed the lead of his predecessor.

*Mat 26:57 And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.

The first thing we should notice is that these wicked men were already gathered together to try Our Lord Jesus.

When we study the Scriptures, we will find that Annas, the earlier High Priest and the father-in-law of Caiaphas, still controlled all sacred matters of the priesthood and the High Priests for the next several years would all be from this same wicked family.

We know that this wicked man had predetermined that Christ Jesus must be put to death for the benefit of the nation of Israel.

Joh 11:49 And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all,
Joh 11:50 Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.
Joh 11:51 And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation;
Joh 11:52 And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.

The Lord Jesus Christ had been opposed and rejected by these wicked men all the days of His ministry!

You just like today, these men felt that they were stronger than God and therefore they opposed the Word of God!

The Lord Jesus would be officially condemned to die by the highest court in Israel!

In America this court would be the equivalent to our Supreme Court.

Our Lord Jesus was captured and was led to trial, and it was these, who hated Him so much because He preached the truth, would judge Him.

In fact, they had already judged Him and found Him guilty of apostacy, which according to Jewish Law was punishable with death but by Roman Law these Jews could not sentence Jesus to death nor any man though we know they still stoned some who broke those laws.

They would then accuse Jesus of insurrection against the Roman government which was also punishable by death by Roman Law.

They accused Jesus of saying He was God when Caesar claimed to be God.

Again we see Peter, but he is not following very close to Jesus.

*Mat 26:58 But Peter followed him afar off unto the high priest’s palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end.

This is the same problem with many, so-called Christians, they refuse to closely follow the Lord Jesus Christ!

All the disciples were confused because they had not understood all the things of the Messiah.

Peter knew somewhat the power that the Lord Jesus had, surely, He could escape this thing if He so chose to do so.

But there is great danger in following the Lord Jesus from a distance.

All these disciples had fled just as prophesied:

Mar_14:27 And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.

Peter was caught between his loyalty to our Lord and fear for his own self.

His fear would lead him to sin!

We probably see more of this sort today than any other day in history.

Good Christians want to stand up for the Word of God, but when ridicule comes from the other side, they cower down in defeat rather than take a stand on the Word of God!

Peter just did not understand the truth of the Bible!

We say it all the time, but ignorance of the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ, will bring defeat into our lives!

Jesus had done nothing wrong against any Jew nor any Roman and had broken no laws at all!

Peter began to hang around with the wrong crowd!

If the government could just find someone to bring false witness against Jesus, it would make things better for His enemies.

*Mat 26:59 Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death;

Have you noticed lately that factions of our own government do this same sort of thing!

They bring false witnesses against good people to slander and ruin their names!

Politicians have become cruel and ruthless in their lust for power! In fact leaning toward Communism where these things go on all the time.

People will do anything for money or prestige or power, in our corrupt government!

We can just imagine the faces of these foolish men as Our Lord Jesus is brought before them and then, they suddenly realized they had no proof of their accusations.

They hated and despised the Lord Jesus Christ too much for this to remain an obstacle!

This is what hatred causes!

The Lord Jesus had done no evil at all!

As always, we will find someone who will twist His words to another meaning.

Our so-called news sources do this every day!

Jesus had asked this question.

Joh_8:46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?

There was no answer then, and there was no answer now!

We should be able to see this court was not assembled to find Jesus guilty, they had already decided that our Savior was guilty in need if death.

This court was assembled to gather enough proof against Him to get the Romans to kill Him!

It is hard to do that with someone so innocent!

What was wrong with these foolish men?

They loved this world more than they loved God!

They knew well that Christ could not be condemned with true testimony, because there was none!

Then, they tried to put together a false witness.

If they had meant to deal fairly, they would have allowed some who knew him to speak in his favor, but this was the very last thing they wanted, or would have sanctioned.

So they found no true witnesses!

So they found those who were willing to lie, but even they were useless because their witness did not agree.

*Mat 26:60 But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses,
Mat 26:61 And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.

You see you cannot find faults in what is perfect!

Lies will always fail against the truth!

There will always be those who will distort the Word of God!

Many of them just take what the Lord says out of the context of which He intended!

We see this many times in politicians and just recently with our president and his vice-president.

Of all the enemies of our Lord Jesus, nothing could be found that would condemn Him to death.

This is why we are taught to watch what comes out of our mouths.

Tit 2:8 Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.

Then our enemies will find fault in our God!

Remember Daniel:

Dan 6:4 Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.
Dan 6:5 Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.

We must remember, these wicked men needed evidence to convince the Roman authorities that the Lord Jesus needed to be put to death, but they never got it!

*Mat 26:62 And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?
Mat 26:63 But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.

There was no need for the Lord to answer to these accusations because there were none!

Those two false witnesses could not even agree on what the Lord had said.

This is the best reason to have in your possession a Bible copied from the original Greek and Hebrew Scriptures and why I use the KJV Bible.

Silence is always the best reply to slander!

They wanted our Savior to respond to these false accusations hoping He would give them more evidence.

Now we would do such a thing and then get mad and maybe say some things could be said to cause us harm, but doing things the Jesus way is always the best.

People that hate us do not deserve any response from us!

Now a question is asked that can be responded to.

*Mat 26:64 Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
Mat 26:65 Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy.

Was Jesus the Messiah?

You see, if Our Savior did not claim to be the Messiah, then the case against Him had no real meaning at all.

The Lord Jesus in a sense had to respond with a positive answer to this question, in order for the death penalty to be given!

If Jesus was truly the Messiah, then according to the Scriptures, He was also King of the Jews, and these things could be used against Him though it was not the time for these things as the Lord Jesus said.

Jesus said after these things meaning, after this false trial and His death.

Then, He would sit at the right hand of God, because He is the right hand of God, and He would one day come in the clouds to get His Church.

You see, it is the death, the burial, and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ that is the foundation of the Church and after a time of sitting at the throne of His Father, Jesus would come in the clouds to take His Church out of this world.

Only after these things would Jesus return as King!

The Lord Jesus spoke the truth and non-believers called this truth blasphemy.

The truth will always be the truth and the truth cannot change!

This was the good confession later written about Him!

1Ti_6:13 I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession;

The Lord Jesus did never explain His answer.
The Lord Jesus did never change His answer.
The Lord Jesus did never retract His answer.

All those that were there heard what the Lord Jesus had said!

They knew these things were true, they still rejected the man who sat before them.

Dan 7:13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
Dan 7:14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

Notice the Lord Jesus only tells the first part of the Scripture from the Book of Daniel.

Once our Lord meets His Church in the clouds, the Church will begin a seven year honey moon with Him while Tribulation and the Great Tribulation will be happening on this earth.

Once Jesus said these words, then by Jewish Law, blasphemy could be a sentence of death.

Blasphemy is the speaking evil of our Holy God!

Lev 24:16 And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the LORD, shall be put to death.

Though the Lord Jesus spoke the truth, He knew they would not believe Him, but His death on the cross required this truth!

People just do not accept the truth of the Bible, the Word of God.

*Mat 26:66 What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death.

This is the only thing that was used to sentence the Lord to death!

Joh 19:7 The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.

We might understand that the High Priest was also subject to death for what he had done by those same laws of Moses.

Lev 10:6 And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the LORD hath kindled.

Lev 21:10 And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes;
Lev 21:11 Neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother;
Lev 21:12 Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD.

Who was the guiltiest by Jewish Law? It was the High Priest for the Lord Jesus spoke the truth!

Let’s not forget Peter.

Remember a boastful Peter was told that he would deny the Lord.

Luk_22:34 And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.
Luk_22:61 And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.

*Mat 26:69 Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee.
Mat 26:70 But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest.
Mat 26:71 And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth.
Mat 26:72 And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man.
Mat 26:73 And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee.
Mat 26:74 Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew.
Mat 26:75 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.

We must understand that denying the Lord Jesus Christ is a very serious thing to do.

It is a terrible sin, but even this sin can be forgiven if asked during this lifetime.

What we see is that a man, Peter, who had confessed undying loyalty to our Savior, ended up denying our Lord three times just as the Lord had said.

The Lord Jesus Christ knows us better than we know ourselves!

We see the cause of Peter’s denial, Peter was hanging around with the wrong crowd. A crowd where they hated the Lord Jesus Christ.

Peter had fled when the Lord Jesus gave Himself over to that mob that came for Him.

The Lord Jesus wanted His disciples to escape safely.

In typology, Peter was following the Lord Jesus, but he was following from too great distance.

In reality, the Lord Jesus wants a close and personal relationship with all His disciples!

We cannot say we are following Christ if we are following afar off!

What did Peter learn from his mistakes?

1Pe 4:13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
1Pe 4:14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.
1Pe 4:15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.
1Pe 4:16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.

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.

We absolutely must leave our old life behind and this means to not socialize with those who do not believe the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ!

We are to witness to them, but not socialize with them!

We can be friends with them, but we are not to socialize with them!

We must never fall into the trap of too much self-confidence!

Peter had said He would lay down his life for the Lord Jesus, but he found that he was afraid for his own life.

In this incident, weaknesses Peter did not know he had, came to the surface.

Even after claiming the truth of Jesus Christ and being “Born Again” into the family of God, we must know that we are just sinners saved by the “Grace” of God.

As long as we are in these bodies of flesh we will war with our flesh.

The Lord will still forgive us of our sin!

Now, if we deliberately sin trying to take advantage of God’s “Grace”, then we cannot truly say we are saved.

Rom 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Rom 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

We may not know exactly what “God forbids” but it cannot be righteousness!

Like Peter, before we can be effective witnesses, then we need to know our own weaknesses!

Our confidence cannot be in ourselves, our confidence must be in our Lord Jesus Christ!

2Co_3:5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;

We must mortify the actions of our flesh!

Mortify means just like it sounds, we must put to death all the sinful actions of our flesh!

Rom_8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

Col_3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:

What saved Peter?

The fact that the Lord Jesus prayed for Him just as He prays for each of us.

Luk 22:31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:

Luk_22:32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

We can do nothing without the Lord Jesus Christ!

Amen

Obedient To the Will of God

August 1, 2021 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Jesus’ Great Decision as King

Book of Matthew Chapter 26:36-46

We have been studying our Lord Jesus in His final week before a very cruel cross.

The Lord Jesus, 100% God yet 100% man knew what He faced.

He faced betrayal by one of His disciples.
He faced a false trial by religious hypocrites.
He faced physical abuse much, much more than necessary by tyrannical governments.
He faced a humiliating death by crucifixion.
He faced the burden of carrying the weight of every sin that had been committed and every sin that would be committed in all this world.

This death for Christ Jesus was different from that of any natural man.

Our Lord Jesus accepted the verdict of guilty for my sin and your sin and all sinners.
Our Lord Jesus accepted the penalty and punishment for my sin and for your sin and for all sinners.

By doing these things for me and for you and for every believer, we can now have 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.

We should ask ourselves just what is death?

Physical death is a reality for every member of the human race!

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.

When the Bible speaks of death, it is speaking of the death of the physical body, but it is not speaking of the soul.

The soul is the life-principle of man and cannot die because it is God-given.

The body is made of things of this world.

Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

The soul is made by God Himself and only God can destroy the soul.

Mat 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Death of the body is the wages of sin, but this death is not an annihilation because life continues for the believer and for the unbeliever after the death of the body!

Luk 16:22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
Luk 16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

For the believer death means to join Jesus Christ in Heaven.

2Co 5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
2Co 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
2Co 5:9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.

With all these things on the mind of Christ, He resorted to prayer to His Heavenly Father.

Let us begin:

*Mat 26:36 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.
Mat 26:37 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.

What is prayer? Prayer is a conversation with our Holy God who is also our Heavenly Father, who wants very much to hear from His children!

Many of us believe that all the disciples were there except Judas who had begun his betrayal.

The Lord Jesus had ridden into Jerusalem only as the Spiritual King and not as conquering king, and Judas now knew that Jesus was not going to raise an army to defeat Rome and he therefore rejected Him.

Our Lord Jesus, the human side wanted desperately to talk to His Heavenly Father.

I know I have been this way many times.

I know that many times I have had to fight my shame in talking to my Heavenly Father, but I have always felt better after I have prayed.

Many things were on the heart of our Lord but quitting was not one of them!

The Lord Jesus wanted His disciples to feel that closeness of a Father in Heaven who is still the Almighty God.

Certainly our Lord Jesus was afflicted.
Certainly He suffered.

What we need to understand.

We were guilty if sin with no way out of the wages of death! Jesus Christ willed our forgiveness.
We were enslaved to Satan with no way to escape! Jesus Christ willed our freedom.
We were sorrowful! Jesus Christ willed our peace.
We were dying! Jesus Christ willed us life for ever.

What was Jesus praying about? Father thy will be done as it is Heaven, and the requirement was a blood sacrifice.

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.

Our Lord Jesus entered into His closet at the Garden of Gethsemane. He wanted His disciples to pray for His strength to battle with Satan.

This the same thing we do, when we pray for our Pastor.

He asked some of us to pray during the preaching and this is what we should praying strength to battle the Devil.

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.

These things weighed heavy on our Savior, but He had no intention of quitting.

He just wished He did not have to break fellowship with His Father not even for one moment.

*Mat 26:38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.

Say where is that proof?

In every prayer the Lord spoke to His Father, but once He took upon Himself all the sin of the world, just for a moment, His Father could not look upon sin and Our Lord Jesus bore all our sin!

Mar 15:34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Once that sin was in the grave and then in Hell, His fellowship was restored to His Father!

These disciples just did not understand Satan was trying his best to keep the Lord from going to that miserable cross.

Some would ask what difference would it make, if Jesus came to die?

Our Lord Jesus tried to explain this to them earlier:

Joh 12:30 Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.
Joh 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
Joh 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
Joh 12:33 This he said, signifying what death he should die.

Bible prophecy had to be fulfilled just as it was written, and it has been.

This is the very reason there are so many trying to discredit the Word of God!

1) Jesus Christ, our Lord felt much sorrow and pain and was in much heaviness.

Luk 22:43 And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.
Luk 22:44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

We can believe that the human part of the Lord has felt the agony of what was about to happen to Him.

Remember the Lord Jesus was 100% God, but at this time He was also still 100% human.

2) Our Lord Jesus was suffering much agony and grief and He wanted these men who had become His close friends to be near Him and pray with Him, but they had failed Him even in this as Jesus had said “watch with me”.

This is why it is important for someone to be praying for our Pastor while he preaches!

3) Our Lord Jesus Christ also warned these disciples to pray for themselves because the entire world would change at the death, the burial, and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ!

We must clearly understand that we must strive against sin at any cost to ourselves!

Heb 12:3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
Heb 12:4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.

The Lord Jesus gave His life in great agony to pay for our sin!

What happened here in the Garden to Gethsemane should be our wakeup call in our everyday life trying not to sin.

When we sin, we are just adding to the agony of our Lord even in His forgiveness!

Thank goodness for His great love for us!

We can also see that it was that talking to our Heavenly Father (Prayer) that makes the difference in the comfort of our soul!

*Mat 26:39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

We must understand that “prayer” is not just a great privilege, it is necessity for us in today’s world!

We should also understand that even though this human side of our Lord Jesus was in such great agony, there was never at any point that Satan had the strength to destroy our Lord Jesus!

The Lord Jesus was bound for the cross, not “death in the Garden of Gethsemane”, no matter how hard Satan tried to kill Him there!

Anyone who teaches such a thing dishonors our Savior!

This human body of Christ was immortal just as the Church, the Body of Christ is immortal and can stand against the “gates of hell”.

Every Christian is immortal until God says it is our time to die!

If we believe that in our conflict with Satan, that he has the power to take our life at any moment, then we are saying Satan is stronger than our Lord Jesus Christ and this is false teaching!

Sure Jesus was in agony, He was taking upon Himself all the sin then, past, and future, He was surely in agony, but Satan could never take His life nor can he, our lives!

At no time was the Lord Jesus Christ in danger of death!

Death is the result of sin, and Our Lord Jesus Christ had no sin of Himself!

Only on the Cross was Our Lord Jesus made sin for us!

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.

What did Jesus say?

Joh 10:17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.

Joh 10:18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

Our Lord Jesus laid down His glory to come to this earth with a mission to save our souls and nothing of this earth nor of the things of Heaven nor of the things of Hell could stop from completing His work!

Any teaching that goes against what our Lord accomplished is false teaching!

What was His agony?
What was He dreading?
What was that sorrow unto death?

Jesus who was in the image of God was soon to be made sin and had to stand in the presence of God.

His Father’s face which had always looked toward Him was soon to be hid!
For just a moment in time He was no longer the beloved of God!
His Father’s smile on Him would change to a frown!

That awful cry from the Cross tells us the whole story.

Mar_15:34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

We will never know this suffering for which our Savior endured because for this thing that our Savior did, we can never be forsaken!

Heb_13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

In all things the Lord Jesus Christ pleased His Father and so should we as best we can!

Luk_22:42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

Jesus so wanted His disciples to pray for Him and with Him. they were also His friends.

*Mat 26:40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
Mat 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

What we see is that even in His death, the Lord Jesus Christ stood alone, neglected by His closest friends.

What we see is that we may not ever understand everything that the Lord teaches us, but we must have enough “faith” to just believe what He says!

We may fail to pray for our Pastor, our family, and our friends which is awful, but we had better not forget to pray for ourselves!

We must watch what is going on in the world and the things that relate to the return of Christ Jesus, and we must pray that we with the power of God can stand with the Lord.

One man wrote that. “to watch is to see” and “to pray is be prepared”.

We cannot depend upon our own wisdom we need the mind of Christ Jesus!

Yes, they had a taxing day, and they were tired!
Yes, they were worried and fatigued!

We all know that concentration on prayer is hard enough without these obstacles.

Prayer is just too important to allow these things to interfere with our prayers and our prayer life.

It is a sure fact that we cannot fight temptation on our own!

Temptation is being enticed to commit sin.

The sources of temptation are:

1) Satan
2) This world.
3) Our Flesh.

Playing around with temptation will always lead to sad consequences!

When we watch and pray, we are saying, “I am depending upon you God to help me through this temptation” and He will!

If you have survived that temptation, then you need to thank the Lord for His help!

You see as a believer we are never alone!

Many of our trials come in an instant and in our weakness, we need to watch and pray immediately.

We know that our flesh struggles against the Holy Spirit who abides with us.

Gal 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

We need the strength of the Lord and a daily filling of the Holy Spirit!

The Lord went back to His prayer closet and prayed more.

*Mat 26:42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.

We should take the time to read Psalm 102

Psalm 102:1 Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto thee.
Psalm 102:2 Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline thine ear unto me: in the day when I call answer me speedily.

Psa 102:24 I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are throughout all generations.

Psa 102:18 This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD.
Psa 102:19 For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth;
Psa 102:20 To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death;
Psa 102:21 To declare the name of the LORD in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem;
Psa 102:22 When the people are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.

Heb 5:7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
Heb 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
Heb 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

The Lord Jesus Christ was not afraid to die, His death had a great purpose! Our Salvation.

Our Lord Jesus did not want to break fellowship with the Father not even for one moment!

Whatever the will of the Father for Him, that the Lord Jesus was happy to comply with!

Those who were there with Him just fell asleep and many a Christian are still asleep today, not realizing just how close we are to the return of Our Lord Jesus!

Our Lord went to pray a third time.

*Mat 26:43 And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy.
Mat 26:44 And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.

We must clearly understand that Christ Jesus was not afraid of the death He faced. There was joy in what He was about to do!

Heb_12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; “who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross”, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

He just wanted a different way than a separation from our Heavenly Father even if it was just for a moment in time.

By this death Our Lord Jesus made a way that we can never be forsaken. This is that gift of “Grace” to the believer!

Jas 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Jas 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

When we face the trials of life, and we will, we need to remember these prayers from Gethsemane as an example given to us by our Master!

What are the enemies of our prayers?

1) Physical drowsiness.
2) Spiritual blindness, not believing what the Lord teaches us.
3) Taking God for granted. We must be sure our prayers reach into Heaven!

By the end of these prayers Our Lord Jesus had His answers, and He was prepared to drink of His bitter cup.

The best decision is always just to be obedient to our Heavenly Father!

*Mat 26:45 Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
Mat 26:46 Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.

What His friends could not do for Him the Holy Spirit accomplished!

Our Lord Jesus was now at peace with what He was about to do.

He knew the terrible things that men of this world would do to Him, but He never flinched.

Christ had been in agony, but He was now at peace.

We to can find peace when we are sincere in our prayers, even when we do not get what we want.

Jesus knew what was about to happen and He welcomed the fact that in His death the world could be saved from the clutches of the Devil.

The traitor Judas led a small army of men to take the Lord Jesus to those who would judge Him, though they had already made up their minds to kill Him.

They carried swords and staves to overcome any that were with Jesus.

There were Temple guards and Roman soldiers.
There were some from the Sanhedrin Court and also of the Elders of Israel.
There was the traitor.

Joh 18:3 Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons.
Joh 18:4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?
Joh 18:5 They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.

Our Lord Jesus Christ did not get what He wanted, but His decision had been made and with joy He obeyed His Father!

God sometimes says “No” because it is just the right thing to do.

To be in the will of His Father, the Son had to die!

Amen

The Second Coming of the Messiah

July 25, 2021 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Second Coming of the King

Book of Matthew Chapter 24

The most anticipated day in all of Christianity is the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We know the Lord will return in two stages.

1) The Lord will return first to get His Church out of this world before the Tribulation years, the time of Jacob’s Trouble.

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.
1Th 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

He will meet His Church in the clouds!

Jer 30:7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.
Jer 30:8 For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him:
Jer 30:9 But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.
Jer 30:10 Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid.
Jer 30:11 For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.

The Tribulation years are a time of Jacob’s Trouble not a time of trouble for the Church.

All the persecution of the church will take place during the Church Age, the Age we are now in.

2) The Lord will return to end the time of Jacob’s Trouble by claiming the throne of David where He will rule this world for 1000 years.

Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

The Lord Jesus is still coming, and it may not be very much longer!

Many things will take place in this time period of when the Lord Jesus ascended back to Heaven and when He will return!

The Book of Matthew teaches us many of these things by the Lord Himself.

*Mat 24:1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.

This Second Temple was a marvelous structure that King Herod had been restoring for more than 40 years.

*Mat 24:2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that this prophecy was fulfilled just as the Lord Jesus had said.

Josephus a Jewish historian testified of this destruction by Titus in 70 AD.

Josephus wrote that passersby would have supposed that the place of the Temple had never been inhabited if they did not know the truth.

Titus, the Roman general, ordered the very foundations of it to be dug up; after which the ground on which it stood was ploughed up by Turnus Rufus and planted.

As beautiful as this Temple was, it was the actions of the priests that changed the function of God’s House.

It is not the outward appearance of any Church that makes it truly acceptable, it is what is happening within.

The disciples were aroused to ask questions:

1) When would this Temple be destroyed.
2) When would the Lord return.

What should we then believe? We should expect a literal fulfillment of these words of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We must also understand that Our Lord Jesus is preparing these disciples for His departure!

*Mat 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
Mat 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

Just how will the Lord answer these questions, let us listen to what our Savior says.

The very first thing we see is that there will be great deceptions told to God’s people.

The very first sign would be the rise of false prophets!

If we cannot see the truth of this statement, then we are totally blind!

We should also see what is described as the ending of an Age.

We know the Church Age is coming to an end and another sign is that falling away.

2Th 2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2Th 2:2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

There is a great falling away from the Church because of all the false prophets in the pulpits and in the secular world.

*Mat 24:5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

Most all the world is aware that the Lord Jesus has said He would return, and He will.

Many do not understand that Our Savior and Redeemer will return in two stages.

These 12 men with the Lord understood that all these things might happen all at one time, and this is not what the Lord Jesus was teaching them.

Many today think these things have already taken place and this also is not what our Lord Jesus was teaching.

The Church has been around long enough for most all the world to know that by the teaching of the true Church, the only way to Heaven is through and by the Lord Jesus Christ.

All those people and all those nations know that the Bible says they are doomed to Hell whether they believe it or not.

Psa 9:7 But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment.
Psa 9:8 And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.

Much of the Church is hated for these reasons.

Most all politicians use these things for their own glory, some the righteousness, and most against what we know is the truth.

In reality lies and liars dominate the language of this world today!

Another reality is that we should be very careful when we are quoting the prophecies of the end times.

The Lord says take heed less we are deceived.

*Mat 24:5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

There will be false Christs and there will be false prophets.

We see and we have seen both of these, and we will continue to do so.

These represent not only those who say they are the Christ, but also those who claim to be Christians and are not.

If this was not true then, our Lord Jesus would not have said these words and He has said them before He said all these other things.

The Lord said there would be many, not just a few.

2Co 11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
2Co 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
2Co 11:15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

These false Christ have existed since the beginning of the Church and are multiplying today.

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.

Yet, there are many more signs.

*Mat 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

The Lord said for sure there would be many wars and many more rumors of wars. These things must come to pass.

Saying these things meant these things would happen over a long period of time, but the end of which these disciples asked is not yet.

The thing we must remember the most is, that the fulfillment of the Scriptures requires a long time for its completion.

We need only look at the time that has already past yet, many prophecies have reached their fulfillment and many more will do so in the time that remains.

If the Lord returned for His Church today, we know there would be more than a thousand years that would remain for complete Biblical fulfillment.

The Lord Jesus could actually return for His Church today! There is nothing yet to be fulfilled before the “Rapture of the Church”.

Most all remaining prophecies concern the promises made to the Children of Israel.

The only thing lacking to be fulfilled is the patience of the Lord!

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

We must never assume that all these things have all already taken place.

I believe if we look at all the things happening in our world today, it would be obvious that time is running out in the Church Age.

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.
Rom 8:24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
Rom 8:25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

Nations will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom.

*Mat 24:7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

Today our nation is more divided than it has ever been, and it is intentional by factions in our own government.

It is the same in other nations who have given in to the status quo and political correctness.

Today famines are not mentioned enough though they still exist because of so-called extreme weather, the heavy rains that trouble nations who have built too close to waterways for centuries, crying because they have something else to blame the flooding on.

Nations, cities, states, and homeowners and resort areas have always built too close to our waterways and the Lord says there will be flooding but not like the world wide flood in the days of Noah.

Jer 47:2 Thus saith the LORD; Behold, waters rise up out of the north, and shall be an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land, and all that is therein; the city, and them that dwell therein: then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl.

Amo 8:8 Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.

Nah 1:7 The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.
Nah 1:8 But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.

Maybe flooding has increased in some places.
Maybe famines have increased in some places.
Maybe earthquakes have increased and in places where they should not be happening.
Maybe buildings are collapsing for no reason.
Maybe pestilences (plagues) are increasing around the world as we have seen with Covid-19.

Oh, guess what, this is just what the Lord has said, and if you investigate, you will see the decisions that governments make every day are at fault and they had rather destroy history rather than preserve history and learn from their mistakes.

All these things that the world is so concerned about are only the beginning of the sorrows that are still in the future!

*Mat 24:8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

We should clearly understand that none of these things had anything to do with the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem by Titus in 70AD.

The Jews brought that on themselves.

Mat 27:23 And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.
Mat 27:24 When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.
Mat 27:25 Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.

When the Lord is rejected, He will leave and take His hand of protection with Him!

These are not things that the Church will see except for that statement of the Lord made right here.

The Church will see the beginning of sorrows as we see them today!

It only gets worse!

2Ti 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

All these things we can see happening in our world today and at my age I have seen these things get worse.

This is why history is being erased.

Oh, did I say persecution was going to increase.

*Mat 24:9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.

What is persecution? Persecution is when Christians are forbidden to seek the spreading of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, by the use of force!

This is the main job the Lord Jesus gave us to do!

Mat 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Mat 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

The other job of the Body of Christ is to make disciples who are obedient to the Lord Jesus Christ, and they then go forth with the “Gospel”.

In America, it is hard to say we are persecuted when we see the persecution of the Body of Christ in many nations, but we can state in fact the even in America persecution has increased dramatically.

It really does not make sense as Christians are some of the best citizens of every nation by that same Word of God.

The one thing all Christians are to stand against is sin and that sin is based on that same Word of God.

So by this, we know that all governments in this world promote sin and refuse to stop promoting sin.

Who can figure that one out!

Most all sinners, all those without the love of Christ, promote murder, promote theft, promote immorality, and promote the defiance of authority.

Most all nations survive by taxes and Christians pay their taxes as demanded yet, all these involved in sin for the most part refuse to pay their taxes and become a burden upon those governments.

Most all Christians respect the authority of the government, yet most all sinners reject the authority of the government.

Yet, it is the Christian that is persecuted, and the sinner is praised by the government where no amount of sin is considered to be punishable.

The sinner who has not given their life to Christ and been Born Again by the “Grace” of God, remains a sinner who is sold out to the Devil!

These are also the Words of Jesus Christ:

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.

Those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ are persecuted, just because they agree with the Lord Jesus Christ!

Mat 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

This world opposes believers!

Gal 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Gal 5:20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Gal 5:21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Gal 5:24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

The world opposes the message of a Holy God, and will deliver up His disciples to be afflicted and many of them will just be murdered to keep them silent.

The world has become the greatest murderer that think they go unpunished, but this same Holy God says this is not true because the world will be held accountable!

So what is the greatest cause of death in our world? The governments of this world!

Hatred has finally found its true place in the world we live in now, and this is a sign that the end is very near!

*Mat 24:10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

We can ask ourselves just what is apostasy?

Apostasy is the forsaking and the renouncing of the things you say you believe.

How did the Lord Jesus put it?

Mat 13:20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
Mat 13:21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

We have seen far too many so-called Christians, duck and run when they find out they have to take a stand on the Word of God to be a true Christian!

Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Though every generation has some apostacy now, near the end, we have seen a great falling away from the truth of God!

1Ti 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
1Ti 4:2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

What is another great sign we are in the last days?

2Ti 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2Ti 3:2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
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.
2Ti 3:6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
2Ti 3:7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

The truth of God cannot be denied!

The false prophets have come out of the closet, and they speak boldly because they are allowed to!

*Mat 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
Mat 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

What do we see?

We see false leaders offering false hope!

There is no hope for this world!

The Lord has already determined to destroy this world in the end, but He will first save it from those who are determined to destroy this world themselves.

This is true because this to is written in what we Christians call the Bible.

Every false prophet will have his or her own message about how to save the world.

There have always been some false prophets, but now they have taken over the pulpits of many denominations and some of all denominations, and the world has jumped inside the Church and the Church is sinking to new lows abandoning the truth of God.

This my friends is another sign of the end times that we are facing!

We should never say the end times for God’s people for this wrong, but the end times for the world as it now exist is what we are seeing.

1Ti 6:3 If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;
1Ti 6:4 He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,
1Ti 6:5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

We must understand that only the genuine believer knows how to pray and talk with God!

By this, we will get the help we need to live through these difficult circumstances that we are facing, and we will be facing until the Lord Jesus completes our “Redemption”!

We are redeemed, the Lord just has not taken us home yet!

Until we leave this world we will see and are seeing hatred dominate in this world!

Love has grown cold by the actions of sin that has no feelings.

Sin is a destructive flame that burns until all it all has been consumed!

The Christian on the other hand is to fan the flames of truth and be brighter, in fact hotter.

Again a sign of the end times.

Rev 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
Rev 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
Rev 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

We cannot be lukewarm and say we love the Lord Jesus!

*Mat 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Mat 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

Maybe what we lack the most as Christians today is, endurance!

It may not can be said in many places on this earth, but in America we Christians have not been tested.

This may be why there is such a falling away from the Church.

This Covid-19 has closed the doors of many places of worship.

We have allowed the government to step in and violate our own constitution and the Democratic Party would do away with our Constitution if they get the opportunity.

Our freedoms are being eroded!

Our nation is headed toward Socialism or better said Communism like a freight train running out of track.

We had better learn to endure these things and remain steadfast with the Lord Jesus!

With today’s technology there remains very few places that have not been reached with the “Gospel”.

Those very few places that civilization has not touched, will be touched and they too will suffer the destruction of sin, but maybe they first can be reached with the truth of God, but if not, they will still have no excuse because we need only look around and we can know that only a wise Creator could have made all the things in this Cosmos.

Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Rom 1:19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Rom 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Its far better to know the Lord Jesus Christ that it is reject Him!

The greatest of all sin is to be ignorant of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it is He who will return first to take His Church home and then eradicate sin from this world by extreme force!

Amen

Opposition to the Truth of God

July 18, 2021 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Opposition to the King

Book of Matthew Chapter 22

What do we know for sure as Christians? We know that as long as we are in the Church Age, we will encounter those who oppose the Lord Jesus Christ!

We will even see enemies join together in an attempt to overthrow the Church.

We will certainly face persecution, but the Church cannot be shut down by the enemies of Christ!

Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; “and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”.

We will see persecution increase throughout the world, but the Church will still prevail and even get stronger!

We must remember that strength is not always in numbers as it is in the knowledge of the truth of the Scriptures.

We are now studying the last week our Lord Jesus spent upon this earth.

Last week we saw that our Lord Jesus cleansed the Temple one more time running off those who bought and sold and the money changers, all these making God’s House of Prayer into a bazaar for the wicked.

Jesus had told the parable of the Marriage Supper and the leaders had determined that these things were about them.

What happens? Those who had rejected God’s Messiah plotted to destroy Him.

*Mat 22:15 Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk.

Even this thing fulfilled prophecy!

Psa 2:1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
Psa 2:2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
Psa 2:3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
Psa 2:4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.

All the time the rulers of this earth are plotting to stop Christianity the almighty God is laughing at their feeble attempts!

We can be sure the Pharisees were becoming desperate, for they did not know how to stop Jesus.

All the previous attempts had been to discredit Jesus as the Master, Rabboni, a teacher of the Word of God.

This new attempt was to expose Jesus to the laws of government, which were by Rome.

The laws of Rome were harsh especially to anyone who defied them.

Our Lord Jesus was a hated man and a rejected Messiah!

All the so-called religious leaders devised a method to attack the Lord Jesus Christ.

*Mat 22:16 And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men.
Mat 22:17 Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?

These were wicked men full of hatred and they did not know Jehovah as they had claimed.

We must understand that this counsel was the Sanhedrin Court. In America we would say the Supreme Court.

In reality these people feared the Lord Jesus Christ because of the multitudes that gathered around Him.

They mocked our Lord by saying He was certainly a Bible Master, not expecting our Lord to show concern about the laws of man especially the laws of Rome.

We know it is our same Lord who places the government leaders in their positions, for His own purpose!

Rom 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
Rom 13:2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
Rom 13:3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:
Rom 13:4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.
Rom 13:5 Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.
Rom 13:6 For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.
Rom 13:7 Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
Rom 13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

By reading in Chapter 13 Book of Romans, we can see that we are to be good citizens no matter who our leaders are, and we are to obey the laws of man as long as they do not contradict the Word of God.

Our God does not ever change so, yes, it was lawful to pay tribute to Caesar even though Caesar was a wicked, evil man.

Our Lord Jesus knew what those hypocrites were trying to do.

*Mat 22:18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites?

We do not have to look really close to see the devil behind all these things.

You see the devil thought he would win if the Lord Jesus could be killed!

The Herodians were a mean-spirited group of men who actually favored political rule and the Roman authority.

They were bought by Rome to do the bidding of Rome.

Sounds a whole lot like many of our own politicians today, who sell out America to fill their own pocketbooks.

They did not want a free Israel.

We should keep in mind that these Herodians actually hated the Pharisees so, to see them work together for the same cause, “to eliminate” the Lord Jesus Christ, shows us just how desperate these Pharisees were.

Just so we know, there will never be any person or anything that can be used to get one over on the Lord Jesus Christ.

There is no human being who can fool God!

These Herodians were the worst hypocrites of all of Israel as they claimed Jehovah and their nation and were traitors to both!

Why would Jesus Christ not be allowed to preach in most Churches today? Because He can see right through their wickedness, and He points it out to them.

These wicked men were trying to involve our Lord Jesus in the politics of that day.

As Christians we do have two citizenships.

We are citizens of this world which is clearly evident.

As citizens of this world we should pay our taxes (tribute).

But we are also citizens of Heaven, bought and paid for by the “blood of Jesus the Messiah”.

We are Spiritual citizens of Heaven because Heaven is the home of the Holy Spirit.

We owe to God everything that belongs to Him!

No matter their beliefs, these Herodians, by rejecting the Lord Jesus had condemned themselves.

They were pretending to be something they were not.
They were pretending to seek the truth when they were not interested in the truth.
They were pretending to honor the Lord Jesus Christ, while they plotted for His death.

The Pharisees saw religion as supreme, but they had to admit that some things belonged to earthly powers.

Jesus then said show me the tribute money you are talking about.

*Mat 22:19 Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny.
Mat 22:20 And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription?
Mat 22:21 They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.

This coin proved that the Jews were no longer an independent nation, but lived under the laws of Rome which demanded tribute and it was their duty to submit to the demands of Rome and to pay those taxes.

The Jews had allowed themselves to be in this position because they had turned their back on God.

What are the things of God? Our life and the things that surround our life.

If we do our duty to serve our sovereign God, we will find that we will not be in conflict with our nation if our nation respects the rights of God.

There is nothing my nation can do to take away my citizenship in Heaven!

We may live in this world, but we are not part of this world, but as visitors, we should obey the laws of this world and be good citizens of this world.

We owe God our life, we do not owe this world our life!

As the Born-Again children of God, we are to live a self-denying life of joy, love, peace for the sake of mankind.

Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Gal 5:24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
Gal 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Gal 5:26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

We are to live as an example of Christ Jesus.

The way we live is our greatest witnessing tool!

So we see, we must be good citizens of this world and at the same time, remain true citizens of the Spiritual world.

We may have to pay taxes and tribute in this world, but we are to give our life to God who made us!

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.

The Herodians were silenced! Then came the Sadducees.

*Mat 22:23 The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him,

We should not forget we are in the last week of the Lord’s life and after His death He knows He will arise from that death after three days, just as He had said.

Mat_12:39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
Mat_12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

This ultra-liberal group of men that approach Him now, did not believe in the resurrection.

They were just another cult like there are so many today who reject the truth of God.

We should clearly understand that the Herodians, the Scribes, the Pharisee, the Samaritans, and these Sadducees were all opposed to the Lord Jesus Christ, yet that all claimed Jehovah God.

The Lord Jesus Christ had to put up with these men and others like them most everyday He walked upon this earth.

Heb 12:3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
Heb 12:4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.

We must understand the life of a Christian will never be easy, but it will always be rewarding!

Listen to these feeble-minded men try to trip up the Lord.

*Mat 22:24 Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.

They first presented their proof of knowing the Law of Moses.

Deu 25:5 If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband’s brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband’s brother unto her.
Deu 25:6 And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel.

We can actually trace this thing back to the day of Judah a son of Jacob.

Gen 38:8 And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother’s wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.

We see that the preservation of the tribes of Israel were important.

These foolish men then tried to trip up the Lord with something they already denied.

*Mat 22:25 Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother:
Mat 22:26 Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh.
Mat 22:27 And last of all the woman died also.
Mat 22:28 Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her.

As we have seen in the politicians that are in power today in America, these men had no understanding of the truth of God, and they rejected most all the truth of the Doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In fact, the Word of God is the basis of all truth in our world so, any deviation is then in error.

These Sadducee substituted “tradition” (the oral law) for all the Word of God they denied, and we know that when the Word of God is misrepresented it leads to sin!

This situation was not impossible though highly unlikely, but these men had no question about this thing.

All the time they wanted for Jesus to get involved with the resurrection question.

These Sadducee had predetermined that Spiritual life would be the same as physical life, just like so many cults believe today.

1Co 15:12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
1Co 15:13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:
1Co 15:14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.

There are many who continue to doubt the truth of Jesus Christ.

They believe that the Spiritual world would be just a continuation of this physical world.

The world is full of Sadducees today yet, there is much proof that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is in fact the truth.

2Pe 3:3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
2Pe 3:4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
2Pe 3:5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
2Pe 3:6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
2Pe 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

I will trust in the truth of God.

How did the Lord Jesus respond to them?

*Mat 22:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.

What is the greatest error most every Christian makes? We do not study the Bible.

To study the Bible is a command of the Lord!

2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

How are we to know if the preacher is speaking the truth unless we study the Word of God ourselves?

We must at the very least read the Word of God, then the Holy Spirit will guide us!

We spend too much time searching for some miracle Bible that allows us to keep our pet sins!

Those that do these things would not like to hear the Lord Jesus Christ preach in any Church today!

We know we serve an unchanging God, and the Lord Jesus would have this same message for us!

“you do err, not knowing the Scriptures.”

These Sadducees were super religionist, but they did not know the Scriptures, nor did they care to know them!

The Word of God should be taken literal the only thing we need to understand is “to whom God is speaking to”.

God spoke to three peoples: The Jews, The Church, and The Gentiles.

These can further be broken down into two groups: The Saved and The Lost.

We should understand that we can learn from all the Word of God, and we should read it all.

The Word of God is clear that there is a Spiritual World!

There will be a resurrection of the Saints of God!

These things we can know and place our faith in the Works of the Lord Jesus Christ, to cause this to happen.

Isa 26:19 Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

Joh 5:25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.

Joh 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

Those old bones may be lying in those graves, but that soul is already with the Lord!

2Co_5:6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:
2Co_5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

Many a good Christian have been led astray by corrupt teachers and preachers, simply because they do not know the Word of God!

They do not study the Scriptures!
They do believe what the Word of God says!
They do not take the Word of God literal!

God reveals Himself to us in the Scriptures and God is an unchanging God.

The greatest of all sin is to be ignorant of the Lord Jesus Christ and He is my God.

We must understand the power of God, He is all-powerful!

Jehovah God is, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit)!

Psa 49:15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah.

While we live in this physical world, we need to understand that there is a Spiritual world that exists at the same time!

The natural man will never understand this, we must be “Born Again” to know the Spiritual World.

The Spiritual world will then become the most important part of us, while we still live in this physical world!

How ignorant were these Sadducee?

*Mat 22:30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.

Those that reject a place called Hell and the corrupt person of Satan, do this because they reject the Resurrection, and they reject the Angelic world.

The answer to the question they asked the Lord Jesus Christ was never going to be received as the truth and the Lord knew this.

The Bible said:

This law was to preserve the family name as Israel grew into a nation.

This may not have even been practiced in this day of the Lord Jesus.

It was ignorance, unbelief, and sarcasm that caused this question to be asked.

*Mat 22:31 But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying,
Mat 22:32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

“I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob”.

What is the Lord Jesus saying here? Jesus is saying that all those with the faith of Abraham are more alive than they ever were in their physical bodies!

Therefore there are no deaths in Heaven, making the Lord God Almighty to be the God of the Living.

The soul does not die with the body, which is no more than the dirt we walk on every day.

Because the Sadducees did not believe any of these things, they rejected any resurrection of the body.

God made promises to Abraham and Abraham would see the results that God promised Him!

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.

The Lord Jesus Christ is our Savior, our Redeemer, our Judge, and our Rewarder and soon to be King of the Jews and of this world!

Jesus does not hold these relationships just to dust and ashes, but He does hold to responsible beings existing in a Spiritual condition and in another portion of God’s Creation.

If we cannot believe this, then how can we claim the Lord Jesus Christ who says these things as the truth.

The soul never dies!

To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord Jesus Christ, who is sitting at the right hand of God, because He is the right hand of God!

The Lord Jesus simplifies what these super religious men were teaching in error.

*Mat 22:33 And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine.

The multitude was astonished because a lowly Shepherd, who rode in as a King, to become a Savior, had put to silence the religious leaders of all of Israel.

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.
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.

In reality, we should remain amazed that our God loves us so much when He does not have to.

Yes, there will be a resurrection of those old bodies so that we can be recognized by others who have gone on before us, and by those who follow after us!

There will also be a resurrection of those who will face the Lord Jesus at the White Throne Judgment, and this is the one that The Lord Jesus has made a way for all to avoid.

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.

Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Resurrection, and become alive to the truth of God!

Amen

LESSONS IN GOD'S WORD

Taking time to read the Bible

The Lord Jesus Christ

The Gospel for the World

The Gospel of Grace for the Jews

Why There Is A Need For God’s Grace

Freedom to Follow the Lord Jesus

Eternal Victory

The Debt of Sin is Paid

A Savior Determined to Save

Obedient To the Will of God

The Second Coming of the Messiah

Opposition to the Truth of God

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