Simon (Peter) Says.... Chapter 1

I felt led to do a study on the Epistle of Peter (also known as Simon Peter). I am going to take this Epistle verse by verse and share what I take out of it.

1 Peter Chapter 1
verses 1&2:

"Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied."

Several things stand out in these two verses. First, Peter is writing to God's elect. This is important. When studying the Bible, we always need to keep in mind to whom the author is writing. Like all of the Epistles, this epistle is written to those who are already believers. Never is an epistle addressed to a non believer. This is crucial to know so that when we read the passages we do not misinterpret an "obedience" or "discipleship" verse with a "salvation verse".

Second, we are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God. I have talked about foreknowledge in other posts and it simply means that God knew ahead of time who would come to Jesus Christ for salvation and who would not. God is not bound by time as we are. Foreknowledge does not mean to cause in any way. The chosen or the "elect" are those that come to Christ. It is easy to remember it this way.. the elect are the "whosoever wills" and the non-elect are the "whosoever wont's".

Also notice in verse two that we are sanctified, or made pure and holy, through the work of the Holy Spirit (not through our work). Sanctified does not mean set apart, it means to make pure and Holy. By application, anything that is made pure and holy is set apart. Once we are sanctified, we should be obedient to Christ.

verses 3-9:

"3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor at the appearing of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls."

In verse 3, two words stand out.. mercy and hope. It is only because of God's mercy that He sent Jesus to die for our sins.
Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit."

Hope. The biblical definition of hope is much different than our modern definition. Today, hope means "anticipation", "wish", or "maybe". The biblical definition of hope is a rock-ribbed assurance based on the promises of God. In the bible, Jesus Himself is called the blessed hope in Titus 2:13 "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." I can assure you that the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ is not a "maybe" or a "wish".

Verse 4 talks about an inheritance. Another word for inheritance is a birthright. In the old testament, the first born son would be given the birthright of the father. In the account of Jacob and Esau, Esau sells his birthright over to Jacob for a mere bowl of soup. As believers in Christ, we are given this inheritance also or this birthright once we are "born again". Notice how our birthright is described... incorruptible, undefiled, will not fade away and is in reserve for us in heaven. We will see later in this chapter in verse 23 where Peter says "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which lives and abides for ever."

This is yet another proof text of our eternal salvation. Another way of saying our eternal salvation is our eternal inheritance. If we have an inheritance that is incorruptible (which means even we can't corrupt it), undefiled and won't fade away, then we have to conclude it is forever. Sometimes you can make a motel reservation and if you don't confirm it within a certain amount of time, it is no longer valid. Our reservation in heaven is forever valid as long as we have trusted Christ as Savior. If that is not Good News, then I don't know what is.

Verse 5 two words also stand out... kept & power. We are not eternally secure because we keep ourselves by our own power or our own good works. We are kept by God's power. Look at John 10:28 "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand." There is no being, spirit, devil, or anything that is stronger than God so therefore, nothing is able to pluck us out of His hands. It is His power that secures us and keeps us. The phrase in the scripture "they shall never perish" literally means "they shall not destroy themselves".

verses 6&7 In verse 6 Peter is talking about how we may have to suffer for a short time (not short in our eyes but during our mortal lives which is nothing more than a vapor). However, in this we rejoice or are glad to be counted worthy to suffer for Christ's sake. Romans 8:17 "And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." In verse 7 Peter mentions how enduring through our suffering proves the genuineness of our faith. The result being glory and honor when we stand at the judgement seat of Christ to receive the rewards for the things we have done. 1 Corinthians 3:15 "If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire." When we stand at the judgement seat of Christ our works will be tried by fire and if any of our works stand up to the fire, we will receive a reward. If our works are burned in the fire like wood, hay and stubble then we will suffer loss. We will not suffer loss of salvation, but loss of rewards that we could have obtained had we been living in the will of God and done those works to glorify Him.

verses 8&9 These verses are what separate us as Gentile believers from the Jewish believers in Jesus' day. In biblical days, Jews always required a sign for belief. This is why Jesus performed so many miracles. Even Thomas would not believe Jesus had risen until he looked at His hands to see where the nails had been. But verse 8 says we love Him and believe in Him even though we have not physically seen him (now this is true faith). It is this faith which brings us inner joy.

Verse 9 takes some examining. It says the goal of our faith is the salvation of our souls. On the surface, it appears this verse is saying that our goal in life is to be saved, but this could not be farther from the truth. A goal is something you hope to achieve. Salvation is a free gift, not something we work to achieve. So is it a contradiction? Absolutely not. The key to unlocking this supposed mystery is knowing how to define biblical terms. When the bible talks about "salvation of the soul" it is talking about our daily walk and guarding us from sin in our daily lives. The Greek word for soul is "Psuche" and it is where we derive the word psychology from. Roughly speaking the soul is our mind, emotion and will. This passage is saying that the goal in our faith should be to save our mind, emotion and will from the things of Satan, from sin, and have as our goal to set our mind, emotion and will on the things of God. Will we all reach this goal? Of course not. Many believers are carnal in nature and while their spirit is saved and on the way to heaven, their soul is caught up in the things of this world.

verses 10-12

"10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things."

These three verses reveal the fact that Jesus Christ was the main topic of the prophets' studies. The doctrine of the prophets, and that of the apostles, exactly agree, as coming from the same Spirit of God. Look at Acts 10:43 "To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believes in him shall receive remission of sins." Some people think Jesus was only a New Testament figure but all the prophets spoke of His coming as they were inspired by God's Holy Spirit. The primary message of their findings is this: that Jesus would be delivered for our offenses and be raised from the dead for our justification. The only difference between what the Old Testament prophets said and what the New Testament apostles said was time. The prophets spoke about what would happen and the apostles spoke about what had happened.

The remaining verses in Chapter 1 have one theme .. Be Holy. This ties in with what Peter said in verse 9 about the salvation of our soul or the salvation of our mind, emotion and will to flee from sinful things by being holy.

verses 13-16
"13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

Look at the first few words of verse 13 and you see the word "mind" (remember mind, emotion and will?). In fact verse 13 is all over the soul here. It says to be self controlled. This ties directly into "emotion". Finally, verse 14 picks up with being obedient and this speaks about our will. Just before Jesus was to be crucified He agonized with God the Father and asked Him if there was possibly another way. In the end though, Jesus said "not my will, but thine be done". This, in a nutshell, should be our motto as Christians. We are not to conform to the evils of this world. When we are in God's will this is "saving our soul" from falling prey to the evil desires that are in the world. Finally, if we are obedient and are in God's will, we will be holy because God is holy.

verses 17-21
"17 Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. 18For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God."

It is interesting that the bible uses the word strangers in verse 17. This present day earth is not really our home. We are strangers or aliens here and we should live as though we were "just visiting" and not as though this world is the end all. The Bible says in Proverbs that "fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom". We ought to have this reverential fear or respect for God and the things of God.
Verse 18 & 19 talk about how we were redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christd Himself and not redeemed by our own efforts of keeping man made traditions and laws.

Verse 20 speaks of God's plan from the beginning of creation to send Jesus to redeem us. Not being bound by time as we are, God could foresee the fall of man before it happened and so He knew that Jesus would need to come on our behalf. As was mentioned in the preceding verses, the prophets revealed Jesus' coming as our only means of justification.

Verse 21 is interesting. It says through Him you believe in God. Remember before Jesus returned to heaven after His resurrection, He promised the disciples that He would send a comforter, the Holy Spirit. One of the functions of the Holy Spirit is to draw us to God for salvation.

Verses 22-25

22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. 23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For,
"All men are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
25but the word of the Lord stands forever." And this is the word that was preached to you.

Notice in verse 22 how we purify ourselves. It's not by works or upholding any man made tradition. It is by obeying the truth or the Gospel. What does it mean to obey the truth? it simply means to believe it, study it and meditate on it. The scripture that relates closely to this is found in Ephesians 5:25-26 "25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word." The Word of God (The Bible) is a cleansing agent that helps to make us pure.

Verse 23 piggy backs on verse 22. Just like we are not purified with things of man (traditions, legal works, etc) we are also not born again due to these things for they are all perishable and corruptible. We are born again by the imperishable seed which is Jesus Christ. Remember in Genesis 3:15 where it says "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." God is talking to Satan and the 'seed of the woman' is a prohecy of the coming Jesus Christ. Jesus alone is the enduring and living word of God.

Verses 24 & 25 give a natural example of a spiritual truth that we can relate to. We can understand that grass and flowers will wither away over time. The Word of God is eternal and will not fade away. Men live and die but Christ lives forever at the right hand of the father.

Just Say "Know" Part 2

In the previous post I showed how we can know that we are eternally secure. In this post, I am going to, for lack of a better term, play "Devil's Advocate" and go over some scriptures that those who believe you can lose your salvation cling to as proof text.

2 Peter 2:20-22
"20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire."

Let's analyze these verses a little more closely. In verse 20 it says "they have escaped the pollutions of the world..". Note it does not say they are saved, just that they have escaped the pollution through knowledge of Jesus Christ (i.e. they heard the Gospel... heard but not fully believed and trusted). They know about Jesus Christ but they do not know Jesus Christ. Continue in verse 20. The word "entangled" is used. The word entangled literally means to weave something into a pattern. What happens is these people being referenced are weaving themselves a pattern and going deeper and deeper into bondage from false teaching. The 2nd chapter of 2 Peter is primarily about being weary of false teachers. When this happens to those people, the deeper bondage, they end up being worse off than if they had never heard about Jesus.
Remember the scripture in Luke 12:47-48 "47 And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. 48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more." Since these people being talked about heard about Christ but never made the commitment to believe, they will suffer a worse fate than someone in the remote reaches of the world who has never heard of Jesus.

Reformation without Regeneration leads to greater Degradation and final Condemnation.

A classic example of this truth is Judas. Jesus said of Judas in Mark 14:21 "The Son of man indeed goes, as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born." Judas heard the truth. Judas reformed his life. Judas was a disciple of Jesus. He escaped the pollutions of the world for a while but his latter end was worse than his first.

Going back to the explicit examples in the text from 2 Peter, he is describing a dog and a hog. Jesus always referred to true believers as His sheep, never a dog or a hog. Peter gives the example of a dog who vomits, but then hates to leave a warm meal just lying on the ground so he returns later on to lap it up. You say, now that's disgusting. I know. Peter meant it to be that way to prove a point. Now that dog had something inside of it that made it upset to the stomach so he got rid of it. The dog may have felt better after getting rid of it, but it was still a dog... it was not changed!!!
Now for the hog or pig. Something about a pig. You can scrub it, use right guard, left guard, use the finest perfume, and put a pretty bow on it, but a pig will only stay clean for so long. At first opportunity, that pig is going to run back to the mire. Why? Because that is it's natural habitat.
So examine the illustrations Peter is using. The dog feels better, the pig looks better. The pig is cleaned up and the dog is cleaned out, but neither are changed. That is the main point Peter is making.

Here is another verse some might use to say you can lose your salvation.
Matthew 24:11-13
"And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."

Some will take this passage and say "see, you have to endure to the end to be saved." The problem with that theology is Jesus never said that. What Jesus is saying is that in order to endure to the end, you have to be saved. Without the power of the Holy Spirit in you to endure, you'll never make it until the end. Do you want to know who is saved? Those who endure unto the end. Again go back to the text in 1 John 2:19 that I mentioned in Part I of this subject. The fact that people don't last is the ear mark to prove they were never saved to begin with. People endure because they are saved, they aren't saved because they endure. Endurance is simply a characteristic of the saved.

A clear illustration of this is found in Luke 22:31-31 "31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: 32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." What is happening in this passage? Jesus tells Peter that He is praying for him and because He is praying for him, his faith will not fail; he will endure. Look at verse 32, when thou are converted. Converted here does not mean saved, Peter was already saved. Converted just means to turn around and get straightened out. Once Peter does that, he can help strengthen the brethren. We know that Peter did in fact endure. He may have cursed and swore and denied the Lord Jesus but he never ultimately forsook Jesus. Eternal security is like a gigantic rubber band that can be stretched. We may drift away for a short time, but God brings us back in. God's rubber band will NEVER break so that we could be lost.
In contrast, there is another person in this same chapter who did ultimately not endure because he never had believing faith. That person is Judas. Look in verses 47-48 "47 And while he yet spake, behold a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him. 48But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?" So we have Peter and Judas. Honestly, if we had been there in biblical times not knowing what we know now, if we had to guess which of them was saved we would all have said Judas. It would have had to been Judas. He was the treasurer after all and the person you appoint to be treasurer is the one you trust the most. Then you had poor Peter who was a mess. The only time he opened his mouth was to change feet. Just another example of not judging a book by it's cover. When Jesus told His disciples that one of them was going to betray Him, I doubt anyone thought it would be Judas. Question... did Judas endure? Of course not. He fell away, betrayed Jesus, hung himself and ultimately went to hell (because of his unbelief, not due to hanging himself. Suicide does not send you to hell). Look at John 6:64 "But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him." And look also at verses 70-71 "70 Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? 71 He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve." So what's the point of all this? The point is Peter endured and Judas didn't. Why? Simply because Peter had faith and Judas did not. Judas never had Jesus praying for him that his faith would hold out because he never had faith to start with.

Let's look at another passage that some might use to try to prove you can lose your salvation. John 15:5-6 "5 I am the vine, you are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing. 6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 8 Herein is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; so shall you be my disciples."

This passage has absolutely, positively nothing to do with salvation. This passage is talking about fruit bearing. Jesus is using a metaphor of a gardener who inspects his vines and trims away the dead limbs, the succors, the branches that don't bear fruit and prunes them. Well what do you do with a branch that is been cut off and is not good for anything else? You toss it in a brush pile with other limbs not bearing fruit and you burn it. Jesus is saying if we don't abide in Him, we are good for nothing Christians. We do no good for the Kingdom. As Christians we should all bear fruit. Here is a good lesson... never try to get your theology from a metaphor which is nothing more than an illustration. Our theology comes from the Epistles. There are truths that are taught using the metaphors and in this case the truth is that if we are going to bear fruit, we must abide in Christ. However, fruit bearing is not a mark of salvation. Most Christians will bear very little to no fruit. Most Christians will make it Heaven and that's about it. It's a sad fact, but most Christians do not serve the Lord or reach the lost.
Last but not least, there is one passage in particular that many will turn to as proof text that someone can lose their salvation. It is found in Hebrews 6:4-6 "4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame."

The writer of Hebrews (I believe it is Paul but I won't fight you about it) is writing to those who are already saved. What this passage is basically saying is should someone fall away (not from salvation but fall away from living the Christian life) that they don't need to be saved again (i.e. Christ does not have to be crucified again). They simply need to get back to what they should be doing. The key is the phrase "renew them again to repentance". Repentance is the change of mind from anything that you believe will save you to believing the Gospel that only Christ's resurrection can save you. A person who is a believer has already had this repentance therefore it is impossible to renew them again to repentance because they have already repented in the believing sense of changing their mind about who Christ is. Paul is saying if you try to renew them to repentance, then Christ has to go back on the cross so we can start the whole process over again. By doing this, you put Christ to shame because you are telling Christ that His death on the cross the first time wasn't sufficient.
If you interpret this verse to be speaking about someone who has lost their salvation, then you would have to conclude that they are "screwed for life" because the text says it is impossible for them to come back to Christ. If you don't believe in "once saved, always saved" then you have to believe in once lost, twice lost".

I like to defer to someone if they can explain things better than I can and so I have copied part of an article written by the late Dr. Hank Lindstrom on this subject of Hebrew 6....

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Notice that the passage is talking about those who are saved. There are five things said about them that demonstrate this truth:

First, "Those who were once enlightened" refers to a saved person or one who has seen "the light" of the Lord Jesus Christ. The same word "enlightened" is translated "illuminated" in Hebrews 10:32 and speaks of a saved individual.

Second, "tasted of the heavenly gift" refers to salvation. Romans 6:23 says, "The gift of God is eternal life." Ephesians 2:8 says that salvation "is the gift of God." The word "tasted" is used in Hebrews 2:9 saying Christ "tasted death for every man." We tasted of the heavenly gift in the same way Christ tasted death--that is, fully and completely.

Third, "We're made partakers of the Holy Ghost." The Bible teaches in Romans 8:9, "Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." In other words, if you don't have the Holy Spirit you are not saved. The moment a person trusts Christ as Saviour he or she partakes of the Holy Spirit. If you do not have the Holy Spirit, then you are unsaved.

Fourth, "Tasted the good Word of God." The Bible tells us in I Corinthians 2:14, "But the natural (unsaved) man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." Only the saved man can taste of the Word of God.

Fifth, "The powers of the world to come." Only the born-again man has experienced the power of God. Romans 1:16 says, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes." A person who is born-again has experienced the power of God.

"If they shall fall away" is not referring to salvation but it is referring to the "Christian life"! Hebrews 6:1 tells us that the writer is speaking about things that accompany salvation. Hebrews 6:1 tells us that the writer is talking about maturity in the Christian life and not about how to be saved.

Well, what is Hebrews 6:6 talking about? Verse six is simply stating to Hebrew (Jewish) believers who were used to a yearly sacrifice that it was impossible for them to be saved again because "by ONE offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified [the believers in Christ] (Hebrews 10:14)." Hebrews 6:1 tells us that we cannot "lay again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God."

If a believer falls away from serving the Lord, the procedure is not to become saved again. That is impossible. It is impossible to "renew" them again unto repentance (the change of mind necessary to accept Christ as Saviour).

Hebrews 6:6 warns that if you try to become saved again all you do is crucify Jesus Christ afresh to yourself, thereby shaming Jesus Christ.

The Bible does not teach that one must be born again and again and again, etc. You can only be born-again once, never to be cast out (John 6:37) or lost (John 6:39). Salvation is complete and final. (Read John 5:24).

The solution for a believer fallen away from service to the Lord is to start serving again. We are encouraged by the words of Hebrews 6:10, that "God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love." God will reward faithful service to him. (See I Corinthians 15:58).

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Generally speaking, if someone thinks they can lose their salvation they fall into 1 of 2 categories: 1) They are trusting in their works to save them and are not saved or 2) they misinterpret a discipleship verse for a salvation verse. Discipleship verses talk about how we can either lose or gain rewards and fellowship with God based on how we live our daily lives. Salvation verses talk about how we can live eternally based on what Jesus did on the cross alone.

Just Say "KNOW" Part I

John 10:27-29
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand."

I will give you several reasons why it is vitally important that if you are saved that you know you are secure and will not lose it.

I) It is necessary for Spiritual growth

Can you imagine what the emotional state of any child would be if that child did not know from day-to-day whether or not he or she were a member of the family? Today I was a good boy; I am a member of the family. The next day I wasn't so good; I am no longer a member of the family. I am loved of my Father; I am not loved of my Father. Friend, that would make a child neurotic to not know whether he or she was accepted in the family. He or she may be punished, may have to go to their room, etc but he or she knows that they know that they are part of the family. It is necessary in the natural world for emotional strength and so it is in the spiritual world for spiritual strength.

II) It is important for Spiritual Productivity

When you know your future is secure, then you can concentrate on the present. From 1933-1937 the Golden Gate bridge was built. It was a dangerous task as many workers were afraid that they would fall to their death over the perilous waters and it seemed like the very fear of falling is what caused them to fall. Though 35 Million dollars was spent on this bridge, they failed at first to build a safety net and 11 people on the first section of the bridge fell into the water and perished.
On the next section of the bridge they spent $100,000 to construct a safety net. After the safety net was built, only 19 fell during the remainder of the construction and all were caught in the net and saved. All lives were saved but here is the important part, with the safety net in place, the work went 25% faster. The workers could concentrate on their work because they knew that beneath them was that safety net. And so it is with a child of God. When he knows that his future is secure, he can concentrate on the present.
Here is part of an aricle I found on GoCalifornia.about.com

One of the most interesting Golden Gate Bridge facts is that only eleven workers died during construction, a new safety record for the time. In the 1930s, bridge builders expected 1 fatality per $1 million in construction costs, and builders expected 35 people to die while building the Golden Gate Bridge. One of the bridge's safety innovations was a net suspended under the floor. This net saved the lives of 19 men during construction, and they are often called the members of the "Half Way to Hell Club."

III) It is important for Evangelism
I am convinced that the reason more people are not born again believers in Christ is quite frankly that they don't think they can live up to the standard. Rather than attempt to make a false start and fall away, they simply never start so as not to appear a hypocrite. They say "I don't have the strength" or "I don't have the wisdom that these other people have". If we could only show those types of people that the God who saves you is also the God who keeps you.

Let me clarify what I mean about the Eternal Security of the Believer. First, we need to clarify what is meant by a believer. A believer is NOT someone who just has head knowledge, or has joined a church, been baptized, gives their money and does all these religious things. These are well and good but none of these nor all of these can save. A believer is someone who has received Christ by faith. Someone who has put his or her trust in the shed blood of Jesus Christ as their only means of redemption apart from any acts of righteousness they could perform. This is someone who has become a partaker of the divine nature, who has been twice born and received the new birth. This person can never, ever, ever again be a lost soul.
Ok, you say "wait a minute, I know some people who were once saved and are no longer saved". Be careful when you say that because you might have thought you knew that they were saved but they were never truly saved. Look at Matthew 7:22-23 "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Jesus does not tell them "I once knew you but now you lost it". He said "I NEVER knew you." So when we say "believer" we are not talking about people who profess to be religious and turn away, we are talking about people who have truly accepted Christ by faith alone.
So you may still be scratching your head and asking me, "David, what about these people who join a church, get baptized, and live for God a little while, are you telling me that those people are not saved?" ... YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If they go away and stay away, they were never saved. These people are described to a tee in 1 John 2:19 "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us."

I sometimes enjoy watching the original Star Trek series and it's amazing how I will sometimes find biblical truths in the show. I am pretty sure show creator Gene Roddenbury didn't intend it to be that way. I was watching an episode last night where this person named Captain Garth (who was mentally ill) had the ability to assume the likeness of any other person, so much like the original that it fooled anyone who saw him. Near the end of the show, he transformed himself to look like Captain Kirk in an attempt to fool Mr. Spock and get Spock to beam him to the Enterprise. Spock enters the control room and sees 2 Captain Kirks that look, speak and act identical to one another. What spock says next and how he resolves the problem can be directly related to the scripture in 1 John 2:19. Here is what Spock said, "Whichever one of you is Captain Garth, must at this moment be expending a great deal of energy to maintain the image of Captain Kirk. That energy level can not be maintained indefinitely, and I have time." And so it is with those who profess to be christians. As Mr. Spock so aptly put it, these people are attempting to "maintain the image" of Christ but eventually that energy runs out because they are doing this in their own strength.

John is saying the faith that fizzles before the finish had a flaw from the beginning. The fact that they fell away and stayed away is proof that they were never saved. Now most of us have had small periods of time where we have fallen away from serving like we should or from faithful attendance in church to be with our brothers and sisters; this is natural and to be expected. However, the fact that we eventually return before too long and get right back where we need to be is proof that we are truly saved and children of God.
So keep in mind these that are described in 1 John 2:19 are not those that lost their salvation; they never had it. Judas is a prime example. Judas never lost his salvation; he never had it. The Bible says that Jesus knew from the beginning that Judas did not believe. (John 6:64)

Let's shift focus a bit. I would like to share some ways you can know that you are eternally secure. I will share 8 reasons and let each one start with the letter "P" for easier remembrance.

1) Promise
God has promised to you eternal security. Look at Romans 8:38-39"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." When Paul used the word "persuaded" he is saying he is thoroughly convinced. He gives a laundry list of things that can not separate you from the love of God .. translated anything that can cause you to lose your salvation.

2) Perseverance
God will complete what He has begun. Philippians 1:6 "Being confident of this very thing, that he which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." Notice Paul's words. He began the Romans verse with "I am persuaded" and now he begins the verse in Philippians with "Being confident". Now when we got saved, who began the good work in us? Was it us or God? It was God. We love Him why? Because He first loved us.
The Holy Spirit of God is the agent of the new birth. Let's take a closer look at who the Holy Spirit is:

1) He was the convictor
He was the one who convicted us of our sin and our need for a Savior.
2) He was the converter
He was the one who opened our eyes. He was the one who helped us to be able to understand the Gospel. He was the one who put faith in our hearts to believe the Gospel.
3) He IS the completer
He who began a good work in us (the convictor and the converter) will complete it. I think most of us have started many things we have not been able to finish, but God never starts anything that He can not finish. If any child of God was ever lost that would mean that God the Father is defeated in His purpose, that would mean that Jesus is disappointed that His blood was not sufficient to keep them, that would mean that God the Holy Spirit is disgraced because He is not able to complete that which He began. So, it is perseverance. NOT the perseverance of the Saints. It is not the Saints who persevere, it is God. The third "P"...

3) Predestination
Look at Romans 8 again but this time start in verse 29
"For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified."

What are these verses saying? God has already predestined or pre determined our destiny as believers. We are predestined to be like the Lord Jesus Christ. We can not be more sure than predestined. In these verses God gives us a chain with 5 golden links... foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification and glorification. As children of God, God already sees us glorified and He already sees us in Heaven. The verse doesn't say He is "going to see", He already sees!!!! Our salvation did not begin the day we were born. Through His not being bound by time, God saw us from the beginning of time believing in Christ and justified. Keep in mind that foreknowledge does not mean to cause. It just means that God knew ahead of time that we would accept Christ and He has made arrangements to make us Justified. Now tell me, what can stop that? How could we lose our salvation if we are already predestined to be like Christ? What is settled in eternity can not be undone in time and what has been decreed by Heaven can not be annulled by Hell. Look at Romans 11:29 "For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. What does that mean? It means God will never change his mind or repent about completing the good work He has started in us. Now the 4th "P"..

4) Perfection
Hebrews 10:14 "For by one offering he has perfected for ever them that are sanctified." In this scripture that one offering is Jesus' blood on the Cross of Calvary. That offering has perfected us forever. If we are perfected forever, how could we ever be lost or lose our salvation??? We can't. Understand this about salvation... when we get saved God doesn't just give us a "fresh start" and then it's up to us from there. He doesn't make the down payment so that we have to make the monthly installments. Like the Hymn says "Jesus paid it ALL". Keep in mind the biblical meaning of perfect is not that we grow wings and a halo, perfect in biblical terms means "complete". You may think, what if I get saved and then sin again? What if???? We are still going to sin because we keep some of that old nature. The difference is when we sin, God just takes us behind the woodshed.. the bible says in Hebrews 12:6 "for whom the Lord loves, He chastens".
Notice in the verse it says by ONE offering. I have a challenge for you. Find anywhere in the bible where anyone was ever saved "twice". There may be such a thing as twice baked potatoes but there are no twice saved Christians. In order to be saved twice, Jesus would have to die twice. Jesus is never going back to the cross again. When we got saved we got a ticket that says "good for 1 salvation only". For more look at Romans 4:5-6 "But to him that works not, but believes on him that justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describes the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputes righteousness without works." We are not saved by doing good works. People who believe you can lose your salvation generally believe you lose it because you don't have enough good works. They are trusting in their good works to save them and therefore are not saved. Notice the term in verse 6 "impute"? What does impute mean? It means to place it on your account. If you want to have a little fun, the next time you go to the store and you want to charge something, don't tell the clerk to charge it, tell the clerk to impute it. Let's read on in verses 7-8 "Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin." Not only does God forgive, He forgets. God will not bring up that sin again. Blessed is the man who God will not impute sin. All it would take is one scintilla of one sin to send us all to Hell but thank God our sins are covered. Ok, onto the next "P"...

5) Position
2 Corinthians 5:17-18 "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation." If we are "in Christ" how could we ever become "not in Christ"? Answer, we can't. What is true of Christ as far as position goes is true for us. We will lose our relationship with God the Father whenever Jesus loses His relationship with God the Father. We know this will never happen. We are also the body of Christ. If we were to become lost (lose our salvation) a part of Jesus' body would have to be cut off. Somebody might ask "what if you slip out of His hand?". We can't. We are one of His fingers.
The best picture of this in the Bible is found in Noah's Ark. Let's test your old testament knowledge how the account went. God told Noah to build the ark and then drive 8 pegs on the outside of that Ark for his wife, his sons, and their wives. Then God told them to hang on tight during the flood and if they endure until the end they will be saved. Is that what the Bible says? Of course not. God told Noah and his family to come into the Ark. That meant God was already in the ark. Being in the ark for Noah was like being in Christ. Then the Bible says that God shut the door. Why? To shut the water out and to shut Noah in. It was impossible for Noah to have fallen out of the Ark as it is impossible for us to fall out of Christ. There was no door knob on the inside of that Ark for Noah to get out. God sealed him in. Ephesians tells us that once we believe we are sealed just like Noah was. Noah may have fallen down many times in the ark, but he never fell out of the ark. We will fall down many times, but we will never fall out of Christ. Ok, the next "P"
6) Possession
We already have Eternal Life. John 5:24 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that hears my word, and believes on him that sent me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." This verse says we have it, not that we will get it someday. We have it right now. Keep this in mind. Our eternal life does not begin the instant we die, our eternal life began the moment we believed. Ok, the 7th "P"

7) Prayer
Jesus is making intercession for us.
John 17:9,15 "I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou has given me; for they are thine. I pray not that thou should take them out of the world, but that thou should keep them from the evil." Jesus is not praying for God the Father to keep us out of heartache or difficulty but that God the Father will keep us from the evil. Question.. had Jesus Christ ever prayed a prayer that did not get answered? Of course not. Why? Because he always prays in the will of God the Father. Ok, you may say that in those verses Jesus was praying for His disciples. That is true, but if we scroll down to verse 20 we see this "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word." That means He was praying for us that we would be kept. Just to add more to it, look at Hebrews 7:25 "Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever lives to make intercession for them." It's comforting if you have a prayer group that is praying for you but it's the most comforting to know that Jesus is continually praying for you. The last "P" ..

8) Power
1 Peter 1:3-6 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fades not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." We are kept. We have a lively hope. It doesn't fade away, it is incorruptible and undefiled.
Ok, so a naysayer might say "what if Satan could take you out of God's hand?" Remember the scripture at the beginning in John 10?
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand." Can you think of any force powerful enough to pry open the hand of God? Question.. if Jesus is not able to keep us, if Satan is able to pry us out of God's hand, why hasn't he done it? The only reason Satan hasn't is because he can't. If someone thinks Satan can take us out of God's hand and he hasn't done it yet, the only conclusion is that Satan is being good to us. And we are going to Heaven based on the goodness of Satan. Wouldn't that be a strange doctrine?
Ok, someone might say "well Satan may not be able to do it but we can." At the end of the scripture in verse 28 "they shall never perish". This text is in the middle voice and it literally means "they shall never destroy themselves." If God didn't save me from me, He didn't save me from my worst enemy. Us, as dumb sheep, have such a Savior that is able to save us and keep us forever by the power of God.

A side note explanation of what "middle voice" means:

Some languages (such as Sanskrit, Icelandic and Ancient Greek) have a middle voice. The middle voice is in the middle of the active and the passive voice because the subject cannot be categorized as either agent or patient but has elements of both. An intransitive verb that appears active but expresses a passive action characterizes the English middle voice. For example, in The casserole cooked in the oven, cooked appears syntactically active but semantically passive, putting it in the middle voice. In Classical Greek, the middle voice is often reflexive, denoting that the subject acts on or for itself, such as "The boy washes himself", or "The boy washes". It can be transitive or intransitive. It can occasionally be used in a causative sense, such as "The father causes his son to be set free", or "The father ransoms his son".

Love (The Year Round Sport)

Since tomorrow is Valentine's Day, I thought I would take a biblical look at "Love". Love is an intentional, active sport. It is not mere lip service of telling someone "I Love You" (although that never hurts). True biblical love is much more that what is represented by society ever Feb 14th.

There are 4 words in the Greek Language for love. The first is "Eros" and I would imagine it is where the word "erotic" comes from because this kind of love is a physical, sexual kind of love. Since this love is not mentioned directly in the Bible I won't go into more details. I think you get the point what kind of love this is.

The second Greek word is Agape which refers to the love of God, one of the kinds of love we are to have for people. Agape is the very nature of God, for God is love (1 John 4:7-12). The big key to understanding agape is to realize that it can be known from the action it prompts. In fact, we sometimes speak of the “action model” of agape love. People today are accustomed to thinking of love as a feeling, but that is not necessarily the case with agape love. Agape is love because of what it does, not because of how it feels.

God so “loved” (agape) that He gave His Son. It did not feel good to God to do that, but it was the loving thing to do. Christ so loved (agape) that he gave his life. He did not want to die, but he loved, so he did what God required. A mother who loves a sick baby will stay up all night long caring for it, which is not something she wants to do, but is a true act of agape love.

The point is that agape love is not simply an impulse generated from feelings. Rather, agape love is an exercise of the will, a deliberate choice. This is why God can command us to love our enemies (Matt. 5:44; Exod. 23:1-5). He is not commanding us to “have a good feeling” for our enemies, but to act in a loving way toward them. Agape love is related to obedience and commitment, and not necessarily feeling and emotion. “Loving” someone is to obey God on another’s behalf, seeking his or her long-term blessing and profit.

The way to know that we love (agape) God is that we keep His commandments. Jesus said, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me…” (John 14:21a). There are Christians who say they love God, but their lifestyle is contrary to the will of God. These people mistake their feeling of affection for God for true agape love. Jesus made this clear: “He who does not love me will not obey my teaching…” (John 14:24).

Love is the distinctive character of the Christian life in relation to other Christians and to all humanity. The “loving” thing to do may not always be easy, and true love is not “mushy sentimentalism.” There is often a cost to genuine love. For example, punishing criminals to keep society safe is loving but not easy or pleasant, and asking someone to leave your Christian fellowship because he persists in flagrant sin is loving, but never easy (1 Cor. 5:1-5). That is not to say the agape love cannot have feelings attached to it, and the ideal situation occurs when the loving thing to do also is what we want to do. Christians are to be known for their love to one another (John 13:35).

The third word for “love” we need to examine is phileo, which means “to have a special interest in someone or something, frequently with focus on close association; have affection for, like, consider someone a friend.” It would probably be helpful if phileo were never translated “love” in the New Testament, because it refers to a strong liking or a strong friendship. Of course, we see how phileo gets translated “love,” because in modern culture we say we “love” things that we strongly like: “I love ice cream,” “I love my car,” “I love the way your hair looks,” etc. The word phileo implies a strong emotional connection, and thus is used of the “love,” or deep friendship, between friends. You can agape your enemies, but you cannot phileo them.

The fourth Greek word we need to understand is storge, which is the love and affection that naturally occurs between parents and children, can exist between siblings, and exists between husbands and wives in a good marriage. It occurs in Romans 12:10 in the word, philostorgos, which is a compound word made up of philos (the noun form of phileo) and storge. Romans 12:10 is a very important verse, directing us to be very loving and kind to each other.

Romans 12:10 As to your brotherly love, let there be deep friendship and family-affection toward one another.

If one is going to have a wonderful Christian life, obedient to the voice of God and have rich fellowship with other Christians, he or she will need to exercise all three kinds of love. We need agape love because some of the things that God requires of us are not fun or easy, but need to be done. We need to have phileo love because we need true friends to stand with us, people who are emotionally connected to us and with whom we can share our deepest thoughts and feelings. Lastly, we Christians need to have storge love between us, a deep family affection that comforts us and helps us feel connected to all our spiritual family.

The A,B,C,D's of love Jesus' way.

A. Selflessly: Jesus “did not come to be served, but to serve” (Matt. 20:28). Our love should not be centered on what someone can do for us, but how we can bless him or her.

B. Understandingly: Jesus knew the limitations of His followers, which is one reason He was able to have compassion on their failings. We should show the same consideration for those who mistreat us or live sinfully. There is always a reason why people rebel against God. Trying to understand doesn’t change their guilt before Him, but it can help you love more freely. Following the Lord’s example means learning to see people as they are and caring for them anyway.

C. Forgivingly: There are countless ways we can take offense at what others do or say. Forgiveness isn’t usually easy, but someone who genuinely loves will also be forgiving. At the next opportunity to extend mercy, we should remember that Jesus was willing to cleanse us of all our sins. Also, hanging on to bitterness and resentment will negatively affect our health, not just our relationships with God and the offender.

D. Sacrificially: In Mark 8:43, Jesus said, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” The highest form of love is to lay your life down for another. Genuine love almost always involves some level of sacrifice. That doesn’t mean we must give in to all the demands of others; instead, we should seek to give them what will ultimately be most beneficial.

Test time.

Question. Can people tell you are a Christian without you having to say it? John 13:34-35 says "A new commandment I give unto you, That you love one another; as I have loved you, so you also love one another. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another."

1 Corinthians 13:1 "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal."

It is interesting that the King James translates the word love as "charity".

So, if you were put on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?

It's Not Quite "The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year"

This article was written by one of my early spiritual mentors Dr. Hank Lindstrom who passed away in October of 2008. The lines in bold are my emphasis on his article. The paragraph near the end in bold and italics is mine.
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The center of Christianity is not the birthday of the Lord Jesus Christ. The center of Christian worship is the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord left us two ordinances to observe. They are Baptism and the Lord's Supper. Both remind us of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In Baptism, we have a picture of the burial and the resurrection. In the Lord's Supper, we have the picture of His death in the broken bread, and His life in the cup representing His incorruptible, sinless blood.

There is not a shred of evidence that the disciples or the early church ever celebrated the birthday of Jesus. Nowhere does the Scripture ask us to celebrate His birthday, but again and again we are asked to celebrate His death day.

Calvary, not Bethlehem, is the heart of Christianity. If you are not saved, then you need to look at what happened at Calvary. Jesus Christ came into the world to die there upon the cross for your sins. You can believe in the birth of Jesus Christ and still be lost. To be saved, you must believe that Christ died to pay the penalty for all your sins.

The book of Revelation says of Christ, "Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood (Revelation 1:5)." We are redeemed not by the birth of Christ, but by the death of Christ.

I say all of this because there are multitudes of men and women who will celebrate Christmas each year and yet deny the need of the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ as the means of their salvation. Nothing but the blood of Jesus Christ shed at Calvary's cross can wash away our sin.

It is interesting that of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, only two of them tells us of the birth of Christ, and none of the four gospels mentions the date that Jesus was born. There is not mention of His birthday in the Bible. We are not told the day, month, or year. Yet we know exactly when He was crucified. He was crucified on the preparation day of the Passover. The Passover always occurred on the 14th day of the first month of the Jewish calendar.

Remember that the four gospels tell us in the greatest detail where He was born, where He lived and what He did. They also tell in great detail how and when He died. But they are completely silent as to the date or the day of His birth. Did they forget, or was it left out on purpose? Could it be that God knew that man would make more of His birth than His death when God wanted us to make more of His death than His birth? It is certainly worth thinking about. Unless you have been to Calvary, Christmas is of no value.

Each of the four gospels give us a different picture of the person of Jesus Christ. Matthew's gospel pictures Christ as a King. Mark's gospel presents Christ as a Servant. Luke's gospel presents Christ as a Man, and John's gospel presents Christ as God.

The Bible is truly an amazing book. The phrase "Son of God" means Jesus is God, and the phrase "Son of Man" means Jesus is Man. The Jewish phrase "son of" means to have the same nature as, characteristics as, and to essentially act the same as. Jesus as the Son of God was never born, but as the Son of Man He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. The prophet Isaiah foretold this in Isaiah 9:6.

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace."

Notice the phrase "a child is born...a Son is given." If Isaiah had said "A child is given...and a Son is born," it would have been a mistake. As the Son of God, Jesus was never a child, but as the Son of Man He was born as a baby, grew up a child, and so on.

John's gospel tells us of the Son who was given, and Luke's gospel tells us of the child who was born. The record in Mark's gospel omits any mention of Jesus' birth. Since Mark presents Christ as a Servant, a record of the birth is unnecessary. A servant's ancestry is of no interest to us. All we require of a servant is work. Mark's gospel is filled with the works of Christ.

Matthew's gospel presents Christ as a King. Here the birth account is very important. Matthew shows how He is heir to the throne being of the lineage of King David. Also, He is visited by wise men who come seeking the King. The wise men said, "Where is He that is born King of the Jews (Matthew 2:2)?"

Luke's gospel presents Christ as a Man. So, again, the genealogy is important for tracing Christ's lineage all the way back to Adam, the first man on earth. Also, in Luke's gospel, Christ is visited by poor shepherds who come seeking a baby, a human Savior,

The Bible presents the whole world as lost and incapable of saving itself. The whole human race would be cast into hell if no Savior were found. Man's best works are filthy rags in the sight of God. They cannot help man out of his dilemma. "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners: of whom I am chief (I Timothy 1:15)."

Luke 2:11 announces that Jesus is the Christ, which means He is the Messiah--the anointed Savior. This is the One promised by all the Old Testament prophets. Luke 2:11 presents Jesus as LORD, which means He is God. The Bible clearly presents Jesus Christ as being, "God manifest in the flesh". (See I Timothy 3:16, II Corinthians 5:19, etc.)

"But God commends his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." At Christmas, let's remember why He was born. Let's take the opportunity to tell the message of His death, burial, and resurrection.

Isn’t it ironic that we do not know the exact birth date of Jesus yet we celebrate it on the same day every year. In contrast, we know the exact date Jesus was crucified yet it may be celebrated as early as Mid March or as late as the end of April. (I kind of hate when that “tradition of man” stuff gets in the way).

The bottom line is this: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23)." The GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE! If you haven't received the gift of God, then you have missed the meaning of Christmas. Many celebrate Christmas all of their lives and have never received the gift of Christmas. Have you received the gift of God? If not, then you will spend all eternity in hell separated from God.

Your most important choice in life is to receive this gift! It is not available at the local shopping mall. You can't buy it. We don't deserve it, and we cannot earn it. The ONLY WAY the gift of God may be received is "THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD". You must trust Jesus Christ as the ONE who died for your sins on Calvary, was buried and rose again from the dead. Trust Him to save you! The moment you do, He will save you.

If you have received the gift of God, why not distribute this gift to others! The gospel is the good news that "whosoever believeth" can also received this free gift!

We pray that you and your family have a wonderful CHRISTMAS!

God's Perfect Trifecta

Last night I could not sleep so I decided to get my IPOD and start listening to Christian music to relax and unwind. One of the songs I listened to is called "While You Were Sleeping" by Casting Crowns. I have heard the song many times but last night the Lord spoke to me about a new way to look at that song. The lyrics are:

Oh little town of Bethlehem,
Looks like another silent night,
Above your deep and dreamless sleep,
A giant star lights up the sky,
And while you're lying in the dark,
There shines an everlasting light,
For the King has left His throne,
And is sleeping in a manger tonight,
Oh Bethlehem, what you have missed while you were sleeping,
For God became a man And stepped into your world today,
Oh Bethlehem, you will go down in history,
As a city with no room for its King,
While you were sleeping, While you were sleeping

Oh little town of Jerusalem,
Looks like another silent night,
The Father gave His only Son,
The Way, the Truth, the Life had come,
But there was no room for Him,
in the world He came to save,
Jerusalem, what you have missed while you were sleeping,
The Savior of the world is dying on your cross today,
Jerusalem, you will go down in history,
As a city with no room for its King,
While you were sleeping, While you were sleeping

United States of America,
Looks like another silent night,
As we're sung to sleep by philosophies,
That save the trees and kill the children,
And while we're lying in the dark,
There's a shout heard across the eastern sky,
For the Bridegroom has returned,
And has carried His bride away in the night,
America, what will we miss while we are sleeping,
Will Jesus come again,
And leave us slumbering where we lay,
America, will we go down in history,
As a nation with no room for its King,
Will we be sleeping, Will we be sleeping
United States of America,
Looks like another silent night


The song talks about how Christ is rejected by different nations and how they are linked together. When He was a baby, He was rejected by Bethlehem. When He was an adult, He was rejected by Jerusalem. Finally, the song is a warning that America is dangerously headed down this same path as many reject Christ and His coming again. What struck me is how this song captures the entire Gospel message. The Gospel message is that Jesus was born of a virgin, died for our sins, and rose again on the Third Day according to the Scriptures. In the first stanza of the song, we see the born of a virgin part of Jesus and how Bethlehem was metaphorically sleeping and was not aware of who was in their midst.
In the second stanza we see Jesus as He is rejected by Jerusalem and eventually crucified on the cross. Again, Jerusalem is metaphorically asleep as they do not realize who it is that was in their midst.
In the final stanza we see the United States in danger of following the same path of Bethlehem and Jerusalem by not realizing that Christ is the savior and that He is returning. Again, the metaphor of being asleep is used to describe the apathy in America towards Christ.
This made me think of the Trinity and the very nature of God. God is a triune God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) and we were created in His image which makes us triune beings (body, soul, and spirit). Then this led me to the thought of the significance of the number 3 in the Bible. Let's look at some examples:

- The number of months Moses' parents hid him as a baby
- The number of annual feasts (Feast of Unleavened Bread, Feast of Harvest and Feast of Firstfruits)
- A chord of "three" strands is not easily broken (Eccles 4:12)
- The number of men (times 100) that God gave Gideon to defeat the Midianites (300)
- The number of gifts given by the wise men when they arrived at the home of Jesus (gold, myrrh, and frankincense). The Bible NEVER specifically says there are 3 wise men so it could have and probably was more than 3.
- The number of men Nebuchadnezzar threw into the fiery furnace (Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego)
- The number of times Peter denied Jesus
- The number of times Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him
- The number of crosses when Jesus was crucified (Jesus + 2 thieves)
- The number of days Jesus was in the grave before He arose
- The number of days Jonah was in the belly of the fish
- The number of people at the transfiguration (Jesus, Elijah & Moses)
- The number of days Jesus said it would take to raise the temple (see John 2:19)
- The number of pieces of silver (times 10) Judas received for portraying Jesus (30 pieces)
- According to Acts 2:41, the hour of prayer (3 o'clock)
- The number of hours between the death of Ananias and Sapphira
- The number of days Paul was blind after his encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus
- The number of times Peter has a vision of the sheet that was sent down from Heaven to explain to him that all animals are clean
- The number of times Paul was shipwrecked
- The number of times Paul was beaten with rods
- The number of times Paul asked God to remove his thorn in the flesh
- In I Corinthians 13, Paul listed 3 Spiritual Gifts of prophecies, tongues and knowledge that would cease after completion of the New Testament, but 3 remained... Faith, Hope & Love with the greatest being Love.

The Apostasy of the Contemporary Church

Creativity in outreach is a healthy thing if our creativity is consistent with the principles of the scriptures.

I did some research on this subject and have included some of the highlights I found. When you get down to the "turn of phrase" section that is my observation on this subject, but more specifically I address this subject as it pertains to the church I currently call my home church. Finally, the last section is an article I took from the late pastor, Dr. Hank Lindstrom.

Acts 2:42 is no longer the pattern text for what the church should do in its gatherings: namely, teaching the apostles' doctrine, enjoying fellowship together in the Gospel of grace, breaking the bread of the Lord's Communion and earnest congregational prayer. Our "new" read on this text would be that we meet in order to attract unbelievers through meeting their "felt needs" and making them feel better about themselves and our message.

The old Acts 2:42 agenda seems lame beside this baby-boomer agenda of drama, music, entertainment and self-help-oriented counsel. (Can we really call what is spoken in such services "preaching"? Helpful talks maybe, but not preaching in the sense we see in the New Testament or recovered in the days of the Reformation.)


One prominent seeker-sensitive preacher counsels,

Limit your preaching to roughly 20 minutes, because boomers don't have much time to spare. And don't forget to keep your messages light and informal, liberally sprinkling them with humor and personal anecdotes.

Marketing strategist George Barna states that Jesus and the apostles were market-sensitive and constantly sought to minister to felt needs. The illustrations used to demonstrate this are: Nicodemus and the woman at the well in John 4. Barna never states how these accounts parallel marketing, but simply asserts that they do. How can one read Acts and the Gospels and equate what one sees there with today's market-driven messages? Sermons in the New Testament are culturally relevant and personally powerful, but that is not the point. What is the common denominator of New
Testament preaching is its entire dependence upon Christ and the apostolic revelation.

Douglas Webster is surely correct when he writes:

The reason was its ability to sweep aside superficial felt needs and penetrate to deep-seated spiritual needs. Biblical preaching was God-centered, sin-exposing, self-convicting and life-challenging--the direct opposite of today's light, informal sermons that Christianize self-help and entertain better than they convict.

The Destruction of Congregational Worship
The whole "seeker sensitive" approach presumes that the Lord's Day church gathering is principally for recruiting the unchurched, or evangelizing the lost. This idea can be traced to the "revivalism" of 19th century American experience, where the focus during this era was then moved from the church gathering to worship God, to be edified, to receive the sacraments and to enjoy fellowship with Christ and one another, to "drawing the net," or getting decisions from the lost. This new "seeker-sensitive" approach is just a sharper and more carefully defined (dare we say, "neatly packaged") version of the same approach.

It is clearly not Reformational, but even more importantly it is clearly not Biblical. While we try to entice the world to come to church to hear the Gospel,the New Testament proclaims a powerful church worshipping God going out into the world in order to reach lost (cf. The Book of Acts). True revivals have historically proved again and again, if they prove anything at all, that a revived and healthy church reaches a dying and lost world through its own awakened people. The real problem is that we have a dying and sadly unhealthy church in the late 20th century and we are trying something, it seems at times almost anything, to bring back life.

The new way to do this is to attack the "traditional" church and suggest that our problem is to be found in what we do on Sundays. It is argued, "Contemporaneity will bring back the crowds, thus the life of our church." The real problem, however, is not what we do (i.e. in the so-called traditional service), but that we do what we do without power, without careful thought, and without integrity and passion. But a very important question begs to be answered: What really is the biblical reason for the church to gather in public meetings on the Lord's Day? A simple reading of the Scriptures gives an unmistakably clear answer--God-centered, Scripture-directed worship or in other words "Godly simplicity".

The modern church needs to give itself to such "Godly simplicity" in public worship, reclaiming its biblical heritage of liturgy through a thoughtful and scriptural informed pattern. This pattern must seek to intentionally glorify God, focusing upon him alone as we gather each Lord's Day.

"Turn of phrase"
The church I attend has deemed it necessary to change the way we classify certain things in the church. Here is a sample:

No longer is the area we have worship called a "sanctuary". It is now called an "auditorium". In looking in the Bible, the word "sanctuary" appears 132 times. Oddly, the word "auditorium" can not be found in the Bible.

No longer are we a "congregation" we are "friends and family". (Maybe we should be the MCI church then). Anyway, the word "congregation" appears 331 times in the Bible but the phrase "friends and family" is no where to be seen.

Instead of "Discipleship" it is now called the "next step". Now the great Commission given by Jesus in Matthew 28 says to make disciples. It does not say to lead people to a "next step". A next step can mean anything (including stepping in dog doo-doo).

Our worship team is no longer called a "worship team" (imagine the gall of a church to actually worship God in song). It is now simply called a "band". A band is something someone goes to see in a bar or night club to be entertained. Maybe we should charge a cover at the door of the "auditorium" to help supplement the offering each week.

When the piece of bread and cup of juice is passed each Sunday it is no longer to be referred to as the "Lord's Supper" but simply as communion. Question? To whom are we communing with? I suppose as long as we are communing with someone then it is a success... may as well keep the Lord out of it.

There are others but I think the point has been made. We as Bible believing Christians need to be aware of these very subtle changes that are being implemented and not be surprised down the road a year or two when we show up on Sunday and wonder 'who stole our church'?

So what is the point of all the above discussion. My concern is that the contemporary movement will alienate the strongest Christians. This will cause them to depart the church thus leaving the new believers and unbelievers (with itchy ears) at the mercy of what the contemporary church tells them as being the Biblical way to do things regardless of whether or not it is doctrinally sound.

Lastly, I have included an article from the late Dr. Hank Lindstrom that addresses the failing of many contemporary terms as it relates to true salvation via trust in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the sole payment for our sins in order to make us righteous before a Holy God who demands perfect rigtheousness as entry into His Heaven.

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CONTEMPORARY TERMS THAT ARE NOT THE GOSPEL

The simple gospel message is being corrupted every day by the use of terms or phrases that Christians use to invite the lost to be saved. These terms demand or imply that human works or human effort is a part of the plan of salvation! Biblical salvation is wholly of the Lord and is "Not of works, lest anyone may boast (Ephesians 2:9)". The unsaved listen carefully to every word that we say when we present the gospel. Therefore, we need to be careful of what we say because what we say is what the lost will hear! You might say, "I don't believe in salvation by works", but use some of the terminology used below to present salvation. The problem is that you will be held accountable for what you say, because that is what the lost will hear.

CONTEMPORARY TERMS THAT ARE NOT THE GOSPEL are terms that relate to the Christian life and NOT SALVATION. When applied to salvation they add works in a subtle way. The following is a list examining common terms and phrases that become corrupted when used for salvation. To require these things of a lost person, would be adding works to salvation (Ephesians 2:8, 9).

1. "You must be water baptized to be saved." Water baptism is not required for salvation. (Ephesians 2:8, 9) Since salvation is not of ourselves, it can not be by baptism.

2. "I am asking you to commit your life to Jesus Christ." This implies a promise to live your life for Christ to be saved. Additionally, it is often presented as a commitment of the total emotion, will and intellect of the person. This is a subtle way of asking the person to keep the first commandment. (See Matthew 22:36,37). Love is a commitment. Faith or belief is TRUST. Notice the emphasis is upon YOUR LIFE NOT THE LIFE OF CHRIST GIVEN ON THE CROSS FOR US! This is works. Salvation is made dependent upon how you live your life.

3. "Be willing to repent of your sins (turn from sin)." This makes salvation the result of your change or works. This phrase never ever occurs in the Bible. The Greek word repent [meta-noia], when translated, does not mean to turn from sin but means a change of mind. This change of mind is included in Biblical faith.

4. "Surrender your life to Christ." This implies you are going to live for Christ to be saved.

5. "Give your heart to Jesus Christ." Salvation is not giving, but receiving the gift of God. (John 1:12)

6. "Make Jesus Lord and Master." Implies works as necessary to be saved. Salvation is God's gift.

7. "Invite Jesus into your life." You must TRUST Christ to be saved. This is NOT the plan of salvation.

8. "I want you to follow Christ tonight, give Him your all. You come as the invitation is given." Following Christ is necessary for discipleship, NOT salvation

9. "You must be converted, Jesus said, there must be a change." The apostle Peter was converted three years after he was saved. It implies works. (See Luke 22:32). Jesus never said there must be a change for salvation

10. "I have broken God's laws. I am ready to change my way of life and receive Christ, and follow Him, no matter what the cost." Jesus Christ paid the cost of salvation in full on the cross of Calvary.

11. "Confess your sins." Makes salvation something of self. (See Ephesians 2:8).

12. "You must keep the Ten Commandments." No one can be saved by the commandments. (Romans 3:20)

13. "You must do the will of God to be saved." God's will for salvation is to TRUST Christ. (John 6:40)

14. "I am asking you to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord." The words, "and Lord" implies works or obedience.

15. "Turn over your life to Christ." Implies works or obedience.

16. "Forsake all." Makes salvation of works.

17. "Put Jesus on the throne of your life." Implies that you will obey Christ to be saved. Living the Christian life will not save you.

18. "Promise to live for Jesus." Clearly implies works for salvation.

19. "Let Jesus into your heart." TRUST Christ to be saved. He indwells in those who trust in Him as a consequence of their salvation

20. "Get your life turned around." Makes works a part of the plan of salvation.

WE RECOMMEND THAT THE TERMS ABOVE NOT BE USED WHEN TALKING ABOUT SALVATION!

Here's Why:

Eternal life is free! Romans 5:15, 16
Eternal life is God's gift! Romans 6:23
Eternal life is not of works! Ephesians 2:8, 9
Eternal life is received by faith only! Romans 4:5

In fact, eternal life is not received by, attained by, kept by a person's works, conduct or behavior. WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH! "For by GRACE are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: .NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should boast (Ephesians 2:8, 9)." "But we believe that through the GRACE of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved (Acts 15:11)."

GRACE by definition excludes all WORKS! "And if by GRACE, then is it no more of WORKS: otherwise GRACE is no more GRACE. But if it be of WORKS, then is it no more GRACE: otherwise WORK is no more WORK (Romans 11:6)." According to this verse, ONE work added to grace would render it no more grace.

GRACE PLUS WORKS = NO SALVATION and CHRIST PLUS WORKS = NO SALVATION

READ: I Corinthians 1:17; Galatians 2:21; Galatians 5:2-4; Romans 11:6; Romans 4:16 and the following quotes:

"There is a vast difference between coming to Jesus for salvation, and coming after Jesus for service. Coming to Christ makes one a believer, while coming after Christ makes one a disciple. All believers are not disciples. To become a believer one accepts the invitation of the Gospel. To be a disciple one obeys the challenge to a life of dedicated service and separation. Salvation comes through the sacrifice of Christ. Discipleship comes only by sacrifice of self and surrender to His call for devoted service. Salvation is free, but discipleship involves paying the price of a separated walk. Salvation can not be lost because it depends upon God's faithfulness, but discipleship can be lost because it depends upon our faithfulness."
DEHAAN, M. R. Hebrews. Zondervan Publishing House, 1959. (p. 117)

"There is no more piously subtle abrogation of the Gospel than to tell a sinner that he must not only believe in the Savior, but dedicate himself to do God's will, crown the Savior Lord of his life, etc., etc. Obviously, dedication and service are highly desirable, but they are the privilege and the duty of the saved, never a condition of salvation for the unsaved (cf. Romans 12:1, 2)."
UNGER, MERRILL F. God is Waiting to Meet You. Moody Press, 1975 (p. 117, 118)

"It is our purpose to discuss the Scriptural doctrine of repentance. It is important because so many minds have been confused concerning the simplicity of salvation by the perversion of the Scriptural teaching of this important doctrine ... The doctrine has suffered tremendously from an erroneous concept held by most men, for when the word 'repent' is used, it brings to mind of the average individual the thought of sorrow for sin... And this sorrow for sin is usually called 'repentance'. But there could be nothing further from the concept of the Word of God than the idea that repentance means sorrow for sins. From the Word of God we discover that the word translated 'repent' means 'a change of mind'... Now, such a change of mind as the Scripture enjoins when it speaks of repentance may produce a sorrow for sin, but it will be the result after one has seen his sin in the light of the holiness of God and has changed his attitude toward it."
PENTECOST, J. DWIGHT. Things Which Become Sound Doctrine. (p. 61, 62).