JESUS SAVEZZZZ!!!!!!

God’s Way of Salvation

    Dear Friend,

Recently I contacted a cousin I don't normally get the chance to see. Looking back, I do not remember spending much time at all with this dear cousin, running into her only occasionally at a few family reunions. Sadly, I had never seized upon any available opportunities through the years to reconnect. It seems this may be the case with many in today's fast paced lifestyles where families everywhere seem to have lost touch with one another. But as time marches on I've come to regret not having kept in closer communion with many more of my extended family members.

    I've since discovered my cousin Nancy is a bright, sincere, outgoing individual with a radiant personality that draws many to her. She has a natural ability of making all those around her feel accepted and comfortable in her presence. With our own move to this area some months ago Nancy and I are now living in closer proximity to each other and giving her a call had been increasingly on my mind. I definitely enjoyed catching up with her. As we reminisced about several family members, who have now passed on, Nancy expressed hope, as many of us do, that we will once again see all our loved ones in Heaven. To my surprise, she quickly added, "No. . .God chooses who are saved".

     Now to many, of course, the idea that all our cherished family members are in a good place would be very comforting to contemplate. But does this popular idea, which many hold on to, have any truth to it according to God's Word?

    This will be the focus of this study. As we dig deeper into God's Word we will better understand God's plan of salvation. We may have heard many conflicting voices in the world on how we are saved or if God has a chosen or elect people. (It may not be as some would like to think!) Was it for the elect alone that Christ died? Was this choice based upon, as some say, God looking through time and knowing those who would one day make a decision to follow after Him? And was it your decision to freely make, perhaps as you answered an altar call, accepting Christ as your Lord & Savior? Or, possibly you believe as some are taught, that you must lead a good life, go to a good church, receive Communion regularly and follow God's Commandments and then, only in the end will you know if you are counted worthy to be saved?

    Sadly, most in the world today believe in a Salvation of works. They believe they will be saved through the good works they have accomplished in this life, and therefore believe they will earn salvation through their own merits.

    But what does the Bible say regarding all this?

    Let us discover God's truth as He Himself reveals it in His Word. God does not leave us to speculate. He gives us these answers and more by revealing all through His Holy Scripture.

Let us begin at 2Timothy 1:9:

"Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began."

As we study the above verse we will receive some answers to a few of those earlier questions:

1. God reveals that He has saved and called us not because of anything we have, or have not done (not according to our works!) but according to His own purpose for us, a holy calling.
    
   
2. We are saved by Grace. Grace is. . . . God's undeserved kindness (or favor), given to us freely, this is only through His Son, Jesus Christ.
   

   Before we go on, we should understand God is Holy; there is no darkness in Him. He cannot look upon sin or the sinner. His perfect justice demands payment for sin and this payment was satisfied through the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. We are now reconciled to God and are able to freely have Fellowship. When God looks upon the saved, He sees the righteousness of His Son and not our sins. We have also received the gift of eternal life. Without God's grace, given through His Son, this would be impossible. We would be eternally lost.
   

3. Finally, we see that this was given us in Jesus Christ before the world began. Some have suggested that God's plan of salvation was thwarted by what happened in the Garden of Eden and a new plan was necessary! But God tells us "before the world began" His plan of salvation was by grace through Jesus Christ.
   

It should be clear from the verse we just studied that God did not look through time to see who would choose to follow Him. Neither is one saved by going to a good church and doing good works. As we read above, He calls us and we are saved by Grace, not Grace plus works.

Let us turn again to God's Word to get a clearer understanding of just what God says concerning man and his efforts at righteousness (or goodness).

Romans 3:10-12

"As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one."

"There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God."

"They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one."

One more verse:

Isaiah 64:6
"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."

God tells us that whatever righteousness we think we have, 'are like filthy rags!'    

Now let us turn to the O.T. where we find an interesting story:

Numbers 15:32-36:

^"And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the Sabbath day. And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation. And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him. And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses."

This little story above, not mentioned too often, illustrates how the anger of the Lord came upon this man's work (gathering sticks). He was put to death. It is the Sabbath, the Day of God's rest, which we also must enter into spiritually, (not the physical day of the week) and this man was working rather than trusting in (resting in) the promised Savior who would come. This is also the same picture for many today that trust in their own works to save them. They will perish as this man did. (Old Testament saints looked forward to the promised Messiah who would come to take away their sin. New Testament saints look back and trust in the finished work of Christ.)

We must not be mistaken into thinking that by our own efforts at good works we will be saved from God's wrath.

Man without God is blind and in darkness. The Old Testament Law was a schoolmaster to teach man what sin is. It also showed sinful man he was incapable of keeping all of God's Law. But God promised He would send a Savior who would come to do just that and heal us (from sin) and save us from our sins (and its consequences). Sin brought death into the world (not only physical death), a Spiritual death. With sin came a separation from God.

This faith in the promised coming Savior was the hope of all O.T. Saints.

Romans 3:20
"Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin."

Galatians 3:24-25
  "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster
to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster."

God's justice against sin was totally satisfied when Christ died at the Cross. The sins of all whom Christ represented (all those chosen for salvation from before the world began) were imputed to Him and He suffered the just penalty that these sins deserved. It is the only sacrifice accepted by God, payment has already been made! Our faith must be in His finished work.

Romans 3:23
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."

    Christ alone led the perfect sinless life that God demanded. His righteousness is imputed on those who are His, so that they are perfectly righteous in the eyes of God's Law and justice.

    The Atoning Blood of Christ:

It was the blood that God demanded for sin because Christ became a physical man (flesh & blood) for us. The life of all flesh is in the blood. His sinless, perfect life (blood)
was the perfect sin offering that was required for our imperfect lives. God accepted the blood of Christ as full payment for sin.

Leviticus 17:11
"For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul."

There are many "shadows' or pictures in the O.T. These 'shadows' were meant to teach us some kind of a Spiritual truth. The Old Testament animal sacrifices were a 'shadow', a picture, they could not take away sin but pointed us to Christ, the One Who would one day come and take sin away completely.

Ephesians 2:8-9
⁸For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
⁹Not of works, lest any man should boast.

If trust rests upon one's own good works his belief is in vain. This is trust by his own faith in his own works, not the faith of Christ given us.

The burden on this sinner has not been lifted. He may be so blinded and totally unaware that this is so with him. He will continue to believe his own works will be rewarded, and sin overlooked by a 'God of love', not the God of love and of justice.

So then who can be saved? This is also the question Christ's disciples asked Him.

Let us read what Jesus Himself told them:

Mark 10:27
  "And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible."

God does a work in the lives of those elected for salvation:

Ephesians 2:10

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."    

It is only through God's work in our lives that we are changed. We become new Creatures in Christ.

2Corinthians 5:17
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

Without God's transforming power in our lives we would yet be blind and continue on in sin. Left alone, there are none who would turn from sin and seek after God. Man is powerless, in himself, to break this bondage to sin without God's powerful intervention in his life.

    Jesus tells us that we must be born again. We have been born physically but we must be born of God's Spirit.

John 3:3
"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God"                    

1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
²  The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
³  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
⁴  Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
⁵  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
⁶  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
⁷  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
⁸  The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

John 3:16

"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."             

Some will say that the above verse proves Christ died for all . . . each and every single human being, the 'whole world'! But God's grace falls upon all nations, it is no longer confined to the nation of Israel. This is the meaning of 'world'. Salvation is now no longer confined to just national Israel but the gospel of Christ has gone out into all the world and the saved are taken out from among all nations (the world).

Micah 5:8

"And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver."

Christ did not pray for all mankind (the whole world), but only for those which the Father gave Him. Those alone are whom He died for at the Cross. They are those found in Him.

John 17:9-12
9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.

¹⁰  And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.
¹¹  And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom
thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
¹²  While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that
thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.         

The word Election is used by Paul in the book of Romans. He cites the rejection of Esau before either twin was born, or good or evil done, as an example of God's election.

Romans 9:11-16

¹¹  For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;
¹²  It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
¹³  As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
¹⁴  What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.

¹⁵  For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
¹⁶  So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

In these revealing verses found above, God makes things very clear. His mercy was on the elect before they were born, not because of any good or evil they have done. It is His election and calling that will stand! God has predestinated us to be conformed to the image of His Son. Let us turn to:

Romans 8:29
  "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren."

Here we find the word predestinate. It is used along with 'whom he did foreknow.' So those He, 'saved and called according to His purpose' were predestinated to be 'conformed to the image of His Son'. We know this was, 'given us in Christ Jesus before the world began'. (2 Tim. 1:9) These are the "chosen" (or elect) kept in Christ.    

    What is God's purpose in saving a certain people?

We are only told God 'works all things after the counsel and good pleasure of His own will.' It was God's good pleasure to save a chosen or elect people from among mankind for His own purpose. They are a people chosen for His name, a Holy priesthood.

Ephesians 1:4-5

"According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of His will."

Ephesians 1:11
  "In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will."

The redeemed of the Lord are a chosen generation and a royal priesthood.

1Peter 2:9
  "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."

Isaiah 62:12
  "And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken."

 Since it was not our decision to follow Christ, how does it happen?

It is God Himself, who draws us (causes to come near to Him) with bands of love.

Hosea 11:4
"I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them."

John 6:44
"No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day."

The original Hebrew meaning of the word 'draw' is 'to drag' or to 'forcefully compel'. It is not possible for the blind to choose to follow after God. It is not up to man. The unregenerate heart is in need of a healing, we cannot and could not choose to follow after God. We may think that it was our decision to follow after Him but it is entirely God's work in our lives.

Numbers 16:5
"Even tomorrow the LORD will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him."

John 15:16
  "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you."

All men are in darkness and in bondage to sin (and Satan) since that first sin in the garden. It is only through the power of the Cross we are set free. Christ came to set the captives free . . to heal us from sin and its bondage. This was the work which the Father sent Him to do. He willingly laid down His life for the sins of His people.

Matthew 8:16

"When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick."

Yes, It is God's living Word in us (His truth), which sets us free.
 

Matthew 15:30
"And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed them."

Let us briefly review a little Bible history and God's Grace:

Genesis 6

Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. 'Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.' Only Noah and his family were saved in the flood, all others perished.

Genesis 25: 29-34

    Jacob sold a bowl of lentils to Esau in exchange for his birthright. Later, Jacob deceived his father into giving him the blessing of the firstborn. God loved Jacob but hated Esau.

Exodus 2:12                                    

Moses slew an Egyptian man and hid him in the sand. God later used him to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land.

Book of Jonah

Jonah ran from God's command to go to Nineveh and warn the people to turn from their wicked ways. After being in the belly of a fish for 3 days & nights Jonah prayed to the Lord whereupon the fish spew him up onto dry land. Throughout this story we see how much love and patience God had with Jonah even to comforting him by shading his head with a gourd.

Jonah 4:6

"And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd."

2 Samuel Chapters 11 & 12

David committed adultery with Bathsheba and sent her husband Uriah to a position on the battlefield where he would surely die. Despite this, David was mightily used by God.

N.T.

Paul, a zealous Pharisee, persecuted Christians but was used by God to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. Before his conversion, outside of Damascus, he was blinded, healed and then filled with the Holy Spirit. Paul considered himself the greatest of sinners.        

We begin to see God's great mercy on some but on others judgment was swift, as in the story of Uzzah.

As Uzzah helped carry the Ark of God, fearful it would fall, he put forth his hand to steady it, whereupon God immediately struck him down and he died there for touching the Ark. (the entire story is found in: 2 Samuel 6)

The great people of God we find in the Bible were not perfect. . . they had committed sin as everyone ever born has done. Why was it some had such great faith? What is the reason some were shown mercy and others were not?

One reason alone . . . God's grace!

David's inspired words are found in:

Psalms 65:4

"Blessed is the man whom Thou chooseth and causeth to approach unto Thee, that he may dwell in Thy courts."

The 'chosen' of God are seen throughout the Bible. In the Gospels, we see Jesus, the Good Shepherd searching out His sheep. He calls all those that are the chosen to Himself. In the Gospels of Mark and Luke we read of a special trip Jesus made into the country of the Gadarenes.

"There met Jesus out of the tombs a certain man with an unclean spirit: 'My name is Legion, for we are many.'" He had often been bound with fetters and chains. No man could tame him. (This is a picture of Man in bondage to sin). But when he saw Jesus from afar off, he ran and worshipped Him. This certain man, knew immediately his only hope lay in the Savior.

In Mark 5:25-34 We read of the woman with the issue of blood for 12 yrs. and her great faith. In the midst of the throng around Jesus she said, "If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole." Jesus immediately knew that virtue had gone out of Him and asked, "Who touched my clothes"? When the woman came and fell down before Him and told Him all the truth, He told her, 'daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.'

Ezekiel 34:12
  "As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day."

    Whether greatly used of God or those whose names we know not, their stories reveal that they are among the chosen. These were not of the seed that fell by the wayside, but planted in God's good soil.            

Let us turn to:

^{Romans 9:18-24}

18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
¹⁹  Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
²⁰  Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
²¹  Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
²²  What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
²³  And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
²⁴  Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?        

According to the purpose and good pleasure of His will, God has chosen a certain people (an elect) to obtain salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ, who would die for the sins of this people. His shed blood, at the Cross (the atoning blood), was accepted by God as full payment for their sins. Christ's blood delivered all those ordained for eternal life and with His blood He bought them as His very own!

Hebrews 9:12
"Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us."

As for the rest of mankind, God has simply left His hand off from them. They will go on to live their lives but will remain unsaved. We may hear some say, this cannot be, as it is unfair and God is a God of justice! But what is fair for All is death. It is the judgment that all are deserving of for sin.

Ezekiel 18:4
"Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die."        

It is for all believers in Christ to know they have eternal life.

1John 5:13
  "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."

Acts 13:48
  "And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed."

There it is friend, God's true plan of Salvation. It has been denied. It has been twisted. It has been ignored. And it is not accepted by the world … just as Christ was not, and is not. The world has found hundreds of variations (of false Gospels) with which to replace the one true Gospel of God. No, the world will not hear God's truth and even seeks to destroy it.

But God's truth will prevail throughout eternity.

Zechariah 4:6

"Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the LORD of hosts."

A Vision of Jesus. . . or Something Else?

Dear Friends,

It has taken many months of planning and preparation before finally settling into this small remote part of the country, a hundred miles away from immediate family, close friends and the comfortable place we once called home. The majority of those presently living in this community and the surrounding areas seemingly are of Eastern European heritage with a strong emphasis placed on the traditional Catholic upbringing. Many of their ancestors arriving by boat in the earlier part of the last century found work in the surrounding areas during the boom period of the coal mining industry.

We have been here now just a little over a month and are slowly becoming familiar with the surrounding area and a few of our neighbors in this small quaint town of 950 or so people. Just this morning while taking our new puppy Molly for a stroll around the grounds, Molly starting jumping anxiously and wagging her tail furiously at the sound of Bob’s voice. Bob who is our neighbor, is retired and an animal lover. He always has time to say ‘hello’ to Molly.

A Vision of Jesus... or Something Else?

On this particular morning while stopping to chat with Bob a few moments he related to me how bad his health has been. There had even been a suggestion by doctors of the possible need for kidney dialysis treatment in the future. He stressed, “but I won’t do that. I am ready to go if it is my time because I know there is a Heaven. I have seen Jesus."

This is how he related the rest of his story to me:

“One day I came back from work, took off my shoes and layed down on the bench on the front porch. After a little while, I heard someone calling my name. Looking around I saw no one but I continued to hear someone call and was told to look up in the sky. Then I saw Jesus.”

Friends, how can we be sure that this vision was not from God? What does Holy Scripture say about it? And has Christ warned His children about these things?

Mark 13:21 "And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not:"

2Corinthians 11:14 "And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light."

Do not leave the matter of where your soul will spend eternity up to chance, nor have confidence in how your fathers were taught, passing along those same beliefs and traditions on to you without question. It is commanded to each one to serve the living God.

Why will God allow delusion? Let us read on:

2Thessalonians 2:10-12
"And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved."
“And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie. That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."

Isaiah 66:4 "I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not."

God gives us His truth freely and it is found in the Bible. The Bible says all scripture was given by God to the prophets of old under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

2Peter 1:21 "For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."

Holy Scripture is not given to select preachers to understand and interpret for us! Nor to Catholic priests! Nor to the many hundreds of sects out there, to be passed on to us ‘second hand’. No friends, God’s Spirit through the written Word is in itself enough to guide us even today. The Bible is our handbook, given by God himself to guide His own children through this dark deceitful world. He reveals His truth to our hearts which lights the way in which we are to follow Him home.

Isaiah 58:11
"And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not."

Turn to Ezekiel 34:8-16 to see what our Lord says against the shepherds:

8 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock;

9 Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.

10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.

11 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.

12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.

13 And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.

14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.

15 I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD.

16 I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.

Ezekiel 34:11 "For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.

Do not be deceived! Nor leave yourself open to delusion or the many lies and false gods that are in this world. Arm yourselves with the knowledge of God’s Word.

Ephesians 6:11 "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."

1Peter 5:8 "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."

All false gods are of the evil one. If you are not worshipping the God of the Bible, you are worshipping a false god.

Your soul cannot be satisfied where God’s true Word is not found. I am not speaking of where you may or may not go to worship services. I am speaking of the condition of the heart. Your soul cannot have peace and joy without God’s living Word abiding in a circumcised heart.

Isaiah 49:10 "They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them."

Who are the astonished that God will reject though they believe they both know God and are doing His work?

Matthew 7:23:
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Is it your desire to know God? To know Who he is? He is found in truth, revealed in Holy Scripture. Who keeps you from studying God’s Holy Scriptures? You may say it is too difficult to understand and I am not learned, so I will trust others who are more qualified to teach me, but it is to His children alone that He reveals Himself to. There is only One true God, which this ‘world’ does not know. He is not found in organized religion but in the heart, and as we wash ourselves in His Word, He reveals Himself to us.

Matthew 11:25 "At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes."

Listen to what God says about the popular ways of the world:

Matthew 7:13 "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereafter.
"Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto Life, and few there be that find it."

It is God alone who knows His sheep (His own chosen) and by His Spirit He will lead His children to living waters of life.

2Timothy 2:15 "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

Let us humble ourselves and sit at the feet of Jesus. Become a student of the Bible and listen to what our Lord has to say to you. I encourage you to search the Holy Scriptures for yourself; it may be, He will reveal Himself to you.

“Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” John 20:29

Cain and Abel

As we continue in the book of Genesis we will focus on both the first sin and the first animal sacrifice for sin, we will also include verses on why Abel's offering was accepted by God but Cain's was not. Hopefully this study will edify many who are confused in this part of God's Word.

Let us review what happened after sin entered into the world through Adam and Eve:

Genesis 3:7
"they knew that they were naked and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons."

Genesis 3:8 "And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden."

Sin in the Bible is oftentimes described as 'Nakedness'. It is meant to teach us how serious God views our sin and the need of a covering for it.

Now let us proceed with a verse taken from Hebrews 9:22

"And without the shedding of blood is no remission (of sin)."

This above verse is very important because in it God tells us what is needed for sin. God revealed this first to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:21

"Unto Adam also, and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them." Gen. 3:21

The above is the first example of an animal sacrificed to cover sin. We would see this sacrifice repeated again and again throughout the Old Testament. The animal sacrifices were meant to teach man how grievous sin is and what God himself tells us he requires for sin, which is . . the shedding of blood. We read that God made a covering for Adam and Eve with the animal skins. These animal sacrifices were to point us to the Savior who would shed his blood for us and be our covering for sin. The garment he would clothe (cover) us in is his own righteousness. Without this covering of Christ's righteousness we could never stand before a holy God, but now God does not look upon our sins, he sees only his Son!

"I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels." Isaiah 61:10

Let us turn to Genesis 4:2-5

2 "Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground."

3 "And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.

4 "And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering:

5 "But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

We should now understand why Cain's offering of the fruit of the ground was rejected by God. Since it was bloodless it was not what God required. Cain in his rebelliousness rejected God's only plan of salvation.

Abel ( a keeper of sheep), in contrast did what was right in God's eyes and brought the sacrifice he required, which was the firstborn of his flock and the fat portions (that which burns most quickly rep. of fire, holiness.)

Once again, these sacrifices are a picture ('a shadow or type') which points us to the true Lamb of God who would be sacrificed (on the cross) for his sheep, his flock. This is what God's people in the O.T. understood and laid their hope upon. Christ was the firstborn of the dead:

"And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence." Col. 1:18

Abel (a picture of the spiritual man) knew he was a sinner but had faith in the One who would eventually come to take away the sins of the world:

"By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh!" Hebrews 11:4

Cain is a picture of the man of the earth who is rebellious and angry towards God. He does not come before God with the only sin offering that God accepts, which is Christ, the true Lamb of God.

Hebrews 10:4

"For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins."

We now have Christ:

"But now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself." Hebrews 9:26

The Book of Genesis, ‘Made in God’s Image’

There can be some confusion in God's first book of the Bible and we do not have to go too far along in our reading before questions may pop up; therefore, I believe it would be profitable for us to examine what God has said in this foremost book of the Bible. Genesis is at the top of my favorite books in the Bible and is one which I never tire of reading, mainly because God reveals the end from the beginning. I hope that if it is not already a favorite of yours, it will soon become one. From these pages we will lead up to our main focus in this study which will be who is made in God's image and how God goes about doing this work.

And as God himself created us, so He also knows how best to teach us; it is just as we teach our very children. He takes us by the hand and holds us up as we take our first steps, talking to us and teaching us things all the while He is walking with us. As parents to our own young children we see how quickly they learn by reading to them from picture books. This is also how our heavenly Father teaches us many spiritual things, using 'pictures'. Sometimes these 'pictures' in the Bible are called 'types or shadows' of things to come.

In this study from the book of Genesis, I have tried to write very carefully and simply. As we are God's children, we will proceed cautiously, as with children.

For those who do not have their Bibles close at hand, I will place below the verses we will focus on as we go along. Let us pay close attention as the Lord speaks to our hearts through his Spirit.

1 "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."

We take note the first mentioned-heaven, the second-earth.

2 "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep."

God gives to us the description of the earth. His Word is true. It was "WITHOUT FORM"
(w/o an essential nature) and "VOID"
(vain and useless.) The first mention of 'darkness' is seen here. It was upon the "face of the deep". God does not add anything to this darkness "upon the face of the deep", but we take a cue here as it is mentioned right after God describes the earth.

"And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."

Now we have something new! It is 'waters.' We have now so far been introduced to three things, heaven, earth and waters. Right now God does not mention just where the waters are. We note it is in the plural form. We are told, "And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." So now, we associate God's Spirit with the 'waters'. His Spirit is "moving upon the face of the waters."God is active here.

3 "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light."

Now, what we already had was: God's Spirit moving upon the waters. God next says, "Let there be light." God's Spirit is now moving upon the waters, and we also have light.

4 "And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness."

God saw the light was good. It has already been connected to God's Spirit moving upon the waters. We note that there was no work done with the 'darkness' at all, only that these two are divided.

5 "And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day."

Light-Day Darkness-Night Evening & Morning = Day One

We note that God first gave a name to the light (day) then a name to darkness (night), but that each day will begin the opposite way, first with the evening then morning.

6 "And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters."

Now we come back to something God talked about earlier, the 'waters'. They are to be divided. By what? Something called a 'firmament'!

7 "And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so."

Here God makes the firmament. Now He divides the 'waters'( under/above the firmament). It was so.

8 "And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day."

It is now that God reveals to us what this firmament is . . . Heaven! So we now have an idea just where God's Spirit was as He moved upon the waters in the light. We also know where this separation of waters occurred; it was all done above, in heaven. Evening and Morning = Day 2.

9 "And God said, let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so."

Now we begin to see a picture forming. The waters that were under the heaven were gathered together and the dry land appeared. (In our minds we will probably see a picture forming of the earth with the oceans/seas, all as one.) But wait. . . !!

10 "And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good." Please Note . . .

It was the DRY land only that God called EARTH! The gathering together of the WATERS, (those that were from the heaven) he called SEAS. These are separate.

"For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:" 2 Peter 3:5

Now that we have an idea what God has said in his Word from chapter One, verses 1-10 we can proceed cautiously:

"And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." Gen. 1:2

We remember at that point, these waters were all yet above, with God's Spirit, in heaven. We saw:

God's Spirit, Moved upon the face of the Waters, & Light.

From these three, mentioned above, we should start to see a picture (or shadow) forming of the child of God. One who is born of God's Spirit from above, from water as we are in His light.

Let us turn to John 5:4 (For a thorough review, start at John 5: verses 1 through 9).

"For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had."

Does the above sound familiar? Yes, from these verses in John we see the same picture we saw from the very beginning in Genesis 1:1-10. God reveals to us the beautiful 'picture' of salvation.

For an angel (Spirit of Christ) went down (to world) at a certain season (in the day of salvation) into the pool (picture of the gathering together of the waters or "seas") and troubled the water (moved in our lives): whosoever then first (Christ is the firstfruits . . . we are found in him)after the troubling of the water stepped in (that work he continues to do in our lives) was made whole of whatsoever disease (set free from sin/bondage) he had.

That above pool of water is where all God's children are gathered, we live in it. We should realize that this pool of water is 'the washing of water' through God's Word:

"That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word." We are sanctified (set apart, made Holy) through the washing by God's word.

Let us look at another picture of this same healing . John the Baptist was in prison when he heard the works of Christ,

See Matthew 11:4-6

"He sent two of his disciples to ask: Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?" Jesus answered and said unto them:

" Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:"

"The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and poor have the gospel preached to them."

"And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me."

This is a spiritual picture of the healing that God does in the life of each of his children. For we were all blind, lame, as lepers, deaf, dead! The blindness he heals are the scales from our eyes; he opens them anew whereby we can see those things spiritual. The lame now walk in his light. "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." (Psalms 119:105) Sin is pictured as disease (leprosy). It is for this reason Christ came into the world. He came to save us from sin and its bondage. This is the healing he came to do described throughout the Bible in many different pictures. We are no longer servants to sin, but servants unto God. The deaf can now hear and fully understand. The "dead are raised up' and become new creatures (creations) in Christ, whereas we were once considered dead to God when we followed after our own lusts and desires. We are raised up in newness of life and have Christ's promise of eternal life. God's children are those 'blessed' who will not be offended at the Gospel of salvation through Christ. It is to those 'poor' that the gospel message reaches. This 'poor' God equates with the spirit. The poor in spirit are humble before God. They repent of their wicked ways and follow after him. (Repent means to 'turn from', it is a turning away from sin and a turning to God). The opposite of those 'poor' are the 'rich' in spirit who believe they have no need of a Savior and will think they are doing just fine in themselves. In the Bible they are likened to the Pharisees.

We need not look any further than our own baptisms to see a picture of this new life, as we follow the example that Christ set before us in Matt. 3:13-17.

"And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.

"And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him." Matthew 3:14-17

We read in Exodus 2:10 She (Pharaoh's Daughter) called his name Moses, "because I drew him out of the water."

Two more:

"He sent from above; he took me; He drew me out of many waters." 2 Samuel 22:17

David repeated the same prayer in Psalms 18:16, "He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters.

We were told by Christ himself, we would be 'fishers' of men (Matt. 4:19). Here again Christ is talking of water ('seas'). The fish Christ is talking about are the poor, the humble to whom the gospel message is preached and will reach. There are numerous pictures in the Bible where water is used in connection to washing and to make someone (or something), such as clothing or vessels clean (holy). We are washed by water through the reading of his Word.

"Jesus answered verily, verily, I say unto thee: Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. John 3:5

God's children are born from the Spirit. The 'woman' who was taken from man's side (rib) was then reborn (or born again) from Christ's pierced side, of water and blood. In her is pictured the elect or chosen of God. Once again, the water is the washing through his word and the blood, that which Christ shed for his children.

"But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water." John 19:34

"That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I say unto thee, you must be born again." John 3:6-7

"Ye are all the children of the light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness." 1 Thessalonians 5:5

God's spiritual food (his Word, his truth) is often times seen as rain. 'Manna' was also a picture of this bread of life which was rained down from Heaven to Israel.

The opposite is seen of the earth. A lack of God's word in the earth is seen as drought or famine, or darkness and 'no sun'.

After sin, God said that the serpent (Satan) would be upon his belly and eat dust. Man is formed from the dust of the ground.

"Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life." Gen. 3:14

From all of the above we should be able to see the distinction that God makes in those who are born of the Spirit and those who are of the earth. It is the spirit which lives on, the physical body will disintegrate.

"In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." Gen. 3:19

Christ's promise to his own:

"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." John 10:28

"And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed." Acts 13:48

"In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began. Titus 1:2

We see from the start of Genesis, that when God's Word is spoken, it is as good as done!

read the rest here.

God's Grace From Eternity

“And you shall be unto me a kingdom of Priests, and an Holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” 1 Peter 2:9

God’s wonderful eternal plan for His children is seen in the above verse.

Yet, we learn through scripture that from before time God knew how mankind would sin and also how He would send a Savior to redeem them.

We read God’s message of salvation through a Savior in both the Old and New Testaments. It is through the covenant of grace God made with man that we would see his plan. This covenant of Grace is undeserved favor. What sinful man deserved was God’s wrath.

To see the first mention of God's plan we must go back to the book of Genesis. When man was first formed he was without sin. There was no commandment given from God yet, therefore he was not in sin. (I do not agree with the phrase that some will use, 'Adam was perfect'. When I buy a new appliance for my home I believe it is good but until I have tested it I do not say it is perfect. To say something is 'perfect' we must put it through various tests or circumstances.)

Let us begin at Genesis 2:8

"The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed.”

“Out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” Gen. 2:9

Here we now see the One Commandment God gave the man:

“Of every tree of the garden, thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat, for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Gen. 2:16-17

God would make a ‘help meet’ for man, taken from his side:

“And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman. She shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man.” Gen. 2:22-23

We see how subtle the serpent was, whereby he deceived the woman in making her doubt what God had said. She was also told “ye shall not surely die.”

“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasant to the eyes and a tree to be desired to make one wise. She took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” Gen. 3:6

Afterwards they knew they had sinned (“the eyes of them both were opened; they knew that they were naked”). They attempted to make their own covering for sin (made from fig leaves), and then hid from God.

The Shepherd’s voice was soon calling out for His lost sheep, “where art thou?” And the man said, “I heard thy voice in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself.” He would blame the woman: “She gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” And the ‘woman’, she also found someone to blame: “the serpent beguiled me, and I did eat." Gen 3: 9-13

From this first sin of disobedience we see how mankind has since failed to recognize sin in their own lives.

Now to those 'Blessed' of God. . . "And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat." Gen. 1:29

Surely, from this lesson in God’s Word we now realize that there are two trees to eat from. Man will eat from either one or the other. We must ‘eat’ from God’s ‘tree of life,’ from the true ‘seed’ Christ who died on that tree (the Cross) which brings eternal life.

“And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body.” Mark 14:22

There is only one other tree to eat from. . . the ‘tree of good and evil’. Satan would try to deceive the very 'elect' (if it were possible) into following after him into disobedience!
We must recognize who Satan approached with his deception. It was ‘the woman’, who was to be the ‘help meet’ of man.

“She took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat.” Gen. 3:6

We shall see what happened to the man:

“Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.” Gen. 3:23-24

Has Satan beguiled you? Do you know from which tree you are eating?

Christ is seen as the 'second Adam', whereas earlier the 'woman' was taken from Adam's side . . . On the Cross, it was Christ's side that was pierced and the Church (the 'woman') was born (or born again).

"Jesus answered and said unto him: Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." John 3:3

“But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came their out blood and water.” John 19:34

(His children are washed in His blood and continually cleansed through the washing of water, His word.)

The Bible tells us that man was banished from the garden. He was now a sinner, following after the serpent in rebellion and would eventually also die physically. Since man descended from Adam, they inherited his sinful nature and are under God’s wrath and curse.

The first hint of God’s plan is told us in the garden when he told Satan:

“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise his heel.” Gen 3:15

This verse reveals to us that the ‘woman’ (the ‘help meet’) would become the church, the redeemed. She is taken out of man and redeemed through the 'Son of man', Christ. She is the ‘elect’, the ‘chosen few.’ Christ is the true seed.

"But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." 1Cor.6:11

Let us carefully read Genesis 1:26-28:

"And God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he him. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth, and subdue it.

We must remember God is Spirit. The Old Testament saints looked forward to a Savior, the N.T. saints look back on Him. All believed God and are 'created in God's image'. We were already flesh and blood but are now led by God's Spirit.

Let us also read Genesis 2:7:

"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."

The above is a description of the physical man formed only of the dust of the ground. (God breathed into his nostrils.) But, he is not of the spirit. He needs a 'help meet' which was 'the woman.'

"That which is born of flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again." John 3:6-7

We can now understand. One is of man 'formed' out of the dust of the earth and one "created in God's image", Jesus Christ. Have you been born again?

"For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified." Romans 8:29-30

God's children were known by Him even in those days when "the heavens and earth were finished, and all the host of them." Gen. 2:1 We realize God saw us through time, even as He said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness."

As we look ahead into the book of Revelation, we see how angry Satan is with the woman who was born again in Christ.

"And the Dragon was wroth with the woman and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Rev. 12:17

And once again, going back to the Old Testament, we see a gradual unfolding of God’s plan of salvation. Man is in such darkness he must first recognize what sin is. The law is seen as a “schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we may be justified by faith” Gal. 3:24. We are taught how grievous sin is through the many blood offerings and sacrifices of bulls and goats to ‘cover sin.’ The Old Testament sacrifices had no power to take away sin but God used these types or shadows to point us to the true Lamb of God who would yet come to redeem us from our sin. Christ was that fulfillment. Man was not saved through the keeping of the law, but by the law is the knowledge of sin. Through it God shows man how much he is in need of a Savior. Christ fulfilled all the law for us.

“Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe.” Romans 3:20-22

Christ was the ‘mediator of a better Covenant’. This covenant was made with man in which God purposed to save the ‘elect’ or ‘chosen few’ from among mankind. These few are sometimes called the Woman, the Church, his children, the redeemed of God, etc.

“According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.” Eph. 1:4-5

This covenant is by faith in Jesus Christ. It is through faith in His finished work alone that our sins are forgiven. We lay hold of the salvation found in Christ as the Holy Spirit applies God’s grace to our hearts by giving us the very faith to lay hold of Christ. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit was a most important gift that was promised and received by us after His Ascension. Through the Holy Spirit’s power of regeneration and sanctification we are made new creatures in Christ.

It was on the Cross that Christ, the true lamb of God, redeemed us with his blood; and through His death on the Cross, God’s penalty for sin was paid. He died in our place.

"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

We are blessed with eternal life and are once again in fellowship with God. It is only because of Christ’s sacrifice and His obedience to God that His children inherited these blessings in the covenant of grace. We are now clothed in the righteousness of Christ.

God Himself declared the price of sin, but . . He Himself paid the price in our stead!

“And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burndt offering: so they went both of them together.” Gen. 22:8

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under Heaven whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4: 12

Through the Cross the power that Satan had over Man was broken. Man is no longer held in bondage to sin.

For God “hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son.” Col. 1:13

We can freely serve God and receive His blessings. Christ was the true ‘seed’ in which “all the families of the earth would be blessed.” This is no longer confined to the nation of Israel. True Israel consists of those ‘circumcised of the heart.’ All nations now have the knowledge of the Lord and His salvation, both Jew and Gentile.

“Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life." Revelation 22:14.

No Comfort Without Hope

After saying hello in the telephone, the next thing I heard was the voice of an angry and irate sister who sternly told me, “Don’t impose your God on mom!!”

My dear mother was dying and had expressed to us several times throughout her life that she did not believe in an afterlife. This was the way she was raised in the Japanese Shinto religion. My mother was an active, busy woman, much younger than her true years. Never idle, always doing for family. This came to an abrupt halt in late 2004. Now her life was quickly passing away from an uncontrollable and fast moving cancer racing throughout her body.

The hospice nurse asked, ‘would you like a minister to start visiting’? I thought this would be wonderful and might bring her some measure of comfort, if any was to be found for her. It did not materialize. I too, was as a leper and an outcast for bringing Christ’s name into the sick room.

I understood, when I heard the irate voice of my sister on the other end of the telephone, that it had not entered her heart that by trying to prevent someone’s right to hear the full Gospel of Christ, she herself was imposing and reinforcing her own unbelief system, even up to our mother’s death bed!

My sister was raised a Catholic and is an unbeliever in anything today. To believers, Christ and His promises are our only hope. This was also the hope at the end for one repentant thief crucified next to Christ:

And he said unto Jesus, “Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom”. And Jesus said unto him, “Verily, I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise.”

Luke 23:40-43

Where is there any value to anyone in anything in a world that is quickly passing away? There is no comfort found anywhere but in the Savior and His Truth.

A priest was called in to perform the last rites. He came and left.

No... without hope, it is a sad passing. Soon after, alone with my dear mother at her bedside, she did indeed hear God’s full Gospel, and I believe even through her pain she knew and confirmed to me that Christ is true. Two days later, Mom opened her eyes briefly to say good-by, then took her last breath.
April 30, 2005


“God is Spirit. Those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and in Truth”. John 4:24

Christ’s Work Alone

Christ said, “My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish His work.” (John 4:34) His finished work of salvation is proclaimed all over the world in and through His children. Yes, we are zealous!!! We are the body of Christ, His hands and His feet in this dark world. Yes, we preach Christ’s Good News of salvation to those around us, making sure all have had an opportunity to hear, or to reject God’s truth. To the humble, we continue to instruct in doctrine and truth, knowing it is God’s work alone to change man’s sinful heart and bring one to salvation.

“With men this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)

It is His sheep He came to save from sin. In today’s world, many are taught by false prophets that they themselves must make the decision to either accept Christ or be lost. Man in his fallen, sinful state could not, cannot act to follow Christ, unless God would enable him! Yes, it is God who does that work in a sinner’s life which brings him to the point where he is open to receiving His truth; however, how many of those who have walked down those long aisles in the Billy Sunday and Billy Graham crusades had actually thought this act and repeating a simple prayer would save them?

How many persevered, and how many were those seeds that fell by the wayside? How many were brought out of bondage from Egypt? How many went through testing in the wilderness? How many put on the full armor of Christ ready for battle with the enemy of our souls? How many were crucified and arisen with Christ? Are they among those who "follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth” (Rev. 14 ) ?

Where are the thousands of these today who, ‘decided to accept Christ’ at these crusades? Was it man’s decision or an act of God? No, it is not man’s decision to make. Furthermore, that would imply an All-Powerful God is under the authority of sinful man, and is not able to act in the sinner’s life unless He is granted some sort of permission!!

Christ says ‘no man can come to Me except the Father which has sent Me draw him and I will raise him up at the last day.’ (John 6:44)

“He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber." (John 10:1)

One cannot enter the sheepfold but through the Door, which is Christ.

It is God’s work to bring the sinner to salvation…. “Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)

Salvation in a man is all God’s work. His Grace. When have we last heard this word…Grace? No, in today’s churches most are taught, we must have a part in salvation. We must act! We must ‘accept Him’!! How like the human heart to want to remain in control & declare a part in his own salvation! The proud man wants only to trust in his own righteousness, his own works. What does God say about that?

“All our rightousnesses are as filthy rags.” (Isaiah 64:6 )

“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.”

(Ephesians 2: 8-9)

Have you humbled yourself? Are you clothed in the righteousness of Christ? It is this wedding garment we must be clothed in for the marriage feast God has prepared for his Son in heaven (Matthew 22:11-14).

Do you trust in the One who moved heaven and earth to save his own people-- those He knew from before the world was created?

"According as he hath chosen us in him, before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.’’

Ephesians 1:4-5

Have you trusted in the Cross of Christ to wash away your sins? ALL this too, is of GRACE. The God given faith of Christ. Yes, Christ’s actual faith. (Galatians 2:16, Galatians 3:22, Romans 3:22, Philippians 3:9) Are you now, yet today depending on your own righteousness?

At the Cross, Christ said, ‘It is finished.’ Were you at the Cross?

“God is Spirit. Those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24)

“One Lord, One Way, One Truth”

How many times in your ministry have you heard these next phrases:

That’s your interpretation!

I’m not that bad!

Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion!

Don’t be judgmental! (or, intolerant!)

And finally:

DON’T impose YOUR God on others!

Nothing new, is it? The world is not open to the one true Gospel of Christ found only through God’s Word. If anything, it loves and wants to hear the ‘God of love’ only teachings of Joel Osteen or similar televangelists and false prophets who are leading the masses astray, NOT a God of love and of justice who will one day return to judge the world for sin. Instead, they choose to hear something smooth, or one which does for ME ! A God of ‘signs & wonders’ who will physically take away their arthritis, cancers, diseases, cure their bad eyesight, cataracts & blindness, strengthen their weakened and crippled legs, one who can take away bad hearing & deafness, and cast out demons! Give me money and make me rich?! YES, YES. . . I’ll plant a seed!!!

What is wrong with these pictures? What has happened to the true gospel? How has it become so perverted? Or. . . has it always been so? In your love and mission to proclaim God’s Word in a dark and unbelieving world, some of the above is most often what you will see and hear. The greatest miracle that Jesus performs today is the same as was in His ministry on earth . . . the healing of sin in the human heart.

But since the beginning of time, when God made known his plan of salvation, there has been the lie and those who would distort God’s truth, just as there are followers of these men… ones who pick and choose from among the many hundreds of false teachings out there. The sad truth is that most of those sitting in today’s churches have not made a simple ‘read through’ of the entire Bible, let alone made a vigorous daily study in His Word, and thus are easily led astray.

“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

( II Timothy 2:15)

It is only through God’s gift of His Holy Spirit that we know and follow the One true God.

“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come." (John 16:13-14)

"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." (John 14:26)

But yet, the lukewarm churches are adamant in their views and chirp back to you either what they want to believe or what they are taught in their denomination of choice. God’s truth and His Way of salvation will never alter because of what man may want to believe. We understand God’s truth as revealed in scripture through the leading of His Holy Spirit. We must be as the Bereans, examining everything (see Acts 17:10-11), comparing all things to Holy Scripture. Not simply look to the vast variety of preachers out there, all with their own particular teachings, many of whom Christ warns us against. Needless to say, these followers (of men) are content to just sit in their churches, or in front of the T.V. set and listen to whomever tickles their ears. Most do not seem to care or dispute what is taught them by taking the time to open God’s Word, to study scripture and verse in the proper context that it is written in.

Christ says,
“Enter ye in at the straight gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat. Because straight is the gate & narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." (Matthew 7:13-14)

If you find yourselves listening to one STANDING before you in the church with a Gospel perverted by man (the abomination), could you recognize poison (‘death in the pot’)? (2 Kings 4:38-41)

God’s Word says, you are to ‘flee to the mountains’. He alone, is our ‘Mountain’. He is the revealer of truth.

‘But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand),then let them that be in Judaea, flee to the mountains." (Mark 13: 14)

"And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." (Isaiah 2:3)

Potipher’s wife said to Joseph, ‘Lie with me.’ Joseph fled.’ (Gen. 39:12) We are to flee from the adulteress. She is in the apostate churches today, built by man. Have you spiritual ears? Has He taken away your DEAFNESS? Has He healed your BLINDNESS so you can see His truth, are you no longer CRIPPLED but walk in His Light? Has Christ's Truth (found in his word) CAST OUT ALL DEMONS so Satan can no longer harm you? Has He healed you from all sickness and disease (SIN), so that you stand before Him in newness of life?

“God is Spirit. Those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and in truth’.
John 4:24