Faith seeks Christ Jesus earnestly even when it seems like He's not answering. Faith says, "I need the Lord Jesus Christ in every situation and circumstance." Faith desires to please God first in thought, word and deed. Faith worships Jesus Christ and asks Him for help. Faith trusts in the words of God. Faith doesn't think itself worthy to be in the presence of Jesus Christ. :) Faith says, "Christ Jesus is Everything, I am nothing; I am a poor sinner and nothing at all, but He is my All in All." The Syrophenician woman and the centurion had great faith, because they sought and trusted to the Lord Jesus Christ with all their heart. Their faith (their need of Him) marveled even Jesus Christ. Focus now, and read closely below, and notice how "great faith" works:
And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped Him, saying, Lord, help me. But He answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof: Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto Thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard these things, He marvelled at him, and turned Him about, and said unto the people that followed Him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
Monday, July 28, 2014
Friday, July 25, 2014
Behold the Crucified and Living God!
Take a few minutes out of your busy schedule today and fix your heart's eyes on the Crucified and Living God - The Lord Jesus Christ Himself. People today are too busy to behold the Lamb of God. Things and places are more important to them than their own soul's eternal safety. Christ died for the ungodly; God manifest in the flesh came into the world to save sinners just like you and me. Be wise - focus on the Atoning Blood of the Lamb of God. You're a sinner, that's for sure, and someone (either you or Jesus Christ) must pay for all of your sins. You must have a Substitute to take your sin’s punishment before you die, or you must suffer for all your sins for eternity in the Lake of Fire.
You have offended God all through your life by your open and secret sins and rejection of Christ; God must punish every sin, He could not be a just God unless He did; it is a fixed eternal law that all sin must be punished. You have already sinned, and you cannot undo those sins. Christ's Atoning Blood is the only Remedy for your sin problem. Your own conscience tells you that God must punish sin. You’re a sinner, the Bible says you are; you know it, and you feel it. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. There is not a just man upon the earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
You’ve sinned and violated God’s laws and spurned God’s love and shed blood, you’re always sinning, and you must die an eternal death for it. All have sinned, and “the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” There is but a step between you and death; and even if your life is prolonged for a little season, yet it will soon be over. You will die physically before long – it is inescapable, but the second death is eternal death in Hell, separation from God forever and ever. Human sin is a devilish thing, which God’s justice must punish. The penalty for sin is eternal death. Your lies, lusts, greediness, and envy transgress God’s law daily.
Your sin is on your soul right now and the wrath of God abides on you – and unless you repent, you must die in your sins and perish forever. Be sure your sin will find you out – God will bring every secret work of yours into Judgment. Seek ye first the kingdom of God. Christ died for the ungodly, that's you. Christ Jesus is the Creator of the universe that was crucified in your place, and He took the punishment and vengeance that your sins deserved.
God Almighty in the person of Jesus Christ made a free way for you to escape the damnation of Hell. There is only one way – Substitution – that is the word! And there is only One Substitute for the ungodly sinner: The Lamb of God sent from Heaven is the only Substitute for sinners: God became a human being in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, and suffered for sinners what they ought to have suffered. Christ Jesus came into the world to seek and save lost sinners just like you. He is the one and only Substitute for your guilt. Jesus Christ, the God-Man, lived a sinless life and glorified the law of God. He kept the law of God perfectly for you; the law of God that you have broken all your life.
Christ Jesus went to the Cross of Calvary, and offered up Himself as a sinless blood sacrifice in your place. “The blood of Jesus Christ God’s Son cleanseth us from all sin.” God laid your sin on Jesus, and He bled to death for you. Jesus Christ bore your sins in His own body and suffered the wrath of God in your place. Christ died for the ungodly, not the good and respectable. Your good works are good-for-nothing.
This is the most beautiful thing you’ll ever hear: One day 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem’s manager, God became a Jewish man, Christ Jesus was His name. He died to save sinful men. He was bruised, beaten, and then spilt His blood for your sins. Judas Iscariot betrayed Him; Pontius Pilate falsely condemned Him. On His precious head was placed the crown of thorns you deserved, and the lips of the angry mob cursed Him and cried out in their scorn as He bore the Cross.
JESUS was the Holy Sacrifice required for your sins. His Divine Blood Sacrifice alone pleased the justice and vengeance of God. The weight of your sin bowed Him down on Calvary's tree. Your sins were the nails in His hands and feet. The unbelief of your vile heart was the spear in His side. Christ cried out in anguish as He bled there for you. The wrath of Almighty God was poured out that day on the Sinless Lamb of God, God's dear Son. God the Father turned His face away and forsook Jesus that day because of your sins. Christ was made SIN for you, and suffered untold agony in your place - He was God's Sacrifice of Love for you personally. Then He was buried, and rose again the third day according to the scriptures. Ye must be born again. I have staked my very life, soul, and Eternity on the Atoning Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, God manifest in the flesh.
If you take Christ, He’ll take you. Your human goodness and morals can never save you. You have transgressed God’s law – you need the Substitute. Don’t toy with sin – repent and trust Christ’s precious blood before it’s too late. You must have the Substitute before you die – nothing else will do. Jesus is God, but He is man, He is the Substitute for real sinners; He is willing to receive all who trust Him. He will save you right now, if you will simply rely on Him. Now, you can never be saved from your sins until first you come to the Cross, and see Jesus Christ dying there for you, as your Substitute. You must trust Him alone — the moment you do, all your sins are laid on Him, you are eternally saved and clear of the penalty for your sin. The sinner who rejects the Bleeding Substitute who died upon the Cross will bring eternal ruin to his soul. Please don’t reject the Bleeding Substitute, for if you do, you must perish in your sins without hope.
You can only come to know Christ Jesus personally through trusting, or simply believing like a little child. Simply rest on Christ’s Blood Atonement alone. Stake your soul's eternal destiny on Christ's finished work; leave your sins with Him for time and eternity. God’s way of salvation is for you rest and rely on Christ alone. Christ offered Himself to God as your Substitute: through faith you receive Him: and from that moment on God accepts you. Believe in the finished work of Christ alone for yourself. The Blood of God will certainly save you if you place a simple childlike trust in the Substitute for sinners. Plead God’s precious blood! You have God’s word on it. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved. God be merciful to me a sinner for Jesus’ sake.
You have offended God all through your life by your open and secret sins and rejection of Christ; God must punish every sin, He could not be a just God unless He did; it is a fixed eternal law that all sin must be punished. You have already sinned, and you cannot undo those sins. Christ's Atoning Blood is the only Remedy for your sin problem. Your own conscience tells you that God must punish sin. You’re a sinner, the Bible says you are; you know it, and you feel it. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. There is not a just man upon the earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
You’ve sinned and violated God’s laws and spurned God’s love and shed blood, you’re always sinning, and you must die an eternal death for it. All have sinned, and “the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” There is but a step between you and death; and even if your life is prolonged for a little season, yet it will soon be over. You will die physically before long – it is inescapable, but the second death is eternal death in Hell, separation from God forever and ever. Human sin is a devilish thing, which God’s justice must punish. The penalty for sin is eternal death. Your lies, lusts, greediness, and envy transgress God’s law daily.
Your sin is on your soul right now and the wrath of God abides on you – and unless you repent, you must die in your sins and perish forever. Be sure your sin will find you out – God will bring every secret work of yours into Judgment. Seek ye first the kingdom of God. Christ died for the ungodly, that's you. Christ Jesus is the Creator of the universe that was crucified in your place, and He took the punishment and vengeance that your sins deserved.
God Almighty in the person of Jesus Christ made a free way for you to escape the damnation of Hell. There is only one way – Substitution – that is the word! And there is only One Substitute for the ungodly sinner: The Lamb of God sent from Heaven is the only Substitute for sinners: God became a human being in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, and suffered for sinners what they ought to have suffered. Christ Jesus came into the world to seek and save lost sinners just like you. He is the one and only Substitute for your guilt. Jesus Christ, the God-Man, lived a sinless life and glorified the law of God. He kept the law of God perfectly for you; the law of God that you have broken all your life.
Christ Jesus went to the Cross of Calvary, and offered up Himself as a sinless blood sacrifice in your place. “The blood of Jesus Christ God’s Son cleanseth us from all sin.” God laid your sin on Jesus, and He bled to death for you. Jesus Christ bore your sins in His own body and suffered the wrath of God in your place. Christ died for the ungodly, not the good and respectable. Your good works are good-for-nothing.
This is the most beautiful thing you’ll ever hear: One day 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem’s manager, God became a Jewish man, Christ Jesus was His name. He died to save sinful men. He was bruised, beaten, and then spilt His blood for your sins. Judas Iscariot betrayed Him; Pontius Pilate falsely condemned Him. On His precious head was placed the crown of thorns you deserved, and the lips of the angry mob cursed Him and cried out in their scorn as He bore the Cross.
JESUS was the Holy Sacrifice required for your sins. His Divine Blood Sacrifice alone pleased the justice and vengeance of God. The weight of your sin bowed Him down on Calvary's tree. Your sins were the nails in His hands and feet. The unbelief of your vile heart was the spear in His side. Christ cried out in anguish as He bled there for you. The wrath of Almighty God was poured out that day on the Sinless Lamb of God, God's dear Son. God the Father turned His face away and forsook Jesus that day because of your sins. Christ was made SIN for you, and suffered untold agony in your place - He was God's Sacrifice of Love for you personally. Then He was buried, and rose again the third day according to the scriptures. Ye must be born again. I have staked my very life, soul, and Eternity on the Atoning Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, God manifest in the flesh.
If you take Christ, He’ll take you. Your human goodness and morals can never save you. You have transgressed God’s law – you need the Substitute. Don’t toy with sin – repent and trust Christ’s precious blood before it’s too late. You must have the Substitute before you die – nothing else will do. Jesus is God, but He is man, He is the Substitute for real sinners; He is willing to receive all who trust Him. He will save you right now, if you will simply rely on Him. Now, you can never be saved from your sins until first you come to the Cross, and see Jesus Christ dying there for you, as your Substitute. You must trust Him alone — the moment you do, all your sins are laid on Him, you are eternally saved and clear of the penalty for your sin. The sinner who rejects the Bleeding Substitute who died upon the Cross will bring eternal ruin to his soul. Please don’t reject the Bleeding Substitute, for if you do, you must perish in your sins without hope.
A real sinner's hope is only found in the Incarnate, Crucified, and Risen God. This is the Gospel, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, for if you do not believe this Good News, you will incur the wrath of God, and prove that you are lost, and under the influence of the devil himself. You have run headlong off into everything that is evil. You are without strength to do anything that is good and right. It is a little hell on earth to live on rebelliously in your sin and misery. This is the Gospel of Christ: if you believe it, your soul shall be saved; if you reject Christ, you shall be eternally damned. By sinning, you have written out your own death warrant. Flee from the wrath to come!
Sin is the root of all your problems. You reject Christ to your own destruction. Make no bones about it - if you try to untie all the knots of the skeptics, they will only tie you some more. Stick to publishing the Crucified Savior. The fallacy of mortal reasoning will only land you in hell. You are certainly lost and have an awful future without Christ as your Savior. Christ died for the ungodly; you are ungodly, so that means He definitely died for you. Come along to the Savior who freely justified the guilty through His Righteousness. If what did for sinners on the Cross will not save a sinner, I am damned for sure; for I have nothing else to depend upon; but if Christ's blood will save, and I am sure it does, I am saved as surely as Christ has risen from the dead. This is the root of the matter - Christ Jesus saves sinners, and we trust Him. Your sins can only be forgiven by the grace of God in Christ. Look now to the Bleeding Lamb, and your guilty conscience will be pacified. Humble yourself. Do not try to make out that you are good. Miserable sinners are simply bidden to trust in the Living Savior. The Gospel Message is all of Mercy, and is only directed toward those sinners whose only claim is their need of the Savior.
The Gospel is plain and simple. The Glorious Gospel reveals the perfect and finished work of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh (I Timothy 3:16), the eternal Son of the Father, by whom all things were made, for whom all things were created, and through whom they continue to exist. When we were His enemies, He came to us with His salvation, and reconciled us to God by His blood. The Son of the Highest came down to earth in infinite Pity, He took on our nature, and was virgin born as a Jewish baby in Bethlehem, He was truly man as He was assuredly God. God became a man to reconcile God to sinful men. The Creator put on flesh so that He could have mercy on guilty sinners. The offended One died for the offender; Who His own self bare our sin in His own body on the tree. The Lord God became Immanuel - God with us. Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given, and His name shall be called Wonderful.
All things were made by Jesus Christ; and without Him was not any thing made that was made. He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name. For by Christ were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him: And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created. WORTHY IS THE LAMB that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing!
JESUS laid aside His divine glory. The mighty God dwelt here on earth among common men, preaching and teaching, working miracles of mercy, showing Himself compassionate and gentle. He humbly received to Himself the lowest and basest and least of the people. His whole life was Good News. It was a miracle that God Himself should dwell among men, and was found in fashion as a man. The God that hates sin came down to earth to die in the sinner's place. Amazing love, how can it be, that thou My God shouldst die for me. He was patient, gentle, self-sacrificing, just and true. He was without sin, and He never knew sin. And in due time Jesus gave Himself for our sins, making an offering of His soul, flesh, and blood as a Propitiation for the guilt of every man. Jesus bled out His life for His enemies. By the grace of God Jesus tasted death for every man. Look to the Cross, see there God in human flesh - bleeding, suffering, dying. The wrath of God is only appeased by the death and blood of Jesus. Come on to the Cross as a guilty sinner, ask for free pardon through Christ's precious blood. Rest upon the Substitution of the Son of God, repose in the completeness of His Atonement.
Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane and was oppressed with our load of guilt till a bloody sweat came from Him. He bore our enormous load of SIN up to the Cross all alone, and was nailed and hung there in agonies of death, deserted by His Father, dying the Just for the unjust to bring us to God. He was obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross. This is the Gospel of Substitution, that Jesus was judged in the sinner's place and bore in the sinner's stead what was due to the divine justice and law of God on account of human sin.
A real sinner's hope is only found in the Incarnate, Crucified, and Risen God. No better news ever came to a sinner than that the Incarnate God bore man's sins and died in the sinner's place. He that died for sinners was buried and is now risen from the dead, and ascended up into glory and sits at His Father's right hand. Jesus is now able to save sinners to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them. Christ is All. This is the Gospel of the glory of Christ. Christ is the Great Mediator between the holy God and sinful man. God's love, mercy, and blood can wash the vilest sinner clean. If you are burdened with your sin, look now to the Sin-Bearer, and your deadly burden will be gone. The Great Sufferer died for you. Jesus came to save lost sinners just like you. You reject Christ at your own peril.
A real sinner's hope is only found in the Incarnate, Crucified, and Risen God. No better news ever came to a sinner than that the Incarnate God bore man's sins and died in the sinner's place. He that died for sinners was buried and is now risen from the dead, and ascended up into glory and sits at His Father's right hand. Jesus is now able to save sinners to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them. Christ is All. This is the Gospel of the glory of Christ. Christ is the Great Mediator between the holy God and sinful man. God's love, mercy, and blood can wash the vilest sinner clean. If you are burdened with your sin, look now to the Sin-Bearer, and your deadly burden will be gone. The Great Sufferer died for you. Jesus came to save lost sinners just like you. You reject Christ at your own peril.
The Gospel is most plain and clear. The fact of the Savior's Atonement is plain enough for a child to understand. Jesus suffering in my place is a simple matter of truth. All the merits of Christ's finished work comes to you simply by believing in HIM. What is believing? Well, it is trusting, depending, leaning hard upon, and relying completely upon Christ's Person and Blood - that is all. There is nothing hard about that. The fact that the true and living God was made flesh and died to save sinners. Be still, and Simply trust Jesus. Simple trust in the Great Atonement. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and whosoever believeth in HIM shall not perish, but have everlasting life. Jesus only! Become altogether dependent upon JESUS.
A man who trusts Christ will not remain a lover of sin. The religious world constantly tries to hide and bury the Gospel beneath human performances and ceremonies. Satan blinds the minds of men today, so that they cannot see the crystal clear Gospel. The devil hoodwinks the sinner with fear of ridicule. Sinful pride and the love of sin perverts the discernment and judgment of your heart. Unbelief slowly hardens the human heart. The mercy of God is only for sinners full of demerit, unworthiness, worthlessness. The Gospel is only for the guilty, the unrighteous, the underserving. Salvation is not of human merit, but of divine Grace.
A man who trusts Christ will not remain a lover of sin. The religious world constantly tries to hide and bury the Gospel beneath human performances and ceremonies. Satan blinds the minds of men today, so that they cannot see the crystal clear Gospel. The devil hoodwinks the sinner with fear of ridicule. Sinful pride and the love of sin perverts the discernment and judgment of your heart. Unbelief slowly hardens the human heart. The mercy of God is only for sinners full of demerit, unworthiness, worthlessness. The Gospel is only for the guilty, the unrighteous, the underserving. Salvation is not of human merit, but of divine Grace.
If you neglect Christ, the devil is your father and master, and you will soon be condemned with him to the Lake of Fire. The man that believes not on Jesus Christ is a lost man under the wrath of God. While you remain among the unbelieving world, you are perishing, and the devil has you blindfolded. Only the Holy Spirit can reach your conscience and truly convict you of your Christ rejection. Jesus is the only One that a sinner can trust to, and yet you still reject Him. It is the simplest thing in all the world to trust in Christ, but you still refuse to do that simple thing. Insane pride damns every Christ rejector. The devil throws his dust into your eyes, so you can't see the beauty of the Savior, of sins forgiven, of adoption into God's family, and the certainty of eternal life. He that believes in JESUS is saved on the spot, and saved eternally. Yield yourself up to Jesus. Trust the Savior, rely on the Incarnate, Crucified and Risen God - trust HIM at once. All your sins will disappear the instant you look to the wounded and bleeding God on Calvary's Cross. Jesus takes care of every soul who puts their trust in HIM.
You can only come to know Christ Jesus personally through trusting, or simply believing like a little child. Simply rest on Christ’s Blood Atonement alone. Stake your soul's eternal destiny on Christ's finished work; leave your sins with Him for time and eternity. God’s way of salvation is for you rest and rely on Christ alone. Christ offered Himself to God as your Substitute: through faith you receive Him: and from that moment on God accepts you. Believe in the finished work of Christ alone for yourself. The Blood of God will certainly save you if you place a simple childlike trust in the Substitute for sinners. Plead God’s precious blood! You have God’s word on it. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved. God be merciful to me a sinner for Jesus’ sake.
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Serve Christ, not sin
Henceforth we should not serve sin. Abstain from all appearance of evil. Flee youthful lust. Keep yourselves from idols. That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ. Henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard Him, and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind. Christ Jesus died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again. But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Christ Jesus that created him. Henceforth we should not serve sin.
But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard Him, and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind. Christ Jesus died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again. But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Christ Jesus that created him. Henceforth we should not serve sin.
For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication. Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. Keep thyself pure. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul. Denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world. Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. Let us watch and be sober. Holding faith and a good conscience. Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another. Henceforth we should not serve sin.
Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. Let us watch and be sober. Holding faith and a good conscience. Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another. Henceforth we should not serve sin.
Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? We being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. I have kept myself from mine iniquity. He that walketh uprightly walketh surely. Do justly, love mercy, walk humbly with thy God. Blessed is the man that endureth temptation. Henceforth we should not serve sin.
Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. Striving against sin. Order my steps in Thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Keep under your body and bring it into subjection. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God. Let us have grace. for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. Henceforth we should not serve sin.
Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. Striving against sin. Order my steps in Thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Keep under your body and bring it into subjection. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God. Let us have grace. for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. Henceforth we should not serve sin.
Lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. That we no longer should live the rest of our time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.
For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. Pray that ye enter not into temptation. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee. Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing his reproach. Henceforth we should not serve sin.
For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. Pray that ye enter not into temptation. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee. Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing his reproach. Henceforth we should not serve sin.
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Take It Up a Notch! 2
Human nature is innately rebellious to the will of God. Don't try to work for your Salvation. You can't live a good life, because you are a sinner. When an unregenerate sinner tries to find good within himself, it's like digging for diamonds in a coal mine; you're wasting your time and energy. When Christ Jesus is in your heart, He can live a good life through you, but you cannot live a good life in your own strength. God will never accept you based on your works. God's Salvation is not based on what you can do; Bible Salvation is solely based on what God Incarnate (Christ Jesus) did on Calvary's Cross. God is looking for absolute Righteousness, and no sinner on the Earth is righteous within himself. Every person has sinned, and sinned and sinned against God. As long as you remain in your natural state, you are controlled by your Sin nature.
A sinner may boast about a few works he's done, but a sinner (a criminal that is due divine justice) can never boast of divine Righteousness. At the Cross, God in Christ was taking care of your sin problem because you cannot. By your very nature you came into this world as a sinner. God will only accept you, if you will sincerely accept Christ into your heart as your personal Savior. There is no Justification by works. *Galatians 2:16* No one has ever kept the Law perfectly except the Lord Jesus Christ. Your need Righteousness in order to be reconciled to God here in time and meet Him safely in Eternity Christ Jesus was Righteousness Incarnate - you need Him. The moment you receive Christ, your soul is made Righteous in God's sight for Jesus' sake. Put first things first - trust your soul with the Lord Jesus Christ today, and then you will begin to be in conflict with your sins. This is called fighting the good fight of Faith.
The Lord Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh. He was not just a moral teacher. Jesus was without sin; He humbled Himself as a Jewish peasant. You need to bow your knees and heart to Christ Jesus, the Crucified Creator. Jesus is the King of your life after you born again, and you are a subject in His Kingdom. Will you let Jesus rule and reign your life? Obey Jesus daily and practically. When you trust Jesus' Blood, and follow and obey Jesus, you please and honor God. "Well done" is always better than "well said".
Submit to Jesus' authority just like you submitted to your parents' authority when you were a child. Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. A sheep follows the Shepherd. If you follow yourself, you will wreck and ruin your life. God will help and enable you to trust and follow Jesus. The Holy Spirit can give your life excellence. Put your Salvation in shoe leather - live out Christ's life that is within you. Christ liveth in me.
Your character, conduct, and conversation should magnify Christ in your life. Live out the righteousness which God has placed within you. God the Holy Spirit lives within us, and He wills and works within us to help us magnify Christ in our lives practically. Each day ask the Holy Spirit for more of His power and purity. Live so that the people around you notice that you are different (humble, pure, giving, thankful, selfless). Salt is healing to some and agitating to others. This world wants you to live a life of sin, because if you live pure, you make them uncomfortable, and you condemn them. Sanctification is when God sets you apart for His purpose, honor and glory. Let Jesus rule in your life privately and publicly.
Your belief will determine your behavior. You can make your life count for the Lord Jesus Christ by trusting, following, obeying and pleasing Him. A child of God has a responsibility to work out the Salvation that Jesus has given him. Jesus gave us a goldmine of truth, hope, and power within; and now we have to dig the gold out of the mine He has given us. Exercise thyself unto godliness. We already own the goldmine, we don't work for it. Follow Jesus leadership and guidance, and commune with the Holy Ghost. You don't have to be a preacher, but you need to be a reacher. Every day try to reach and influence some soul around you with the Gospel in a wise and practical way that will stick. Live for Jesus at home and at work. The more conscious you are of Jesus living within you, the more you will watch for evil, resist temptation and do right for Jesus' sake.
The good pleasure of God is what makes Him the happiest about your life - God wants you to yield to Him, follow His Son, be sensitive to His Spirit's prompting and leading, and become Christ-like in your daily thoughts and behavior - this is the good pleasure of God. What you become within your heart and mind in the sight of God is much more important that what you may do religiously outwardly. Seek to have a conscience void of offense toward God, and toward men.
God's ultimate goal for you is to be Christ-like and to be conformed to the image of His Son in your thoughts, words and actions. Take seriously pleasing the Lord Jesus Christ every day, and consider how your thoughts, words and action may grieve the Holy Spirit or displease God. What God wants you to do, He will give you direction and enable you to work it out. Whatever God wills, He will work it out in us, but we must yield to His calling. Faithful is God that calleth you, who also will do it. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you the mind of Christ (purity, humility, selflessness), the heart of Christ (meekness, compassion), and the life of Christ (mercy, obedience to the Father's will). It is a pleasurable thing to God when you walk in the Spirit and follow Jesus daily.
A sinner may boast about a few works he's done, but a sinner (a criminal that is due divine justice) can never boast of divine Righteousness. At the Cross, God in Christ was taking care of your sin problem because you cannot. By your very nature you came into this world as a sinner. God will only accept you, if you will sincerely accept Christ into your heart as your personal Savior. There is no Justification by works. *Galatians 2:16* No one has ever kept the Law perfectly except the Lord Jesus Christ. Your need Righteousness in order to be reconciled to God here in time and meet Him safely in Eternity Christ Jesus was Righteousness Incarnate - you need Him. The moment you receive Christ, your soul is made Righteous in God's sight for Jesus' sake. Put first things first - trust your soul with the Lord Jesus Christ today, and then you will begin to be in conflict with your sins. This is called fighting the good fight of Faith.
The Lord Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh. He was not just a moral teacher. Jesus was without sin; He humbled Himself as a Jewish peasant. You need to bow your knees and heart to Christ Jesus, the Crucified Creator. Jesus is the King of your life after you born again, and you are a subject in His Kingdom. Will you let Jesus rule and reign your life? Obey Jesus daily and practically. When you trust Jesus' Blood, and follow and obey Jesus, you please and honor God. "Well done" is always better than "well said".
Submit to Jesus' authority just like you submitted to your parents' authority when you were a child. Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. A sheep follows the Shepherd. If you follow yourself, you will wreck and ruin your life. God will help and enable you to trust and follow Jesus. The Holy Spirit can give your life excellence. Put your Salvation in shoe leather - live out Christ's life that is within you. Christ liveth in me.
Your character, conduct, and conversation should magnify Christ in your life. Live out the righteousness which God has placed within you. God the Holy Spirit lives within us, and He wills and works within us to help us magnify Christ in our lives practically. Each day ask the Holy Spirit for more of His power and purity. Live so that the people around you notice that you are different (humble, pure, giving, thankful, selfless). Salt is healing to some and agitating to others. This world wants you to live a life of sin, because if you live pure, you make them uncomfortable, and you condemn them. Sanctification is when God sets you apart for His purpose, honor and glory. Let Jesus rule in your life privately and publicly.
Your belief will determine your behavior. You can make your life count for the Lord Jesus Christ by trusting, following, obeying and pleasing Him. A child of God has a responsibility to work out the Salvation that Jesus has given him. Jesus gave us a goldmine of truth, hope, and power within; and now we have to dig the gold out of the mine He has given us. Exercise thyself unto godliness. We already own the goldmine, we don't work for it. Follow Jesus leadership and guidance, and commune with the Holy Ghost. You don't have to be a preacher, but you need to be a reacher. Every day try to reach and influence some soul around you with the Gospel in a wise and practical way that will stick. Live for Jesus at home and at work. The more conscious you are of Jesus living within you, the more you will watch for evil, resist temptation and do right for Jesus' sake.
The good pleasure of God is what makes Him the happiest about your life - God wants you to yield to Him, follow His Son, be sensitive to His Spirit's prompting and leading, and become Christ-like in your daily thoughts and behavior - this is the good pleasure of God. What you become within your heart and mind in the sight of God is much more important that what you may do religiously outwardly. Seek to have a conscience void of offense toward God, and toward men.
God's ultimate goal for you is to be Christ-like and to be conformed to the image of His Son in your thoughts, words and actions. Take seriously pleasing the Lord Jesus Christ every day, and consider how your thoughts, words and action may grieve the Holy Spirit or displease God. What God wants you to do, He will give you direction and enable you to work it out. Whatever God wills, He will work it out in us, but we must yield to His calling. Faithful is God that calleth you, who also will do it. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you the mind of Christ (purity, humility, selflessness), the heart of Christ (meekness, compassion), and the life of Christ (mercy, obedience to the Father's will). It is a pleasurable thing to God when you walk in the Spirit and follow Jesus daily.
Sunday, July 13, 2014
The Five Solas
Sola Scriptura – The Scripture Alone
Sola Christus – By Christ Himself Alone
Sola Gratia – Salvation by Grace Alone
Sola Fide – Justification by Faith Alone
Soli Deo Gloria – For The Glory of God Alone
Sola Christus “Christ Alone” is the Bible truth that Christ is the ONLY mediator between God and man, and that there is salvation through no other person, period. Only faith in Christ’s finished work aloe can get you past the White Throne Judgment and keep you out of the Lake of Fire. (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Revelation 20:11-15). We are saved by and for Christ Alone. God in mercy, solely on the basis of the sinless life, bloody death, and glorious resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ alone (Solus Christus), grants sinners free and eternal judicial pardon, or justification, which is received only and solely through the divine gift of faith. The act of Faith is passive, that is, by merely receiving Christ and all his benefits as a free gift, among which benefits are the active and passive righteousness of Jesus Christ.
Sola Fide “Faith Alone” is the Bible truth that Justification ("being declared right and perfect by God Himself"), is received by faith only in Christ’s blood, without any mixture of or need for human merits or works. Christ's Righteousness is imputed (or accounted, charged) by God to the believing sinner's soul so that the divine verdict and pardon of the believing sinner is based not upon anything in the sinner, nor even faith itself, but upon Jesus Christ's blood and righteousness ALONE, which are received through the Gift of faith ALONE (II Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:8-9; Acts 20:24).
The Bible teaching of Sola Fide “Faith Alone” asserts that God's pardon for guilty sinners is granted to and received through faith or belief alone in the shed blood of Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh (I Timothy 3:16). The free gift of salvation (Romans 5:15,16,18; Romans 6:23) from Christ is to the exclusion of all human efforts or works. All men in their natural state are fallen and sinful, under the curse of God (Galatians 3:10,13), and incapable of saving themselves from God's wrath and curse (Ephesians 2:1-8; John 3:36). To escape sin’s curse, the new birth of the Holy Spirit must be received by all men (John 3:3,7; I Peter 1:23).
Sola Gratia “Grace Alone” is the teaching that salvation comes by God's grace or "unmerited favor" only — not as something merited by the sinner. This means that salvation from hell fire is an unearned gift from God for Jesus' sake alone (Ephesians 4:32). Now understand – Only Faith in God's Blood Can Save A Sinner From Hell (Romans 3:25; Acts 20:28). Justification is by faith alone in God’s blood, period (Romans 3:28; 5:1; Galatians 2:16; 3:24). Salvation from sin and guilt is through Christ alone and Christ is the ONLY mediator between God and man (I Timothy 2:5-6). A sinner is saved from the wrath of God by the Grace of God alone, no human works are involved in this transaction, just divine grace.
Soli Deo Gloria “The Glory of God Alone” is the Bible truth that all glory is to be due to God alone, since salvation is accomplished solely through His power and action — not only the gift of the all-sufficient atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary's Cross, but also the gift of faith in His blood atonement, created in the heart of the believing sinner by the Holy Spirit. Christ Jesus, the crucified and living God, must get all the credit for every sinner's salvation. Worthy is the Lamb for thou was slain...and hast redeemed us to God by Thy Blood. In summary, sinners are only saved grace through faith alone in Christ alone for the glory of God alone. Jesus must get all the credit alone for saving such sinful wretches as we are freely.
Simple, Scriptural Salvation
ALL HAVE SINNED, AND GOD MUST PUNISH ALL SIN.
"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:" Ro 3.10 | "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, Tit 3.5 | …My sins are more than the hairs of mine head: Ps 40.12 | "Wherefore, as by one man [Adam] sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: Ro 5.12 | For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:" Ro 3.23-24 | “For the Son of man [Jesus] is come to save that which was lost.” Mt 18.11 | “Come unto me [Jesus], all ye that labour [fleshy works] and are heavy laden [with sin], and I will give you rest [forgiveness of sins].” Mt 11.28 The Holy Spirit “will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” Jn 16.8 The conviction of the Holy Ghost always comes before His comfort. Only the Blood of Christ can remove the Conviction and Guilt of Sin, not good works, religion, or water baptism.
GOD’S JUDGMENT AND YOUR ETERNAL DEATH IS SURE!
“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" Heb 9:27 | "For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. Ecc 12.14 | Every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Romans 14:10 | The eyes of the Lord are in every place beholding the evil and the good. Prov 15.3 | In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. | Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. Mt 12.36 | How can ye escape the damnation of hell? Mt 23.33 | And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: Rev 20.12 | A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Jesus Christ: thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. Daniel 7:10 | The Lord will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts. I Cor 4:5 | God knows the secrets of the heart. Psa 44:21 | God has set our iniquities before Him, our secret sins in the light of His countenance. Psa 90:8
BUT GOD IN CHRIST LOVED ALL SINNERS AT THE CROSS OF CALVARY!
You must, by faith, go to the cross of Calvary to receive God’s love. God accepteth no man's person; God is no respecter of persons. God will only accept you at Calvary. As long as you are not under the Shelter of Christ’s Atoning Blood, you are under the wrath of God. …but the wrath of God abideth on him. John 3:36 | 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. John 3.16 | God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Rom 5.8 | 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. Isa 53.6 | Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for His friends. Jn 15.13
Through the finished work of the Cross - God pardons sinners without encouraging sin; God simultaneously shows justice in punishment of human sin but mercy in pardoning; God turns His enemies into His friends and binds their hearts to Him in eternal love; and God can admit sinners into heaven without spoiling heaven's holiness. The Cross causes the saints to glory in it alone; and the Cross humbles sinners and are brought to faith in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
CHRIST DIED, WAS BURIED, AND ROSE AGAIN THE THIRD DAY FROM THE DEAD:
Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures: 1 Cor 15.3-4 | For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. Rom 5.6 | In whom we have redemption, through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Col 1.14 | Jesus said,"...I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me. John 14.6 | Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them. Heb 7.25 | He [God] hath made him [Jesus] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Cor 5.21
YOU CANNOT HELP SAVE YOURSELF FROM SIN:
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." Eph 2.8-9 | But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Rom 4.5 | But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. Isa 64.6 | If I be wicked, why then labour I in vain? Job 9.29 | Your "good works" are in vain, and they are only “good” in YOUR eyes. In God's holy sight, you are a Hopeless and LOST sinner, and your good works are totally unacceptable. If you are counting on your “own righteousness” (religion, good works, baptism, church membership, prayers) to save you, then you are deceived and on your way to HELL. "For they being ignorant of God's righteousness [Faith in Christ’s blood], and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth." Rom 10.3
*The Blood of Christ -- Rev. 1.5; Col 1.14; I Pet 1.18-19; Is 1.18; Re 5.9; I Jn 1.7; Ep 1.7; Col 1.20; Ro 3.25; Ro 5.9; Heb 9.12,14; Ep 2.13; Re 12.11
*The Righteousness of Christ -- Ro 10.4; Phil 3.9; Rom 11.6; Rom 4.5; Rom 3.22,25; Titus 3.5,6; Eph 2.8,9; Mt 9.13; I Tim 1.15
Life is Short, Death is Sure, Sin the Curse, Christ is the Cure
…For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. James 4.14 | The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 1 Cor 15.56 | For the wages of sin is death…Rom 6.23 | Men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. John 3.19 | And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: Heb 9.27 | So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Rom 14.12 | By one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and death by sin, so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. Ro 5:12 | The secrets of his heart made manifest and so falling down on his face he will worship God. I Cor 14:25 | I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Mt 9.13 | Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…I Tim 1.15 | Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a Curse for us: Gal 3.13 | Whom God hath set forth to be a Propitiation through faith in His blood, Rom 3:25 | Much more then, being now justified by His Blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him [Jesus]. Ro 5.9 | Jesus said…And ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life. Jn 5.40 | But there are some of you that believe not. John 6.64 | Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. Acts 16.31
GOD’S ONLY REMEDY FOR SIN-SICK SOULS:
Repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Act 20.21
*REPENTANCE: Godly sorrow (contrition) for sin against God and His holy law: Admitting you are a guilty sinner under the wrath of God, and that you can’t do "anything" to save, or help save yourself, and admitting that your soul’s only need is the Lord Jesus Christ (His person, name, work, and blood) to save you from the penalty of your sins: Death and HELL! Repentance: Confessing and forsaking sin by the grace of God and help of the Holy Ghost.
…For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation…2 Cor 7.10
…but now [God] commandeth all men everywhere to repent…Acts 17.30
...that they should repent and turn to God..." Acts 26.20
…I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Mt 9.13
I tell you, nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Luke 13.3
Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way. and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." Isa 55.7
*FAITH: To agree with God and put your entire confidence, trust, and dependence in the blood, merits (the finished work) of the Lord Jesus Christ to save your soul from Sin. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Ep 2.8,9 | And be found in Him [Christ], not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: Phil 3.9
HOW YOU CAN BE SAVED FROM THE "LOVE OF SIN" NOW!
Jesus said…”Behold, I stand at the door [your heart], and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him. | Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. | For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. | He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. | But as many as received Him [Jesus}, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: | That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed. | In Luke 18.13, the publican prayed: "God be merciful to me a sinner." | "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:" Ro 3.10 | "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, Tit 3.5 | …My sins are more than the hairs of mine head: Ps 40.12 | "Wherefore, as by one man [Adam] sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: Ro 5.12 | For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:" Ro 3.23-24 | “For the Son of man [Jesus] is come to save that which was lost.” Mt 18.11 | “Come unto me [Jesus], all ye that labour [fleshy works] and are heavy laden [with sin], and I will give you rest [forgiveness of sins].” Mt 11.28 The Holy Spirit “will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” Jn 16.8 The conviction of the Holy Ghost always comes before His comfort. Only the Blood of Christ can remove the Conviction and Guilt of Sin, not good works, religion, or water baptism.
GOD’S JUDGMENT AND YOUR ETERNAL DEATH IS SURE!
“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" Heb 9:27 | "For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. Ecc 12.14 | Every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Romans 14:10 | The eyes of the Lord are in every place beholding the evil and the good. Prov 15.3 | In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. | Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. Mt 12.36 | How can ye escape the damnation of hell? Mt 23.33 | And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: Rev 20.12 | A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Jesus Christ: thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. Daniel 7:10 | The Lord will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts. I Cor 4:5 | God knows the secrets of the heart. Psa 44:21 | God has set our iniquities before Him, our secret sins in the light of His countenance. Psa 90:8
BUT GOD IN CHRIST LOVED ALL SINNERS AT THE CROSS OF CALVARY!
You must, by faith, go to the cross of Calvary to receive God’s love. God accepteth no man's person; God is no respecter of persons. God will only accept you at Calvary. As long as you are not under the Shelter of Christ’s Atoning Blood, you are under the wrath of God. …but the wrath of God abideth on him. John 3:36 | 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. John 3.16 | God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Rom 5.8 | 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. Isa 53.6 | Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for His friends. Jn 15.13
Through the finished work of the Cross - God pardons sinners without encouraging sin; God simultaneously shows justice in punishment of human sin but mercy in pardoning; God turns His enemies into His friends and binds their hearts to Him in eternal love; and God can admit sinners into heaven without spoiling heaven's holiness. The Cross causes the saints to glory in it alone; and the Cross humbles sinners and are brought to faith in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
CHRIST DIED, WAS BURIED, AND ROSE AGAIN THE THIRD DAY FROM THE DEAD:
Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures: 1 Cor 15.3-4 | For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. Rom 5.6 | In whom we have redemption, through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Col 1.14 | Jesus said,"...I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me. John 14.6 | Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them. Heb 7.25 | He [God] hath made him [Jesus] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Cor 5.21
YOU CANNOT HELP SAVE YOURSELF FROM SIN:
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." Eph 2.8-9 | But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Rom 4.5 | But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. Isa 64.6 | If I be wicked, why then labour I in vain? Job 9.29 | Your "good works" are in vain, and they are only “good” in YOUR eyes. In God's holy sight, you are a Hopeless and LOST sinner, and your good works are totally unacceptable. If you are counting on your “own righteousness” (religion, good works, baptism, church membership, prayers) to save you, then you are deceived and on your way to HELL. "For they being ignorant of God's righteousness [Faith in Christ’s blood], and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth." Rom 10.3
*The Blood of Christ -- Rev. 1.5; Col 1.14; I Pet 1.18-19; Is 1.18; Re 5.9; I Jn 1.7; Ep 1.7; Col 1.20; Ro 3.25; Ro 5.9; Heb 9.12,14; Ep 2.13; Re 12.11
*The Righteousness of Christ -- Ro 10.4; Phil 3.9; Rom 11.6; Rom 4.5; Rom 3.22,25; Titus 3.5,6; Eph 2.8,9; Mt 9.13; I Tim 1.15
Life is Short, Death is Sure, Sin the Curse, Christ is the Cure
…For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. James 4.14 | The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 1 Cor 15.56 | For the wages of sin is death…Rom 6.23 | Men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. John 3.19 | And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: Heb 9.27 | So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Rom 14.12 | By one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and death by sin, so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. Ro 5:12 | The secrets of his heart made manifest and so falling down on his face he will worship God. I Cor 14:25 | I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Mt 9.13 | Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…I Tim 1.15 | Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a Curse for us: Gal 3.13 | Whom God hath set forth to be a Propitiation through faith in His blood, Rom 3:25 | Much more then, being now justified by His Blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him [Jesus]. Ro 5.9 | Jesus said…And ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life. Jn 5.40 | But there are some of you that believe not. John 6.64 | Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. Acts 16.31
GOD’S ONLY REMEDY FOR SIN-SICK SOULS:
Repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Act 20.21
*REPENTANCE: Godly sorrow (contrition) for sin against God and His holy law: Admitting you are a guilty sinner under the wrath of God, and that you can’t do "anything" to save, or help save yourself, and admitting that your soul’s only need is the Lord Jesus Christ (His person, name, work, and blood) to save you from the penalty of your sins: Death and HELL! Repentance: Confessing and forsaking sin by the grace of God and help of the Holy Ghost.
…For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation…2 Cor 7.10
…but now [God] commandeth all men everywhere to repent…Acts 17.30
...that they should repent and turn to God..." Acts 26.20
…I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Mt 9.13
I tell you, nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Luke 13.3
Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way. and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." Isa 55.7
*FAITH: To agree with God and put your entire confidence, trust, and dependence in the blood, merits (the finished work) of the Lord Jesus Christ to save your soul from Sin. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Ep 2.8,9 | And be found in Him [Christ], not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: Phil 3.9
HOW YOU CAN BE SAVED FROM THE "LOVE OF SIN" NOW!
Jesus said…”Behold, I stand at the door [your heart], and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him. | Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. | For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. | He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. | But as many as received Him [Jesus}, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: | That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed. | In Luke 18.13, the publican prayed: "God be merciful to me a sinner." | "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
The Cross Alone! 2
We are all going to die. Only the person of Jesus Christ and His Finished Work on Calvary's Cross can save us from the wrath to come. There are only three possibilities with the Person of Christ for He called Himself the Son of God:
1. He was a madman.
2. He was a liar.
3. Jesus was the Son of God He professed to be.
Many people think that Jesus was just a good man, but they don't believe He was actually the Son of God - God manifest in the flesh. *I Timothy 3:16* There's a problem with that logic, for a good man doesn't walk around deceiving people by professing to be the Son of God. A madman is not a man you can trust, and a liar is not a good man at all. Everyone talks about God, Jesus Christ, and the Gospel, but very few people today have heard and understood the true Gospel Message from the Holy Scriptures.
The main reason for your existence is the glory of God, but you have failed to glorify God. You only love yourself and are constantly disobedient to God's law. This disobedience is called SIN. Sin is when you want to do it your way instead of God's way. Sin begins in the little things - that little white lie, that subtle exaggeration, that second glance at that girl, taking that extra drink, one little compromise won't hurt - that is Sin. Instead of glorifying God, you have followed the ways of this world, Satan, and your own lusts. God is just and righteous. Every sane man prefers a God that is just, not unjust. Man always wants a judge to be just especially when he has been wronged.
Who wants an unjust God, or a bad God? Nobody! But the fact that God is just is your greatest problem. Your greatest problem is that God is just and holy. Why is that a problem for you? Because you are not just, for you have willfully sinned against God. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. You have sinned against God's holy law, by lying, stealing, hating, lusting, envying, cheating, gossiping, and blaspheming. God knows all your thoughts and attitudes. Criminals hate good judges, that can't be bribed. God will soon call you to Judgment. If there was a DVD movie made of your whole private and public life and then played publicly in your home town theater for everyone to come and see, you would leave town and never come back. The public display of your every thought, word, and deed of every single day of your life would surely bring shame and guilt upon you. You have done things in private that you are shameful of. You don't want to even talk about your dark secrets with anyone, much less have them displayed publicly.
God is perfectly Righteous and He demands righteousness from you, but you have no righteousness to offer God, so you must go to Jesus Christ, the Righteousness of God Incarnate, and ask Him to give you His Righteousness as a free gift. Jesus will take your sins, and give you His righteousness, and you will be Born Again, completely forgiven, entirely saved, and made righteous in God's sight forever, this is called Justification.
It's very, very hard for human nature to admit it is wrong, and that all of your thoughts, beliefs, and efforts up to this point in life are all in vain. You've blown it, you've sinned so many times, you can't work your way to Heaven, because all your of past and future sins have to paid for by Someone. Stop striving to save yourself, you have to be Perfect to enter Heaven, and you can't make yourself Perfect, only Christ through His blood's saving power can make you Perfect and acceptable in God's sight. This is called being Born Again (John 3:7) and being Justified in God's sight (Romans 3:23-25). The moment a sinner is Born Again, the Righteousness of Christ is charged, that is - imputed or reckoned, to the sinner's account, and it is only on the ground of Christ's Righteousness alone that any sinner can obtain a righteous standing before the holy Creator God. Salvation is totally the work of God within a sinner's heart.
God is just and you have disobeyed Him and rebelled against your Creator's holy law and rejected His Precious Son's love and blood. There will be a day of Judgment where God will judge you out of the books that are the recording of all your life. These books are in Heaven according to Revelation 20. At the White Throne Judgment, God will give you what you really deserve, the Lake of Fire. But there is a way to escape the wrath of God on sin. Jesus Christ is God Himself, He came to this earth and took on human form, to be the Perfect Blood Sacrifice (Atonement) for your sins. Jesus took the hell, the wrath, and the punishment your sins deserve. The wrath of God was poured out on Jesus by God the Father. You must Repent - that is, you have to acknowledge and agree with God that Jesus Christ is the Creator and Savior and forsake your own righteousness. Be truly sorry that you have broken God's laws and rejected His Son, turn from your love of sin, and Trust wholly in Christ Himself for all your Salvation.
The greatest problem in the Scriptures is this: How can a just God forgive an ungodly sinner and still remain just? This is the greatest problem in all the Bible. Here's an illustration: If a thief broke into your home and killed your daughter, and the police caught him, and he was arrested and then made to appear before a judge for his heinous crime. And then the judge says to this criminal that killed your daughter, "Look, I am a loving judge, so I am going to overlook your crime. I am kind and merciful, that's the reason why I forgive you. You're free to go." How would you react to his ruling? You would surely be very angry and outraged. You would write everyone including the President complaining that this judge is more corrupt than the criminals he forgives. Now think - If God is just, He HAS to satisfy His divine justice somehow. And the only way that that is possible is by punishing you, or a Substitute, for all your guilt and crimes.
The Bible also says that God is Love. So God in His wisdom and love made a way to satisfy His justice against you and also to rescue you from your sins. Salvation is only through faith in the sufferings and shed blood of God's Son Jesus Christ. On the Cross, Jesus Christ was more than just a Jewish man, He was also the eternal Son of God who became a man through the incarnation when He was born of a Jewish virgin named Mary. Jesus was God in human flesh with God's blood running through His veins. He walked on this Earth and lived an absolutely perfect life, He was without sin. Then Jesus was delivered up to Pilate by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, He was taken and by wicked hands was crucified and slain on Calvary's Cross especially for you.
But what really happened at the Cross? When the Lord Jesus Christ was nailed to the Cross, He bore your sins, He actually became Sin incarnate (II Corinthians 5:21). God the Father laid on His sinless Son the iniquity of us all. Jesus was God in the flesh, and He lived His life in the power of Holy Ghost. He always lived purely and only for the glory of God. But Jesus bore the sins of the whole world in His body and paid the penalty for sin with His own blood. All human guilt was charged to Jesus, and He was treated as guilty and cursed. God's divine vengeance and wrath was satisfied and appeased at the Cross. Jesus was treated as guilty in your place. This is called the Atonement. You can only be acceptable to God by trusting in the merits of what Jesus did for you on the Cross.
While Jesus was hanging on the Cross, He cried out, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" What was happening in that moment of time at the Cross? Jesus, the only begotten Son of God is dying for sinners, and His Father forsakes Him. But why? Because when Christ was on the Cross, He bore your sins, and the Father is HOLY, and He cannot tolerate even to look on Sin. The Father forsook Jesus on the Cross, and all the justice of God that your sins deserve fell upon Jesus. And when Jesus died, He cried, "It is Finished!" He paid the full divine penalty for all your sins. Jesus paid it ALL, so you could saved freely without your works. Then three days later, God raised Jesus from the dead. And now you can be saved freely through the Faith which is in Christ Jesus. Many people today say they believe the Bible is the word of God, but when the Bible is preached in truth, they think it is foolishness.
Many people think that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming soon, but they are not truly interested in preparing for His return. Many people believe that Jesus is the Son of God, but they live as though Jesus has never come to earth. The true God so loved you that He sent His only begotten Son Jesus into this world to pay for your sins. The moment you repent (forsake your own righteousness and your love of sin) and simply trust in Christ's finished work on Calvary's Cross, you are legally declared completely righteous before God. Jesus' Righteousness makes you entirely right with God when you trust only in HIM. You can now receive the forgiveness of sins from Christ Jesus Himself and live in the newness of life. Christ Jesus and His Gospel can only be understood and received through God's words and the Holy Spirit.
You will never be content with your money, power, pleasure, possessions, popularity, or immorality. Your soul will only find Rest and be content when you receive eternal life from the Person of Jesus Christ alone. If you sense your guilt and danger, ask God to give you Repentance, turn from your love of sin and self-righteousness, ask God to give you true Faith, and put your full trust in God's Blood that was shed by Jesus Christ on the Cross. Put your full, personal trust in the Person and Finished Work of Jesus Christ. Look to Jesus now by faith in His Blood, and you are saved instantly, freely and forever.
1. He was a madman.
2. He was a liar.
3. Jesus was the Son of God He professed to be.
Many people think that Jesus was just a good man, but they don't believe He was actually the Son of God - God manifest in the flesh. *I Timothy 3:16* There's a problem with that logic, for a good man doesn't walk around deceiving people by professing to be the Son of God. A madman is not a man you can trust, and a liar is not a good man at all. Everyone talks about God, Jesus Christ, and the Gospel, but very few people today have heard and understood the true Gospel Message from the Holy Scriptures.
The main reason for your existence is the glory of God, but you have failed to glorify God. You only love yourself and are constantly disobedient to God's law. This disobedience is called SIN. Sin is when you want to do it your way instead of God's way. Sin begins in the little things - that little white lie, that subtle exaggeration, that second glance at that girl, taking that extra drink, one little compromise won't hurt - that is Sin. Instead of glorifying God, you have followed the ways of this world, Satan, and your own lusts. God is just and righteous. Every sane man prefers a God that is just, not unjust. Man always wants a judge to be just especially when he has been wronged.
Who wants an unjust God, or a bad God? Nobody! But the fact that God is just is your greatest problem. Your greatest problem is that God is just and holy. Why is that a problem for you? Because you are not just, for you have willfully sinned against God. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. You have sinned against God's holy law, by lying, stealing, hating, lusting, envying, cheating, gossiping, and blaspheming. God knows all your thoughts and attitudes. Criminals hate good judges, that can't be bribed. God will soon call you to Judgment. If there was a DVD movie made of your whole private and public life and then played publicly in your home town theater for everyone to come and see, you would leave town and never come back. The public display of your every thought, word, and deed of every single day of your life would surely bring shame and guilt upon you. You have done things in private that you are shameful of. You don't want to even talk about your dark secrets with anyone, much less have them displayed publicly.
God is perfectly Righteous and He demands righteousness from you, but you have no righteousness to offer God, so you must go to Jesus Christ, the Righteousness of God Incarnate, and ask Him to give you His Righteousness as a free gift. Jesus will take your sins, and give you His righteousness, and you will be Born Again, completely forgiven, entirely saved, and made righteous in God's sight forever, this is called Justification.
It's very, very hard for human nature to admit it is wrong, and that all of your thoughts, beliefs, and efforts up to this point in life are all in vain. You've blown it, you've sinned so many times, you can't work your way to Heaven, because all your of past and future sins have to paid for by Someone. Stop striving to save yourself, you have to be Perfect to enter Heaven, and you can't make yourself Perfect, only Christ through His blood's saving power can make you Perfect and acceptable in God's sight. This is called being Born Again (John 3:7) and being Justified in God's sight (Romans 3:23-25). The moment a sinner is Born Again, the Righteousness of Christ is charged, that is - imputed or reckoned, to the sinner's account, and it is only on the ground of Christ's Righteousness alone that any sinner can obtain a righteous standing before the holy Creator God. Salvation is totally the work of God within a sinner's heart.
God is just and you have disobeyed Him and rebelled against your Creator's holy law and rejected His Precious Son's love and blood. There will be a day of Judgment where God will judge you out of the books that are the recording of all your life. These books are in Heaven according to Revelation 20. At the White Throne Judgment, God will give you what you really deserve, the Lake of Fire. But there is a way to escape the wrath of God on sin. Jesus Christ is God Himself, He came to this earth and took on human form, to be the Perfect Blood Sacrifice (Atonement) for your sins. Jesus took the hell, the wrath, and the punishment your sins deserve. The wrath of God was poured out on Jesus by God the Father. You must Repent - that is, you have to acknowledge and agree with God that Jesus Christ is the Creator and Savior and forsake your own righteousness. Be truly sorry that you have broken God's laws and rejected His Son, turn from your love of sin, and Trust wholly in Christ Himself for all your Salvation.
The greatest problem in the Scriptures is this: How can a just God forgive an ungodly sinner and still remain just? This is the greatest problem in all the Bible. Here's an illustration: If a thief broke into your home and killed your daughter, and the police caught him, and he was arrested and then made to appear before a judge for his heinous crime. And then the judge says to this criminal that killed your daughter, "Look, I am a loving judge, so I am going to overlook your crime. I am kind and merciful, that's the reason why I forgive you. You're free to go." How would you react to his ruling? You would surely be very angry and outraged. You would write everyone including the President complaining that this judge is more corrupt than the criminals he forgives. Now think - If God is just, He HAS to satisfy His divine justice somehow. And the only way that that is possible is by punishing you, or a Substitute, for all your guilt and crimes.
The Bible also says that God is Love. So God in His wisdom and love made a way to satisfy His justice against you and also to rescue you from your sins. Salvation is only through faith in the sufferings and shed blood of God's Son Jesus Christ. On the Cross, Jesus Christ was more than just a Jewish man, He was also the eternal Son of God who became a man through the incarnation when He was born of a Jewish virgin named Mary. Jesus was God in human flesh with God's blood running through His veins. He walked on this Earth and lived an absolutely perfect life, He was without sin. Then Jesus was delivered up to Pilate by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, He was taken and by wicked hands was crucified and slain on Calvary's Cross especially for you.
But what really happened at the Cross? When the Lord Jesus Christ was nailed to the Cross, He bore your sins, He actually became Sin incarnate (II Corinthians 5:21). God the Father laid on His sinless Son the iniquity of us all. Jesus was God in the flesh, and He lived His life in the power of Holy Ghost. He always lived purely and only for the glory of God. But Jesus bore the sins of the whole world in His body and paid the penalty for sin with His own blood. All human guilt was charged to Jesus, and He was treated as guilty and cursed. God's divine vengeance and wrath was satisfied and appeased at the Cross. Jesus was treated as guilty in your place. This is called the Atonement. You can only be acceptable to God by trusting in the merits of what Jesus did for you on the Cross.
While Jesus was hanging on the Cross, He cried out, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" What was happening in that moment of time at the Cross? Jesus, the only begotten Son of God is dying for sinners, and His Father forsakes Him. But why? Because when Christ was on the Cross, He bore your sins, and the Father is HOLY, and He cannot tolerate even to look on Sin. The Father forsook Jesus on the Cross, and all the justice of God that your sins deserve fell upon Jesus. And when Jesus died, He cried, "It is Finished!" He paid the full divine penalty for all your sins. Jesus paid it ALL, so you could saved freely without your works. Then three days later, God raised Jesus from the dead. And now you can be saved freely through the Faith which is in Christ Jesus. Many people today say they believe the Bible is the word of God, but when the Bible is preached in truth, they think it is foolishness.
Many people think that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming soon, but they are not truly interested in preparing for His return. Many people believe that Jesus is the Son of God, but they live as though Jesus has never come to earth. The true God so loved you that He sent His only begotten Son Jesus into this world to pay for your sins. The moment you repent (forsake your own righteousness and your love of sin) and simply trust in Christ's finished work on Calvary's Cross, you are legally declared completely righteous before God. Jesus' Righteousness makes you entirely right with God when you trust only in HIM. You can now receive the forgiveness of sins from Christ Jesus Himself and live in the newness of life. Christ Jesus and His Gospel can only be understood and received through God's words and the Holy Spirit.
You will never be content with your money, power, pleasure, possessions, popularity, or immorality. Your soul will only find Rest and be content when you receive eternal life from the Person of Jesus Christ alone. If you sense your guilt and danger, ask God to give you Repentance, turn from your love of sin and self-righteousness, ask God to give you true Faith, and put your full trust in God's Blood that was shed by Jesus Christ on the Cross. Put your full, personal trust in the Person and Finished Work of Jesus Christ. Look to Jesus now by faith in His Blood, and you are saved instantly, freely and forever.
Saturday, July 12, 2014
The Ultimate Sacrifice
STG2 Matthew Gene Axelson "Axe" Afghanistan, 2005
SOC Darrik C. Benson Wardak Province, Afghanistan, 2011
SOC Brian R. Bill Afghanistan, 2011
HMC Matthew J. Bourgeois Afghanistan, 2002
SOC Adam L. Brown Afghanistan, 2010
SOC Christopher G. Campbell Afghanistan, 2011
SOC Mark T. Carter Iraq, 2007
SO1 Nicolas D. Checque Afghanistan, 2012
CTT1 Steven P. Daugherty Iraq, 2007
IT1 Jared W. Day Afghanistan, 2011
GM2 Danny P. Dietz, Jr. Asadabad, Afghanistan, 2005
MA1 John Douangdara Afghanistan, 2011
SO1 Kevin R. Ebbert Afghanistan, 2012
SOC John W. Faas Afghanistan, 2011
SO1 Patrick D. Feeks Afghanistan, 2012
HMCS Theodore D. Fitzhenry
FCC Jacques J. Fontan Afghanistan, 2005
SOC Jason R. Freiwald Afghanistan, 2008
LT Thomas C. Fouke
SO2 Shapoor "Alex" Ghane
ENC Luis Guitierrez
SOC Nathan H. Hardy Iraq, 2008
SO1 Joshua T. Harris Afghanistan, 2008
ITCS Daniel R. Healy Afghanistan, 2005
SOC Kevin A. Houston Afghanistan, 2011
SO2 Ryan Job
SO1 Mathew G. Kantor Afghanistan, 2012
SOC Michael E. Koch Iraq, 2008
LCDR Jonas Kelsall
SO3 Jonathan H. Kaloust
LCDR Erik S. Kristensen Afghanistan, 2005
SOCM Louis J. Langlais Afghanistan, 2011
SO1 Matthew Leathers
AO2 Mark A. Lee Iraq, 2006
SO1 Jason D. Lewis Iraq, 2007
PR1 Andrew J. Lightner
LT Brendan J. Looney Afghanistan, 2010
ET1 Jeffrey A. Lucas Afghanistan, 2005
HM1 Marcus Luttrell "Southern Boy" "The One"
IT2 Mario Maestas
SOCS John W. Marcum Afghanistan, 2008
SOC Matthew D. Mason Afghanistan, 2011
CTRCS David B. McLendon Afghanistan
LT Michael M. McGreevy Jr. Afghanistan, 2005 June 28, 2005
MC1 Robert R. McRill Iraq, 2007
SOC Stephen M. Mills Afghanistan, 2011
SO3 Denis C. Miranda Afghanistan, 2010
MA2 Michael. A. Monsoor CMOH Iraq, 2006
LT Michael P. Murphy CMOH Afghanistan, 2005
SO1 Caleb A. Nelson Afghanistan, 2011
EODC Nicholas H. Null Afghanistan, 2011
CDR Peter G. Oswald El Salvador, 2002
BM1 Brian J. Ouellette Afghanistan, 2004
MM2 Shane E. Patton Afghanistan, 2005
CTTC Christian M. Pike Afghanistan, 2013
SO1 Jesse D. Pittman Afghanistan, 2011
SN Freddie Porter
ENS Jerry Pope Yemen, 2002
CDR Job Price Afghanistan, 2012
SOCS Thomas A. Ratzlaff Afghanistan, 2011
SOC Robert J. Reeves Afghanistan, 2011
IC1 Thomas E. Retzer Afghanistan, 2003
GM2 Dion G. Roberts Afghanistan, 2012
ABH1 Neil C. Roberts Afghanistan, 2002
SOCS Heath M. Robinson Afghanistan, 2011
SO2 Joseph C. Schwedler Iraq, 2007
SOC Brett Shadle
SOC Eric F. Shellenberger
SO2 Adam O. Smith Afghanistan, 2010
PO2 Nicholas P. Spehar
EOD1 Luis A. Souffront Iraq, 2008
SO1 Tyler Stimson
CTR1 Michael J. Strange Afghanistan, 2011
QM2 James E. Suh Afghanistan, 2005
PH1 David M. Tapper Afghanistan, 2003
HM1 Jeffrey S. Taylor Afghanistan, 2005
SOC Collin T. Thomas Afghanistan, 2010
EOD2 Tyler J. Trahan Iraq, 2009
SOC Jon T. Tumilson Afghanistan
SOC Lance M. Vaccaro
SOCS Thomas J. Valentine
CPO Aaron C. Vaughn Afghanistan, 2011
EODCS Kraig M. Vickers Afghanistan, 2011
SO1 David J. Warsen Afghanistan, 2012
SO2 Ronald Woodle
SOC Jason R. Workman Afghanistan, 2011
In times of war or uncertainty there is a special breed of warrior ready to answer our Nation’s call. A common man with uncommon desire to succeed. Forged by adversity, he stands alongside America’s finest special operations forces to serve his country, the American people, and protect their way of life. I am that man.
My Trident is a symbol of honor and heritage. Bestowed upon me by the heroes that have gone before, it embodies the trust of those I have sworn to protect. By wearing the Trident I accept the responsibility of my chosen profession and way of life. It is a privilege that I must earn every day.
My loyalty to Country and Team is beyond reproach. I humbly serve as a guardian to my fellow Americans always ready to defend those who are unable to defend themselves. I do not advertise the nature of my work, nor seek recognition for my actions. I voluntarily accept the inherent hazards of my profession, placing the welfare and security of others before my own.
I serve with honor on and off the battlefield. The ability to control my emotions and my actions, regardless of circumstance, sets me apart from other men. Uncompromising integrity is my standard. My character and honor are steadfast. My word is my bond.
We expect to lead and be led. In the absence of orders I will take charge, lead my teammates and accomplish the mission. I lead by example in all situations.
I will never quit. I persevere and thrive on adversity. My Nation expects me to be physically harder and mentally stronger than my enemies. If knocked down, I will get back up, every time. I will draw on every remaining ounce of strength to protect my teammates and to accomplish our mission. I am never out of the fight.
We demand discipline. We expect innovation. The lives of my teammates and the success of our mission depend on me - my technical skill, tactical proficiency, and attention to detail. My training is never complete.
We train for war and fight to win. I stand ready to bring the full spectrum of combat power to bear in order to achieve my mission and the goals established by my country. The execution of my duties will be swift and violent when required yet guided by the very principles that I serve to defend.
Brave men have fought and died building the proud tradition and feared reputation that I am bound to uphold. In the worst of conditions, the legacy of my teammates steadies my resolve and silently guides my every deed. I will not fail.
Friday, July 11, 2014
The Things That Really Matter
Adam was the first man on earth, and when he ate the forbidden fruit, he disobeyed God. He sinned and died spiritually. Sin has now passed onto all of us. Sin ruins everything, and we’re stuck with it. *Romans 3:10,12,23* Most of the world will end up in Hell, all because of their sins. In our hearts we hate to obey God, we are capable of so many rotten things. So when we die in our sins and face the holy and righteous Creator God, we will have no excuse and be thrown into the lake of fire. The devil will do anything to deceive you, and lead you to destroy your own soul. Everything you do, say, or think is being recorded every day in God’s book of remembrance.
If you die in your sins unforgiven, your sins will condemn before the Great White Throne Judgment. Absolutely nothing is hidden from the eyes of God. Every day your sins and your sin-debt keeps piling up in God’s sight. Things will only get worse for you as you grow older without Christ, because Satan hates your soul. The devil doesn’t care if you were born dirt poor or filthy rich – your soul is his target. The devil will send some of his rotten crowd into your life to destroy and steal your soul through God-less education, sex, pornography, entertainment, drugs, or alcohol, or he’ll turn you into a spiritual self-righteous zombie by trapping you into one of his religious systems. The devil will make you think your good works, or his phony ‘holy men’ will help get you into heaven somehow.
Satan will attempt to deceive you into trusting anything, anything but Christ Jesus Himself. Satan and his devils are doing everything they can to cover up, ridicule, and hide the Gospel of Christ from your mind. *II Corinthians 4:4* Almost all religions teach this: God will weigh your good deeds against your evil deeds. If your good works outweigh your bad, God will let you into heaven at the end. Religion makes you think you are holy and clean, you pretend to right with God, but religions put all their followers into spiritual bondage and eventually hell itself. Sin is very expensive - it will cost you much money, time, family, career, physical health, mind, your immortal soul. Your sins cost the Lord Jesus Christ His life.
Emmanuel, God with us, left His home in glory and came here to Earth to die for your sins on Calvary's Cross. I was lost in my sins, but Jesus sought me and found me. His Blood has reconciled me back to God. He freed me from from sin's bondage and penalty; His tender love constrains to hate my sins, love Him more, and abstain from fleshly lusts which war against my soul. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Come now to Calvary in poverty and contrition, come defiled and undone within. Free remission and forgiveness is available in Jesus' Blood. Make the wondrous cross and the atoning blood of the spotless Lamb of God your only plea. I have no merit of my own which I can bring to God. I have trusted only to the merits of the finished work of God Incarnate. The sinless Son of God was made to be Sin for me. *II Corinthians 5:21* My only claim to full Salvation is based on Jesus' Blood. The Cross alone is my hope's firm foundation. At the end of life's brief term, my soul will be resting, resting safe and secure on the Savior's wounds and stripes, and His Precious Blood will be the key that opens Heaven for me.
Jesus Christ Himself, God manifest in the flesh (I Timothy 3:16), the Creator of the universe (Colossians 1:16), paid for all your sins with His own life blood, so you could be freed from the penalty and power of your sins. Jesus keeps the universe from flying apart every day (Colossians 1:17). Jesus is in complete control. God looked down from heaven and saw the hopelessness of sinful mankind who couldn’t keep His holy law. He saw all the sinners desperately trying to get to heaven by their dead, religious works...So God in mercy did something to save them from hell.
A sinless blood sacrifice was needed, someone must come and be the Victim for man’s sin. The only thing that could wash away human sin was God’s own blood. Jesus’ blood was holy, pure, and without sin. No one on earth had blood like Him. So here’s what God did for us: At the perfect time in history, Jesus (God the Son) left His royal and majestic throne in heaven to do the unthinkable, He would perform the greatest act of love ever known. He would die for ungodly sinners, He condescended to earth to save you. The time had finally come to fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies of God becoming a Jewish man.
A young Jewish virgin named Mary was the chosen vessel for this miracle. God, the Holy Ghost, put Jesus into her womb. The Creator of the universe was born as a little baby without sin. God Almighty (Jesus) humbled Himself and allowed Himself to be born in a smelly stable with animals. They called His name Immanuel, God with us. Jesus was God living on earth, He came to die and save our souls from a devil’s hell. He loved everyone He ever met on earth; He lived a spotless, sinless life.
Jesus’ words and teaching declared war on man’s religion. His gospel message cost Him His life. He claimed to be the Son of God and God Himself. The very people He created, hated Him. Jesus lived a sinless life and then at the end He was betrayed and arrested. The Jewish priests held an illegal trial at night, on the eve of the Passover, using false witnesses. Even the high priest demanded Jesus’ death. The priests brought Jesus to Pilate to be condemned, but Pilate, the Roman governor, repeatedly found Jesus to be innocent. But the howling mob demanded Christ’s death. And eventually, Pilate caved in to their wishes and ordered Jesus to be scourged with a whip, and then to nailed to a Cross to die.
All this fulfilled Biblical prophecy. God, who created all of us, allowed Himself to be wounded for our transgressions (sin). They even spit on the Son of God, and jerked His beard out. The Roman soldiers cut Jesus’ body to ribbons with their scourge, and yet He still survived. Crucifixion was the cruelest form of torture in that day. It delayed death until the worst pain had been inflicted on the victim. Jesus held back His angels and let the murderous crowd crucify Him like a common criminal, and through it all, He still loved them and forgave them. Right before He died, He cried out, “It is finished!” Jesus completed salvation’s work in full that day on Calvary’s Cross.
Finally, Jesus bowed His head and gave up the ghost and died. Jesus shed God’s holy blood that dark day to wash away your secret and public sins. Jesus died especially for you. Jesus endured all this for your rotten sins; He had to be sacrificed for your sins, to get you into heaven. Jesus Christ died for us sinners, His enemies. Jesus shed His divine blood (God’s blood) as a sinless human sacrifice. Jesus died for your sins, your guilt and shame He bore in His body, then He was taken down and buried in a borrowed tomb. But three days later, Jesus arose from the dead victorious, He triumphed over death, Satan and hell, and was later seen by over 500 witnesses.
Sinner friend, the way to Heaven is very, very simple – God made it that way. Just trust only in Jesus to save you; rely "only" on what He did for you, and in an instant, He’ll freely forgive you for all your sins – past, present, and future. This isn’t religion; this is how a lost sinner can enter into a real and lasting relationship with God Almighty Himself. You can become a member of God’s family through His redeeming grace and forgiving mercy. You are very selfish and you sin every day against your Creator. You will face Jesus one day at the Judgment. Will Jesus be your Savior, or will He be the most terrifying judge you could ever imagine? If you don’t put your trust in Jesus to forgive your sins, you will hear these awful words from Jesus’ mouth on Judgment Day: “I never knew you, depart from Me!” Don’t let this happen to you!
At death, all lost and Christless sinners will be cast into hell. Only Jesus can save your neck. You're absolutely no good, only Jesus can get you into Heaven. Heaven or Hell...what will it be for you...the choice is completely yours. What are you waiting for? Death is on your trail. Don’t procrastinate; seek ye the Lord while He may be found. The Bible says there is only way to Heaven (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). Nobody else can save your soul but Jesus Himself. Trust Christ alone now, never trust yourself, a church, or a religion at all. Confess that you are no good, and that your religion is no good, and that you cannot save yourself from sin.
Repent of your unbelief and love for sin. Salvation is free, you cannot earn it – it is a free gift from God through Christ Jesus. Who are you going to believe, the Bible or the Pope? The Lord Jesus Christ or Darwin? Be wise now - Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved (Acts 16:31), that is, saved from the love of sin and everlasting punishment that is due to your sins. Don't just accept Christ Jesus, ask God to accept you and save you through Jesus’ most Precious Blood now.
If you die in your sins unforgiven, your sins will condemn before the Great White Throne Judgment. Absolutely nothing is hidden from the eyes of God. Every day your sins and your sin-debt keeps piling up in God’s sight. Things will only get worse for you as you grow older without Christ, because Satan hates your soul. The devil doesn’t care if you were born dirt poor or filthy rich – your soul is his target. The devil will send some of his rotten crowd into your life to destroy and steal your soul through God-less education, sex, pornography, entertainment, drugs, or alcohol, or he’ll turn you into a spiritual self-righteous zombie by trapping you into one of his religious systems. The devil will make you think your good works, or his phony ‘holy men’ will help get you into heaven somehow.
Satan will attempt to deceive you into trusting anything, anything but Christ Jesus Himself. Satan and his devils are doing everything they can to cover up, ridicule, and hide the Gospel of Christ from your mind. *II Corinthians 4:4* Almost all religions teach this: God will weigh your good deeds against your evil deeds. If your good works outweigh your bad, God will let you into heaven at the end. Religion makes you think you are holy and clean, you pretend to right with God, but religions put all their followers into spiritual bondage and eventually hell itself. Sin is very expensive - it will cost you much money, time, family, career, physical health, mind, your immortal soul. Your sins cost the Lord Jesus Christ His life.
Emmanuel, God with us, left His home in glory and came here to Earth to die for your sins on Calvary's Cross. I was lost in my sins, but Jesus sought me and found me. His Blood has reconciled me back to God. He freed me from from sin's bondage and penalty; His tender love constrains to hate my sins, love Him more, and abstain from fleshly lusts which war against my soul. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Come now to Calvary in poverty and contrition, come defiled and undone within. Free remission and forgiveness is available in Jesus' Blood. Make the wondrous cross and the atoning blood of the spotless Lamb of God your only plea. I have no merit of my own which I can bring to God. I have trusted only to the merits of the finished work of God Incarnate. The sinless Son of God was made to be Sin for me. *II Corinthians 5:21* My only claim to full Salvation is based on Jesus' Blood. The Cross alone is my hope's firm foundation. At the end of life's brief term, my soul will be resting, resting safe and secure on the Savior's wounds and stripes, and His Precious Blood will be the key that opens Heaven for me.
Jesus Christ Himself, God manifest in the flesh (I Timothy 3:16), the Creator of the universe (Colossians 1:16), paid for all your sins with His own life blood, so you could be freed from the penalty and power of your sins. Jesus keeps the universe from flying apart every day (Colossians 1:17). Jesus is in complete control. God looked down from heaven and saw the hopelessness of sinful mankind who couldn’t keep His holy law. He saw all the sinners desperately trying to get to heaven by their dead, religious works...So God in mercy did something to save them from hell.
A sinless blood sacrifice was needed, someone must come and be the Victim for man’s sin. The only thing that could wash away human sin was God’s own blood. Jesus’ blood was holy, pure, and without sin. No one on earth had blood like Him. So here’s what God did for us: At the perfect time in history, Jesus (God the Son) left His royal and majestic throne in heaven to do the unthinkable, He would perform the greatest act of love ever known. He would die for ungodly sinners, He condescended to earth to save you. The time had finally come to fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies of God becoming a Jewish man.
A young Jewish virgin named Mary was the chosen vessel for this miracle. God, the Holy Ghost, put Jesus into her womb. The Creator of the universe was born as a little baby without sin. God Almighty (Jesus) humbled Himself and allowed Himself to be born in a smelly stable with animals. They called His name Immanuel, God with us. Jesus was God living on earth, He came to die and save our souls from a devil’s hell. He loved everyone He ever met on earth; He lived a spotless, sinless life.
Jesus’ words and teaching declared war on man’s religion. His gospel message cost Him His life. He claimed to be the Son of God and God Himself. The very people He created, hated Him. Jesus lived a sinless life and then at the end He was betrayed and arrested. The Jewish priests held an illegal trial at night, on the eve of the Passover, using false witnesses. Even the high priest demanded Jesus’ death. The priests brought Jesus to Pilate to be condemned, but Pilate, the Roman governor, repeatedly found Jesus to be innocent. But the howling mob demanded Christ’s death. And eventually, Pilate caved in to their wishes and ordered Jesus to be scourged with a whip, and then to nailed to a Cross to die.
All this fulfilled Biblical prophecy. God, who created all of us, allowed Himself to be wounded for our transgressions (sin). They even spit on the Son of God, and jerked His beard out. The Roman soldiers cut Jesus’ body to ribbons with their scourge, and yet He still survived. Crucifixion was the cruelest form of torture in that day. It delayed death until the worst pain had been inflicted on the victim. Jesus held back His angels and let the murderous crowd crucify Him like a common criminal, and through it all, He still loved them and forgave them. Right before He died, He cried out, “It is finished!” Jesus completed salvation’s work in full that day on Calvary’s Cross.
Finally, Jesus bowed His head and gave up the ghost and died. Jesus shed God’s holy blood that dark day to wash away your secret and public sins. Jesus died especially for you. Jesus endured all this for your rotten sins; He had to be sacrificed for your sins, to get you into heaven. Jesus Christ died for us sinners, His enemies. Jesus shed His divine blood (God’s blood) as a sinless human sacrifice. Jesus died for your sins, your guilt and shame He bore in His body, then He was taken down and buried in a borrowed tomb. But three days later, Jesus arose from the dead victorious, He triumphed over death, Satan and hell, and was later seen by over 500 witnesses.
Sinner friend, the way to Heaven is very, very simple – God made it that way. Just trust only in Jesus to save you; rely "only" on what He did for you, and in an instant, He’ll freely forgive you for all your sins – past, present, and future. This isn’t religion; this is how a lost sinner can enter into a real and lasting relationship with God Almighty Himself. You can become a member of God’s family through His redeeming grace and forgiving mercy. You are very selfish and you sin every day against your Creator. You will face Jesus one day at the Judgment. Will Jesus be your Savior, or will He be the most terrifying judge you could ever imagine? If you don’t put your trust in Jesus to forgive your sins, you will hear these awful words from Jesus’ mouth on Judgment Day: “I never knew you, depart from Me!” Don’t let this happen to you!
At death, all lost and Christless sinners will be cast into hell. Only Jesus can save your neck. You're absolutely no good, only Jesus can get you into Heaven. Heaven or Hell...what will it be for you...the choice is completely yours. What are you waiting for? Death is on your trail. Don’t procrastinate; seek ye the Lord while He may be found. The Bible says there is only way to Heaven (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). Nobody else can save your soul but Jesus Himself. Trust Christ alone now, never trust yourself, a church, or a religion at all. Confess that you are no good, and that your religion is no good, and that you cannot save yourself from sin.
Repent of your unbelief and love for sin. Salvation is free, you cannot earn it – it is a free gift from God through Christ Jesus. Who are you going to believe, the Bible or the Pope? The Lord Jesus Christ or Darwin? Be wise now - Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved (Acts 16:31), that is, saved from the love of sin and everlasting punishment that is due to your sins. Don't just accept Christ Jesus, ask God to accept you and save you through Jesus’ most Precious Blood now.
Sunday, July 6, 2014
Human Merit vs Christ's Merit 6
Self-righteousness is natural to fallen humanity. Self-righteousness is the essence of all the false religions. They all agree in seeking salvation by your own deeds. Men will endure anything in order to merit salvation. Human nature trusts in its own attempts to improve itself morally. The proud folly of self-dependence leads men away from the Cross into empty religion. Go where you may, the natural religion of fallen men, the way of Cain, is to try to do it yourself by your own merits. Every man is born a heretic upon this point, and naturally gravitates toward self-righteousness is one form or another. Self-salvation by human merit, either by personal worthiness or by a man's repentance, resolves in a vain hope ingrained in human nature, and it is very hard to root out. All unsaved men are ignorant of the Law of God and Divine Justice, and what true Holiness really is. Self-righteousness makes light of Sin and Divine Justice.
Men think they must merit as much of their salvation as they can by their own efforts, and then the grace of God and Christ's Blood will make up the rest. They think the Blood of Christ goes only part of the way, and then man's efforts must do the rest. In short, fallen man's plan of salvation is every man can be his own savior, and Jesus Christ and His grace will make up for man's deficiencies as needed. God's Grace will never share the work with a sinner's deeds. Human merit and God's mercy can never be mixed together. The idea of Salvation by your own merits is exceedingly absurd and offensive to God. Salvation by works is a criminal doctrine. The Spirit of adoption never boasts of human merit.
Man is a rebel towards God and he can never earn anything but Damnation through human merit. You are so sinful that God had to become a sinless Man and die in agony and blood to save your ungodly soul. The carnal mind turns its back on the Cross and says, "My merits will help me to heaven, they are good enough. I'm as good as most people and better than some, I will be saved in my own way, I'm not that bad off, I refuse to give Jesus Christ all the glory for my salvation." Do you think you must contribute your ounce of merit in the scales of Divine Justice, or that you must add your pennies to the Savior's fine gold? The small dust of your human merit in the balance is not required for Christ's priceless Salvation. Your guilty soul can only be saved by an act of God's free mercy. If you think that you are good in anyway, God's mercy will pass you by. For a sinner to argue merit is for him to plead against himself.
You should never put human merit (your self-righteousness) in the place of Christ's merit (God's Righteousness). Faith is a self-denying grace, that never dares to boast. All of Jesus' work is done, there is no human merit to be worked out to complete Christ's Righteousness, no self-sufficiency to be endured to perfect His Atonement. Only the Gospel can change your inward evil nature. Self-congratulation is banished forever at the Cross. Put not self in opposition to Christ, for self spoils all of Christ's free Salvation.
Believing on Jesus is a self-renunciating action which counts all human merit but dross and dung. Believing on Christ Jesus, trusting to His Precious Blood, is that which is most pleasing to God. Believing is the fruit of Faith, and saving Faith is the gift of God and the work of the Spirit of God. A man's believing is nothing unless that believing makes him a new creature in Christ Jesus by the work of the Holy Spirit. Only the Creator can recreate you within. All trust but that which is found in Jesus' Blood is a damnable delusion and a devilish falsehood. The sooner you get rid of your sins the better.
You need the Holy Spirit's presence and quickening power most of all, for a sinner cannot hate evil and love righteousness of himself, for the whole bent of human nature is toward evil continually. The thirsty soul looks to the Water of Life and drinks. The empty soul looks to the Bread of Life and eats. The best way to eat your dinner is to eat it. Believing is a matter of the will; Believing is the receiving of Christ Jesus into one's self by faith in His Blood. I do now believe on the Son of God. The Righteousness of Christ will be imputed to my account freely, His merits shall avail for me, and His Righteousness shall cover my defenseless soul. Grace is for the guilty, Mercy is for the ungodly, Love is for the undeserving and sinful. I am saved only because God in Christ is merciful, He delights to be gracious, and He has bestowed His free favor and infinite love on me.
Believing is the most essential act of a man's life. Believe in the Light of the world. Believing is stretching out on Christ and resting completely on Him. Believing is the central command of the Gospel. Believing is another word for trusting, relying, depending upon Christ's Blood and Righteousness alone. Doubting is pride, and Believing is humility. Whosoever believeth in Christ shall be saved. Believing is the rejection of self and sin, and the receiving of Christ and purity. Simple, sincere dependence on Christ's merits is vital. O God, I am a sinner and nothing at all, my plea is only for Mercy through your Son's Precious Blood. There is nobody in the whole world that needs your Mercy more than I do. I trust now only to the atoning, boundless merits and blood of the Crucified Creator, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Men think they must merit as much of their salvation as they can by their own efforts, and then the grace of God and Christ's Blood will make up the rest. They think the Blood of Christ goes only part of the way, and then man's efforts must do the rest. In short, fallen man's plan of salvation is every man can be his own savior, and Jesus Christ and His grace will make up for man's deficiencies as needed. God's Grace will never share the work with a sinner's deeds. Human merit and God's mercy can never be mixed together. The idea of Salvation by your own merits is exceedingly absurd and offensive to God. Salvation by works is a criminal doctrine. The Spirit of adoption never boasts of human merit.
Man is a rebel towards God and he can never earn anything but Damnation through human merit. You are so sinful that God had to become a sinless Man and die in agony and blood to save your ungodly soul. The carnal mind turns its back on the Cross and says, "My merits will help me to heaven, they are good enough. I'm as good as most people and better than some, I will be saved in my own way, I'm not that bad off, I refuse to give Jesus Christ all the glory for my salvation." Do you think you must contribute your ounce of merit in the scales of Divine Justice, or that you must add your pennies to the Savior's fine gold? The small dust of your human merit in the balance is not required for Christ's priceless Salvation. Your guilty soul can only be saved by an act of God's free mercy. If you think that you are good in anyway, God's mercy will pass you by. For a sinner to argue merit is for him to plead against himself.
You should never put human merit (your self-righteousness) in the place of Christ's merit (God's Righteousness). Faith is a self-denying grace, that never dares to boast. All of Jesus' work is done, there is no human merit to be worked out to complete Christ's Righteousness, no self-sufficiency to be endured to perfect His Atonement. Only the Gospel can change your inward evil nature. Self-congratulation is banished forever at the Cross. Put not self in opposition to Christ, for self spoils all of Christ's free Salvation.
Believing on Jesus is a self-renunciating action which counts all human merit but dross and dung. Believing on Christ Jesus, trusting to His Precious Blood, is that which is most pleasing to God. Believing is the fruit of Faith, and saving Faith is the gift of God and the work of the Spirit of God. A man's believing is nothing unless that believing makes him a new creature in Christ Jesus by the work of the Holy Spirit. Only the Creator can recreate you within. All trust but that which is found in Jesus' Blood is a damnable delusion and a devilish falsehood. The sooner you get rid of your sins the better.
You need the Holy Spirit's presence and quickening power most of all, for a sinner cannot hate evil and love righteousness of himself, for the whole bent of human nature is toward evil continually. The thirsty soul looks to the Water of Life and drinks. The empty soul looks to the Bread of Life and eats. The best way to eat your dinner is to eat it. Believing is a matter of the will; Believing is the receiving of Christ Jesus into one's self by faith in His Blood. I do now believe on the Son of God. The Righteousness of Christ will be imputed to my account freely, His merits shall avail for me, and His Righteousness shall cover my defenseless soul. Grace is for the guilty, Mercy is for the ungodly, Love is for the undeserving and sinful. I am saved only because God in Christ is merciful, He delights to be gracious, and He has bestowed His free favor and infinite love on me.
Believing is the most essential act of a man's life. Believe in the Light of the world. Believing is stretching out on Christ and resting completely on Him. Believing is the central command of the Gospel. Believing is another word for trusting, relying, depending upon Christ's Blood and Righteousness alone. Doubting is pride, and Believing is humility. Whosoever believeth in Christ shall be saved. Believing is the rejection of self and sin, and the receiving of Christ and purity. Simple, sincere dependence on Christ's merits is vital. O God, I am a sinner and nothing at all, my plea is only for Mercy through your Son's Precious Blood. There is nobody in the whole world that needs your Mercy more than I do. I trust now only to the atoning, boundless merits and blood of the Crucified Creator, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Friday, July 4, 2014
Pledge of Allegiance to a Better Country
I pledge allegiance to the Christian Flag and to the Savior for whose Kingdom it stands. One Savior, crucified, risen, and coming again with life and liberty to all who believe.
I pledge allegiance to the King James Bible, AV1611, God's Holy Word. I will make it a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path, and will hide its words in my heart that I might not sin against my God.
*I Timothy 6:12; Hebrews 11:16; Revelation 21:2; Colossians 3:23; Galatians 5:18; Acts 2:32; Galatians 6:12; II Timothy 2:3*
The Spiritual Mendicant
Today, Christ Jesus is looking for poor souls that have no faith-that have no good thing in themselves. All that Christ wants from you, poor sinner, is that you should be empty and come and let HIM fill you with His free grace. A mendicant is one who is given to begging and depends on alms for a living. Come on to JESUS, just as you are! Bring none of your so-called good works, no preparations, not one thing is needed from you: but do come with all your sins, foolishness, and failures. Come to Jesus for everything your poor soul needs. You must only be very needy, and in want of the Savior. Come and get everything from HIM. Don't bring a penny of your own; for what you think you have will only keep you back from Jesus.
The Holy Spirit must first empty your pockets. Come in all your poverty-a beggar, the king of beggars, come bankrupt and be made rich by Jesus. Be always begging, be always a spiritual mendicant, a needy vagrant, a pleading suppliant at the feet of Jesus. Beggars must not be choosers. Christ gives to the needy and forgives the guilty. Confess that your sins deserve God's eternal wrath. You have not a rag to cover your sin with; you are only fit to be put into hell where all sin belongs. Leave off sinning, get Christ for your Friend; He will never be your Friend while you remain self-righteous and continue to live in and love sin.
The natural man prefers his own foul, filthy lusts to Christ, he prefers mammon to Christ, he prefers cheating to Christ. Men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. The complete and eternal forgiveness of sins is offered to you freely through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Christ Jesus was judged and damned for your sins on your behalf, He literally took your place, so you could escape the wrath of God due to your sins.
Come to Christ Himself, for the person of Christ is the essence of Christianity. To come to Christ is this: confessing your sinfulness, look to Him as your sin-bearer, trust Him with your past, your future, trust HIM with your soul altogether. By a sincere, simple, unmixed faith, really come to Jesus. Let Jesus Christ be first and last with you. Take him to be your Savior altogether. Do not try to be your own Savior in any way. Your very best works are filthy rags. Self-righteousness damns, Christ's Righteousness saves. Drop your self-righteousness, and simply rely on Christ for free forgiveness, let the Savior be your All in All. You cannot improve your old sinful nature; ye must be born again. You need a Substitute and Sacrifice to pay for your sins against God. The enslaving love of your favorite sin keeps you from coming to the Savior. Your finest actions are no good in God's sight. You prefer your way to God's way, and your boasted self-righteousness to God's Righteousness, and the wrath of God abides on you.
Let JESUS completely save you from beginning to end, from top to bottom, in all ways and respects. Come along to the Cross now. The Lord Jesus Christ is ready to receive those that Satan himself throws away. Be willing to do nothing or be nothing to save yourself. You are now called from darkness to light, from sin to purity, from self-righteousness to Christ's Righteousness. Give up your sins, forsake your self-righteousness eternally, cast away your boastings, lay down your weapons of rebellion toward God now. Leave your sinful pleasures and old worldly friends behind, and come to the Savior with your poverty and bankruptcy, become completely and utterly dependent on Christ Himself: “My God will supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Your main business is to trust Christ; to rest on HIM; to depend only on what the Lord Jesus Christ did for you on the Cross of Calvary.
The Holy Spirit must first empty your pockets. Come in all your poverty-a beggar, the king of beggars, come bankrupt and be made rich by Jesus. Be always begging, be always a spiritual mendicant, a needy vagrant, a pleading suppliant at the feet of Jesus. Beggars must not be choosers. Christ gives to the needy and forgives the guilty. Confess that your sins deserve God's eternal wrath. You have not a rag to cover your sin with; you are only fit to be put into hell where all sin belongs. Leave off sinning, get Christ for your Friend; He will never be your Friend while you remain self-righteous and continue to live in and love sin.
The natural man prefers his own foul, filthy lusts to Christ, he prefers mammon to Christ, he prefers cheating to Christ. Men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. The complete and eternal forgiveness of sins is offered to you freely through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Christ Jesus was judged and damned for your sins on your behalf, He literally took your place, so you could escape the wrath of God due to your sins.
Come to Christ Himself, for the person of Christ is the essence of Christianity. To come to Christ is this: confessing your sinfulness, look to Him as your sin-bearer, trust Him with your past, your future, trust HIM with your soul altogether. By a sincere, simple, unmixed faith, really come to Jesus. Let Jesus Christ be first and last with you. Take him to be your Savior altogether. Do not try to be your own Savior in any way. Your very best works are filthy rags. Self-righteousness damns, Christ's Righteousness saves. Drop your self-righteousness, and simply rely on Christ for free forgiveness, let the Savior be your All in All. You cannot improve your old sinful nature; ye must be born again. You need a Substitute and Sacrifice to pay for your sins against God. The enslaving love of your favorite sin keeps you from coming to the Savior. Your finest actions are no good in God's sight. You prefer your way to God's way, and your boasted self-righteousness to God's Righteousness, and the wrath of God abides on you.
Let JESUS completely save you from beginning to end, from top to bottom, in all ways and respects. Come along to the Cross now. The Lord Jesus Christ is ready to receive those that Satan himself throws away. Be willing to do nothing or be nothing to save yourself. You are now called from darkness to light, from sin to purity, from self-righteousness to Christ's Righteousness. Give up your sins, forsake your self-righteousness eternally, cast away your boastings, lay down your weapons of rebellion toward God now. Leave your sinful pleasures and old worldly friends behind, and come to the Savior with your poverty and bankruptcy, become completely and utterly dependent on Christ Himself: “My God will supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Your main business is to trust Christ; to rest on HIM; to depend only on what the Lord Jesus Christ did for you on the Cross of Calvary.
Thursday, July 3, 2014
You Need Blood Most of All
Sinner friend, you need Blood most of all. Your body needs physical blood all the time, or you would just pass out and die. Your soul needs Eternal Blood, or it will perish forever and ever in the Lake of Fire. If you need blood for your body, you go to the American Red Cross. If you need blood for your soul, you must go to Calvary's Red Cross where God in human flesh suffered, bled and died for miserable wretches like us. No blood, no physical life. No blood, no spiritual life. Pretty clear, huh?
This is the greatest Fact ever sounded in human ears - Man had sinned, and man must somehow make reparation for God's broken Law. But sinful man is in a deadly predicament, for he has no righteousness to appease God's wrath. Divine Justice requires an infinite payment for the crimes you've committed. So God in Mercy provided a Substitute for the Law that was broken by sinful man. The bent of man is always towards evil. Man had revolted against God, and it must be through a man that God's Justice must be vindicated. Behold the mystery of godliness - Jesus of Nazareth was God manifest in the flesh. He condescended to the manger of Bethlehem, He was nursed from a woman's breast, He grew up in carpenter's shop. Behold the Incarnate Creator, the Immortal dwelt among dying men, veiled in mortal flesh, so that He could redeem ungodly men. God became a sinless man in order to reconcile sinful man back to Himself. He bled and died to bring the free pardon of sin and eternal life life to the ungodly. Jesus actually gave Himself for your sins.
Divine Love made the Invisible Creator Incarnate. The Incarnate Maker bleeding out His life for you. The Gospel is a precious thing - the whole world could not pay for it. It cost the Son of God His own Blood. What have you to offer God for an atonement? Your paltry works are nothing to God. Salvation from sin is an unpurchasable gift. The Gospel offers to rebels free grace and immediate salvation from sin and misery. The merit of Christ's Blood is exceeding great beyond compare; you must believe in its eternal value. The bloody death of the Great Redeemer has abounding merit and infinite cleansing in it, seeing that He was God in human flesh. If your sins are not forgiven, you are in danger of hell fire.
Jesus forgives the underserving freely. He will overlook your wretched character and have mercy on you in spite of all your sins against Him. The root of all Biblical Salvation is simple faith in the Lord Jesus Christ Himself; away with every counterfeit belief you may have. Genuine Faith lives on Jesus only, rests on His Atonement sincerely, and builds on His Righteousness solely. Christ must be personally received; Christ must be living in the heart. Have you actually the Spirit of God living and working within you? Religion says, "Believe in Jesus, and then do your best to make up the rest." This is a gross and fatal delusion that religionists to get your money and damn your soul. It is the sin of sins to reject the Savior who stooped to die in your place. Human nature refuses to give Jesus Christ all the glory.
There must be a personal repenting, trusting, and feeding upon Jesus Christ Himself. Your soul can only live by feeding on Jesus spiritually. He is the spiritual Protein that your soul needs to give you energy within to live cleaner and better for His glory. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Feed spiritually on the person and blood of Jesus only. You can only conquer sin through the blood of Jesus. Omnipotent, omniscient, and infinite Love now flows from Calvary's Cross.
This is the great soul-saving Gospel - God in human flesh bore our sins and endured the wrath of God that our sins deserved. Jesus was Incarnate Love bleeding for His enemies. He lived in suffering and died in shame for you. Perfectly forgiven, absolutely saved, completely pardoned, infinitely loved for Jesus' sake - What more could a sinner want? Jesus said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. We are loved to death and redeemed by atoning blood. Jesus is the Lamb of God, the Incarnate God, the Bleeding Mediator, the Atoning Advocate, the wounded, slain, and resurrected Redeemer. Christ Jesus came to Earth and dwelt with sinners, and now the Holy Spirit dwells within those sinners that trust to Jesus' Blood.
I must feed spiritually on these two truths: 1. God was manifest in the flesh - I feed on Jesus' humanity and Deity - His flesh is spiritual food for my soul; 2. He shed His atoning blood to take away sins. His shed blood is spiritual drink for my soul. I think and feed on His Deity and Atonement constantly. I consider what Jesus went through for me to save my guilty soul - this is the food that strengthens my faith. Redeeming grace and dying love has paid my way. My soul has been purchased completely by Blood Divine. Reconciliation to God has occurred for my soul through faith in the sinless Substitutionary Sacrifice of Christ Jesus Himself. Redemption by the Incarnate God who bled and died in the sinner's place. Gratitude, love, confidence, and purity comes from feeding on Jesus.
God became a Jewish man to bleed and die for you. Are you going to trust Him with your soul, or not? Through His Blood you can have Redemption, even the forgiveness of sins. When the idea of self-salvation exists, sin is lightly thought of, and divine justice is not understood. Sin is a deadly thing. It is a dreadful thing to live in an unforgiven state. Our pardoned guilt brings joy in God and abhorrence of the sins which caused the death of Christ Jesus the Lord. Jesus was Mercy personified, Love embodied, Grace Incarnate, but He became Sin personified on the Cross in order to rescue us from sin. *II Corinthians 5:21* Only the Blood of Jesus can remove your dreadful load of sin. All the sins that men have done in will, word, thought, or deed since time began, were laid on the Savior's shoulders. It is a dreadful thing to neglect Christ's great Salvation, to fall into the hands of the living God, to have no faith in Christ, to be very busy about everything but neglect your own soul.
God became a Jewish man to bleed and die for you. Are you going to trust Him with your soul, or not? Through His Blood you can have Redemption, even the forgiveness of sins. When the idea of self-salvation exists, sin is lightly thought of, and divine justice is not understood. Sin is a deadly thing. It is a dreadful thing to live in an unforgiven state. Our pardoned guilt brings joy in God and abhorrence of the sins which caused the death of Christ Jesus the Lord. Jesus was Mercy personified, Love embodied, Grace Incarnate, but He became Sin personified on the Cross in order to rescue us from sin. *II Corinthians 5:21* Only the Blood of Jesus can remove your dreadful load of sin. All the sins that men have done in will, word, thought, or deed since time began, were laid on the Savior's shoulders. It is a dreadful thing to neglect Christ's great Salvation, to fall into the hands of the living God, to have no faith in Christ, to be very busy about everything but neglect your own soul.
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