How To Have Peace In Your Life
You Can Have Peace In A Busy World
Would that not be nice? I mean, with all that is going on in the world and in your personal life, to have such peace so that you could be content in any situation would be such a wonderful state in which to be.
Most people never have such peace, in fact, most people are just the opposite. They worry so much that it affects their health, their work and their family. They never learn the secret of having peace.
I’ll give you a hint:
I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. Psalm 4:8
Yes, true peace can only be found in God.
The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace. Psalm 29:11
You want peace, then you must first make peace with God, and the only way that can happen is by way of Jesus. Wait, don’t turn away. This is your moment in time to learn what it means, not only to have peace, everlasting peace, but also to learn how to be forgiven for all the wrong you have done.
Here are some things about which you should think:
I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the LORD, do all these things. Isaiah 45:7
Yes, God makes peace, but he also withholds it:
“ There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.” Isaiah 48:22
They who do wrong and rebel against God will have constant worry and never be able to have true peace in their life:
20 But the wicked are like the troubled sea,
When it cannot rest,
Whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
21 “ There is no peace,”
Says my God, “for the wicked.” Isaiah 57:20, 21
If you choose to stay apart from God you will have chosen to remain in those fits of worry, frustration and anguish. Why do so when there is a way out of this?
Jesus, while here on the earth, said the following:
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27
When you come to Jesus, to renounce your sinfulness and to bow your soul, your self-will, to Jesus as Lord not only will you receive forgiveness of sins, but you will also make peace with God.
Having received forgiveness for your sins, having submitted to Jesus as Lord and believing that He has been raised from the dead, you will stand “justified” before God, and with that justification you will have made the afore-mentioned peace with God:
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1
You want peace in your life? You can have it. Then, as Paul the Apostle said:
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
You can have peace, but it can only be found in Jesus. When you come to Jesus, and make peace through Him with God, you will have such peace as you have never known.
Won’t you do that now? Just come to Jesus and confess your sinfulness to Him. Cry out to Jesus for forgiveness and bow before Him, submit to His Lordship, and you will find out what it is like to have rest for your soul. You can then lean how to have true peace in a busy world.
Are You Good Enough To Go To Heaven?
How Good Is Good Enough?
Like most people, I always felt that I was basically a good person. Yeah, I know, I’m not perfect, but I just knew that when I died and stood before God that He would weigh my good points and then weigh my bad points and the good would outweigh the bad, and for that reason He would let me into Heaven.
Then it just came to me one day, what if I had too many bad points, you know how all of those little things can add up. So, I got to asking myself “how good is good enough”? I did some research from the Bible and boy was I surprised at what I found.
How about you, are you good enough to go to Heaven? Maybe you are like me and you are not. If it turns out that you are not, What then? Well, you should know this, straight from the Bible it is written.
From Isaiah 13:
Wail, for the day of the LORD is at hand!
It will come as destruction from the Almighty.
Therefore all hands will be limp,
Every man’s heart will melt,
And they will be afraid.
Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them;
They will be in pain as a woman in childbirth;
They will be amazed at one another;
Their faces will be like flames.
Are you good enough?
Behold, the day of the LORD comes,
Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger,
To lay the land desolate;
And He will destroy its sinners from it.
For the stars of heaven and their constellations
Will not give their light;
The sun will be darkened in its going forth,
And the moon will not cause its light to shine.
I will punish the world for its evil,
And the wicked for their iniquity;
I will halt the arrogance of the proud,
And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
Are you sure?
Therefore I will shake the heavens,
And the earth will move out of her place,
In the wrath of the LORD of hosts
And in the day of His fierce anger.
But won’t Jesus come with love to gather everyone together to be His own?
From 2 Thessalonians 1:
since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe…
So, how good are you?
Consider these verses:
- Psalm 14:1
The fool has said in his heart,“There is no God.” They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good. - Psalm 14:3
They have all turned aside,They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one. - Psalm 53:1
The fool has said in his heart,“There is no God.” They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity; There is none who does good. - Psalm 53:3
Every one of them has turned aside;They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one. - Romans 3:12
They have all turned aside;They have together become unprofitable;There is none who does good, no, not one.”
Now, consider these words by Jesus:
- Matthew 19:17
So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. - Mark 10:18
So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. - Luke 18:19
So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.
After reading all of these passages that are written in the Word of God, do you still think that you are good, let alone being good enough?
If you answered “NO” then you have answered correctly. If you, then, are not good, would that not mean that you are not, and cannot, be good enough to go to Heaven. Think about that for a moment. If you are not good, how can you be good enough to go to Heaven? You can’t. That being the case, then how does one get to Heaven? Simple, read this and then do the same:
Romans 10: 9
If you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead you will be saved.
Can you do that? Will you do that? There is no other way. You cannot rely on your goodness, as you have seen, and you cannot do anything to be found worthy of being allowed into God’s Heaven. Your only alternative is Hell, and it is not a place where you want to be.
As we read in Titus 3: 5
“not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,”
Salvation can only be obtained by repenting of your sins, that is by confessing to God that you are a sinful person, and by submission to Jesus as being Lord of your life, that you will follow Him and do His will as He gives direction, will you be saved. There is no other name, given among men, by which we can be saved.
Unless God forgives you of your sins and makes you alive in your spirit, that of being “born again”, to be a new creature in Christ and to be a child of God, you will not be allowed in Heaven and you will only find yourself spending eternity in Hell. There really is no other way.
Is that what you want? Will you now bow your knee to Jesus as Lord and call out to God for forgiveness of your sins and so receive God’s blessing of forgiveness and of a new life in Christ. By doing so God will give you a key to Heaven based on what Jesus has done and not on your goodness.
For you have no goodness in and of yourself, as we have seen, and your only hope is to be accepted on the basis of the finished work of Christ on the cross and in his resurrection from the dead. Only then will you be able to spend eternity in Heaven.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves;
it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Ephesians 2: 8-9
Hiding Under A Basket
On Being The Light Of The World
In Matthew 5: 14-16 it is written, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Although this is primarily for the one who calls Himself a Pastor, this is also for anyone who calls themself a Christian.
As a Pastor, you are the light of your church. You bring the message of God, the way of Salvation through Jesus and you shepherd the flock that you have. However, is that light being hidden in the basket of your Church?
You stand behind the pulpit and week after week you bring, hopefully, the deep things of God. You bring the Word that opens hearts and causes people to see their sinfulness, to repent and to have a burning desire to come to Christ for forgiveness. You teach the things that are needed in order for your flock to grow as Christians, whether they are new, or the faithful and steadfast, Christians that look to you for direction in the Word.
Outside of the Church… what ARE you doing? Do you speak out in defense of your faith? Do you stand up at community meetings and remind people what the Word says about actions that could and will be taken in your town, neighborhood or street? Do you write Letters to the Editor about topics of interest in which the Church should be providing direction and guidance?
I would venture to say that you stay hidden behind those closed doors, hiding your light under the basket that is your Church. Why, what is it of which you are afraid? Most likely you worry that you don’t want to upset the apple-cart. You don’t want to offend anyone or you might lose parishioners and by doing so loose Church income. You might even be afraid of what others might say about you and you would feel an embarrassment when outsiders look at you in a funny way. So, you preach fuzzy feel good sermons designed to keep your flock happy. How horrible it would be if you were to make anyone squirm in their seats.
I sure am glad that Jesus didn’t feel that way.
You are the light. Each member of the flock in your Church is a light and by staying hidden under your Church basket you are also teaching your flock to do the same. They become Sunday morning Christians and the rest of the week live like the world. Is that what you want?
It is easy to become bold behind those Church doors, but it is something else to do the same outside of your building. When was the last time you stood up in defense of something that is un-biblical and openly said “It Is Written” and then explain what it is that the Word of God says?
It would seem that you are more afraid of being laughed at for your faith, for what it is that you believe, for in Whom you believe than you are in being the light that Lord has caused you to be and to stand up and be bold in the proclamation of what it is that God says.
In Matthew 10: 32, 33 it is written, “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.”
By staying quiet, by staying behind those closed doors and only speaking when you can hide behind your pulpit you are actually hiding your light under a basket, and by doing so you are denying Christ before men; they who are not in your flock who need to hear from you what is written in the Word.
Jesus is the Light of the world, but you the Pastor, and you the flock, are the torch bearers carrying that Light into the world. Bring the Light out from under your basket. Step out where the Light is needed and let it shine in a world that is dark and lost.
You have a choice. You can stay hidden under your basket and keep on denying Christ before men or, you can come out from under that basket and confess Christ before the world. You can throw off the shackles of being hidden under your Church basket and speak out on what is written in the Word and have Jesus confess you before the Father which is in Heaven.
Obey the command of Jesus and do as He says… “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Pastor, Christian, come out from under the basket. The world needs to see the Light of Christ and only you can do that. Only you have the Light of the world. Don’t keep it hidden under your Church basket. Let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine…
Two Years and Growing
What A Trip
Two years ago, today, I began this journal. It has been quite a trip, and what has been written has helped others to gain a better understanding of basic Christian theology. Moreover, the research before doing any writing has also caused this journalist to grow and gain a better, more solid understanding of biblical knowledge.
Every topic that I have written about can be backed up by scripture. That is the reason for this journal. I have written nothing that I did not first check out and backup by scripture. If the Bible did not support what I was saying then I did not use it. It had to be biblical or it was not written at all.
To much teaching that is being given out these days is not scriptural. Oh, sure, you can pick out any biblical verse and make it support almost anything that you want from salvation by works, women pastors to gay marriage. However, when you take “all” of the verses that pertain to a specific subject that is when you get at the true meaning, yeah the deep things of God.
So, in July we will begin year three with a post about “hiding a lamp under a basket”. May God bless the coming entries and may they be used for the glory, praise and honor of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ… 🙂
Blessed Are The Peacemakers
Who Are They…
In Matthew 5:9 Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” This sounds really good and most people will read into this that this is talking about making peace in the world; peace between people, counties and nations. Is this really what Jesus is talking about?
Now we all know that it is a good thing to be peacemakers, and the more peace that is created the more we can all live in quiet, peaceful and safe surroundings. Wouldn’t that be nice? However, would everyone who would be involved in making peace be called “sons of God”?
There in lies the key. It would be hard to say that anyone who makes peace, between individuals or nations, would be called a son of God. So, who are the “peacemakers” that Jesus is talking about?
Well, interestingly enough we can find the answer in Scripture itself.
First, in Luke 20:35 – 36 we read, “But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.”
Second, in Romans 8:14 we read, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
Third, in Galatians 3:26 we read, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
So, it would be fair and right to say the “sons of God“, mentioned in these verses, are those who have been Born Again by the Spirit of God. IOW’s, they are Christians.
If, then, that is the case, what is the “peace” that is Jesus is talking about in Matthew 5:9?
Again, we can find the answer in Scriptures.
We need look no further than Romans 5:1 – 3 where we read, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
It is easy to see that the “peace” that Jesus is talking about is making “peace” with God. For of what lasting peace is there, with individuals or nations, without having “peace” with God? The answer is none.
Only they who are “sons of God” have been given the command and the ability to go out and show and tell others how to have “peace” with God. The children of God are the true “Peacemakers” because they are the ones who have the message of true and everlasting peace.
The children of God are the only ones who can be truly blessed by God because they are the true “Peacemakers” bringing the message of “peace” to the world, and because of that they are called “sons of God”.
How about you… are you one of those who are called “sons of God”?
Free-Will Salvation Discriminates
It Also Denies The Sovereignty Of God
Basically they who preach Free-Will Salvation will tell you that God has done all He can do to save you but, now you must do your part and use your free-will to choose to accept or reject His offer.
That is basic humanism at its best, and it discriminates against many people who are unable to make such a decision. What if you have a mental disorder and are incapable of making an informed decision. How are you supposed to be able to even decide whether or not you need to be saved? In addition, what if you never hear the gospel in the first place. In this case you are not even given a chance to make any decision to accept or reject God’s offer of forgiveness.
In that case everyone who falls into one of those categories are all destined for Hell because they can’t make a decision. These are the people upon which Free-Will Salvation discriminates.
One thing you will never hear from these preachers or teachers is John 6:43 – 44, “Jesus therefore answered and said to them, “Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
Not only did Jesus say this just once, but He also said it a second time in the same chapter in John, in verse 65, where He says, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”
Not only does Free-Will Salvation discriminates against various groups of people but it also denies the sovereignty of God and it hides the fact that “NO ONE” can come to Jesus unless they are given the ability to do so.
Free-Will Salvation gives man the pre-eminence in the salvation process in being able to make the final decision on whether or not they will be saved. In short Free-Will Salvation says that man has the ability to save himself of his own volition.
In addition, Free-Will Salvation teaches that God will draw all men to Himself so that they can make a decision for being saved. However, we have already seen how many people will never be able to make any decision let alone be able to even understand the gospel or even hear the gospel. In that case, God then lies to us by telling us that He will draw everyone to Jesus because not everyone will be drawn.
Not only that but in John 6: 37 Jesus says, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.”
You notice Jesus tells us that everyone that the Father gives, or draws, to Him “WILL” come to Jesus and be saved. Since that is the condition, then this tells us that not everyone will be drawn because, if they were, then everyone would be saved; and we know that is not going to happen.
So, Free-Will Salvation not only discriminates against certain groups of people, it also denies the sovereignty of God in the salvation process. It also leaves out the biblical teaching that NO ONE can come to Jesus unless the Father gives him the ability to do so, and everyone that the Father draws to Jesus will be saved.
Jesus says this quit succinctly in John 5:21 when He says, “For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.”
Did you get that? Jesus said that He gives life to whom HE wills. Maybe that is why scripture, in speaking of the salvation of man, says in John 1:13, “who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
And, in addition, in Romans 9:16 we read, “So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.”
These verses clearly states that salvation in man does NOT depend on mans Free-Will but on the sovereign will of God. It is God who chooses who will be saved and not man. Humanistic man does not even have the ability to choose of his own free-will and in saying that he does also unfairly discriminates against people who would never be able to make such a decision.
The only way any of us have any chance of salvation is by God’s will in deciding on, not only who will be saved, but the means by which that salvation will take place. They who are mentally unable to know or understand salvation, or anyone who will never be put in a position of hearing the gospel message and so be saved, can be saved, if it is God’s will.
God, in His sovereignty and by His will, saves whom He chooses. By His will they, whom He chooses, will be drawn to, and saved by, Jesus. He will give life to those who are drawn by the Father to Him, and in the end salvation comes to those whom God wills to be saved.
Apart from God’s will, no one can be saved, nor will they be saved. Not only does Free-Will Salvation discriminate but it also denies the clear teaching of the Bible that no one even has the ability to be able to do so.
In the end, by who’s will, anyway, would you trust in being saved – your’s or God’s?
The Work Of Christ On The Cross & The Resurrection
Was He Successful?
Before you answer make sure you have all the information that you need to make an informed decision. The reason I make that recommendation is that much of what the average Christian sitting in the Pew believes is only what they have been told, and they know very little of what the Bible actually says. You may be one of them.
Here’s a test. In Matthew 1:21 we read, “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”
The key words in this verse is “His people”. Who you believe these people are will determine whether your answer is correct. Now, either Jesus was successful and effective in His work, the reason for which He came, or He was a big failure; in which case He was not who He said He was. If He is a failure then He is a fraud and the biggest purveyor of lies that ever lived.
Let’s look at another verse. In 1st Corinthians 1:18 we read, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
The message here is about those who are saved by the power of God because of the work that was done on the cross. Specifically, it talks about those who “are being saved”. In other words, the work that Jesus did upon the cross was only for those who will be saved.
Here’s another example. In Colossians 2:14 we read, “having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”
In this verse the key word is “us”. In short, sins were nailed to the cross. Redemption was made for those that, here, are called “us”. Now who are the “us”? In Colossians 1:2 we see this, “To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse:”
The “us” of Colossians 2:14 are the “saints and faithful brethren” of Colossians 1:2. Again, we see specific people were mentioned, those who had been saved, and only they had their sins nailed to the cross and it was for them that redemption was made.
If we are to believe the Bible then we must believe that the work of Christ on the cross was for a specific people and in this He was successful. Now, what about the resurrection?
In Colossians 2:11 – 13 we read, “In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,”.
In addition, in Romans 4:23 – 25 we read, “Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses (cross), and was raised because of our justification. (resurrection)”.
Again, in these verses we see that specific people are in mind in the work that Christ did on the cross and in His resurrection. In fact, God makes it clear that they who are being saved were in a condition of being “dead in your trespasses” and that it was because of what Christ did you were made alive, having forgiven you all your trespasses”.
In other words, before you were born again, if you are a Christian, God had already forgiven you of your sins because of what Christ did for you. In addition, you are also included in the resurrection assuring you of everlasting life, again because of what Jesus did for you in His being raised from the dead.
Before we finish let’s look at just three more verses. They are all found in the Gospel of John and they are all in chapter six. The first verse we will look at is found in verse 44, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.” A similar statement is found in verse 65, “And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”
I bet you thought that anyone could choose to come to Jesus anytime they wanted too, didn’t you? Well, here Jesus tells not just once, but twice, that “NO ONE” can come unless the Father draws him. Now let’s look at the last of these three verses.
Again, staying in John 6 but this time in verse 37 we read, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.”
Did you notice what it said? It said that “ALL” that Father gives Me will come to Jesus.
Now I am sure you have never been taught nor even told that these verses exists and that they were said by Jesus. In these three verses Jesus is telling us that unless you are drawn by the Father to come to Him you will never, of your own free-will, ever choose to come to Him, but if you are drawn by the Father, then you will have been given the ability to come to Jesus and you will come to Him of your own free-will.
When you take these three verses that were said by Jesus, and combine them with the other verses that we have looked at, we can only come to one conclusion. We have to believe that Jesus was successful in His work upon the cross and in the resurrection, and that both were done for specific people.
The people of Matthew 1:21 for which He came to save are those whom He chooses to save and to assure them of life eternal with His resurrection from the dead. In one last verse, John 5:21 we read, “For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.”
Yes, Christ was successful in His work upon the cross and in His resurrection from the dead. Every person for whom Christ died upon the cross, to give them forgiveness of sins in His redemptive work, and to provide everlasting life through His resurrection from the dead, will be saved and will be given life eternal.
This brings us back to Matthew 1:21, “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”
After looking at the verses that we have, now who do you think are the “people” who Jesus came to save from their sins? Knowing that not everyone will be saved and only those for whom He came to save will be saved, you will have to conclude that these people are those for whom Christ died upon the cross and to apply to the same life everlasting with His resurrection from the dead.
His people – His sheep – the Elect of God.
Anything else will make Jesus into a failure and a liar. I don’t think you want to be the one to accuse of Him of that. Do You?
Making Sure You Are A Christian
How Can You Tell?
So, you say you are a Christian. How do you know? You accepted Jesus as your Savior, you say. That doesn’t prove you are a Christian. There are many people who say they have done that but just because you have made some kind of a decision is not proof that you have really been born again. In 2nd Peter 1:10 we read,
“Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure.”
This is a stern warning to take a look at your life, believing that you are a Christian, and make sure, very sure, that you have been called of God and that He has brought you into His family.
Once a person becomes a Christian a life change begins to take place. With some it will be slow and gradual, and with others there will be a quick and a dramatic change in the way that they live. We just need to look at the verses right before the one we quoted above to see what should be seen in your life.
2nd Peter 1:5 – 8, “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Do you see any of these signs in your life? If not, then there is every reason to question whether or not you have been born again. No one, who become a Christian, stays the same as they were before regeneration (being born again). A new person begins to appear and that new person now wants to be obedient to the Lord. You see, Jesus will not be a Savior to anyone who will not bow the knee to Him as Lord.
You will never become perfect in this life, as there will always be a battle between your old self and the new person that has been made alive in you, in your spirit. There should be a change in your language, in how you look at others and how you now see God.
You do not do this on your own. For one thing you can’t. You need the work of God in your life in order for this change to take place. In Philippians 2: 12 – 16 we read the following.
“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.”
Once you become born again, God does not leave you on your own. In these verses we see that God is very much active in your growth as a Christian. He is constantly working in your life to make the changes that He wants to see in you. God will cause all kinds of events in your life, both good and bad, in order to cleanse you of your sinful ways and to remove from you that which has become common place in you that is not pleasing to Him. That is why, no matter what happens, you should become obedient to what God is doing so that you will shine as lights in a perverse and sinful world.
As lights you will be different from others. You will not talk like them, you find that you no longer have the same desires and interests that you had before, especially if they were the kind that is not pleasing to God. You should see that some of the things that used to be important in your life is no longer your driving desire. You should be seeing that you want, more and more, to be obedient to the Lord and to do what He wants and not what you want.
In short, you no longer belong to yourself and to Satan. You now belong to God and He will work in you both to will and to do what He wants. If that is not evident in your life, if there is no difference in how you are, how you live after having become a Christian, maybe you haven’t been born again after all.
Just because you make a decision or “accept” Jesus as your personal Savior does not guarantee that you are a Christian. Only if you have been called and made alive in the spirit by God, which does have the evidence of Repentance of your sins towards God and of having Faith in Jesus for unselfishly paying the penalty for your sins, and in your submission to Him as Lord, will there be any work or transformation of your life with God directing the change.
People who say they are a Christian, but there is no proof of that in their life, most likely have been deceived and are not Christians at all; and they are heading for Hell.
How about you? Have you made your call and election sure? If not, maybe now would be the time to do so. Why would you wait until you die before you find out? By then it will be too late.
On Women Pastors
Is It Biblical?
In many Christian denominations they allow for the ordination of women to the position of Pastor. It is happening quite frequently. The question that must be asked, and answered Biblically, is this. Is it sound Biblical Doctrine for a woman to be a Pastor, or in any position of authority in the Church?
There is a chain of command in the world. In 1 Corinthians 11:3 we read:
But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
So, we see here that, in the world, the chain of command is God – Jesus – Man – Woman.
Having seen what the order, or chain of command, is for the World, the next place we should look is what does the Bible say about the qualifications of being a Pastor (Bishop, Overseer). Then we should look at the role of women, not only in the home but also in the Church. In all of this we seek answers from the Bible.
So, what are the qualifications of being a Pastor?
In 1 Timothy 3: 1 – 7 we read this:
This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
In Titus 1: 5 – 9 we read this:
For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you— if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination. For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.
As for the role of woman, let us look at what the Bible says about this.
In 1 Corinthians 14, speaking about the order in Church meetings, in verses 34 & 35 we read:
Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says. And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church.
Then in 1 Timothy 2, in talking about men and women in the Church, we read in verses 11 & 12:
Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence.
Then, looking at the women’s role in the home we can read these verses.
In 1 Timothy 5: 14 we read:
I desire that the younger widows marry, bear children, manage the house, give no opportunity to the adversary to speak reproachfully.
In Titus 2, in speaking of the qualities of a sound Church, we read about women in verses 3 – 6:
the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things— that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.
Then in 1 Peter 3: 1 – 6 we read:
Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear. Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror.
Now think of this. It is God who has given these commands and not man.
Basically we see that in the World, the Church and in the Home there is a chain of command. That chain is that God is first then Christ, then man, then woman.
Also, in the Church, as far as worship order goes and positions of authority, we see that man is to be in those positions of leadership. That includes being Pastors and Teachers. Women are to be silent and not be in any of those positions.
The same basically goes for the home. Yes, the woman is to manage the home but the man is the one in the position of being responsible for the household and the woman is to be submissive to him.
Now I know there are many verses where the woman worked alongside or assisted the man in teaching, evangelizing, etc. but there are no instances where the woman was the one in the postition of authority or leadership for any of this. Woman always works alongside the man and assists the work that he does. It is not where the man works alongside the woman and assists her. You won’t find that anywhere in the Bible.
So, who do you want to believe? If you believe that the Bible is the final authority then you would have to agree, from the verses that you just read, that for a woman to be in a position of leadership, a position of authority or a position of being a Pastor is not Biblical and is just plain wrong. They are in disobedience to the Word of God.
If you don’t want to believe the Bible, then where does your trust lye, in whose authority will you believe? To finish, then, is it Biblical for a woman to be a Pastor? If you believe what you just read then the answer you will have to give is an unequivocal NO!
It is not to man you must answer, but to God…
Parable of the Sower & Hearing God’s Word
Think about this question…
Do you know the mysteries of the Kingdom of God or have you believed in a Parable? The answer you give will indicate whether or not you know the truth about the salvation given by God. You can believe man or you can believe the Word of God.
In the Parable of the Sower, as found in Luke 8: 4 – 8 we read, ” And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable: “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
From this parable, the most important phrase is in the last sentence… “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” This we will look at in a moment. Instead, we will first look at the next two verses ( 9 & 10).
In them we read, “Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?”
And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that
‘ Seeing they may not see,
And hearing they may not understand.’ “
From these, the most important phrase is, again, in the last sentence where we read, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God… “.
Most people focus on the parable itself and not on what Jesus says about those who will hear the true explanation and why they will believe. The answer is in the two verses I’ve mentioned.
First, let’s look at the first of the two verses at which we are looking. At the end of the parable Jesus say, “he who has ears to hear, let him hear!”. After reading this we have to ask the question, who are they who will hear? Is it just those who want to hear? Or maybe it’s those who choose to hear? Well, we do have Jesus telling us exactly who they are who will hear the words of God, and they are found in the Gospel of John. We’ll look at those in a moment.
However, in the explanation that Jesus gives about this parable, He also indicates who they are who will believe. In verse 15 Jesus says, “But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.” Jesus tells us that they who hear have a noble and good heart. Interestingly we know that no one has a good heart. All of us are a sinful people and we all are born with a heart bent for evil. You can find this all through the Bible.
The Second clue we have is found in verse 18. Here Jesus says, “For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.”
So, we see that basically they who will hear the word of God are not just people at random but, there is a group of people specifically in mind that Jesus had in telling the parable of the Sower.
Who are these people who will have ears with which to hear? In the Gospel of John, chapter 8, Jesus is talking with some Pharisees about who He is. He keeps telling them certain things about Himself and finally in verses 45 & 46 Jesus says, “But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?
He pointedly asks the Pharisees, “why do you not believe Me?” Then before they have a time to respond Jesus tells them exactly who it is who will hear the words of God and believe. In the next verse, verse 47, Jesus says this, “He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.”
Now here is the conundrum. Most people believe that no one belongs to God until they are first born again. But, if they are not born again they will not hear the word of God, and if they cannot hear the word of God they will not believe and become born again.
However, if there is specific people in mind, chosen by God to hear and believe, then they will hear and believe when God gives to them the ability to believe. This is what Jesus is saying when He says, “to you it has been given to know the mysteries of God.” It was given to a specific people the ability to hear and believe.
They who are not chosen will not hear and believe, and this is what Jesus is saying when He says, “but to the rest it is given in parables, that
‘ Seeing they may not see,
And hearing they may not understand.’ “
In addition, this is also indicated in verse 18 of Luke 8 when Jesus says, “For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.” In other words, they who have been chosen by God to hear and believe they already have Gods grace and because of that, they also are given the ability with which to hear and so believe. They who do not have God’s grace, are not given anything that will allow them to believe.
Now I can hear so many of you saying that I don’t know what I’m talking about. That’s understandable because I, too, at one time did not believe this, until I became a Christian. It was then in studying the Word of God that I began to realize that the only reason I was able to hear and belive the Gospel, when for so many years I scoffed at it, was because it was God’s purpose for me to believe. The reason it was given to me to hear and believe was because I had already belonged to God and, in his timing and for His pleasure, I was then born again by the Spirit of God.
They who will hear the word of God and believe are those who belong to God and are given the ability to do so. They who do not belong to God are those who will hear something that will not be effectual to them and “Seeing they may not see, And hearing they may not understand.”
This brings us back to the question I asked at the beginning. Do you know the mysteries of the Kingdom of God or have you believed in a Parable? Most likely your answer will be determined on whether you will believe the words of man or if you believe the Word of God.
As for me, I believe the Word of God. For it is God who has worked His effectual Word in me both to will and to do according to His good pleasure. I pray that you can say the same…
Riff's Christian Journal 