Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
The LORD God of recompences shall surely requite. Thus saith the LORD, To Me belongeth vengeance and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste. The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust. The LORD hath recompensed me according to my righteousness; according to my cleanness in His eye sight. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. Turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent Me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings.
Then hear Thou from heaven, and do, and judge Thy servants, by requiting the wicked, by recompensing his way upon his own head; and by justifying the righteous, by giving him according to his righteousness. Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity: for vanity shall be his recompence. They that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.
Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner. A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth: and the recompence of a man's hands shall be rendered unto him. Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you. Behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.
According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence. I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands. They have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto Me, saith the LORD. Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you: return ye now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.
But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you.
He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity. Behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD. Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings. Return ye now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and go not after other gods to serve them.
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. The LORD God of recompences shall surely requite.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Precious Gospel Words
* Adoption - God taking us into His family, favor and protection simply because of what Jesus did for us (John 1:12; Romans 8:15,23; Galatians 4:5; Ephesians 1:5)
* Election - the sinner chooses Christ the Elect One (Isaiah 42:1), and then God chooses the sinner, and puts him into the Elect One, Christ Jesus Himself. The sinner is not elect until he is in Christ. (I Thessalonians 1:4; Titus 1:1; I Peter 2:6; II Peter 1:10)
* Imputation - The divine operation where God charges all our sins to Christ's account, and then charges all of Christ's Righteousness to our account. God takes the life of Jesus Christ and credits it to me, and then God takes my wickedness and credits it to Jesus Christ. Imputation is when God takes my sins and marks them down on His Son's record, and then God takes His Son's Righteousness and marks it down on my record, and I am found absolutely innocent in God's sight for Christ's sake (Romans 4:6,8,11,22-24; 5:13; II Corinthians 5:19-21). Imputation means that God no longer counts your sins against you for Christ's sake. God can only do this because Christ has taken your sins upon Himself, along with all the blame, curse, and wrath due to your sins. Jesus took your place, so you can now take His place. God eternally imputes Christ's Righteousness to a guilty sinner's account when that sinner places His faith in the Blood and Merits of Jesus Christ alone. Works can never have a part in any sinner's salvation, for no sinner has any merit to present to God.
* Incarnation - God became a Jewish man in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, so that He could die for sinful men and save them from their sins (I Timothy 3:16; Matthew 1:23).
* Justification - To be legally discharged, acquitted, and cleared from all our sins by the grace and blood of God. To be declared absolutely just in God's sight because of Christ's sinless obedience and bloody death. Free Justification through the atoning Sacrifice of God manifest in the flesh on Calvary's Cross (Romans 3:24,26; 4:5,25; 5:1,9,16,18; Acts 13:38-39; Galatians 2:16; 3:24; Titus 3:7).
* Propitiation - The satisfying of God's divine justice by Christ's Atonement for human sin; the appeasing of God's wrath and being made acceptable in His sight through faith in the Blood of Jesus Christ; the atoning sacrifice offered to God by Jesus Christ to appease the wrath due to our sins, thereby making God pleased with us for Christ's sake. Every sin committed by every man was paid for with God's Blood on the Cross. God's wrath fell on Jesus Christ when He became Sin on Calvary's Cross. If you want to be Safe, go to Calvary; you want to be damned, go and try to work for your salvation. Safety from the wrath of God is only found where the wrath of God has already fallen - The Lamb of God (Romans 3:25; I John 2:2; 4:10)
* Reconciliation - To be brought back into a state of favor with God through simple faith in Christ's atoning Blood (Romans 5:10; II Corinthians 5:18-20; Ephesians 2:16; Colossians 1:20-21; Hebrews 2:17)
* Redemption - The payment to buy back something that was lost; the deliverance from the captivity to sin, Satan, the Law, present evil world, and our own daily tendencies and propensities to sin (Romans 3:24; 8:23; I Corinthians 1:30; Ephesians 1:7,14; 4:30; Colossians 1:14; Hebrews 9:12,15).
* Regeneration - The washing away of guilt and sin, and the inward renewing by the word, grace, Spirit, and Blood of God (Titus 3:5).
* Salvation - Preservation from bondage of sin and liability to eternal death (Romans 1:16; 10:10; II Corinthians 6:2; 7:10; Ephesians 1:13; 6:17; Philippians 2:12; I Thessalonians 5:9; II Timothy 2:10; 3:15; Titus 2:11; Hebrews 2:3; I Peter 1:9; Jude 1:3).
* Sanctification - Being made perfect by the imputing of Christ's holiness to our soul, and being set apart from sin daily and eternally (Penalty, Power, Presence) (I Corinthians 1:30; I Thessalonians 4:3-4; II Thessalonians 2:13; I Peter 1:2).
* Substitution - Christ Jesus bled and died; He paid for my sins in my place, so I could be free from the Judgment of God on my sin. Christ for me, Christ in my place, Christ instead of me, None but Christ, Christ is All.
* Translation - Being caught up by God (spirit, soul and body) from the earth into the presence of God (Hebrews 11:5; I Corinthians 15:51-54; I Thessalonians 4:16-17)
The Great Eternal JEHOVAH, who made the heavens and the earth, revealed Himself to this evil world in the person of the Man Christ Jesus. God was manifest in human flesh in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. God’s only-begotten and well-beloved Son came down from Heaven and became a Jewish man, He lived upon this earth a sinless life of perfect obedience to His Father’s law, and a life of holy service on behalf of sinful men. On the Cross of Calvary, Jesus was obedient unto death. Your sins were laid upon Jesus; and on the accursed tree, Jesus bore upon Himself all the punishment due to human guilt. God bruised Christ, His own Son, in the place of sinners. The payment of your enormous debt of guilt was demanded, and Christ has paid it in full with His own Blood. Your soul will be accounted just the moment you put your faith in Jesus Christ, the great Sin-Bearer.
Look now to the Cross and see the Great Substitute taking the wrath that your sins deserved.The Innocent dying for the guilty. The Lord of glory bearing the sins of rebellious men. Christ suffering instead of us. Come to Jesus now, accept Him as your Substitute. “The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” “God hath made Jesus to be sin for you, who knew no sin; that you might be made the righteousness of God in Christ.” The way of safety is the way of Substitution, the way of Atonement, the way of Jesus Christ’s Blood. The only way to travel in the King's Highway is by simply trusting in Christ alone, believing on Him alone with all the heart, relying upon Him, depending upon Him, leaning on Him, resting on Him, believing His words and promises. Christ Jesus is God in human flesh, He suffered and bled for human sin, trust your soul with Him, and you are eternally saved.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Be ye Thankful
O give thanks unto the LORD; for He is good; for His mercy endureth forever. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. O give thanks unto the LORD; for HE IS good; for His mercy endureth for ever. Be ye thankful. Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of His knowledge by us in every place. I give thanks unto Thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and sing praises unto Thy name. Rooted and built up in Christ Jesus, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him. Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks, unto Thee do we give thanks: for that Thy name is near Thy wondrous works declare. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving. Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift. Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, we thank Thee, and praise Thy glorious name.
Let us come before God's presence with thanksgiving. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Enter into the LORD'S gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name. O give thanks unto the LORD; for He is good. And he fell down on his face at Jesus' feet, giving Him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. By Jesus therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name. But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
A thankless heart is a Christ-less heart. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. And all the angels stood round about the throne of God, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.
We give thee thanks, O LORD God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to Thee Thy great power, and hast reigned. It is the direct will of God to be thankful unto your Maker for all things. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Most of all - be thankful you're not in Hell today where you really belong.
We give thee thanks, O LORD God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to Thee Thy great power, and hast reigned. It is the direct will of God to be thankful unto your Maker for all things. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Most of all - be thankful you're not in Hell today where you really belong.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Food for Thought 2
There is only one true and living God, but human nature has made almost as many gods as there are stars in the sky. However there is only one wise Creator God, whose name is JEHOVAH JESUS, the Creator of all things, in whom we live and move and have our being. Will you have the God who was manifest in the flesh to be your Savior God? Trust Him as your God and make Him your God forever and ever. He will be my Guide even unto death.
Take Christ Jesus to be yours, as your God, whom you trust and love, whom you embrace and adore, apprehending Him by faith and love. Is He truly your God now? There must be no playing or pretense: Jesus Christ must be accepted and received as yours personally. If you are to be saved, you must by a deliberate act, give up yourself to Christ Himself, and take Him to be all your Salvation.
Crave God's forgiveness for Christ's sake. Trust to His Son's atoning blood sacrifice. Trust the Son of God to be your Savior. He died for sinners, especially for you. Let His bloody death be your Eternal Life. He poured out His own life's blood to cleanse and forgive the guilty. Let Jesus be your Prophet, sit at His feet and learn of Him. Let Him be your King to reign over you. Let Him be your Priest to offer His Perfect Sacrifice for your sins. Jesus is willing and prepared to give Himself to every needy soul that is willing to receive Him. *John 1:12*
Let the Holy Ghost regenerate, teach, lead, sanctify, illuminate, and comfort you. Without Jesus, you can do nothing that will ever please God. The Father decreed, the Son purchased, the Holy Ghost applies. Obey the Holy Ghost's warnings, promptings, cautions, and admonitions. Refrain from committing old fleshly habits. Burn your boats behind you, and never go back to the old country of your sins. Put yourself under the Holy Ghost's control and leadership. Resign your body to be His temple and instrument of Holiness.
God is now willing to pass by your iniquities, transgressions, and sins for Jesus' sake. He is the God who is ready to pardon, waiting to forgive the guilty. Jesus came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. The Gospel of the Grace of God is only for the guilty. If you are not guilty, there is no Gospel for you. The Invisible God put on human flesh, He came down to Earth in the person of Jesus of Nazareth to save the guilty. God bypassed the elite and well-connected and is born in a cattle shed in Bethlehem. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus Christ. Snap out of your sinful slumber and wicked stupor. You must go directly to Jesus Christ, cry out to Him for mercy and pardon.
Jesus says this about us: I have been grievously wronged by the sinner; his injury to Me is a very cruel one; there is no remedy for it, but I will Myself bear their sins and the penalty for all the wrong which has been done to Me. The offender has broken My Law, and there is a penalty laid upon him for what he has done, and he righteously deserves to bear it. It was an offense against Me, and he deserves to be punished for it, but I will bear the whole penalty Myself. I offer Myself up to suffer in the sinner's place, that he may be accounted innocent and go free.
As the Just Judge, God must punish all sin. There is a necessity that the Judge of all the Earth should do right. The justice of God, the Judgment to come is awaiting the unregenerate sinner. Sin must be punished, but the Judge Himself stoops to bear the penalty for the offenses committed against Himself, to bear the consequences of sin committed against His own authority and His own person, and to bear those consequences in His own person that the offender may be reconciled to Him.
God Himself becomes the Substitute for those who have broken His own Law, and done despite to His name, and as a real man in His own body on the tree bore the consequences of human sin which should have fallen upon His enemies, us guilty sinners. God patiently importunes and pleads with the offender who refuses His free pardon by Blood. God's divine Love comes to us throughout a wondrous plan, by which Jesus came to be a Substitute, to live and die in our place, that we might go free. The Cross is the display of self-denying, amazing, unparalleled love. Jesus has taken our sins upon Himself, and bore the penalty due on account of those sins.
The divine Law will justify no man till he keeps it perfectly. The Law condemns every man who has violated it but once. The Law demands eternal death as the penalty for a single offense. The Law casts the guilty man into prison, and he can never be released till he has paid the whole fine. Jesus bore our sins in His own body on the tree, and He has freed us from the penalty that was due to us.
Every atheist ought to be ashamed of not loving the Lord Jesus Christ, and not trusting such a Savior as the Lord Jesus Christ is. God in human flesh, bleeding, dying, bearing the penalty of human sin, presenting Himself as our sinless Blood Sacrifice and Atonement, and He now says that, whosoever believeth in Me shall not perish, but shall have Everlasting Life. If you must spite anybody, spite anyone but the Christ of God.
Blindness and hardness of heart comes upon the man who rebels against God. If you would escape the snares and traps of life, look well to your tongue, keep it from speaking evil, and that it speaks not blasphemy against God, or slander against your fellowman. Keep your lips from guile, that is, from deceit, from double meanings, from saying one thing and meaning another. Speak plain, say what you mean, mean what you say. Come to Christ with your whole heart and understanding, confess Him before men, magnify Him with your words and deeds.
You have sinned, your heart is ever inclined to sin. You have broken God's Law and rejected Christ; you need God's divine forgiveness; you need a complete change of nature, a new birth, a conversion and regeneration. Nothing short of the new birth, a thorough total radical change will make you ready to enter Heaven. The most unpopular truth in the world today came form the mouth of Jesus Christ, "Ye must be born again."
No effort performed by man can ever regenerate a dead soul - it is the work alone of the Holy Spirit, who creates us anew in Christ Jesus. Men despise that truth. The spiritual truth still displeases the self-righteous sin-loving natural man. Give God your heart and soul through Christ, serve Him because you love Him. Surrender to Jesus your inner self and body daily. The main necessity is the work of the Holy Spirit. *John 3:7* must be your constant cry. Being born again is not the evolving of something good out of you that was hidden away there; no, the new birth is the putting into you the divine nature of Jesus Christ which was not there. The New Birth is the Holy Spirit's quickening of you from your death in sin.
God has done so much for me and that encourages me to turn away from my sins. Willful wickedness is a horrible and hateful thing. Loathe and leave your iniquities. Abhor selfishness and egotism. Be very personal and individual about your own Christianity. You must be born again individually and personally, Eternal Life must come to you by a personal transaction between Jesus Christ and yourself.
Leave the bottle, lascivious ways, fornication, uncleanness, dishonesty, tricks of the trade, cheating, stinting, loafing, and lying. Human nature is fond of human wisdom and ability. Leave off your fretting, fuming; being anxious and peevish. Human nature wants to wash itself. Trust to the boundless mercy of God in Christ Jesus. Come to God for the New Birth and ask Him to change your inner nature. There is no good thing whatsoever in you. A soul must get alone with God if it is really born again, for a saved soul cannot live without private prayer. A love for the word of God, and for private prayer is needful for daily victory.
Take Christ Jesus to be yours, as your God, whom you trust and love, whom you embrace and adore, apprehending Him by faith and love. Is He truly your God now? There must be no playing or pretense: Jesus Christ must be accepted and received as yours personally. If you are to be saved, you must by a deliberate act, give up yourself to Christ Himself, and take Him to be all your Salvation.
Crave God's forgiveness for Christ's sake. Trust to His Son's atoning blood sacrifice. Trust the Son of God to be your Savior. He died for sinners, especially for you. Let His bloody death be your Eternal Life. He poured out His own life's blood to cleanse and forgive the guilty. Let Jesus be your Prophet, sit at His feet and learn of Him. Let Him be your King to reign over you. Let Him be your Priest to offer His Perfect Sacrifice for your sins. Jesus is willing and prepared to give Himself to every needy soul that is willing to receive Him. *John 1:12*
Let the Holy Ghost regenerate, teach, lead, sanctify, illuminate, and comfort you. Without Jesus, you can do nothing that will ever please God. The Father decreed, the Son purchased, the Holy Ghost applies. Obey the Holy Ghost's warnings, promptings, cautions, and admonitions. Refrain from committing old fleshly habits. Burn your boats behind you, and never go back to the old country of your sins. Put yourself under the Holy Ghost's control and leadership. Resign your body to be His temple and instrument of Holiness.
God is now willing to pass by your iniquities, transgressions, and sins for Jesus' sake. He is the God who is ready to pardon, waiting to forgive the guilty. Jesus came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. The Gospel of the Grace of God is only for the guilty. If you are not guilty, there is no Gospel for you. The Invisible God put on human flesh, He came down to Earth in the person of Jesus of Nazareth to save the guilty. God bypassed the elite and well-connected and is born in a cattle shed in Bethlehem. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus Christ. Snap out of your sinful slumber and wicked stupor. You must go directly to Jesus Christ, cry out to Him for mercy and pardon.
Jesus says this about us: I have been grievously wronged by the sinner; his injury to Me is a very cruel one; there is no remedy for it, but I will Myself bear their sins and the penalty for all the wrong which has been done to Me. The offender has broken My Law, and there is a penalty laid upon him for what he has done, and he righteously deserves to bear it. It was an offense against Me, and he deserves to be punished for it, but I will bear the whole penalty Myself. I offer Myself up to suffer in the sinner's place, that he may be accounted innocent and go free.
As the Just Judge, God must punish all sin. There is a necessity that the Judge of all the Earth should do right. The justice of God, the Judgment to come is awaiting the unregenerate sinner. Sin must be punished, but the Judge Himself stoops to bear the penalty for the offenses committed against Himself, to bear the consequences of sin committed against His own authority and His own person, and to bear those consequences in His own person that the offender may be reconciled to Him.
God Himself becomes the Substitute for those who have broken His own Law, and done despite to His name, and as a real man in His own body on the tree bore the consequences of human sin which should have fallen upon His enemies, us guilty sinners. God patiently importunes and pleads with the offender who refuses His free pardon by Blood. God's divine Love comes to us throughout a wondrous plan, by which Jesus came to be a Substitute, to live and die in our place, that we might go free. The Cross is the display of self-denying, amazing, unparalleled love. Jesus has taken our sins upon Himself, and bore the penalty due on account of those sins.
The divine Law will justify no man till he keeps it perfectly. The Law condemns every man who has violated it but once. The Law demands eternal death as the penalty for a single offense. The Law casts the guilty man into prison, and he can never be released till he has paid the whole fine. Jesus bore our sins in His own body on the tree, and He has freed us from the penalty that was due to us.
Every atheist ought to be ashamed of not loving the Lord Jesus Christ, and not trusting such a Savior as the Lord Jesus Christ is. God in human flesh, bleeding, dying, bearing the penalty of human sin, presenting Himself as our sinless Blood Sacrifice and Atonement, and He now says that, whosoever believeth in Me shall not perish, but shall have Everlasting Life. If you must spite anybody, spite anyone but the Christ of God.
Blindness and hardness of heart comes upon the man who rebels against God. If you would escape the snares and traps of life, look well to your tongue, keep it from speaking evil, and that it speaks not blasphemy against God, or slander against your fellowman. Keep your lips from guile, that is, from deceit, from double meanings, from saying one thing and meaning another. Speak plain, say what you mean, mean what you say. Come to Christ with your whole heart and understanding, confess Him before men, magnify Him with your words and deeds.
You have sinned, your heart is ever inclined to sin. You have broken God's Law and rejected Christ; you need God's divine forgiveness; you need a complete change of nature, a new birth, a conversion and regeneration. Nothing short of the new birth, a thorough total radical change will make you ready to enter Heaven. The most unpopular truth in the world today came form the mouth of Jesus Christ, "Ye must be born again."
No effort performed by man can ever regenerate a dead soul - it is the work alone of the Holy Spirit, who creates us anew in Christ Jesus. Men despise that truth. The spiritual truth still displeases the self-righteous sin-loving natural man. Give God your heart and soul through Christ, serve Him because you love Him. Surrender to Jesus your inner self and body daily. The main necessity is the work of the Holy Spirit. *John 3:7* must be your constant cry. Being born again is not the evolving of something good out of you that was hidden away there; no, the new birth is the putting into you the divine nature of Jesus Christ which was not there. The New Birth is the Holy Spirit's quickening of you from your death in sin.
God has done so much for me and that encourages me to turn away from my sins. Willful wickedness is a horrible and hateful thing. Loathe and leave your iniquities. Abhor selfishness and egotism. Be very personal and individual about your own Christianity. You must be born again individually and personally, Eternal Life must come to you by a personal transaction between Jesus Christ and yourself.
Leave the bottle, lascivious ways, fornication, uncleanness, dishonesty, tricks of the trade, cheating, stinting, loafing, and lying. Human nature is fond of human wisdom and ability. Leave off your fretting, fuming; being anxious and peevish. Human nature wants to wash itself. Trust to the boundless mercy of God in Christ Jesus. Come to God for the New Birth and ask Him to change your inner nature. There is no good thing whatsoever in you. A soul must get alone with God if it is really born again, for a saved soul cannot live without private prayer. A love for the word of God, and for private prayer is needful for daily victory.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Grace-Faith-Blood
God's grace caused Him to humble Himself and become a sinless Jewish man named Jesus of Nazareth. *Philippians 2:8* The good grace of God led Jesus to offer Himself up as a sinless Sacrifice for human sin. God saves guilty sinners for Jesus' sake; God saves the ungodly because of what Jesus endured on the Cross of Calvary to pay the infinite penalty due to human sin. *Titus 2:11* Bible Salvation is by Grace alone, through Faith alone, in Jesus' Blood alone. *Romans 5:9*
Every sinner is condemned and cursed before God, that means he is guilty before God and under an eternal death sentence. All men are sinners by birth and by choice, and a sinner cannot help save himself from his sins. We all have an evil sin nature within, and we have committed sins against our good and loving Creator God. No man is a Christian until he is born again from above by the power of the Holy Ghost. There is no such thing as a perfect sinner. *Titus 3:5*
A man cannot be saved, because of what he has done. *Romans 3:23* Your very best works are filthy rags in the sight of God. The only way any man can ever be righteous before God is to have the Righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed to his soul by a miracle called Salvation. You can do many wonderful works and still go to Hell like a bullet. *Matthew 7:22-23* Your only hope of Heaven must be Jesus' Precious Blood which was shed by God manifest in the flesh to satisfy the divine justice of God that your sins deserve.
If Salvation is Jesus plus anything, then the *plus* becomes more important than what Jesus has done, because the man who has only Jesus will die and go to Hell for not having the *plus*, whatever it may be. You can't trust Jesus 98% and then something else 2%. That 2% will damn you. You must trust to Jesus 100%. Receiving Jesus Christ as your Savior is trusting to His Blood alone. Remember that you don't get better and live right to get saved from sin; you get saved from sin and then you get better and the Grace of God helps you live right for the glory of God. You can't get any better at all until you are first saved by the Grace of God alone, through Faith alone in Jesus' Atoning Blood alone.
A sinner is not saved by what he does, or how he feels, or what he knows. You might as well trust your sins to get to Heaven as to trust your own righteousness. You go to Heaven heart-first not headfirst. Believe on the Son of God with all your heart. *Romans 10:9* Either Jesus saves sinners completely, or a sinner must save himself completely. Salvation is either a Free Gift, or Salvation must be earned in some way. *Romans 6:23* Jesus died in our place on the Cross to pay our deadly sin debt. Man's only part in Salvation is for him to Believe (trust, rely, depend) on the Lord Jesus Christ's Precious Blood.
The sinner who is depending on Jesus' Blood alone and nothing else has Everlasting Life. The hardest thing for self-righteous human nature to do is for a man to reject himself completely and to simply believe on Jesus Christ to save his sinful soul from the love of sin and the Lake of Fire. Place the matter of your Salvation fully into the hands of Jesus Christ and depend totally on His perfect atoning finished work to take away your sins.
Bible Salvation is by Grace alone, through Faith alone, in Jesus' Blood alone. Every sinner must be saved by grace, faith, and blood. Salvation is not what you've done; Salvation is what Jesus has done. Grace teaches a man he is a sinner, and then the Grace of God points the man to the Savior who can take away his sins. Grace gives a man the Faith he needs to Believe on Jesus Christ. Bible Faith always looks to God's Blood for the free forgiveness of all sins. Childlike trust in Jesus' Blood is what saves the guilty soul instantly. Faith in Christ's Precious Atoning Blood is key to you obtaining Eternal Life. *Romans 3:25*
Every sinner is condemned and cursed before God, that means he is guilty before God and under an eternal death sentence. All men are sinners by birth and by choice, and a sinner cannot help save himself from his sins. We all have an evil sin nature within, and we have committed sins against our good and loving Creator God. No man is a Christian until he is born again from above by the power of the Holy Ghost. There is no such thing as a perfect sinner. *Titus 3:5*
A man cannot be saved, because of what he has done. *Romans 3:23* Your very best works are filthy rags in the sight of God. The only way any man can ever be righteous before God is to have the Righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed to his soul by a miracle called Salvation. You can do many wonderful works and still go to Hell like a bullet. *Matthew 7:22-23* Your only hope of Heaven must be Jesus' Precious Blood which was shed by God manifest in the flesh to satisfy the divine justice of God that your sins deserve.
If Salvation is Jesus plus anything, then the *plus* becomes more important than what Jesus has done, because the man who has only Jesus will die and go to Hell for not having the *plus*, whatever it may be. You can't trust Jesus 98% and then something else 2%. That 2% will damn you. You must trust to Jesus 100%. Receiving Jesus Christ as your Savior is trusting to His Blood alone. Remember that you don't get better and live right to get saved from sin; you get saved from sin and then you get better and the Grace of God helps you live right for the glory of God. You can't get any better at all until you are first saved by the Grace of God alone, through Faith alone in Jesus' Atoning Blood alone.
A sinner is not saved by what he does, or how he feels, or what he knows. You might as well trust your sins to get to Heaven as to trust your own righteousness. You go to Heaven heart-first not headfirst. Believe on the Son of God with all your heart. *Romans 10:9* Either Jesus saves sinners completely, or a sinner must save himself completely. Salvation is either a Free Gift, or Salvation must be earned in some way. *Romans 6:23* Jesus died in our place on the Cross to pay our deadly sin debt. Man's only part in Salvation is for him to Believe (trust, rely, depend) on the Lord Jesus Christ's Precious Blood.
The sinner who is depending on Jesus' Blood alone and nothing else has Everlasting Life. The hardest thing for self-righteous human nature to do is for a man to reject himself completely and to simply believe on Jesus Christ to save his sinful soul from the love of sin and the Lake of Fire. Place the matter of your Salvation fully into the hands of Jesus Christ and depend totally on His perfect atoning finished work to take away your sins.
Bible Salvation is by Grace alone, through Faith alone, in Jesus' Blood alone. Every sinner must be saved by grace, faith, and blood. Salvation is not what you've done; Salvation is what Jesus has done. Grace teaches a man he is a sinner, and then the Grace of God points the man to the Savior who can take away his sins. Grace gives a man the Faith he needs to Believe on Jesus Christ. Bible Faith always looks to God's Blood for the free forgiveness of all sins. Childlike trust in Jesus' Blood is what saves the guilty soul instantly. Faith in Christ's Precious Atoning Blood is key to you obtaining Eternal Life. *Romans 3:25*
Thursday, November 15, 2012
As a Little Child
And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by Him, and said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in My name receiveth Me: and whosoever shall receive Me receiveth Him that sent Me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great. *Luke 9:47-48* The way to rise in the ranks of Christ, is to go down. The way to the top is down. Sink into the highest place; in sinking, you rise. Think only of the Lord Jesus Christ's glory. Be willing to do the least thing, and then you are growing in Christ. When you are great, then you are little. When you are nothing, then you are great. The Lord must take away from us carnal pride that makes us stand up on our dignity, and think we must be Somebody! God will not use you as long as you are "somebody"; but when you are nobody, then will God greatly magnify you, and use you in His kingdom and service. Carnal ambition, self-seeking and religious pride reeks in the nostrils of God.
Convert - the turning of the soul from sin to the Savior. The Holy Spirit turning a bad life into a godly one, to change the heart and moral character, from enmity to God and from vicious habits, to the love of God and godly habits and living. *Psalm 19:7; 51:13; Isaiah 6:10; Matthew 13:15; 18:3; Luke 22:32; John 12:40; Acts 3:19; Acts 28:27; James 5:19-20*
A child is transparent, trusting, frank and free from care. They completely and sincerely trust another for their food, clothing, lodging, and protection. A child thinks no lofty thoughts of himself, they are not even aware of themselves. They don't consider if they deserve things, or whether it's important enough to merit such attention. A child is ready to receive and act upon the Truth. Children are not proud of their virtues. They do not battle self-righteousness. Little children see no need to dispute over preeminence or selfish suspicion.
Children are free from the pride of knowledge. They have no learning, no degrees, no intellectual conceit. They are teachable, lead-able, open-minded, and submissive. A child is not important or sophisticated or wise in his own eyes. Children are conscious of their own weakness. They don't propose amendments to the Gospel. Children are transparent, forgiving, quickly penitent and contrite, and cry over a wrong done. They are miserable over theirs sins. They are open to receiving gifts humbly and thankfully, not pretending to merit anything. They know how to receive a gift - they simply take it. They are open to the unmerited favor of God. A child easily returns love for gifts - hugs, kisses, and many thanks. We must grow down until we become like a child. A child has no ambition for great things or titles, they crave not worldly honor.
We need a childlike faith in Jesus, but not a childish faith. Children are humble, modest opinion of themselves. They are not envious of others. They drop all contentions over preeminence. They have no ambitious views of being greater than another. We must lay aside pride, ambition, envy, vanity, and prejudice. *I Kings 3:7* No affectation of worldly honor and power. We should be careful for nothing, void of malice, harmless, merciful, gentle, kind, dutiful, flexible, eager, yielding, governable. Children have no great aims of position, or thoughts to raise themselves, little in his own eyes. Children have a clear conscience. Come to Christ before you grow too old to understand the Gospel with your heart.
The mind of a child is a blank piece of paper. Our minds must be open to the pen of the Holy Spirit. A child has no preconceived notions, opinions, or notions that they cannot give up. The child believes what Jesus says. He is affected to Christ, easily influenced and touched. A child is inquisitive, always wanting to learn. Children are under others' control. They depend upon someone else's wisdom, guidance, provision, and care. Children never seek greatness. Quickly take what is provided them. A child soon forgives and forgets. He has humble resignation and easy dependence to parents. Simplicity of belief. Children are weak, helpless, and unimportant. Grow smaller, not bigger; get less, not greater. Children are at the bottom of the social order. They are not asked about significant decisions. They are without claim or merit.
Children are needy, entirely dependent on another. Children are always hungry, they are lonely at bedtime, when they are sent to their room by themselves, that is the worst punishment for them. They love fellowship. They have no claim or merit in themselves. They have no obvious importance, zero status. The child believes in all humility, looking up to his teacher, and receiving the teacher's words as truth. Say, "Lord, I am a know-nothing, I come to You to be taught, I am nothing, be my All in All.
A child believes sincerely and in simplicity with all its heart. A child has no sinister motives, or formality. The child's faith and repentance are genuine. Don't play at religion any longer. A child is not ashamed to talk as your heart feels - speak openly about Jesus and His bleeding love to others around you. Trusting to Christ alone now is the way of safety. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as a little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Children are willing to receive; they are broke and needy. Kids desire to make others happy. A little child believes Jesus is a real Person near at hand. There is an absence of boasting or selfish desire to be greater than others. They are not achieving, but accepting. Little children have a sense of wonder that makes life exciting; they are filled with potential. Children are simple in their wants, have expectant attitudes, and depend completely (conscious clinging trust) on their fathers to meet all their needs. A child has no pride in who, or what they are, or what they have achieved; they possess no self-ambition. The entrance gate into the kingdom of God is very low; we must go through on our hands and knees with our head held low. There is no place in the kingdom for those who trust in themselves. Humble yourself or Jesus will leave you in your pride and lostness. Jesus only gives His free forgiveness of sins to those sinners who don't deserve it.
Believe exactly what Christ says, and trust all that Christ has done. Children believe that God hears their prayers. Honest simplicity and trustfulness of a little child. Humble, but not aware of it. A child is grieved when others are in distress. A child seeks to please his father, and seeks his approval and smile. A child loves peace and joy, they cannot endure arguing and fighting. A child is troubled to hear anyone speak evil of their parents. A child is grieved when his father is upset with him. A child will strive to imitate his father and follow in his steps. They have n0 duplicity or hypocrisy, and without partiality. They instinctively choose the low place. They are simple, not careful about the future. A child clings close to their parent, sincerely esteeming their father the biggest and best man in the world. Follow Jesus humbly, diligently, joyfully, wholly.
Trust Jesus for everything to do with salvation and life. You know so much, that you knowtoomuch. Human nature wants to alter or amend the Gospel. Christ is not received by the brain, but by the heart. The best receiver is the empty sinner (John 1:12). Jesus is your main need. You must have Christ, or die in your sins. Trusting, not thinking and reasoning, is the way to Christ. Simply believe what Jesus says in the Bible.
There is nothing in you can do to make you fit for the kingdom of God. Just be nothing, the less you are, and the weaker you are, the better. The devil tempts you to become as gods (Genesis 3:5), but Jesus leads you to become as little children, just the opposite. Seeking to become gods, men become devils; but seeking to become as little children, you will partake of the divine nature. The path to true happiness is becoming little. Take Christ at His word, trust His finished work. A child is not trouble about not being prepared to come to Christ - he is a sinner and he know it, so he just comes to Christ. Jesus calls me, so I come; Jesus died for me, so I trust Him.
Conversion is an absolute necessity. We can only do righteously after we are made Righteous in the sight of God by the grace of God. If a ship is headed for hidden rocks, scrubbing the decks won't do any good, the ship's course must be changed; the ship must be turned. Self-improvement cannot help the sinner; your soul is headed for eternal shipwreck, your course must be turned, our you will sink into Hell. You must invite the Pilot onboard your soul, and let Him have the helm of your heart. Only Christ can turn you away from your iniquities. Jesus paid the full Ransom to release you from the slavery and love of your sins. You can't do good, until you are first made good, by receiving Christ's Goodness. You must be converted, your mind and thoughts must be changed by the Holy Spirit. You've made up your mind, but the Holy Ghost must unmake your mind and then transform it.
Celebrate the Crucified Creator's goodness. You are nothing else but sin. Simply seek Jesus Christ, trust His precious blood, and you are saved. To be converted means to be turned around in your thinking by the working of the Holy Ghost. Conversion is a turning from self-confidence and self-rule to the rule of God. Conversion is being turned from your self-made plans to God's plan for your life. To do less than "be converted" by Christ Himself is to miss the kingdom of God altogether. Children are a pattern for us to follow: in their humble dependence on others, their openness, their acceptance of themselves other their low position in life. Children live by faith, by faith they accept their lot, trusting others to care for them and see them through. We enter the kingdom of God by admitting our helplessness, inability to save ourselves, and becoming totally depending on the mercy and grace of God in Christ.
Jesus said, "Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein."
Sunday, November 11, 2012
A Big Favor
Now note this - Every one of us by nature is dead in our sins, without hope, and a child of the devil. Sin doesn't give life, it takes life. God has been very good to you, He has spared your life. If divine justice had been executed, you would have been in Hell long ago. You have provoked God so many times, you can barely stand to be provoked for ten minutes, but you have provoked your Maker for 20, 30, 40, 50 years with your sins, negligence, unbelief, and despising. You have stuck your finger in the eye of God when you have rejected His Son and chose your sins instead. You have ridiculed the Bible, yet God has spared you for years and given you many comforts and blessings.
We all have to be born again by the Holy Ghost and receive Jesus Christ by faith in order to become the sons and daughters of God. *John 1:12* God must justify us by Jesus Christ's Righteousness, or we are eternally condemned in His sight. Man attempts to cover over his guilt with good works and self-improvements, but his sins still remain on his soul. Man-made efforts cannot quiet a guilty conscience.
The best deeds we can do are only dung in God's sight. We cannot make our soul "Good" within by doing some deeds of kindness to others. The only person who is "Good" in God's sight is Jesus Christ. Human nature says, "I want to do it my way, and approach God with what I have produced." Never forget - Religious works and systems cannot satisfy divine justice. There's only one way to God, and man didn't come up with it. *John 14:6* The only way to safely approach the Holy Creator God is by Christ's sinless atoning blood.
The Innocent One dying as a Substitute for the guilty. Jesus paid it All; everything else is self-righteousness. At the Cross, the Blood of an innocent Man permanently atones for the guilt of human sin. Only the satisfactory, atoning work of God manifest in the flesh on Calvary's Cross can satisfy God's divine justice. One sinless Lamb of God bore the sins of the whole world and laid down His life for us all. God Incarnate dwelling among sinful men, working out a perfect Righteousness for us, and making Atonement for human sin by giving Himself up to a bloody death on Calvary's Cross.
You can never be "Good" in yourself, for you are a sinner. Sinners are not good at all. There is none that doeth good, no, not one. *Romans 3:12* This truth is contrary to all of man's religious thinking today. The word "Good" in the Bible means to be Perfect and to be absolutely, infinitely, immutably Righteous as God is. The man Christ Jesus, God manifest in the flesh, came down to Earth to rescue of from the damnation we deserve. We weren't looking for Jesus, but He came to seek and save us.
The Gospel will not let you gloat about your salvation, but you can only be grateful to your Merciful Maker for His so great Salvation. You can never work enough to buy yourself out of the slave market of sin. The unregenerate man feeds upon his sins with pleasure. I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God? God declares us Righteous when He imputes Christ's Righteousness to our account. Jesus has paid for the record of sins that we committed against God. All the evidence and guilt of our sins is transferred to Christ's account. Christ's Precious Blood erases our sin's penalty from our eternal record. Admire that the eternal God would ever deal graciously with someone as sinful and rebellious as you. Adore the Savior for His goodness and mercy toward you.
You've committed many crimes all through your life in God's sight in thought, word, and deed. But in Mercy, Jesus takes your criminal record and erases your name, and writes in His name over the list of your crimes. Then He pays the fine and adds your criminal history and penalty to His record, and then you get to have Christ's spotless record, because He never broke the Law one time. This is called Imputation and Justification in the Bible. This is how a holy God has Mercy today on a guilty sinner. God miraculously switches the names on the rap sheets. Christ's name was written on the top of the volume of all your sins. Jesus becomes the condemned criminal, and you are made Righteous with His perfect record credited (imputed) to your name.
Jesus takes our vileness and perversion upon Himself, and gives us His virtue and purity. Jesus takes our record of sin, and gives us His record of sinlessness. Jesus bore the wrath that was reserved for me. Christ replaces our sins with His Righteousness and all the charges brought against have been thrown out of God's courtroom. God can no longer find any record of your sins because Jesus' blood washes, cleanses, blots out, and takes away your transgressions. Your record is spotless and clean in Christ. God's redeeming grace does you a big favor the moment you trust to Jesus' Atoning Blood.
We all have to be born again by the Holy Ghost and receive Jesus Christ by faith in order to become the sons and daughters of God. *John 1:12* God must justify us by Jesus Christ's Righteousness, or we are eternally condemned in His sight. Man attempts to cover over his guilt with good works and self-improvements, but his sins still remain on his soul. Man-made efforts cannot quiet a guilty conscience.
The best deeds we can do are only dung in God's sight. We cannot make our soul "Good" within by doing some deeds of kindness to others. The only person who is "Good" in God's sight is Jesus Christ. Human nature says, "I want to do it my way, and approach God with what I have produced." Never forget - Religious works and systems cannot satisfy divine justice. There's only one way to God, and man didn't come up with it. *John 14:6* The only way to safely approach the Holy Creator God is by Christ's sinless atoning blood.
The Innocent One dying as a Substitute for the guilty. Jesus paid it All; everything else is self-righteousness. At the Cross, the Blood of an innocent Man permanently atones for the guilt of human sin. Only the satisfactory, atoning work of God manifest in the flesh on Calvary's Cross can satisfy God's divine justice. One sinless Lamb of God bore the sins of the whole world and laid down His life for us all. God Incarnate dwelling among sinful men, working out a perfect Righteousness for us, and making Atonement for human sin by giving Himself up to a bloody death on Calvary's Cross.
You can never be "Good" in yourself, for you are a sinner. Sinners are not good at all. There is none that doeth good, no, not one. *Romans 3:12* This truth is contrary to all of man's religious thinking today. The word "Good" in the Bible means to be Perfect and to be absolutely, infinitely, immutably Righteous as God is. The man Christ Jesus, God manifest in the flesh, came down to Earth to rescue of from the damnation we deserve. We weren't looking for Jesus, but He came to seek and save us.
The Gospel will not let you gloat about your salvation, but you can only be grateful to your Merciful Maker for His so great Salvation. You can never work enough to buy yourself out of the slave market of sin. The unregenerate man feeds upon his sins with pleasure. I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God? God declares us Righteous when He imputes Christ's Righteousness to our account. Jesus has paid for the record of sins that we committed against God. All the evidence and guilt of our sins is transferred to Christ's account. Christ's Precious Blood erases our sin's penalty from our eternal record. Admire that the eternal God would ever deal graciously with someone as sinful and rebellious as you. Adore the Savior for His goodness and mercy toward you.
You've committed many crimes all through your life in God's sight in thought, word, and deed. But in Mercy, Jesus takes your criminal record and erases your name, and writes in His name over the list of your crimes. Then He pays the fine and adds your criminal history and penalty to His record, and then you get to have Christ's spotless record, because He never broke the Law one time. This is called Imputation and Justification in the Bible. This is how a holy God has Mercy today on a guilty sinner. God miraculously switches the names on the rap sheets. Christ's name was written on the top of the volume of all your sins. Jesus becomes the condemned criminal, and you are made Righteous with His perfect record credited (imputed) to your name.
Jesus takes our vileness and perversion upon Himself, and gives us His virtue and purity. Jesus takes our record of sin, and gives us His record of sinlessness. Jesus bore the wrath that was reserved for me. Christ replaces our sins with His Righteousness and all the charges brought against have been thrown out of God's courtroom. God can no longer find any record of your sins because Jesus' blood washes, cleanses, blots out, and takes away your transgressions. Your record is spotless and clean in Christ. God's redeeming grace does you a big favor the moment you trust to Jesus' Atoning Blood.
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