Archive for the ‘Salvation’ Category
The Blessing Of Abraham… Who Is It For?
So many times we have heard about the blessing given to Abraham. And the tag given to it is that this applies to the Jewish people. But, does it really apply to them?
Here is the blessing as found in Genesis 12:
Now the Lord had said to Abram:
“Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
From this one verse it is said that this is talking about the people of Israel and that those who bless Israel they will be blessed and those who curse Israel will be cursed. However, does this really apply to the Jewish people?
Let’s look at some other verses to see what the Bible says about it. What we need to find is a “key”. It needs to be a word or a verse that can tie all of this together.
First, let us look at Genesis 22: 17 – 18. God is talking to Abraham…
“Blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
Next, in Genesis 26: 3 – 5, we find the God talking with Isaac and He tells him…
Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your
descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to
Abraham your father. And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of
heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all
the nations of the earth shall be blessed; because Abraham obeyed My
voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”
Lastly, we look at Genesis 28: 13 – 14 and now we see God talking with Jacob and telling him basically the same as what He told Abraham and Isaac…
And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: “I am the Lord God of Abraham
your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you
and your descendants. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth;
you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south;
and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
In all three of these verses God has made two promises, and they are the same to all three of the men. The first one is “your descendants” and the second one is “your seed”. Now we need to ask the question – do these both refer to the same people?
It is safe to say that the promise made to “your descendants” would refer to the Jewish people. The literal people of Israel. However, the second promise being given to “your seed”, to whom does it refer.
Well, if we let the Bible give us an answer we will know what is the truth…
For the answer, let us first look at Galatians 3: 8 – 9. Here we first see who are those who will be blessed with Abraham:
And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed. So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.
Then we can look at Galatians 3: 16 – 18. And this is the most important scripture verse that we need to read, for it tells us who is “the seed” in whom all of the families of the earth shall be blessed…
Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to
seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,
who is Christ. And this I say, that the law, which was four
hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed
before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. For if the inheritance
is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
It is very clear that the “seed” through whom the promise would come is Jesus Himself. So, if Jesus is the “seed” which God tells Abraham, Isaac and Jacob through whom the blessing will come, then it stands to reason, and it is very clear, that the blessing is for the followers of Jesus. Namely all of the born again Christians who are followers of Jesus.
For support verses on this, let us first look at Romans 9: 6 – 9 and we will see something very interesting…
But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac your seed shall be called. That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.
Now, if the children of the flesh, that is the direct descendants are not the children of God, then who is? Well, once again the Bible gives us a very clear answer. In Galatians 4: 28 we read the following:
Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise.
You see, it is the children of God, the born again believers of Jesus who are the children of the promise. It is Christians about whom God is referring when He gave Abraham, Isaac and Jacob the promise that…
in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
If you think about it you will see the truth and it makes great sense. God’s people are Christians, the followers of Jesus. It is through them that all of the families of the earth are blessed and it is the Christians that the promise belongs. And when God says, “I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” It is the Christians about whom He is talking.
If one blesses the Christians they will be blessed and if someone curses Christians it is they who will be cursed. It is through Jesus and the born again believers in Jesus through whom the families of the earth are blessed. It is through Jesus and the born again believers in Jesus that the blessings and the curses come.
Now, I can see some of you not wanting to believe this. But if you will just go back through and read the verses that I’ve quoted, the verses that talk about this, there is no way you can arrive at a different conclusion. Don’t let anyone, not even what I’ve been saying, make the decision for you. Read the verses for yourself and pray that God will give you insight to them.
God has said, “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.” The seed, according to scripture is Jesus and the children of the promise (the blessings and the curses) are the Christians, as we have read in Galatians.
So now you have to ask yourself this question. According to the Bible who is it through whom all of the families of the earth will be blessed? And second, according to the Bible, who are the children of the promise?
As we have seen, according to Scripture, the answers are Jesus and the born again believers of Jesus who we call Christians.
How To Know That You Are Abiding In The Love Of Jesus
Are you really abiding in the love of Jesus? If you are a Christian you can know for sure.
Jesus knows that by abiding in His love you will be what the Father wants you to be. But, He has given one basic rule for you to follow in order to abide in His love. You can know how to abide in His love. Breaking this rule will not cause you to lose your salvation, that can never be done. However, it can break your fellowship with the Father, but that fellowship can be restored.
In the Gospel of John chapter 15 Jesus talks about abiding in His love and He is very specific when He says in verse 9,
“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you: abide in My love.”
So, how can you know that you are truly abiding in His love. Actually it is very easy to know. He tells us how to abide in the very next verse, verse 10,
“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.”
Think about that for a moment. If you are not obeying Jesus you are not abiding in His love. Look at what He said again.
“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love.”
It’s very simple, if you love Jesus and want to abide in His love you will be obedient to Him. He said this same thing earlier. In John 14 beginning with verse 21 Jesus said the following:
“He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
Some examples of being obedient to Jesus can be found in His teachings on sex. Basically any sex outside of marriage is wrong and should not be done. If you do, then you are disobedient and are living in sin. As for marriage, in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 19 Jesus said the following:
“Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
Just these few examples will give you an idea of how well you are being obedient to Jesus. These will also let you know if you are truly abiding in the love of Jesus. Don’t kid yourself and say that Jesus loves you no matter what. That is not found anywhere in the Bible and Jesus did give you specific ways of how to know whether or not you are abiding in His love.
There is no way around it. Unless you are being obedient to Jesus you are not abiding in His love. You are showing by your disobedience that you either do not love Jesus or you do not believe in Jesus or both. And this is a grave mistake because both is proof that you may not have born again in the first place. And you are destined to spend eternity in hell. Is that what you want?
In John 15 beginning with verse 5 Jesus said the following:
“I am the vine, you are the branches. he who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned (being condemned to hell).”
You can know that you abide in the love of Jesus. It’s simple. Repent of your sins, your being disobedient to Jesus, and trust completely in Him that He knows what is best, what is true and what is right. No matter what the world says it’s what Jesus says that counts. And Jesus said:
“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.”
So, now you know. From what Jesus has said to you. Are you keeping His commandments and abiding in His love?
Did Jesus Condemn Homosexuality?
Everywhere you turn you will read or hear someone say that “Jesus never condemned homosexuality.” Is that really true?
If you have ever read the Gospel’s you will know that Jesus never mentioned bestiality, polygamy and pedophilia. However, do you believe that He would not condemn these activities? Then why do you believe that since He never mentioned homosexuality that He would not condemn it as well?
Just because Jesus never specifically mentioned homosexuality does not mean that He didn’t speak on topics that dealt with homosexuality.
If you have read the Gospels you will know that Jesus condemned the sins of adultery, sexual immorality (fornication) and any kind of sexual activity that is not within the scope of what He described as a marriage ordained by God.
In Matthew 19: 4 – 6 Jesus said,
“Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
In this one statement, Jesus specifically said that, according to God, a marriage is a “covenant”. It is a “covenant” between one male and one female. In doing so, Jesus condemned all other forms of marriage; especially those created by man.
According to the teachings of Jesus, sexual relations is allowed only in the confines of a marriage ordained by God (one man and one woman). In His teachings on the “covenant” of marriage, and sexual activity outside of marriage, Jesus effectively placed homosexuality in the category of sin; an act that is not accepted nor condoned by God.
So, even though Jesus never specifically mentioned homosexuality by name, from His teachings on the “covenant” of marriage, we can easily see what He did believe, what He – as God – has ordained, and what He – as God – is telling us about what is right and what is wrong when it comes to marriage and sex. Marriage is a “covenant” to be between one man and one woman. Not between two men nor between two women.
In short, according to the teachings of Jesus on the “covenant” of marriage, and what is a sexual sin outside of marriage, Jesus did condemn homosexuality.
So You Think That God Loves You?
I can hear you now. Of course God loves me. Isn’t that what the Bible says? Seriously, does it really?
This will be one of the shorter essays I have done because the verse that I will quote says it all. It’s found in the Gospel of John and it is in chapter 16. In verses 26 and 27 we read:
In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God.
So, let me ask you one question. Do you love Jesus and believe that He came forth from God the Father?
Before you answer here’s what Jesus said in John 14: 21 about those who say they love Jesus:
He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.
Do you follow Jesus and obey Him? Not looking good is it? Well, here’s one more thing that Jesus said about following him. In Luke 14: 33 we read:
So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.
In short, unless you are a born again follower of Jesus, God does not love you. In fact, well, here’s what we read in John 3: 36:
He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.
Do you really want to face the wrath of God? I can understand that you do not want to come to Jesus. You see, it is because of your sinfulness that you don’t want to come to Him. In John 3: 18 – 20 we read:
He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
Basically you are ashamed of the person you are. You do not want to give up your sin and you would rather stay in your sinfulness than come to Jesus and be cleansed and forgiven. The problem is, if you do not come to Jesus and submit to Him as Lord and believe that God has raised Him from the dead you will stay condemned to face the wrath of God.
And you will “never” know the Love of God.
God knows that you are a sinful person and in this sinfulness you can do nothing to be worthy of receiving forgiveness of your sins. That is why God, as Jesus, came to earth to do for us what man cannot do for himself.
Jesus has satisfied all of the demands of God the Father for receiving salvation and it is the work of God that you believe on Jesus and to come to Him for forgiveness. When you do, when you confess your sinfulness and submit to Jesus as Lord, you will then know the full love of God. The love that He has for those who love Jesus. There is no other way.
for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me,
You can stay in you sinfulness and never know the love of God or you can come to Jesus, be forgiven and cleansed of your sin, and experience the greatest love that man will ever know. Now, in this life, and for eternity.
Why would you not do so now? If you want to be loved by God, if you want to know what true love really is, then you must love Jesus. Come to Him now, submit to His Lordship over you and be saved.
Then you can answer the question, “So You Think That God Loves You?”, with a resounding… YES!
How Were You Saved?
Who gets the credit for your salvation? When you answer that question then you will know the answer to “How Were You Saved?”
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We know that no one can come to Jesus unless drawn by the Father, and that it is by His grace that we are saved. However, we argue over how man receives this grace.
One man says that even though God, by His grace, draws us to Jesus, we must still choose, by our own “free” will, to accept or reject Jesus as our Savior.
Another man says that God saves us by making us willing to receive Jesus, and that we do not have the power nor ability to make this decision for ourselves; that is, of our own “free” will.
The first man says that man is to determine whether or not he is to be saved. Thus he can say, “I know that it was by God’s grace that I was saved but, I had to choose whether or not I wanted to be saved. After all, I could have rejected Jesus, and I would have been condemned if I had done so, but I chose to trust Jesus instead. God didn’t save me until I accepted Jesus as my Savior. Besides, God won’t make me do anything against my will. He won’t do anything until I give in.”
Now the second man says that he was saved because it was by God’s will and not his that he was saved. He says, “When I was dead in my sins I did not see my need for a Savior. I did not see myself as a sinner, so there was no need for me to be willing to be saved. However, God gave me ears to hear His word, and He took away my heart of stone and gave me a new heart, a soft heart, where His word would take deep root and grow into understanding so that I would believe in Jesus.
Then He placed within me a new spirit, His Spirit, to free me from bondage to Satan and to make me alive so that I could respond to His calling. When these things happened I saw myself as the detestable sinner I was, and I was filled with a great sorrow. I knew I was destined for Hell.
Finally, I understood why Jesus died for me, to set me from sin. He saved me from God’s wrath, and that if it had not been for God’s divine influence in me, to show me all these things, I would never, of my own “free” will, have believed in Jesus. Whereas, I had been unwilling, God came in and made me willing. I had no choice because where I once was a slave to Satan, and unwilling to be saved, I was now a child of God and willing only to obey Him. It was by God’s will that I was born again, not mine.
Now, who gets the credit for your salvation?
In the case of the first man, man gets the glory because, in effect, he saved himself. His salvation came to him because of “his” actions. This is salvation by grace “plus works”, man’s works, because of his actions, for he (man) can say that he contributed to his salvation.
In the second man, God gets the glory for man was saved because of what “God” did. It is God who “wills” for man. It is by the faith that is given to him that he believes. It is God who gives an understanding to man. It is God who gives faith to man. Salvation in man is all of God. Man does not tell God what man will do.
So, who gets the credit for you salvation? When you answer that question truthfully, then you will know how you were saved. I pray that it was by God’s will and not yours…
For further study:
John 6:37, 39, 40, 44, 45, 65… Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23… Mark 4:3-9, 11-12, 13-20… Luke 8:5-8, 10-15… Jeremiah 31:31-34… Ezekiel 36:21-28, 31, 32…
Does God Ever Get the Blues?
First published as a short article (written by me) back in the “80’s”…..
The roots of the blues, like gospel music, grow deep into the past of mankind’s sorrows and salvation. Both come out of everyday experiences that we encounter on our way through life, allowing us to sing about what is either troubling us or giving us joy.
Sometimes we can find both wound together through urgings that pulls from deep within us, and only in song can we express our true feelings. This is when gospel and blues become one in words that are truly an expression of man’s turmoil in his bout with coming to terms with God.
Gospel music is about living once we have submitted to Jesus as Lord of our life. It’s not a perfect life, but when trouble occurs we look to a different source for help; a source apart from us, and that source is God. When we try to solve these problems, apart from God, what you would have would be the “Gospel Blues”.
The Law of Moses, better known as the “Ten Commandments”, was given by God to point out sin in man. With sin, man experiences a myriad of emotions that is summed up in one word, “blues”. Because of sin in this world, we experience all of the effects that it causes; miss-guided love, sadness, depression, anger, fear, jealousy, dejection, selfishness, lust, etc.
What is it that we sing about in the blues? The blues are about life, real life that you and I live each day. Nothing is as close to expressing what our true feelings are more than the “blues”.
Now God knew you before you were born, and the reason He made you was so you could have fellowship with Him. But, you can’t. You see, you have sin in your life, sin that comes from the seed of man. This sin has separated you from God and, spiritually, you are dead to what God wants for you. And, in this condition, you cannot have any friendship with God. You cannot even experience God’s love.
You are not a sinner because you sin, no; you sin because you are a sinner. You were born that way. You were born of the seed of man, which is contaminated with sin, and you cannot do anything about it. However, God can, and did. He sent His Son to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves, and that is to pay the penalty for sin in our life.
When Jesus walked on this earth He preached more about Hell than He did about Heaven. You see, He knew that each one of us was destined for Hell because of our sinful nature, our wanting to do things our way and not His. God hates sin, and more so.
In a dreadful statement, David, in Psalm 5: 1 – 6 tells us:
Give ear to my words, O Lord,
Consider my meditation.
Give heed to the voice of my cry,
My King and my God,
For to You I will pray.
My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord;
In the morning I will direct it to You,
And I will look up.
For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness,
Nor shall evil dwell with You.
The boastful shall not stand in Your sight;
You hate all workers of iniquity.
You shall destroy those who speak falsehood;
The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
That is a terrible thing to know about God! He will punish the person living in disobedience to Him. But God, in His mercy and greatness, knowing that we cannot save ourselves has provided a way of salvation. And that way is Jesus.
Jesus died for sins to satisfy His Father’s demand that sin be paid for. Also, He arose from the grave to conquer death and to give us eternal life. So that even though we may die physically in this life, in the life to come, we can have eternal life with Him, in Heaven.
Since God made us for Him, and since He made a way for us to be with Him, and since His love is so great, how do you think He feels when we won’t come to Him? God can experience every emotion you can, and has. If you can have a feeling called the blues, don’t you think He can?
There is nothing, in this life that you can think of, which has caused you pains that God has not already experienced. He knows how you feel. If you come to Him with all that you have, with every bit of baggage that you are carrying around and weighing you down, He will gather you to Him, forgive you for your sins and love you with an everlasting love.
That love, however, can only be experienced through Jesus. In the Gospel of John, chapter 14 and in verses 21 and 23 Jesus tells us that if we love Him and obey Him, He will love us and the Father will love us. He will reveal Himself to us and He, and the Father, will come to live with us.
He doesn’t promise to take away your problems, but He will guide you and show you how to overcome them, if you will just put yourself in His hands and surrender yourself to Him. How do you do that? How do you submit to God and receive forgiveness for your sins? What is that you can say? Simply this.
The word is in your heart and in your mouth, that is the word of faith that we proclaiming: “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” Romans 10: 9, 10
Won’t you do that right now? There’s nothing fancy in talking with God. Just tell Him how you feel, that you want forgiveness for your sins and for having lived life your way, and not His. That you are willing to submit to Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life, and that you want to know and experience God’s love.
You can experience the love of God. You can know Jesus and have Him come into your life and love you. You can be filled with an everlasting joy; a heavenly joy filled with a love that only God can give. With God’s love in your life, and with you living a life submitted to serving Jesus you will never have to wonder, when God looks at you , does God ever get the blues?
When the sun sets at the end of your life, the ultimate blues experience will be one of not going to Heaven to spend eternity with Jesus. I pray that is one blues experience you will never have.
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Glenn is an Evangelical rooted in the Reformed Faith…
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Sunday Is Coming!
This Homily was first given by me during a Lenten Service in February of 1983. It is based on 1 Corinthians 15: 12 – 29
(This inspirational sermon has been updated for this post)
The Risen Christ, Our Hope
12 Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead then Christ is not risen. 14 And if Christ is not risen then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. 16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. (NKJV)
Several months ago, we celebrated the birth of Jesus. It was a joyous occasion, and we spent a great deal of time, energy and, of course, money in preparing for it. But, what if Jesus were dead and still in the grave? What then?
A few months later it is Friday, a day that Christians call “Good Friday”. To the Apostles, however, and the other followers of Jesus, this day was anything but good. In fact it started out rather badly and went down hill from there. It could very well have been the reason that Christmas never happened.
First, one of His own disciples betrayed Him. Then, as He was taken prisoner, the rest of them deserted Him and fled into the darkness of the night, fearful for their own lives. And one of His closest friends – Peter – would deny Him three times, and Jesus heard him.
In the hours that followed, Jesus was humiliated, degraded, and badly beaten. He was mocked, whipped and spat upon. He had a crown of thorns fiercely forced upon his head and his beard was pulled out by hand.
After the soldiers had fun with Him, Jesus was tried, convicted and sentenced to death; to die in horrible torture, having been nailed to a wooden cross and left to die. Finally, before that day was over, Jesus was placed in a tomb that wasn’t even His.
On that day the Apostles saw all of their hopes and dreams washed away by the death of their closest friend. Yes, that day was a Friday, but for them it wasn’t good. For it was a day of total defeat for their cause of believing that Jesus was the Messiah. They had nothing to look forward to, and they hid in fear that they, too, would be arrested and taken away.
However, there was one thing that they didn’t know and if they had known this day would not have been a day of defeat, but a day of beginnings and a day of anticipation. Yes, it was Friday, but Sunday was coming! And as Psalm 118: 24 says, “This is the day which the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.”
For, although Jesus died on the cross for sins, He was raised from the dead for our justification. As it says in Scripture, “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.” You see, it is His resurrection that gives His birth meaning, and it is His resurrection that makes Friday good.
Our faith in forgiveness for our sins and the promise of eternal life in Heaven is based on the fact that Jesus was raised from the dead, and is still alive today.
Because of this truth, this factual turn of events, everything that Jesus said and did before His death is just as important as what happened after, and we should know them, study them and believe them.
This is a time when we should make a self-examination of our own faith and find out how it compares to God’s Holy Word, and where a change is needed in our faith, or in our way of living, we should accept the challenge to make that change, and do so with God’s help; with the Holy Spirit working in us to will and to do of His good pleasure.
Our prayer today should be that each and every one of us will make such an examination and that our faith in Jesus will not only be increased but be strengthened as well. And with this faith we can proclaim along with the Apostle Peter, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in Heaven for you.
Yes, today is Friday… But Sunday Is Coming!
What Defines A Christian?
From an early age, I was a very religious person. I attended Church twice on Sunday. I went to Sunday School and in the Summer I was a teacher in Vacation Bible School. I was the President of our Church’s youth group. At one time I was the youngest Acolyte in the diocese of Maryland. All of this, and more, while still a child.
However, I was not a Christian.
Like so many people today, who call themselves Christians, I was involved in all kinds of church activities and enjoyed them all. Yet, when away from church I was a completely different person. I definitely was not “Christ” like.
What is a Christian? What is the difference in being a religious person and in being a Christian? What is it that defines a Christian?
If you ask the average Christian today to describe what makes one a Christian, you would almost always hear, “someone who has accepted Jesus as Savior”. However, that does not make one a Christian. You want to know how I know this to be true? Just look at them when they are not in church. How do they act?
Accepting Jesus as Savior does not make one a Christian. Nor does going to church or being baptized make one a Christian. So, if none of these actions makes one a Christian, what does?
In the Epistle to the Philippians, chapter 3, verse 3, we find an excellent and short verse describing a Christian.
“For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh…”
First, in referencing “circumcision”. Now circumcision represents a covenant. In regards to God and man, a covenant is an agreement that God states that He will do such and such and that this agreement is based solely on God and not on man. So here, in stating that “we are the circumcision”, Paul is saying that a Christian is one chosen by God for salvation, and this covenant is based solely on what Jesus has done and not on man’s will or ability. (See John 1:13 & Romans 9:16)
Second, we see that a Christian is one who worships God in the Spirit. Only a person who has been born again, that is made alive in the spirit, by the Spirit of God, has the ability to worship God in the Spirit. Only when one is led by the Spirit of God, do we have the ability to approach the throne of God in a manner worthy of God.
Third, since a Christian belongs to the true covenant of God and has the ability to worship God in the Spirit, we can rejoice in Christ Jesus, Who has given us the ability to do so. Only by the person and work of Christ are we given the faith with which we believe in Him, and because of His resurrection from the dead are we promised eternal life in Heaven with God.
Fourth, becoming a Christian is a work that can only be done by God and not in any way accomplished through the work of man. That is why there is “no confidence in the flesh.”
Therefore, we can then say that “what defines a Christian” is what we see in the life of a person after having become “born again” by the Spirit of God.
As I said in beginning of this essay, I was a religious person but not a Christian. Only years later, when I had an exciting experience in being shown by the Holy Spirit that I had been chosen by God unto salvation that I realized that my only hope of being forgiven for my sins and for spending eternity in Heaven had been based solely on what Christ had done for me.
I saw how sinful my religiosity was and that all I had done was to show how good I was, and it was all based on what I was doing and not on what God had done. I was looking to myself for being “good” enough to be worthy to go to Heaven. I was rejoicing in myself and trusting in my works to save me. Just like so many people, today, who call themselves a Christian.
In short, the life of a person who calls themself a Christian, defines what a Christian is.
Look at your life. Do you worship God by the Spirit of God? Do you rejoice in Christ for what He has done? Do you trust in yourself, as I had done, for being “good” enough to get to Heaven, or do you place your trust in Christ with the faith of Christ given to you to do so?
If you call yourself a Christian then you are the best definition of what a Christian is. I pray that it Is a definition with which Christ would agree. For you see, you are what defines a Christian…
Is It Really Judging?
Why is it that whenever one points out the sin that another is doing that someone always brings up the thing about “judging others”.
Here’s an example.
Recently, I made a comment that pointing out to someone about a sin they are doing is a good thing, I used this verse to support it:
“Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.” James 5: 19, 20
Right after that another responded with the comment of “who are you to judge another” and quoted from James 4: 12:
“There is one Lawgiver….. Who are you to judge another?”
Now I have to admit that this got me to thinking. How can these two verses be reconciled? Then it came to me and it was quite easy.
You see, all laws are based on a morality standard, but whose standards of morality do we use? Actually there are only two from which to choose; mans or Gods.
Mans standard of morality is always changing, and it does so based on what man is doing at the time. In other words, at one point something may be declared to be wrong only to be changed somewhere down the line and made to be good. There’s never a true standard of what’s right and wrong because someone will always state that for them it is not wrong. This basically is called “situation ethics”.
Situation ethics states that if it is wrong for you then it is wrong, but only for you. I may not think it is wrong and for me, since I enjoy it and want to do it, then it isn’t wrong for me to do so. In that case, then, it would be correct to say, “who are you to judge another?”
Or as Jesus said in Luke 6: 42:
“Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye.”
In this case you have one person pointing out the wrong doing of another when they have something in their own life that is just as wrong as the wrong they are condemning.
However, it is just the same as “situation ethics” in which one is pointing out the wrong that someone else is doing when to them is isn’t wrong or the wrong they may be doing is OK to do by someone else.
Man just cannot come up with a “black & white” way of stating what is right and what is wrong. Maybe that is why in the Bible it is written:
“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” Proverbs 14: 12
Man will always choose a way that pleases him and not look to what God wants and this will always lead to death; spiritual and physical. For it is not always God’s way.
Now with God. His standard of morality is always “black & white”. There are no questions and God does not say, “OK it’s alright to do this now, but don’t do it again.” God is not wishy-washy and His ways do not change.
With that in mind, then, as a Christian, and only as a Christian, when one sees a brother or sister doing what God has called wrong – a sin – and lovingly brings that to their attention, they are doing good in helping that person get back onto the road to life.
This can also come into play when talking to a non-Christina about their eternal destiny and the salvation they can achieve from being forgiven for their sins, they must have pointed out to them the sin they are doing. For it is in seeing the Law of God that they will see their sinfulness and come to the realization that they are destined for Hell and they can do nothing about it.
Once they see this they will know that their only hope is in submitting to Jesus as Lord and believing that He has done for them what they cannot do for them self and that is being obedient to the Law of God. They will see that Jesus suffered the punishment they deserve and, because of that, they will be forgiven for the sins they have committed.
It is hypocritical for a non-Christian to point out the wrongs of another non-Christian because they are guilty of doing wrong themselves, even if it isn’t for the same wrong they are bringing to light.
Only a true Christian can bring to light the sins of another because it is not their standard of morality they are basing this on. They are basing it on the standard of morality set by God. God the Father speaks through His children and it is through them that He brings to light the sins of the world.
A Christian can say that “this is wrong”, and do so knowing that what they are saying are not their words. They are doing so because they can say, “In the Bible, it is written”. As Jesus says in Luke 10: 16:
“He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.”
When a non-Christian, and so-called Christians, reject what a true Christian says is written in the Bible, they are not rejecting them. In reality they are rejecting Jesus and, in doing so, they are rejecting God the Father.
It is not OK for non-Christians to judge another, as the Bible so correctly points out, but it is OK for a Christian to point out the sins of another. It is NOT really judging, as long as it is done with the notice that this is what God says, and as long as they say, “For in the Bible it is written”.
Does God Know You?
As we begin a new year the number one question that should be on your mind is this:
Does God Know You?
Silly question, you think, of course God knows me, He know’s everybody. That depends…
So, what am I getting at? In 2 Timothy 2:19 we read:
Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”
Another question is this. Do you name the name of Christ? Depending on how you answer this question will give an indication as to what your answer is to our main question. To help you out, let’s look at another scripture verse.
In John 14: 21 & 23 we read:
He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
“If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”
Here we see that if you love Jesus and are obedient to Him, then the Father will love you and He and Jesus will come and live with you. However, if you don’t believe in Jesus how can you say that you love Him? You can’t.
In fact, if you don’t love Jesus because you don’t believe in Him then God says this about you. In John 3: 36 we read:
He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
You see, if you do not love Jesus it is because you do not believe in Him, and if you do not believe in Jesus you already stand condemned and you have the wrath of God abiding on you. So, how can you say that God knows you?
Still are not sure? Well, here are some other verses. In Matthew 7: 21 – 23 we read:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
And, in Luke 13: 23 – 27 we read:
Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?”
And He said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’
The one thing that ties all of this together, for you to be able to say that God knows you, is this. You must believe in Jesus, have submitted to Him as Lord of your life, and love Him enough to be obedient to Him. If you cannot say that you have done so, then the answer to the question “Does God Know You” is this.
No!
If you were to die right now, in this state, God will say to you “I tell you I do not know you. Depart from Me, you worker of iniquity.”
Is that what you want to here? I pray that this is not what you want. Remember what 2 Timothy 2: 19 says:
“The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”
You must bow the knee to Jesus as Lord and proclaim Christ as your Savior. Having done so, God will tell you that He knows you and that you are His child. He will tell you that you have been forgiven for all of your sins and you will be able to live with Him for all eternity.
If you won’t you are doomed, and you will stand condemned to face the wrath of God. You must know that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God.
It is a new year and I pray that God will draw you to Him, forgive you of your sins and place within you a new heart. Having done so, you will know without a doubt that God does know you and when you are asked, “Does God know you?” You will be able to respond, in full assurance, with a resounding…
YES!
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