"The first duty of a preacher of the Gospel is, through his revealing of the law and of sin, to rebuke and to turn into sin everything in life that does not have the Spirit and faith in Christ as its base."
Martin Luther
09.03.07
Posted in Salvation at 4:45 pm by TruthofmyKing
There is one God and one mediator between God and man, that is the man, Christ Jesus. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and no one comes to His Father but through Him.
So many people profess Christ as their Savior in these modern days that it leads me to believe that many are trying to “climb in” to the kingdom of God some other way rather than go through the mediator, Christ Jesus.
But God in His infinite wisdom has declared:
John 10:1
1 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.
NASB
Today, people truly believe that salvation is simply a “human descision.”
What I mean is that people claim they are saved by their own power. They have decided for themselves that if there is an eternity to be spent in a place, then it is better for them to be in a place like heaven rather than a place like hell. So, the carnal mind then reasons that they are saved in an attempt to save themselves from this place called “hell”.
They then profess to be a “christian”, act like “christians”, join a church, they try to walk the walk, and talk the talk.
There was no revealing of the wickedness of their soul, no repentance, no contrition, no Godly sorrow, no real encounter with Christ, who is the mediator between them and God. They never were crucified with Christ so it is fair to say they will never be resurrected into life with Christ. They are climbing into the kingdom some other way.
Let me show you something; If I was to set a field on fire every serpernt that was there would flee from the flame, but the truth is that the serpents decision to flee from the sure torment that awaited them does not change what they are.
They are still serpents.
So you see, making a decision that heaven is better than hell will not change who you are from the inside; you will not be a new creature, or born again; it will not save you. Sure, that fear of death is healthy. In fact, God’s word says it is the BEGINNING of knowledge. (”Beginning” meaning there is more to it)
Prov 1:7
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
NASB
But your belief in the fact that there is a heaven and hell does not cause the regeneration of your soul. You must enter through the narrow gate and Christ is the doorkeeper.
Matt 7:13-14
13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. 14 “For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it.
NASB
Also, remember that the Word says demons believe in God and they tremble.
James 2:19
19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.
NASB
So if salvation is not just a mere decision or recognition of the truth, what is it?
It is a supernatural encounter with God. You cannot even add one day to your life, or one inch to your height. So it is God who does all the work. He sees your fear of Him and your understanding of your sin. He sees your repentance and your contrition and your belief. He then rips out your old stoney, wicked, heart and replaces it with one that obeys Him and loves Him, thus creating a new being.
Christ, Himself, has said that we MUST be “born again” in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Paul refers to this newly converted Christian as a “new creature.”
John 3:3
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
NASB
I want to show you something else. God through the prophet Ezekiel described the “born again” process. Yes, being born again is an Old Testament doctrine.
I want to point out the supernatural part of salvation. I want to show you who it is that is working in the True Christians life and also I want to point out the declarations made by GOD about this new creature. Therefore please pay attention to the emphasis I have put on the following passage:
Ezek 36:24-28
24 “For I WILL take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands, and bring you into your own land. 25 “Then I WILL sprinkle clean water on you, and you WILL be clean; I WILL cleanse you from ALL your filthiness and from ALL your idols. 26 “Moreover, I WILL give you a NEW heart and put a NEW spirit within you; and I WILL remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 “And I WILL put My Spirit within you and CAUSE you to walk in My statutes, and you WILL be careful to observe My ordinances. 28 “And you WILL live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you WILL be My people, and I WILL be your God.
NASB
Notice that it is God who changes you. You will obey Him.
This is such a powerful decalaration from God. Who can deny it?
If you are trying to change yourself, your work is vain and useless. You are fighting against your nature.
So how can a man be saved?
The only thing that can save you is to be crucified with Christ. This means taking the word of God and letting it slay you. Letting it condemn you. It will bring you low and the Lord will lift you high.
Recognize that it was YOU who crucified Christ. He was beaten, spit on, He bled, and was nailed to a tree for you and because of you.
If this truth becomes real to you, if this realization comes from within your soul, then I am assured that you will have Godly sorrow, contrition, and repentance, you will tremble at His word because you now have understanding that you are on the wrong side of God’s justice. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God.
But now and only now and in this state will God look towards you:
Isa 66:2
2″For My hand made all these things,Thus all these things came into being,” declares the LORD. “But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.
NASB
There will now be an unmistakable conversion of your soul. The One whose power created the heavens and the earth will form a new being inside of you.
Your nature will now be Godly. Instead of fighting against God and His ways, you will joyfully concur with Him.
You are a new man with a new nature.
Has this thing happened to you or have you, over the course of time, convinced yourself that you are saved? Are you trying to be a Christian without ever truly being born again?
If God has not worked in your life and your “salvation” has merely come from your profession of faith, then you are not saved at all.
Christ has said repent and believe. This you must do.
Luke 13:3
3 “I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
NASB
Quit justifying yourself before man and repent and you will not need to justify yourself any longer, you will have a strong advocate in Heaven who is for you.
And if God is for you who can be against you?
For the Truth of my King
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07.05.07
Posted in Salvation at 12:25 am by TruthofmyKing
I must admit that I often become broken over my own sin. In times like these, it seems as though all the things that I once was taught by my Lord, I must relearn. Perhaps this is what it means to renew your mind.
The sin I have accumulated in my short life would be enough to condemn a whole nation of men. I can see it so clearly, what a wretch I am! What have I done?
I cry out for forgiveness and vow repentance! And the Lord always brings me to the same scene. I see Him crucified on the cross, beaten, blood flowing, panting, abandoned, crushed by His own Father’s anger that was meant for me. Yes, it was meant for me!
It suddenly becomes clear again, my sins are just as severe as I once thought them to be. I am afraid, they are more severe than I will ever know.
I fear the world has redefined the word “forgiveness”. You see, not one sin I have committed has been forgotten in the way the world sees it. Never have my transgressions just been swept under the rug with no consequence. No, Not Even One! Every single sin, every single act of unrighteousness, has landed a terrible blow to Jesus. Oh God, what a wretch I am!
In my contrition and brokenness, even today, even now, Jesus again teaches me that He was given the authority to lay down His own life, from His Father, and He chose to do this for me. It was His choice to take the severe punishment for my transgressions. He took the punishment that was owed to me and only through that severe and “just” sentence bestowed upon my Lord for my unrighteousness am I forgiven.
John 10:17-18
17 “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. 18 “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”
NASB
Oh, what a debt I owe to my Lord. What is it that You desire from me? He says:
“I desire compassion, and not a sacrifice”
Definition: Compassion - a deep awareness of and sympathy for another’s suffering
Matt 9:13
13 “But go and learn what this means, ‘I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
NASB
He was crushed for my iniquity, He paid my debt. What a glorious day! What a King I have! Oh God give me the strength to serve him with all that I am!
Isa 53:5
But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.
NASB
For the Truth of my King
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07.02.07
Posted in Salvation at 10:54 pm by TruthofmyKing
In a previous article (Evidence of Salvation - You Will Know Them by Their Fruits), I briefly wrote about the book of 1 John being the “book of assurance.” This subject must be dealt with in a little more depth.
It seems the first reasonable act, if you want to know if you are saved, if you want assurance of salvation, is to ”examine yourself”
2 Cor 13:5
5 Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you - unless indeed you fail the test?
NASB
It is important that you do not use any other method of measure to recognize that Jesus Christ is in you than the written word of God. Do not compare yourself to someone else, lest you be found to be justified in your own heart and not in the eyes of Christ.
Prov 14:12
12 There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
NASB
Jer 17:9
9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?
NASB
Now it is only fitting that 1 John was written by the Holy Spirit so that we may KNOW that we have eternal life.
1 John 5:13
13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life.
NASB
So let us begin examining ourselves:
1 John 1:6
6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;
NASB
You will notice throughout this entire book of 1 John he uses a series of questions that begin with “if we say” but then he ends with “and yet” which means the actions of one who does not have assurance will be contrary to what they say.
This is important……
Do you not what your profession of faith means?
NOTHING! If it is not followed by action, or there is no fruit of that profession.
James 2:17
17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
NASB
Remember the Lord said that a good tree will bear good fruit (Matt. 7:17) but what becomes of the tree that bears no fruit?
Luke 13:7
7 “And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’
NASB
So the first test found in 1 John 1:6 says that if we say we are walking with Christ or if we say we are a Christian but we walk contrary to righteosness then we are a liar.
It is the same as saying we are good tree and we are producing bad fruit. In addition to John, the Lord Jesus said this cannot be so:
Matt 7:18
18 “A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.
NASB
Do not escape this first test, if it is failed, do not try to justify yourself by any work, by trying to walk in the light. No one is justified by works.
Remember, these tests are only the evidences of your faith. Evidences of who you are.
If you find yourself to be without faith, return to your knees and cry out to the Lord of Glory to replace your heart of stone with a heart of flesh and if it is a sincere cry, I have the assurance by His written word He will save you.
For those of you who passed, here is the second test:
1 John 1:8-10
8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
NASB
Are you one who believes that you are going to heaven because you are good (Sinner -What Have You Been Saved From)?
Do you not confess your sin to your Savior?
The question here is found in the present tense form so it does not mean “Have you confessed your sin at one time in the past” but are you “confessing” even to this day.
Let me ask you a question, when was the last time you found yourself broken over your sin?
If you pass, A third test:
1 John 2:3-4
3 And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;
NASB
Do you live as though your Father never gave you a law to obey? Do you confess that you have been saved from the condemnation of your transgressions and yet continue to live in violation of those same commandments?
A fouth test:
1 John 2:6
6 the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.
NASB
A fifth test:
1 John 2:9
9 The one who says he is in the light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now.
NASB
By now you should see the clear instruction from the Holy Spirit. What you say can be completely contrary to the way you live your life.
So during this examination I beg you to discard all of your professions of faith and examine yourself strictly on your walk.
A sixth test:
1 John 2:15-16
15 Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.
NASB
A seventh:
1 John 3:7-9
7 Little children, let no one deceive you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; 8 the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
NASB
The eighth:
1 John 3:10
10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.
NASB
Ninth:
1 John 3:15
15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
NASB
Tenth:
1 John 3:17
17 But whoever has the world’s goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?
NASB
Eleventh:
1 John 3:24
24 And the one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And we know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
NASB
The twelfth:
1 John 4:2-3
2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.
NASB
Thirteenth:
1 John 4:6
6 We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
NASB
Fourteenth:
1 John 4:7-9
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9
NASB
Fifteenth:
1 John 4:20
20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.
NASB
And at last the Sixteenth:
1 John 5:1-3
2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.
NASB
I encourage you to read the book of 1 John. I pray that you have passed the tests, that your examination proved you are who you profess you are.
If so, the Holy Spirit through John has one last thing to say:
1 John 3:19-22
19 We shall know by this that we are of the truth, and shall assure our heart before Him, 20 in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.
NASB
May you have the eyes to see and ears to hear.
For the Truth of my King
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06.27.07
Posted in Salvation at 9:27 am by TruthofmyKing
What is it that has possessed God’s Creation to believe they can be a Christian and live like the world, talk the world, walk like the world, or even dress like the world. What does that say about Him whom you are claiming as your Father?
If we see a 12 year old girl in the world dressed sensually we say something like “How could that girls parents’ let her out of the house like that?” We would think of her father to be a “derilict father” and it would probably be true. Even so, when one who professes Christ, and they dertermine to walk and live like the world, the Father in heaven is accused of being derilict by your actions.
I must remind you that not everyone who professes Christ will enter into heaven. There will be a day when the lawless who profess Christ (even those who say in the present day “Lord, Lord”) will depart from Him!
Matt 7:22-23
22 ”Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’
NASB
A loose translation of the passage above would be “Depart from me, you who claim to be my disciples, but live as though I never gave you a law to abide.”
We are not talking about salvation, as salvation is not based on works, but obedience certainly is the evidence thereof:
“Now, mark this: by this shall you know whether you are a child of God, or not; by the respect that you have to your Father’s Word. If you have small respect for that Word, the evidences of a bastard are upon you.”
~Charles Spurgeon
The book of 1 John should be known as the book of assurance because John said he wrote the book so that we may know that we have eternal life (1 John 5:13) and yet one of his tests in the book of 1 John reads as such:
1 John 5:3
3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.
NASB
and again in this place:
1 John 2:2-6
3 And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; 5 but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: 6 the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.
NASB
It should be understood that we produce fruit according to our nature. A true Christian although not perfect like Jesus, will produce good fruit and an unregenerate, although not evil as satan, will produce bad fruit. One cannot continue producing fruit contrary to his nature. This is seen in Scripture:
Matt 7:16-20
17 “Even so, every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 “A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 “So then, you will know them by their fruits.
NASB
So what kind of fruit do you bear continually? What is your overall nature?
If you find yourself producing the wrong type; the type which will be cut down and thrown in the fire then you should fear and listen to this parable carefully:
There is an apple tree exceedingly good in the eyes of the Lord of a field and there is an orange tree exceedingly evil in the eyes of the Lord of that same field. There will be a day when all trees producing oranges will be cut down and thrown in the fire. So the servant working in the field realizes the demise of his masters tree in the Lord’s field. What does he do? He prunes the tree, throws down fertiler, meditates, prays, chants “Apples, Apples, Apples” all season long and when the end of the season comes the tree had only produced oranges, and more of them. There is no amount of work that can change the state of the tree. It is by nature an orange tree. The servant of the field can only do one thing, that is go to his master and beg to have the tree cut down and have the owner plant an apple tree in its stead, so that the Lord of the field will be pleased.
In the same way our evil nature, our old man, can not become new unless it is crucified with Christ and then God raises a new man with Christ. Your nature can be changed but there is no work that can be done by you to make this happen. You may only ask the Lord with sincere repentance and believe in Him who can save you.
For the Truth of My King
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