09.30.07

The Abundant Life - Now or To Come?

Posted in The Gospel at 9:05 pm by TruthofmyKing

Most of modern day Christianity has its place in the pit of hell.  Today I write to you not to sell Christianity to you as they have done so cleverly but to plead that Christianity is the only way a man can be saved from eternal separation from God on judgment day.

You see, the “pastors” of today are saying come to Christ; He will bring you homes and cars and money and security and He came so you can have an abundant life now.   They are liars. 

If we say that we have come to know Christ then we should walk in the same manner as He walked (see 1 John 2:6).   And what did Christ say about His “walk” when a man who wanted to be a disciple came to Him?

Matt 8:19-20

19 And a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” 20 And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

NASB

What a twisted version of the True gospel is being presented today.   The Son of God, the Blessed One, the richest man ever to set foot on this cursed ground we call earth did not live in a 4800 Square foot home nor did He have a chariot caravan take Him from city to city.  He walked from place to place and at times He had nowhere even to lay His precious head to rest.  

“But Wesley, the pastor even read a verse in the Bible that says He came to give us an abundant life.” 

Yes, I am sure He did.  Satan also recited verses to Jesus from the Old Testament that were practically word for word during His temptation.  And Christ battled him by saying “we must live by EVERY word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”  And if your pastor was interested in telling you the truth, rather than selling you a gospel, then He would tell you that the abundant life is not to be lived now but later.

Here is what Christ has said about the abundant life:

John 10:10

10 “The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly.

NASB

These words are no lie.  They are true.  It is the interpretation of that passage that is the distortion of facts.  If I extract this passage from the book of John, I could easily deceive you into believing that His purpose was to give you whatever your heart desires while you live in this present evil age.  In other words, sell you a gospel.  Who wouldn’t you want to come to an all powerful God who promises you bliss?  You mean I get homes and cars and anything that I can squeeze into those words “abundant life”.  Count me in!  Right. 

What have we done with the Gospel?

Let us look at what else John has written about “life”.   Let us follow Jesus’s example and live by every word that proceeds from God’s mouth. 

John 12:25

25 “He who loves his life loses it; and he who hates his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal.

NASB

You hypocrites, what do you say now?  Has Christ decided to give you an abundant life in this world and then did He command you that you must “HATE” that very same abundant life?  Have you no sense?

I really encourage you to meditate upon that question.

 The “life” that is talked about is “life eternal” not the ”life in this world”.  There is a definite distinction made in the Scripture.  But I know your dilemma, you can’t sell an abundant life that you don’t receive now to an evil generation. 

Who will tithe?  Right.  If you taught the men and women in your congregation a doctrine similar to “Foxes have holes but the Son of Man has nowhere even to rest His head”, who would remain in your congregation?  Who wants to live a life of sacrifice and suffering when a current life of abundance is being promised? 

ONLY THOSE WHO TRULY LOVE CHRIST!

 Paul loved Christ and here is what Jesus said to him:

Acts 9:16

16 for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake. ”

NASB

I speak to you “pastor”.  I suppose without the “feel good” and the “abundant life” gospel the healthy tithe from the congregation would cease to exist and even your own livelihood would be threatened.  You may not even have a place to lay your own head!  But you don’t dare go down that road, because truly your teaching is about keeping a congregation and not about saving a congregation. 

But your professed Lord (Who is Lord) is quite different from you.  He was not afraid to preach the hard things so that men could understand the fullness of His message.  This is why He is the Savior.  And as a result …

John 6:66

66 As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew, and were not walking with Him anymore.

NASB

What a concept!  If the world did not accept Christ teachings then they, as a whole, will not accept yours if you faithfully preach Him. 

John 15:20

20 “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.

NASB

Let me share one more passage out of many possible:

Matt 19:29

29 “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, shall receive many times as much, and shall inherit eternal life.

NASB

Today, to follow Christ is not about “leaving houses” as written in the word of God, but they will tell you that it is about gaining houses.  They say following Christ is not about sacrificing your family life to any degree for Him and gaining it eternal but it is about Him providing an abundant family life for you right now.  What a disservice they have done to the whole truth written in Scripture. 

I am going to tell you the truth.  The gospel is about recognizing you are a sinner and that God has a Holy hatred for sin.  All sinners will be punished eternally.  Without a Savior you have absolutely no hope.  The wages of sin is death.  Christ came to save you from this sure death and to take away your sin.  A true disciple of Christ has been bought with a price.  He has died your death and you are to be living walking sacrifice for Him.  It is true that an abundant life awaits the sanctified in Christ but to walk this earth like Paul, Peter or even Christ is not to walk in a life of luxury and bliss but it is to sacrifice everything for the Name of God and for His Kingdom.

 For the Truth of my King

Permalink 14 Comments

07.15.07

The Pain of the Cross of Christ

Posted in The Gospel at 11:21 pm by TruthofmyKing

I have long studied the things of Christ and I am not ashamed.  Questions have arisen in my soul, that in retrospect, were planted by the Holy Spirit to drive me to my knees.

The cross of Christ has always been one of those teachings that has always begged me to “come and learn” and it always leaves me humble in spirit.

Luke 22:41-44

41 And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, 42 saying, “Father, if Thou art willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Thine be done.” 43 Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. 44 And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.

NASB

What would bring Jesus to a state of “AGONY” and in such distress that His sweat became like drops of blood? 

Physical Suffering?  I really don’t believe so.  I have read true stories about Christian martyrs being burned alive at the stake, others boiled alive in oil, and some even skinned while alive, and the account by first hand witnesses say they sang songs and praised God all the way to their place of death.

 So what does that have to do with the Cross of Christ?

Is not the Lord of Glory, the Master, greater than His servants?  Remember, Christ was in “agony” sweating drops of sweat like blood.  If you think the pain suffered on the cross was merely physical suffering, you may think too little of the Lord of your salvation.

Some have said that the Romans crucified Christ, others say it was the Jews, and truly we could even add every sinner that ever lived and I believe all answers are correct to a certain degree and in a certain context.

However, there was yet One more who was involved in the crucifixion of Christ!

You see, I cannot believe that the Son of God was trembling in the garden because of a Roman whip or out of fear of the nails when men after him sang songs and praised God on the way to their deaths. 

We should recall that Jesus had a legion of angels at His command lest he dashed His foot upon a stone and not to mention HE WAS THE SON OF GOD.  He had the spirit of God without measure.

So, why was Jesus in agony in the Garden?  What was in the Cup?

It was the wrath of God for your sin and He drank the whole content and when he turned it over again, not a drop fell out.

Isa 53:10

10 But the LORD was pleasedTo crush Him, putting Him to grief; …

And Again:

Isa 53:6

But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.

And in this place:

Rom 3:24-25

24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith.

I could continue on with passages, but the above should be sufficient. 

It is clear, It pleased God the Father, Yahweh, to crush His son.  His own Father displayed Him publicly on a cross, naked, as a propitiation. 

I suppose there is no death, no matter how aweful or how painful, that could compare to being crushed by God Almighty.  Take a thousand terrible deaths and experience them a thousand times and you still could not begin to understand being crushed by Yahweh. 

This suffering is the true pain of the Cross of Christ!   

Now we know God is good, so why the pleasure in destroying His Son? 

He was not looking at His Son, who has perfect and blameless, for at this time Jesus had, on His own initiative, become accursed. 

Gal 3:13

For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” -

God looked down and saw me, a sinner, instead of Him, because Jesus was bearing my iniquities.  His pleasure was not in destroying His Son but in executing Justice for my sin and yours.

It should have been me who cried “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani” - My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?

But as I sit here, trusting in the finished work of Christ, I do not have sweat falling from my face as though it was blood. (Although if it was not for the free gift of Grace from God I would be.)  The fear I felt before I was regenerated has faded away.  Why?

Because He was pierced through for my transgressions,

He was crushed for my iniquities;

The chastening for my well-being fell upon Him,

And by His scourging I am healed. (ISAIAH 53:5)

 

For the Truth of my King

Permalink 3 Comments