Is Your Salvation Desirable?
In
the Christian religions today, there seems to be some confusion concerning the
Gospel of Jesus Christ.
·
Some
believe that you are saved when you repent of sin and ask Jesus in your life.
·
Others
believe that if you live a good life you will go to heaven.
·
Grace
believers believe that it is by the unmerited favor of God that you are saved
by believing in Jesus and what He has done.
·
There
are those who believe that their denomination is the only way to God and Heaven
and you have to be part of it to be chosen.
·
Some
believe that you are saved by Grace, but when you sin you must confess it to be
forgiven.
·
Some
teach a combination of Grace, good works, and tradition as the means of
Salvation.
·
Some
Churches believe that Salvation is permanent; others that through sin you can
loose it.
What
I want to do is look into what the Bible has to say about this most important
subject, for it is the foundation for our Christian faith. The Bible is the
revelation of God to man, and should be the final word.
2
Tim 3:16 All scripture is given by
inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly
furnished unto all good works.
Salvation
means good news. When the Angels came to the shepherds and announced the birth
of Jesus they said:
Lk
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.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of
David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall
find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a
multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth
peace, good will toward men.
When
Jesus was baptized by John and finished His temptation of the devil, He went
into the Synagogue of Nazareth and preached this:
Lk
4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he
had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the
sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
17 And there was delivered unto him the book of
the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where
it was written,
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he
hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the
brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight
to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again
to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the
synagogue were fastened on him.
21 And he began to say unto them, This day is
this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
Notice
the good news in every aspect as prophesied by Isaiah 61:1. (Verse 2 talks about the day of vengeance of
God, but Jesus stopped there because that time was not yet.)
The Sin Question
For
4000 years, God had promised mankind that He would send a Messiah who would
deliver man from sin and reconcile man to God. Many of the prophecies
concerning Messiah included the Messiah coming as a conquering King which would
deliver Israel and set up God’s Kingdom on earth. When Jesus came as the
Messiah He was not what Israel expected; the deliverer from Roman rule. No,
Jesus came as the suffering servant who would redeem man by sacrificing Himself
once and for all for man’s sin, and so was rejected by Judaism.
Paul
wrote about this in Hebrews:
8:6
¶ But now hath he obtained a more
excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant,
which was established upon better promises.
7 For if that first covenant had been
faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.
8 For finding fault with them, he saith,
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the
house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
9 Not according to the covenant that I made
with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of
the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded
them not, saith the Lord.
10 For this is the covenant that I will make
with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws
into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God,
and they shall be to me a people:
11 And they shall not teach every man his
neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know
me, from the least to the greatest.
12 For I will be merciful to their
unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
(from Jer 31)
Heb
10:7 ¶ Then said I, Lo, I come (in the
volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
8 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering
and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst
pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;
9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O
God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.
10 By the which will we are sanctified through
the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 And every priest standeth daily ministering
and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
12 But this man, after he had offered one
sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be
made his footstool.
14 For by one offering he hath perfected for
ever them that are sanctified.
15 Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to
us: for after that he had said before,
16 This is the covenant that I will make with
them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts,
and in their minds will I write them;
17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember
no more.
18 Now where remission of these is, there is no
more offering for sin.
John
the Baptist called Jesus, “The Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the
world.”Jn 1:29 & 36. God in the flesh was Jesus, and was the perfect son,
without sin or blemish. He was the Lamb of God, the perfect sacrifice. By His
blood those who have Jesus’ Spirit in them are forever cleansed of sin.
Heb
9:11 But Christ being come an high
priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not
made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but
by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained
eternal redemption for us.
You
see, the sacrifice system that God had ordained since He killed the animals in
the Garden of Eden only covered man’s sin for a year. But, the sacrifice of
Jesus is forever. That means that every sin you have ever committed and will
ever commit is covered under the Blood of Christ.
Temptations
come to all humans. Jesus was tempted in all ways like us, but without sin.
When
we do sin, we have an advocate in Jesus. In His Name talk to the Father and ask
forgiveness. Jesus gave His life for you. You are forgiven. The Spirit will guide
you to not give in to temptation.
Heb
4:14 Seeing then that we have a great
high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold
fast our profession.
15 For we have not an high priest which cannot
be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted
like as we are, yet without sin.
16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne
of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Jesus’ Spirit in
You
Jesus
has always existed. He is the 2nd person of the Godhead and is also
known as the Word, Jn 1:1. He came to earth as a man, 100% God and 100% man.
The Bible prophesied he would be Emanuel, which means God with us. So as a man,
He had a Body, Soul, and Spirit. Jesus
relinquished His Spirit (and Soul) to the Father at the cross and His Body was
placed in the tomb. Jesus went to Paradise for 3 days and preached to those who
were there. After 3 days He was raised from the dead and His Body, Soul, and
Spirit were united and He became an immortal Man to take His place at the right
hand of the Father. He was the first born from the dead. God forever made the
Spirit of Jesus the only means of Salvation, a relationship with God with the
Spirit of Christ living in you.
Rm
8:10 ¶ And if Christ be in you, the body
is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus
from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also
quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Col
1:25 Whereof I am made a minister,
according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil
the word of God;
26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from
ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
27 To whom God would make known what is the
riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you,
the hope of glory:
28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and
teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in
Christ Jesus:
As
Jesus rose from the dead so we are promised the same with an immortal body as
His, Phil 3:21. Those OT Saints who were in Paradise were raised from the dead
when Jesus was resurrected, Mt 27:52.
Col
3:1 ¶ If ye then be risen with Christ,
seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of
God.
2 Set your affection on things above, not on
things on the earth.
3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with
Christ in God.
4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear,
then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
Rm
8:14 For as many as are led by the
Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
15 For ye have not received the spirit of
bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we
cry, Abba, Father.
16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our
spirit, that we are the children of God:
When
one is born again, the Spirit of Jesus joins with your Spirit, which makes you
perfect in God’s sight. Jesus’ Righteousness is imparted to you and your sins
forgiven and forgotten.
2Co
5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for
us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
When
the Spirit of Jesus moves into your spirit, your spirit becomes perfect.
However, you will spend the rest of your earthly life working on your mind
(soul), and body (flesh).
17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and
the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so
that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not
under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest,
which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance,
emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings,
and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time
past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is
no law.
Ro
12:2 And be not conformed to this world:
but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is
that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
If
you believe that by keeping of the law by your own will is going to save you, rather than believing Christ's Spirit to guide you from within, you are sadly
mistaken and will not please God.
For
if you are going to justify yourself before God by the law, you must keep it
all, or fail.
Rm
10:5 For Moses describeth the
righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall
live by them.
Gal
5:1 ¶ Stand fast therefore in the
liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the
yoke of bondage.
2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be
circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
3 For I testify again to every man that is
circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
4 Christ is become of no effect unto you,
whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope
of righteousness by faith.
The
Grace of God, is in Jesus and all He has done for us, Eph 2.
Ro
1:17 For therein is the righteousness of
God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by
faith.
Ga
3:11 But that no man is justified by the
law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
Heb
10:38 Now the just shall live by faith:
but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
You
trying to keep all the law to please God and be accepted will not work, yet so
many churches teach that very thing. The law of God is perfect, but it has no
mercy, no compassion, and no understanding. It describes to you what is sin,
but Jesus has redeemed the reborn from sin.
Heb
11:1 ¶ Now faith is the substance of
things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Heb
11:6 But without faith it is impossible
to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he
is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
If
you continue to do bad things that are against the law of God, you have missed
the calling of Christ and do not listen to the Spirit in you. Grace has saved
you, but sin in your life will have bad consequences.
Holy Spirit
So
what about the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is the 3rd Person of the
Godhead.
God made man in His image in Gn 1:27. As God is comprised of 3, so is
man comprised of 3; body, soul, and spirit, 1Thess 5:23.
As
Jesus promised us, He would not leave us alone but would send the Holy Spirit
to comfort us and lead and guide us in all truth, Jn 14.
Lk
11:9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it
shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto
you.
10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he
that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that
is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish
give him a serpent?
12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him
a scorpion?
13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good
gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the
Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
To
become God’s child, you must be born again and receive the Spirit of Jesus in
your spirit as we have seen. When you are a child of God, you ask God to
receive the Holy Spirit within you.
You
already have Jesus in you, and then you receive the Holy Spirit in you which
now you have the essence of Jesus and God within you.
This
is confusing to most church folk, for they are taught there is only one Holy
Spirit and you receive it (Him) when you come to God through Jesus. Now no doubt
Jesus’ Spirit is Holy, but it is not the Holy Spirit of the Godhead. This is a
misunderstanding. Let’s look at Jesus’ life in the scripture.
Jesus
was born without sin, perfect in Spirit, born of a virgin with God as His
Father. There was no need for Him to be born again, Lk 1 & 2.
Jesus
was 30 years old when He went to be baptized by John, His cousin. John saw the
Holy Spirit descend in the form of a dove upon Jesus. Lk 3. Jesus then had the
Holy Spirit without measure and started His miraculous ministry. Lk 4, Jn 3:34.
The
apostles were not saved until after Jesus’ resurrection when He appeared to
them and showed them his scars on His hands and feet and said:
Jn
20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed
on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
Now
I know that the KJV says Holy Ghost, but the Greek means receiving My Spirit,
which is Holy, but not the 3rd Person of the Godhead. Jesus told
them the Holy Ghost was coming later.
Ac
1:4 And, being assembled together with
them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for
the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye
shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
Ac
2:1 ¶ And when the day of Pentecost was
fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven
as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues
like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost,
and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
That
day Peter preached to the people and 3000 were saved, Ac 2. The original
Pentecost was on Mt. Sinai and 3000 people were killed for breaking the law Ex
32.
In
Ac 8 we read about Phillip preaching and baptizing people in the Name of Jesus,
them being saved. But then Peter and John came and laid hands on them and they
received the Holy Ghost.
So
in all these examples, you can see that Salvation in Jesus is a separate event
from being filled with the Holy Ghost. When you are filled with the Holy Ghost,
you now have 2 members of the Godhead dwelling in you. The manifestation of the
Spirit will be operating in you with the wonderful gifts in 1 Cor 12. The Holy
Spirit Himself will pray through you, Rm 8:26. He will lead and guide you in
all truth, Jn 16:13.
So
far we have covered the very basics of our Christian Faith:
·
Salvation
comes when Jesus’ Spirit comes to live inside your spirit and you become a
child of God. This is all received when you ask in faith and believe. By Grace
you are saved, not works. Grace of God is given to you in Jesus.
·
Sin
is removed from you, all of it, forever, past-present-future. You become the
righteousness of God in Him.
·
As
a child of God, you can ask Him and receive the filling of the Holy Ghost, by
faith. Wonderful spiritual gifts and manifestations are included, and you have
2 Persons of the Godhead living inside you, to lead and guide you in all truth.
Salvation Means
Wholeness
There
are tremendous benefits in your Salvation and your walk with God. The idea in
Hebrew is shalom, or peace. It literally means: nothing missing, nothing
broken. This is the peace on earth that
the Angels announced to the shepherds at Jesus’ birth.
It
is eternal life with Jesus.
Jn
3:15 That whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have eternal life.
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to
condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
God
wants you to prosper.
To be furnished for every good work and no want.
Ps
23:1 ¶ « A Psalm of David. »
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2
Cor 9:6 ¶ But this I say, He which
soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully
shall reap also bountifully.
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.
8 And God is able to make all grace abound
toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to
every good work:
3
Jn 1:2 Beloved, I wish above all things
that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.
Jesus
wants you well.
He took a brutal beating and was pierced through. In all of this He took your
suffering, sickness, and disease upon Himself so you could be whole and healed.
1
Pet 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins
in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto
righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
Is
53:4 ¶ Surely he hath borne our griefs,
and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and
afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he
was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and
with his stripes we are healed.
(griefs
and sorrows are in Hebrew sickness and disease)
Jesus
wants you safe and protected.
You
have His Name to use, Phil 2:10
He
sends Angels to watch over you, Ps 91:11-12, Heb 1:14
You
are hidden in His secret place, Ps 91
No
weapon formed by evil against you will prosper, Isa 54:17
He
provides you with His armor, Eph 6
At
the last supper, Jesus established for His followers to take communion in remembrance
of His Body and Blood with which He bought us.
1
Cor 11:23 ¶ For I have received of the
Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night
in which he was betrayed took bread:
24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it,
and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in
remembrance of me.
25 After the same manner also he took the cup,
when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do
ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
As
sure as the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost is eternal, so is your Salvation in
Jesus.
Jn
10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know
them, and they follow me:
28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they
shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
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.
30 I and my Father are one.
In
Rev 1:6 John says that God has made us Kings and Priests in our Lord Jesus.
In
Rm 5:17 Paul tells us that we will reign in life by the Grace of Jesus.
In
Rm 4:25 Paul tells us that Jesus was raised from the dead for our
justification. This is a free gift of redemption in Christ, Rm 3:24.
In
Gal 4:19 Paul tells us that Christ likeness is formed in you from the travail
of teachers of the gospel.
Concerning
the spiritual things that God has for us, in which all physical things are
subject to, Paul teaches us:
Rm
8:31 ¶ What shall we then say to these
things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered
him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
Perverting the
Gospel
Gal
1:3 Grace be to you and peace from God
the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,
4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might
deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our
Father:
5 To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
6
¶ I marvel that ye are so soon removed
from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
7 Which is not another; but there be some that
trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
The
Galatians were moving away from the Grace of God in Jesus being freely given,
to legalism where you must keep all the law in order to please God.
8 But though we, or an angel from heaven,
preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let
him be accursed.
9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any
man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be
accursed.
16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the
works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in
Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the
works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
If
you are trying to keep the law to justify yourself, you have to keep it all.
There are 613 commandments. If you do not keep them all, there is a curse
involved, Deu 28. Here is the blessings and curses involved in the law; 14
verses to describe the blessings of keeping all God’s commandments, and 54
verses describe the curses for not keeping them.
Christ
has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us at the
cross. He fulfilled all the law and in Him, we do too.
Gal
3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the
curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every
one that hangeth on a tree:
14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on
the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the
Spirit through faith.
By
the way, the blessing of Abraham was to inherit the world, Rm 4:13.
Abraham
lived by faith before the law was given. He believed God and it was counted to
him as righteousness, Gn 15:6. We of faith are considered Abraham’s children
and heirs according to the promise given to him, Gal 3.
Misinterpretation
of the Word
The
Gospel is simple, and it takes a lot of effort to misunderstand. It seems that
with Satan’s help there are a lot of different variations that do not stand up
to the Word. Scripture pulled out of context, or a lone scripture used for a
different doctrine, and not accepting Jesus’ sacrificial work as complete, are
a few of the misunderstandings out there.
Pv
9:10 The fear of the LORD is the
beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy (One) is understanding.
God
said in Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…
Why
does God allow suffering? This is a
question that is asked frequently. There has been several books written
concerning suffering, and many believe that God is teaching you and perfecting
you. There are several scriptures that are used to describe suffering, all of which
do not ascribe suffering as God caused.
James
1:2 ¶ My brethren, count it all joy when
ye fall into divers temptations;
3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith
worketh patience.
4 But let patience have her perfect work, that
ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
Temptations
here could also be translated as trials. But in vs 17 Every good gift and every
perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with
whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
Basically,
God gave dominion to the earth to man, and following the deception of the devil
brought disobedience and sin into the world. With sin came the curse, and
sickness, disease, and the evil we face in this world. God has made a way
through Jesus to be protected and to endure when faced with life’s trials. In the
New Covenant in Jesus, you will never see God putting sickness, injury, or the
like on anyone. God is love. And in His Love He gave His only Precious Son to
take upon Himself the curse of the law so we of faith may live in the freedom
of God’s Grace, 1 Jn 4:8-10.
Mk 8:34
And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he
said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up
his cross, and follow me.
Jesus
said this in Mt 16:24, and in Mk 10:21 he said “take up the cross and
follow me.”
Now
if you could take all the punishment upon yourself by your own cross, why would
you need Jesus? Suffering that is implied here is not for your Salvation, but
endurance for the persecution you will receive for standing up for the Gospel.
Plus you have to die to yourself and let bad thoughts die unborn, and listen to
Jesus within you.
Jesus
was obedient even to the death on the cross, Phil 2:8. We too are to be obedient
to our Lord that others may see Him in us.
Repentance
is not just turning away from sin, which is breaking God’s law, but to change
the way you think about life and turning to God and His guidance. “Repentance”
means turn around and change the way you think.
God
has no wrath for His children. He poured out His wrath on His Son,
Jesus that you might be in favor with Him.
Rm
5:1 ¶ Therefore being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
2 By whom also we have access by faith into
this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Rm
5:8 But God commendeth his love toward
us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, being now justified by his
blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
1
Thess 5:9 For God hath not appointed us
to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or
sleep, we should live together with him.
Rm
8:1 ¶ There is therefore now no
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit.
God
is sovereign and in control. This is being taught a lot today and at
first glance sounds good, even comforting. Let’s look at this according to
scripture:
In
the first chapters of Genesis we see God as the Supreme Sovereign, King of the
universe, the One who created everything. After each day of forming the earth,
God announced it was good. After the 6th day when He formed animals
and man, He said it was very good. When all of God’s work was finished, He
rested and sanctified the 7th day. Creation was over.
God
gave man dominion over all the earth, Gn 1:26.
God
made woman from man, Gn 2:21-23.
Gn
2:16 ¶ And the LORD God commanded the
man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou
shalt surely die.
In
Gn 3 we see the most subtil (crafty) animal in the garden was the serpent,
which let the spirit of Satan possess it so that the serpent could talk. He
deceived the woman and she ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil, and so did the man. This was the only sin they could commit, it
was the only commandment given. By disobedience to God and obedience to Satan,
the man gave his dominion of the earth to Satan. If God was in control of all,
how could this have happened?
God
then set in motion that seed of the woman would stomp Satan’s head:
Gn
3:15 And I will put enmity between thee
and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and
thou shalt bruise his heel.
God
also set up the sacrifice, to atone for man’s sin, so that his life would not
be required, but sin brought the first death.
Gn
3:21 ¶ Unto Adam also and to his wife
did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
God’s
Word always comes to pass. When God’s men missed it, God would raise another to
accomplish His will. His Word is never void, Isa 55:11.
God
influences the will of man, but man has a free will to disobey, or reject what
God wants. If God was in complete control, men would be robots. God wants
children and companions that choose to walk with God. Adam and Eve had to leave
paradise, which was not what God had wanted. Sin had made a barrier between God
and man.
So
over the millennia, God spoke through His Prophets affirming that He would send
Himself as a man to set things right between God and man. This was the Messiah,
our Lord, Jesus Christ (the anointed One).
Jesus
as the son of man, and as the Son of God, lived a perfect life. Judaism would
not accept Him as Messiah and coerced the Roman Government to execute Jesus in
the most cruel way imaginable. When Jesus cried out at the cross, “It Is
Finished”, He had redeemed man to God the Father, had taken away sickness,
disease, malady, and poverty. He then commended His Spirit to the Father and
laid His head on His chest in rest. Again this sacrifice of the perfect Son of
God is a finished work, and produced another creation, the reborn man. For
Jesus was the first born of many brethren, a new creature, of which we are who
are born again with Jesus’ Spirit, Rm 8:29, 2 Cor 5:17.
God
has done all for us to be reconciled to Him and reign in life in Christ. But,
it is our will to accept Him, embrace Him, and live in Him.
The
other misconception that comes with “God is in control” notion, is that
whatever happens, God is behind it. That is not true. God is not the author of
evil, Satan is. Jesus told us the difference between Him and the devil:
Joh
10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to
steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and
that they might have it more abundantly.
Jesus
gave us the ability to live victorious in this life. We have covered many of
those scriptures in this lesson.
One
of the scriptures taken out of context when bad things happen is:
Rm
8: 28 And we know that all things work together for
good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his
purpose.
You
have to see that this scripture has “and” for the first word. That ties it to
the conversation of Paul prior to this verse. Paul in Rm 8 is talking about the
flesh vs the spirit and how being led by the Spirit in you will guide your
life.
13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die:
but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God,
they are the sons of God.
15 For ye have not received the spirit of
bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we
cry, Abba, Father.
16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our
spirit, that we are the children of God:
Paul
then talks about how all creation waits for the manifestation of the sons of
God, also that our hope is on the things not yet seen. He ends his comment
with:
26
¶ Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our
infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the
Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be
uttered.
27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what
is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints
according to the will of God.
28 And we know that all things work together for
good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his
purpose.
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.
30 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.
31
¶ What shall we then say to these
things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered
him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of
God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.
34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that
died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God,
who also maketh intercession for us.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of
Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed
all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than
conquerors through him that loved us.
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor
life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor
things to come,
39 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.
I
do believe that God can turn the worst of our mistakes around for our good. I
have seen it in my life. But, plainly vs 28 is taken out of context when you
say “all things” for in the context Paul is talking about Spiritual things,
likely tongues. People use this at funerals, memorials, and the worst instances
in life that God will turn it around and some how God is responsible for this
death or disaster for your good. This is just not the case. In vs 31, the “all
things” are again Spiritual things, which are necessary to have the abundant
life that Jesus promised in Jn 10:10, but I have heard preachers take vs 31 and
say that the “all things” are physical items, riches and the like. We must be
careful about taking scripture out of its context.
Your
Salvation is the most important thing in this life and the next. I have
assembled some very important truths in this lesson from God’s Holy Word. Test
the things that churches put forth to know the truth of them by the Bible. Your
Salvation is your solid foundation, and no one can take it from you. I have
heard many say it is fragile and use this scripture:
Php
2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have
always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence,
work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Well
a little study of “fear and trembling” will show you it is awe and wonder in
reverence to God.
Ps
2:11 Serve the LORD with fear, and
rejoice with trembling
2Co
7:15 And his inward affection is more
abundant toward you, whilst he remembereth the obedience of you all, how with
fear and trembling ye received him.
Eph
6:5 Servants, be obedient to them that
are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness
of your heart, as unto Christ;
6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as
the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;
7 With good will doing service, as to the Lord,
and not to men:
8 Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man
doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.
Total
Blessing for you:
Nu
6:24 The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
(God the Father)
25 The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and
be gracious unto thee: (God the Son)
26 The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee,
and give thee peace. (God the Holy Ghost)
All scripture are from the KJV. Pictures and art from the Inet.
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