Saturday, August 31, 2013

Could Baptism Be A Part Of Salvation?

Acts 22:16 “And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”

I find it interesting that some people will easily fall into any of Satan’s traps of deception. The truth in the scriptures are fully clear and easy to see, however one who does not trust the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour is destined for the eternal lake of fire. People will use any scripture out of context to prove their heresy, however the bottom line is to believe Satan’s lie is to find oneself in the eternal lake of fire. God has made it unmistakably clear that salvation is in Christ and Christ only. Baptism was never a saving tool nor is works a saving tool. Salvation is in Christ Jesus and none other and to add anything to salvation outside of Christ makes Him, His death – burial – and resurrection, and His precious blood irrelevant. God makes it clear that the blood of Jesus washes away our sins and not just some of them but all of them. Ephesians 1:7 “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;” Now if baptismal waters or tap water in a tub is as significant as the blood of Jesus Christ then that does not say much about the blood of Jesus. 1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” Now I ask; would you rather the blood of Jesus Christ wash your sins or tap water? I know it appears that baptism is part of salvation as some see it but it must be a mistake on their part, because Jesus Christ is a Saviour all by Himself. There is not one place in the entire scripture that declares one will go to hell for not being baptized but there are countless scriptures that declare that one will go to hell without faith in Christ. One cannot have full faith in Christ if they believe that baptism is a must for salvation. John 3:15 “That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” How can this scripture be true if baptism or works is necessary for salvation. Is Christ not enough to save the sinner? If He is not then why believe in Him at all, or could it be that those that do not trust Him really don’t trust Him at all. Is one that works for salvation sin free? If so then what made him sin free? I see a lot of people that believe in works for salvation and their sins are as great as mine or greater, they are not sinless after repentance. God said; “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. James 2:10 is this only before repentance? Does it all change since repentance? Do we have different rules once repentance comes? God said; “For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.” Romans 6:10 Christ died once and lives eternally so if we died with Him then why is it we have to die again. Are you saved everyday because you sin everyday, what are you going to do with those sins? In fact to be truthful we cannot draw one breath of air without sin. The truth is all that believe in works of any sort have in their hearts made the blood of Christ Jesus irrelevant. Folks, the scriptures are clear and could not be mistaken that that salvation is in the person of Jesus Christ and none other. To believe in anything else is to believe in make-believe. There are a lot of scriptures that are easily taken out of context but salvation is as clear as it can be and Jesus and Him alone is the Saviour of mankind. Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. John 5:39 While you think you have eternal life the scriptures have declared that salvation is in Christ and Him alone. Baptism is good, works are great but neither one will save a sinner or even cleanse on single sin. Don’t be blinded by Satan’s lies and trust anything but the blood of Jesus because nothing can cleanse a sin or save a sinner out side of the blood of Jesus Christ.

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Following The Word!

“But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.” Luke 11:28

When we hear the word of God do we actually follow it? One of the most blessed things one can do in life is to follow God’s word, not in only hearing it but also reacting to it. Sometime it seems we all fail to follow God’s Holy Script. He wrote the scriptures for a reason and that reason was that we follow what He said. Even Jesus Christ His own beloved Son in the likeness of sinful flesh was perfect in every way because He followed Gods word. John 6:38 “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” But somehow we in the flesh seem to want to follow our old sinful hearts over God’s word. When we follow God’s word it is called showing our faith by our works. James 2:18 “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.” Every believer should have the greatest desire to follow God Holy Word but we are bad about letting this old man get in the way. Ephesians 4:22 “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;” and that includes tradition; tradition is the worst thing one can obey, it will always cloud you thinking on God’s word. We need to put away thinking of old and continually renew our learning in God’s Holy Script. God wrote the scriptures to the saved and not to the lost. 2 Peter 2:12 “But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;” However we as believers in Christ have a glorious opportunity to understand and the ability to walk in the ways of God and we all fail in so many ways. We all hate to admit it but we truly do. Jesus prayed in the garden just before He was arrested and crucified that God the Father would make us holy; through His word. John 17:17 “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” The word “sanctify” means – to be made holy - the writer to the Hebrews wrote in Hebrews 13:12 very clearly that we are eternally sanctified by the blood of Jesus “Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.” However sanctifying our lives here on this earth is a continuing thing. It is wonderful that we are saved and cleaned eternally by His blood, but what about the life we live today, are we living holy, are we living by God’s Holy Word? Are we continually searching the scripture to make sure what we believe and do coincide with God’s word. 2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Everyday of our life and every thought or deed or teaching we may have. The Lord reminds us to examine ourselves to make sure we are in sink with Gods word. 2 Corinthians 13:5 “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” and then we ought to ask the Lord to examine us to see if any correction is needed. Psalms 26:2 “Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.” Folks the only true blessings are those from God and we are blessed so much more if we follow God’s Holy Word in every area of our life. What blessings have we if we gain the whole world and lose eternal rewards? Let us all examine ourselves and see if any correction is needed and if it is, then correct it and God will bless you for your labor.

Saturday, August 10, 2013

One Of The Hardest Things For A Christian To Do!

“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. (44.) But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; (45.) That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matthew 5:43 – 45

When we think of things that are hard for Christians, this must be one of the hardest duties of a Christian. Men are not naturally lovers or forgivers but as Christians we must all be. We are to be more like the one who gave His life and shed His blood for a people that were naturally at enmity with the Lord. People talk about being lovers of God all their life but that is impossible unless God told a lie. Romans 8:7 “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God…” the word “enmity” means – hostility or in opposition and the definition even goes as far to call it hatred – and all of us were “carnal” before we were spiritual. Somehow some Christians believe they were exempt from this before they were saved, but we were not. And the reason they hate God is who He is, they disagree with Him in doctrine. This is why God said “There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.” Romans 3:11 the reason they will not seek Him is because they do not understand Him. It is for this reason the natural man will hate God; even some that are “church members” (so to speak). Man is by nature haters of other men, it is just our nature. Therefore once a sinner is saved we come to realize over time that we are different; we become more like God taking on a few of His attributes like holiness, kindness, joy and yes love, these are called the “fruits of the Spirit” which are gifts we did not have before salvation which includes the ability to love. While hate will never totally leave a believer until we are with the Lord, every Christian should fight this old nature sore. I am also like any of you and have the same old nature and sometimes, if not most of the time I also find myself fighting the same fights with the old nature. I must remember that when Jesus found me I was not looking for Him, I was not seeking Him, and I was at enmity with the Lord. But the grace of God, the blood of Jesus, and the working of the Holy Spirit changed all of that but in this flesh it is still a fight to follow my Lord. When someone hurts us it is human nature to fight back but wouldn’t it be better and more profitable to pray for them instead? I would have certainly not have loved it if the Lord hated me because I was at enmity with Him, but He did not, by grace He loved me and sent His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to die for my sins, what a wonderful God we have. The Lord told us in Proverbs 25:21 - 22 If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: (22.) For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee. If the Lord will reward us for being kind to those that hate us then what is our reward if we fail to follow the Lords command? I know it is hard to love them that hate us but beloved it is a must; the Lord did not ask He commanded. I believe we all can use a good dose of kindness but those that are without Christ in their hearts can use it more than I can, be kind to them even it they hate and despise you. This is hard; but it is the command of God. Romans 12:14 “Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.” Even if they are Christians themselves.

Saturday, August 3, 2013

God Knows All!

“Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.” Acts 15:18

This is a bottom-line fact that many people forget and that is God is Omniscient which is defined as all-knowledge. There is nothing He does not know and nothing He has not ordained to happen. If God is God then He is everything or He is not God. God knew the fall of man would happen and He knew every detail of it, He could have prevented it had He chosen but rather He chose not too. God knows the history of the world and every detail of it; in fact He controlled it, even the ultimate sacrifice of so many believers. God know every detail of everything that happens today and nothing happens without it obeying His blessed will. And nothing will happen that God has not already marked out to come to pass. The problem for a lot of people is not God it is man, they simply do not know God as well as they need too. In fact God is to wonderful for our feeble minds to comprehend, so much so that we can only understand as much as God reveals to us through manifestation. People in general know nothing about God because God has not revealed Himself to them; they simply think they know Him. God to them is what they have made Him out to be but that is not the true God. Wisdom of God does not come natural and can not. Man does not even have the ability to know his own frame much less God. Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” So while people think they know who God is, how could they. People can’t even understand that God is sovereign or what His sovereignty is. God needs nothing or no one; He has total ability to all He wills, alone and sovereign. God told Moses in Exodus 3:14 “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.” When God called Himself “I Am” He means that He is everything and totally sovereign. The words express absolute, and therefore unchanging and eternal Being, As one writer put it. God said in John 8:58 “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” Signifying His eternal existence. We see Him in the fiery furnace in Daniel 3:25 “He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” There is never a tomorrow with God the words “I Am” signifies He never has another second before or after the present. God has never not known His works or His will. People signify that God is not in control or that He has not the power to control something but He is just the opposite of that, nothing happens outside of His will. The problem is us and our ability to understand God, although He understands everything about us. Matthew 6:8 “Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.” How could this be possible except God knows everything God does not wait for tomorrow because He is already in tomorrow. Some will say that God looked into the future but how can He look into a future where He already is. This is how He already knows what we have need of before we ask. This is the sovereign God that so few know, who knows the end from the beginning.