The Christian’s Day Of Independence!
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Thus begins the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, the unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America starting on their fight to obtain freedom from tyranny. Eventually they did become a free and independent nation.
I am a citizen of a bigger and better nation that is not of this world. That nation is the Kingdom of God.
At one time I, like everyone else – like you – was a servant to my sin nature, and that sin nature was taking me down the road to face God’s wrath on Judgement day. On that day if I were to be found guilty of my sins, I would be sentenced to spend all eternity in the Lake of Fire with Satan and all of the fallen angels that followed him.
However, God intervened on my behalf and according to His will, and for His glory – being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who works all things after the counsel of His own will: that we should be to the praise of His glory, by grace God set me free from my sins and set me on a path of righteousness.
From Romans 6 we read these verses:
Rom 6:17 But God be thanked, that you were the servants of sin, but you have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
Rom 6:18 Being then made free from sin, you became the servants of righteousness.
Rom 6:22 But now being made free from sin, you have become servants to God,
God has a Declaration of Independence day for all of His people whom He has chosen from before the foundation of the world. On the day that He has set for each of us, He brings freedom to us by setting us free from being a servant to our sin nature and that we may be to the praise of His glory.
Now, having been set free from sin, we have become servants of God, to serve Him and Him alone. All of His chosen people are truly created equal, that we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, according to God’s will.
The result is we have been forgiven of our sins, and made alive in our spirit, all because of what Jesus, our great God and Savior, has done for us, and we have been adopted into the family of God.
The children of God have a true and an everlasting Declaration of Independence day. One not given by man, but by God Himself to set us free to serve Him and to know His love, unto the praise of His glory.
To our great God and Savior.
Have You Heard The Shepherds Voice?
The 23rd Psalm begins with “The Lord is my shepherd”. Pretty much everyone knows that but have you ever heard the Shepherd’s voice?
I am sure that if you believe you are a Christian you will most likely say that you answered a call to accept Jesus and be saved. So, now that you have “accepted” Jesus as savior, you are now saved; right?
What if I told you that unless you have heard the Shepherd call you by name the chances are that you might not be saved! Scary thought is it not.
There was a moment when Jesus was talking with some Pharisees. At one point He made this statement found in John 10:
Joh 10:1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that enters not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
Joh 10:2 But he that enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
Joh 10:3 To him the porter opens; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out.
Joh 10:4 And when he puts forth his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
Read carefully what Jesus is saying, especially in verse 3. He says that being the Shepherd, His sheep will hear His voice and He calls His own sheep by name. Did you get that? Jesus states that He knows all His sheep and He calls them by name.
In verse 4, Jesus tells us that He will go before His sheep and as He calls them by their name, they will follow Him: for they know His voice. Only Jesus, the Good Shepherd, will they follow.
Later on, the Pharisees ask Jesus this question in John 10: 24.
Joh 10:24 Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long do you make us to doubt? If you be the Christ, tell us plainly.
Here is the response that Jesus gave:
Joh 10:25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and you believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me.
Joh 10:26 But you believe not, because you are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.
Joh 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
Joh 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
Jesus tells them plainly that the reason they do not believe is that they are not of His sheep. The only way they would believe on Jesus would be if they were of His sheep and He has called them by name to follow Him.
If they are not one of His sheep, He will not call them to follow Him and they will not believe on Him no matter what He says because they are not of His sheepfold.
You see, we are to “believe” on the Lord Jesus as we hear Him call our name to follow Him, and as we hear Jesus call our name, we will believe on Him as our Lord, our Shepherd, and we will follow Him willingly.
At this point you might be wondering whom it is who gave us to Jesus to be our Shepherd and us His sheep, to follow Him. In John 10: 29, 30 we read:
Joh 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
Joh 10:30 I and my Father are one. (Jesus is God)
Christianity Is Not About Politics
Christianity is not about politics. Christians are neither Republicans nor Democrats. The job of Christians is not to directly influence the way to govern a country. It is the Christians duty to obey God.
In 2 Timothy 2 the Apostle Paul writes the following:
2Ti 2:3 You therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
2Ti 2:4 No man that wars entangles himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who has chosen him to be a soldier.
Politics: Noun
The activities of the government, members of law-making organizations, or people who try to influence the way to govern a country.
God, being sovereign, has power over all things that He has created, to do what He wills, and there is no one who can question Him, change Him or stop Him from doing as He wills. God puts people and governments in power as He chooses to accomplish what He ordains.
As we read in Daniel 2: 20, 21, it is God who rules over governments and people.
Dan 2:20 Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his:
Dan 2:21 And he changes the times and the seasons: he removes kings, and sets up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:
In addition, in Romans 13: 1 Paul says this in writing about governments…
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.
In every country, city and town, God puts in charge whomever He wishes. He does this for a reason and most likely, we will never know why. However, even though we may not like whoever it is that God has put in charge, even if we cast a vote, our faith in God’s sovereignty should be enough for us to trust that God’s will is always best.
As Christians, then, the most important thing that we are to do, that will have more influence on governments and individuals alike, than direct intervention, is to be obedient to the command that Jesus gave to His disciples:
Mar_16:15 (KJV) And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature.
The one thing that God wants for us to do, outside the Church universal, is to share the Good News of Jesus to all whom God directs us to meet.
God ordains governments and directs them to do His will. That is not for Christians to do. Politics is God’s business, not ours.
For it is God who rises up and takes down governments, and it is by His hands that governments do according to His will and purpose. If we do not trust in God for how to administer governments, what makes us believe that we can do better?
Only God can bring about what is to be, and it is by His power and might that governments do what He has ordained for them. Our trust is to be in Him and not in any work that we may do to influence any government.
In this world, it is God Who rules over governments and not His children.
Jesus Came To Reveal The Sin In Us
After reading the title you might say, “Did not Jesus come to seek and save they who are lost?” Why, then, do you say that He came to reveal the sin in us?
Good Question and here is the short answer. If we do not know that we are lost there would be no reason for us wanting to be saved. Think of this. Go and read again the Sermon on the Mount, and ask yourself if you have kept all those sayings that Jesus gave us. I am sure you would say, “No.” Why? Because we all have a sin nature and we want to do only according to our nature. We want to do things “our” way.
You see, none of us can say that we are without sin. In fact that is just what Jesus came to teach us. In His teachings and in the activities and miracles that He did He would mention sin.
In the story about the man who was lying on a mat by the pool of Bethesda Jesus healed him and later when He encountered the man again, we read this:
John_5:14 (KJV) Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.
What about the woman caught in the very act of adultery, “the very act” they said? All these righteousmen said that in their law a person doing this was to be stoned. What was Jesus going to do about this? Well, let us see what Jesus said and what was their response:
John 8:7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
John 8:9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last:
You see, these perfect, these righteous men saw in themselves their own sin and realized that they, too, were sinful people.
However, Jesus did not stop there. He now turned to the women and said this:
John 8:10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
John 8:11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
Even to the woman whom He just kept from being stoned He revealed to her the sin that was in her life.These are just a few examples of Jesus revealing sin us.
Here are a few more verses that Jesus said about sin:
John_8:34 (KJV) Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sinis the servant of sin.
John_9:41 (KJV) Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.
John_15:22 (KJV) If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin.
Jesus knew that man thought of himself to be a good person, a righteous person, one who will go to Heaven because of their basic (sometimes) obedience to God. Just as I thought of myself – when I die God will weigh all of my good deeds against all of my bad deeds, the good will outweigh the bad, and for that reason God will welcome me into heaven. I sure am glad I found out how wrong I was, when Jesus revealed my own sin to me.
Did you, or do you now, believe the same thing? Remember what the Apostle John said:
I John_1:8 (KJV) If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
The problem is that we “all” have sin in us, and unless we see our sinfulness in all of its ugliness and filth, and how we need to be saved from facing the wrath of God because of our sinfulness, we will never want to be saved. We are a sinful people and for that reason, we need to be saved from our own sinfulness, and its consequences.
Yes, Jesus came to seek and save the lost, but until man sees that he is lost he will never see the need to be saved. We need to see our sinfulness and confess it so. Only then, once our sin is revealed to us and we see it for what it is will we cry out to be saved.
For woe is us that we are such a sinful people. We need to have our sin taken away in order to be saved, and only Jesus can do that. As John the Baptist said:
John_1:29 (KJV) The next day John sees Jesus coming unto him, and says, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Has your sinfulness been revealed to you? Do you now see that you are lost and need to be saved? Jesus has sought you, He has revealed your sinfulness to you and He has done so in order to save you; because He loves you.
Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Christians Should Not Worry About Elections – IF
If you think of yourself as being a Christian and that you are a true disciple of Jesus, then you should have no worries at all about any elections. However, this is only true “IF” you wholly believe in the sovereignty of God. Here is why.
If God is sovereign over everyone, and over all things upon the earth and in the heavens, then there is nothing or no one who can stop or keep God from bringing into our realm what He decrees to be done.
For instance, in Daniel 4: 34, 35 we read…
Dan 4:34 And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that lives forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation:
Dan 4:35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he does according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?
In addition, in Ephesians 1: 11 we read…
Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who works all things after the counsel of His own will:
God, being sovereign, has power over all things that He has created, to do what He wills, and there is no one who can question Him, change Him or stop Him from doing as He wills.
Therefore, with that in mind, what about putting people and governments in power as He wills to accomplish what He desires to be done.
In Daniel 2: 20, 21 we read this…
Dan 2:20 Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his:
Dan 2:21 And he changes the times and the seasons: he removes kings, and sets up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:
In addition, in Romans 13: 1, 2 Paul says this in writing about governments…
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 resists the power, resists the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
In every country, city and town, God puts in charge whomever He wishes. He does this for a reason and mostly likely, we will never know why.
However, just knowing this, even though we may not like whoever it is that God has put in charge, because of our faith in God’s sovereignty our trust should be such that God’s will is always best; though we may never know the reason why He has done as He has.
This is why I state that Christians should not worry about elections, any elections, “IF” we truly believe in, and trust in, God’s sovereignty over all that He has created.
Christians Are Not Required To Tithe – Here Is Why
Christians today hear a lot about giving a tithe of their income, but is tithing even mentioned in the New Testament?
In the Old Testament the first mention of a “tithe” is found in the following two verses.
Lev_27:30 (KJV) And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’S: it is holy unto the LORD.
Lev_27:32 (KJV) And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD.
I won’t tell you what these two verses say. You read them and you can see what a tithe was, and why a tithe is given. It was not about money.
In this next verse you can read what the reason was for giving a tithe.
Deu_26:12 (KJV) When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled;
Throughout the whole of the Old Testament there is not one mention that a tithe is of money. The verse right above is the only reason for tithing. Now is this something you can do today. Only if the one to whom you are giving the tithe is willing to accept it.
In the New Testament Epistles, tithing is never mentioned at all. Jesus did mention tithe twice in the Gospels, but never in connection with giving money. See Mathew 23:23 and Luke 11:42 for how Jesus used the word tithe – it was not about money. Interesting is it not? However, offerings and giving are mentioned as we see here in the following verses. Tithing of money is never mentioned.
The Collection for the Saints
1Co 16:1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye.
1Co 16:2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
1Co 16:3 And when I come, whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality unto Jerusalem.
The Cheerful Giver
2Co 9:6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
2Co 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
Php 4:15 Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.
Php 4:16 For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.
Php 4:17 Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.
Php 4:18 But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God.
Php 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Php 4:20 Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
The Apostle Paul talks about the collection for the saints in Jerusalem, and about receiving the gifts that were sent to him, but it does not mention whether it was money, goods or both. The giving by the Christians could be from what they have that would help others in need, and the giving would be from the heart, and they were glad that they could give of what they had.
That is what God wants. Gifts from His children from what they had and felt good about what they were giving. They were giving not because of being made to believe they had to give of a certain amount but because they were giving willingly and happily from the heart.
God wants a cheerful giver. One who feels glad to give to help others. No specific amount is required, for God will work in they whom He wants to use to give of their abundance as He has already blessed them.
From they who have little and still give something, and are happy in so doing, God is just as loving of that person as He is of they who give much. You see, they had given of what they had, what they purposed to give and are happy that could give as God asked.
In the New Testament tithing for the Christian is never mentioned. When money is mentioned it is rarely in a positive light or in connection, in any way, with tithing or the giving of a 10% offering.
Tithing for Christians, or giving a tenth of what one has, is not required today, regardless of what we are told. That is not what God wants. Anything one can give – of money, of goods or of themselves – to help with their church, helping the needy, supporting a ministry by what God instills in them to give, they will willing do in giving from the heart in a most cheerful and happy way.
That is all that God wants. For God loves the cheerful giver…
So, Who “IS” Jesus?
When I was young, Christmas was a wonderful time, the decorations, the tree and the gifts of course.
At church, I knew there was talk about a baby in something called a “manger” and being told about some shepherds and Wiseman coming to visit him with gifts, ah yes – a gift, that was the best part. Little did I know or realize what the real gift was and from where it came.
As I grew older, I still enjoyed Christmas but sort of drifted away from church and Christmas slowly became more commercial than anything else. However, a time came when something happened to me that I later found out that it was what the Bible calls “being born again”. I had heard about it but evidently never experienced it. That is, until the Word of God came to me and revealed Himself to me in reading the Scriptures.
It was then that I learned about the truth about Christmas. It begins like this.
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
So, what does this mean? How does the Word become flesh? It began like this.
Luk 1:26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
Luk 1:27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
Luk 1:28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
Luk 1:29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
Luk 1:30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
Luk 1:31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
Luk 1:32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
Luk 1:33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Luk 2:1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
Luk 2:2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
Luk 2:3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
Luk 2:4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
Luk 2:5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
Luk 2:6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
Luk 2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
Luk 2:8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
Luk 2:9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
Luk 2:10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
Luk 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
Luk 2:12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
Luk 2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Luk 2:14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Luk 2:15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
Luk 2:16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
Luk 2:17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
Luk 2:18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
Luk 2:19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
Luk 2:20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
We do not know exactly when Jesus was born, and it is not important when that we do. All we need to know is that God did come down to us, to mankind, to reveal Himself in human form. He did so to let us know that in our human, and sinful, nature we cannot do anything in order to be worthy of going to Heaven when we die and to spend eternal life with Him.
We need for someone else to stand in our place, to suffer the consequences of our sins for us, so that we could be forgiven and be given a new life in Him to know Him, to love Him and to be obedient to Him; now and forever.
You see, the true gift of Christmas is God’s gift to us of forgiveness, love and eternal life, found only in Jesus, and for all who will believe in Jesus, the only true Savior of mankind. To all who call upon Jesus as Lord, and believe that He has been raised from the dead, will be saved from paying the penalty for our sins and having to face the wrath of God on judgement day.
Yes, the true gift given that we should be celebrating at Christmas is the gift of God given to us, and that gift is Jesus.
In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God and the Word became flesh, became human, like one of us, and we call Him – Jesus. In addition, it is only through Jesus that we can receive forgiveness, eternal life and knowing the true love of God.
There is no other name, given among man, by which we can be saved. Thank God for giving us the true Gift of Christmas…
Do Good People Go To Hell?
You Know, being confined to Hell for all eternity can be a scary thought. I wonder if good people go to Hell. If good people do go to Hell, then how good does one have to be “Not” to go to Hell?
Right now, you are probably thinking that, “I know I am good enough to go to Heaven and not be sent to Hell.” Yeah, I know the feeling.
When I was a teenager I was quite active in the Episcopal Church. I was an acolyte, a Sunday School Teacher, taught in Vacation Bible School, and was leader of the Youth Group – Spy’s it was called, which stood for “St. Peter’s Youth”. Catchy, do you not think?
What I really enjoyed doing was when I was asked to be a Lay Reader during Morning Prayer Service. It got to the point that, except for giving the sermon and the blessings at the end of the service, I got to do everything else. Man, I was King Teen of the Church. I was a pretty big guy on campus, so to speak, and the thoughts of going to Heaven when I died were never in doubt.
After graduating High School my life began to change and church activity began to drift off, especially after I was called to active service in the Navy. I had already joined the Navy Reserves when I was just a Junior in High School and the Navy, in its wisdom, saw fit to bring me up to the big leagues. Actually, I really enjoyed my three years on active service. It is a time of life that I would do over again.
Strangely enough, I never went to church at all while serving in the Navy. Church was the last thing on my mind. I was too busy, well, being a Sailor…
Eventually I was released from active service, got married, had kids and was living life OK. During all of this, I still felt that I would go to Heaven when I died. If someone were to ask me how I knew – this is what I would tell them. “Well, I know that when I get up there God would put all of my good qualities on one side of a scale and all of my bad points on the other side of the scales and the good would out way the bad and for that reason I would be allowed to get into Heaven.” With that kind of thinking about what was there to worry.
To make a long story short, along the way I started going to church, got involved in various activities and actually started reading the Bible; not a good idea for someone with the thinking about going to Heaven that I had. Maybe this would be you as well.
Over a period of time, there were three words that would pop up on occasion; four times in Psalms, once in Romans and twice in the Gospels. What were these three words? There were, “There is none.”
Now, by themselves, the phrase, “There is none,” is really not a bad thing about which to ponder, but when you add three more words to them it becomes a big thing. The other three words are, “That does good.” So, when you put them together you get, “There is none that does good.” Think about that for a moment and then let me add what Jesus said about being good.
In the Gospels of Matthew and Mark there is a story about a person that came up to Jesus and said, “Good Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus answered like this,
“Mark 10:18 – And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.”
Man, that was like running into a brick wall. Jesus actually said that, “No one is good except God.” I mean, if no one is good that would mean me! How could Jesus say that I was not a good person? Look at all of the work I did in the church early in my life and being told how I was a good little boy. Look how I was a good father and husband. Look how people liked me and said that I was a good person. Everyone thought that I was a good person except… except Jesus!
Now, how could I doubt Jesus? However, if He was right… then I had nothing good to offer God when I died. If I had nothing good I would not be allowed into Heaven. If we cannot get into Heaven by our good works how do we get into Heaven?
I started reading and studying the Scriptures, especially the New Testament. I learned that the reason we are not considered good is that we have a sin nature, and this sinfulness has separated us from God. In order to come back into a right relationship with God we need to repent of our sinfulness and to seek forgiveness for our sins.
However, our sins require a penalty for which they need to be paid. We need to pay for them – unless – unless someone stands in our place and takes on them the penalty for which we owe God. I learned that Jesus has done this for they who would confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and to believe in their heart that God has raised Him from the grave. In other words, whoever would call upon the name of the Lord would be saved.
If we would just repent of our sins and believe that Jesus is Lord of our life because of what He has done, and have a desire to be obedient to Him, to do His will, then we would be forgiven for our sins based on the fact that Jesus died for sins and paid the penalty for them.
In fact, if you would just call upon Jesus as Lord of your life you will find out that you have been forgiven, saved from paying the penalty for your sins by facing the wrath of God on Judgement Day, and are now in God’s family for all eternity.
Good works will never save you, anyone or me. Only by calling upon the name of the Lord Jesus, will anyone be forgiven, saved and allowed into Heaven.
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Surely you do not want to be one of those good people, depending on your good works, who wind up in Hell? Will you not now call upon the Lord Jesus to be saved? It really is that easy. If I, one who was a very religious and good working man can do so – you can as well.
Throw your good works aside and call upon Jesus to be saved. Do so before it is too late.
Could You Forgive As Jesus Asked?
Everything that Jesus taught is to show man that he could not be obedient to God, and was unable to earn his way into heaven. What Jesus said about forgiveness is a good example.
In Matthew 6: 14, 15 Jesus said the following:
Mat 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
Mat 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Let me ask you a question? How easy is it to forgive someone? Is isn’t is it. In fact, depending on the offense, it is not easy and it may be that you do not want to forgive them at all. Am I right? I do speak from experience.
Here, however, Jesus tells us that unless we can forgive others for their sins against us then He will not forgive us for our sins against Him. If you think about it, that is very scary. You think, how can I forgive them for what they did to me? If you only knew what they did, you would understand why I cannot nor do I want to forgive them.
If that is the case then we are stuck. If God will not forgive us because we will not forgive others, how are we going to get into heaven? That is the question, and that is what Jesus is showing us. In simple terms, Jesus is telling us that we just can never do what is needed to earn our way into heaven. There has to be another way, and there is.
In John 14 Jesus tells us what the only way is for us to get into heaven:
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.
In everything, Jesus taught that, because of our sinfulness, we cannot be obedient to God the Father and earn our way into heaven. Someone must do that for us and that someone is Jesus.
We do not want to forgive because we cannot forgive; that must be taken out of the way. Jesus did just that for His sheep.
Are you among His sheep? Only until you become a member of God’s family will you ever want or desire to forgive others as God forgave you. Once you have been born again, the change to being able to forgive others could happen quickly or over a period of time, and eventually you will find it easier to forgive as God wants. Especially when you realize what all God has forgiven you.
Forgiving without God will never happen nor completely go away even if you say you do. Only after being forgiven by God and given the gift of forgiveness will you forgive as God intends. Only after being able to forgive others for their sins against you will you be able to appreciate God’s forgiveness of you for your sins against Him. Then, you can truly say that God forgave you as you have forgiven others.
Does Jesus Love Everybody?
If someone were to ask you, “Does Jesus love everybody?” Most likely, you would say, “Yes.” Then if I were to ask you, “On what verse do you base that?” I know that you would say, “On John 3: 16.”
Now we have gone over this verse in other posts to show that this verse is not talking about people everywhere specifically, but in people everywhere in general. In addition, the sentence in this verse that qualifies about whom Jesus was talking is the one that says, “That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Salvation is not just for the Jews but for Gentiles believers also.
You might be surprised to know there are no verses in the Bible that says Jesus loves everyone. However, many verses specifically say whom Jesus does love. We are going to look at a few of these verses, and I will let you read them, study them, and let the Holy Spirit speak to you, and pray that He will open your heart to understand about what they are saying.
Here is the first verse for you to read:
John 13:1 Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.
Now here is the second of the verses that you should read and study, just like the first verse:
John 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.
John 14:22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? (Note: Jesus is only showing Himself to those whom He loves.)
John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
These are the last of the scripture verses that you should look at, study and pray for insight into what they are saying:
John 17:20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; (Note: Jesus prays for future believers.)
John 17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
John 17:22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
John 17:23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
In these few Scripture verses, you can see that Jesus loves those who will be believers, believers chosen by the Father for salvation. Nothing can be clearer than what you have just read. Even in all of the Letters written by Paul, John, and Peter etc. that when they speak of God loving them they are talking about they who have become believers, true disciples of Jesus.
Please read these Scripture verses over several times and let them sink into your heart, and I pray that the Holy Spirit will give you understanding in these verses to God’s glory and for your own good; that you may know the truth about the love of Jesus.
Riff's Christian Journal 