Category: blood of Christ

‘Twas the Sunday Night Before Christmas

Sunday, December 22, 2013

“But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15 KJV).

Let us not be so sidetracked by religion and commercialization that we miss the reason for the Christmas Season….

During the Christmas Season, we wonder how many people are visiting church for the second time this year (the other being Easter Sunday). How many will be going to church today—the Sunday before Christmas—just to feel “religious” or “holy?” How many really know Jesus Christ? For many, visiting a church building is just an obligation; they do not have faith in God’s Word and have no interest in God’s Word.

We do not go to church to “feel closer to God,” for if we have trusted in Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, we cannot be any closer to God than we already are in Christ! “[Before salvation, we were] without God in the world: but now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh [close to God] by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:12,13).

Furthermore, we do not go to church in order to get God’s blessings, for God has already given us “all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). We go to church, not because we are keeping Israel’s Sabbath day, since we are not obligated to observe Israel’s religious days (Colossians 2:16). We go to church to fellowship with like-minded believers and hear sound doctrine… more than twice a year, by the way.

In today’s Scripture, the Apostle Paul encouraged Timothy that whenever he would assemble with fellow Christians, certain behavior was acceptable and other types of behavior were not (described throughout the epistle of 1 Timothy). Recall that when the Bible refers to “the church,” it refers to the body of believers, not the physical building in which they meet.

As we get opportunities, let us make an effort to reach these dear souls misled by all the vain religious tradition and Christmas commercialization, and may we tell them of the wonderful Christ Jesus whose name is found in Christmas!

*Based on the poem “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.”

Final Arrangements #2

Saturday, December 14, 2013

“He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (1 John 5:12 KJV).

When all of life is over, all of life has just begun, so when all of life is over, be sure you have the Son!

In verse 11, we read, “And this is the record [testimony], that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” Unbroken fellowship with the God of heaven is in His Son, Jesus Christ, who defined “life eternal” as knowing God the Father and the Son (Himself), whom the Father sent (John 17:3). The “life” of today’s Scripture is not living in general (even non-Christians are alive!), but “eternal life.” Furthermore, “eternal life” is not simply living forever, but living forever fellowshipping with God and His Son Jesus Christ! Fascinatingly, the Apostle John wrote that he and all the other Jewish believers who saw Jesus living in His physical body (His earthly ministry) literally saw God’s life, and they also partook of that eternal life (1 John 1:1-3)!

When one places faith in and relies exclusively on the death, shed blood, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as sufficient payment for his or her sins, one receives eternal life now (rather than dying and getting it in heaven). One enjoys this eternal life by studying God’s Word rightly divided, discovering Him and what He is doing.

James likened the human life to “a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” (4:14). Our physical bodies exist for “a little time,” and then they “perish” (2 Corinthians 4:16). However, our inner man (soul and spirit) will live forever—believers dwelling in God’s presence (Psalm 23:6; Ephesians 2:6,7 cf. Ephesians 3:21) and lost people dwelling in torments in God’s absence (Isaiah 66:24; 2 Thessalonians 1:9; Revelation 14:9-11).

This life will end one day, but the next life will begin: we will continue to exist as a soul and a spirit. May we trust Jesus Christ alone as Saviour now, that we may have eternal life now, and not experience life in eternity apart from God’s life, for that godless life is no “life” at all!

Tips to Timid Timothy to Tolerate Troubling Times #10

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7 KJV).

We have often heard the expression “timid Timothy,” but have you ever wondered why he was timid?

For many years, Timothy faithfully served as a coworker of the Apostle Paul in the ministry of God’s grace (Philippians 2:19-23). Satan knew that he could not get Timothy to change God’s Word (that is, compromise the message for the sake of appeasing the false teachers). Timothy showed no interest in joining Satan’s program and propagating his deception.

Nevertheless, Satan’s policy of evil has many schemes and scams, and if one “wile” is unsuccessful, he will simply resort to implementing another. For the Christian soldier who will not give in to false teaching, the devil will use troubling circumstances to distract the Christian, to cause him or her to lose sight of God’s love, God’s peace, and God’s strength in Jesus Christ (Romans 8:35-39). As long as the Christian is confused and miserable, he or she will grow weary (as Timothy eventually did), and then quietly surrender and retreat (and then Satan has one less person opposing him and his policy of evil, which was his goal from the beginning!).

Indeed, Satan is operating a most strategic military plan, but our God, the Lord Jesus Christ, is far wiser. He anticipated all of Satan’s moves, but Satan did not foresee His moves (1 Corinthians 2:6-8). The Bible says God kept one secret from Satan, and Satan thus participated in his own defeat (Colossians 2:14,15)! Had Satan really known what God would do with Calvary’s finished crosswork, he would have never, ever influenced Israel to kill Jesus Christ.

Howbeit, Satan did encourage Jesus’s crucifixion, and now through that shed blood of Jesus Christ, God can save us from Satan. By faith alone in Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork, we can have our sins forgiven. By faith alone in God’s Word to us (Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon), we can remember who we are in Jesus Christ (today’s Scripture), and thus draw on God’s power to tolerate all of life’s troubling times. 🙂

In Every Thing Give Thanks

Thursday, November 28, 2013

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 KJV).

Dear saints, take a moment this Thanksgiving to learn a valuable lesson from the Holy Scriptures!

God wants “all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3,4). To be “saved” here means you have been rescued from the penalty of sin (hell and the lake of fire), and that you have a home in heaven, because you have trusted the death, shed blood, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as sufficient payment for your sins. To “come unto the knowledge of the truth” is when a person who has trusted Christ, begins to understand why God saved him or her, and how God will use him or her for His glory. Although soul salvation is instantaneous, spiritual maturity is a life-long process (that is especially true regarding handling difficulties, the grace way!).

It is human nature to avoid difficulties and stress, to flee them, rather than confront them. This self-preservation is advantageous, particularly in “life or death” situations. However, running from troubling circumstances is not the way God has designed our life in Christ to function. Today’s Scripture says, “In every thing give thanks,” not “For every thing give thanks.” We do not thank God for our troubles; we thank God while we are enduring those troubles. This is tough, I know, but it takes time for us to learn it. Even the Apostle Paul had to learn this.

“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:11-13).

Be thankful in every thing. God’s grace is sufficient for you, dear saint, in all of life’s circumstances. When you learn this, you are “[coming] unto the knowledge of the truth.”

*Excerpted from our Thanksgiving 2012 Bible study with the same name. That study can be read here or watched here.

The Greatest Veteran

Monday, November 11, 2013

“Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; and having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:14,15 KJV).

Today is Veterans’ Day in the United States, so let us especially thank the “Greatest Veteran of All Time.”

We thank veterans, living and departed, the often-forgotten men and women who risked their lives to secure our freedom. Just as we remember flesh-and-blood veterans who fought for our physical liberty, we reserve our worship and utmost respect for the least esteemed Veteran, He who secured our spiritual liberty.

“But thanks be to God, which giveth us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57). Through Christ’s finished crosswork on Calvary, we have eternal victory over sin, death, hell, and Satan. Everything that God has planned for us is dependent upon Christ’s victory at Calvary.

Jesus Christ nailed the Mosaic Law to His cross (today’s Scripture). His sinless blood covered our failure to obey God’s laws; Jesus’ righteousness annulled our unrighteousness (sin). Christ not only liberated us from sin and its penalty (the everlasting lake of fire), but today’s Scripture affirms He also triumphed over Satan himself!

Christ has “spoiled [destroyed] principalities and powers [Satan’s power], he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it [His cross].” Jesus Christ destroyed Satan’s plans. Through Christ’s cross, God has “delivered us from the power of darkness” (Colossians 1:13), Satan’s evil system of Ephesians 2:1-3.

During a recent cemetery visit, I noticed American flags flying above deceased veterans’ headstones. These individuals can no longer hear or regard our thanks, but Jesus Christ’s body is not decaying in some tomb. If there ever was a Veteran most worthy of our gratitude, it is our Lord Jesus Christ. Though He died in battle, allowing Himself to be executed on a Roman cross of shame and scorn, He resurrected. He is alive and well today, alive forevermore!

Saints, eternity will ring with our thanks to the Veteran worth thanking, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Consider Your Ways, Saints! #1

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

“I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies” (Psalm 119:59 KJV).

Oftentimes, the Christian is apathetic to JEHOVAH’S desire to build a temple… using him or her….

The Bible makes it very clear in Ephesians 1:9,10 that God the Father’s overall purpose and plan for creation is to make the heaven and the earth operate in unison in bringing praise and glory to His Son, Jesus Christ. How God will accomplish this plan is summarized in 1 Timothy 2:4: “[God our Saviour] who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”

Jesus Christ suffered, shed His precious and sinless blood, and died on Calvary’s cruel cross to pay for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:3), He was buried to put away those sins, and He was raised again the third day to give us a right standing before God (Romans 4:25), proving that He conquered Satan and sin (otherwise, death would have held Him; Acts 2:24; Colossians 2:15; Hebrews 2:14). When we trust alone in this finished crosswork of Jesus Christ as the fully-satisfying payment (propitiation) for our sins, we are “saved” from those sins, hell, death, the lake of fire, and Satan’s power (Colossians 1:13).

Howbeit, God’s will involves much more than people receiving salvation from their sins and receiving a place in heaven. He also wants those who do get saved—the Christians—to understand why He saved them and what He will do with them in the ages to come. This spiritual edification and maturity is what the Bible calls “coming to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Timothy 2:25).

How disturbing and extremely sad it is to see many Christians with very little to no understanding of God’s will for their lives. Using counterfeit modern “bibles,” being completely engulfed by religious tradition and denominational thinking, and neglecting personal Bible study are the three primary reasons for this dire state of affairs within Christendom.

Before we Christians can have the Lord Jesus Christ’s mindset, we must first learn it ourselves through the study of the rightly divided Scriptures….

One Heartbeat Away from Eternity

Saturday, August 24, 2013

“Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble” (Job 14:1 KJV).

How true, Job, how true!

Earlier this week, just hours after returning from my mom’s aunt’s out-of-state funeral, my family received news that my dad’s younger brother had had a “minor” heart attack but that CPR saved him. We were relieved. Minutes later, we received a second phone call: we learned it was a massive heart attack and his soul likely slipped away into eternity before help arrived.

I was the one who had to tell the news to his 86-year-old mother, my grandmother. There really was no easy way to tell her, and as I gently spoke those words that no mother ever wants to hear, the poor soul sat speechless. As she wept, she told me she never expected to bury a child. Actually, none of us expected that it would be my 61-year-old uncle to die next in the family, and that he would die without any warning—no one in the family was able to tell him goodbye. My poor dear grandmother never did receive her phone call from him that she had been awaiting.

At the funeral Thursday, the most heart-wrenching sight I had ever seen, I was reminded of today’s Scripture. Dear readers, we never do appreciate the frailty of our lives until death comes. Quite frankly, any one of us may literally be just a heartbeat from eternity. As Job stated, we have been given but “few days” on earth (today’s Scripture). We just do not know how “few” those days “full of trouble” really are. That is why the Bible says to be ready to leave today; death gives little to no warning!

We do not have to go to hell. May we not teeter on the edge of a lost eternity! Jesus Christ died for our sins, His perfect blood paid for those sins, His burial put away those sins, and His resurrection gives us new life and justification in Him (Romans 4:25; 1 Corinthians 15:3,4). Trust alone in that Gospel of the Grace of God, and when that final heartbeat comes, you will be prepared!

Who Is a Sinner? #6

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 KJV).

Behold, God’s standard of righteousness, of which we all fall short!

Returning to our earlier comments, religious people, whether they know it or not, have set themselves up for misery and disappointment (not including that which will come in eternity). The Bible so clearly declares in Galatians 3:10-13: “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written [Deuteronomy 27:26], Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith [Habakkuk 2:4]. And the law is not of faith: but [Leviticus 18:5], The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written [Deuteronomy 21:23], Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:”

By virtue of the Mosaic Law, we are all “guilty before God” (Romans 3:19). No matter how hard we try, we cannot bring God praise by our performance, and we can never measure up to His glory. The Law “was weak through the flesh” (Romans 8:3): our flesh (that is, we in our resources and strength) cannot obey every single rule that demonstrates God’s holiness. The Law only condemns; it saves no one!

However, the good news is that Jesus Christ died on our behalf; He suffered God’s wrath against our sin by becoming “sin for us” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus Christ took God’s curse on us sinners, and He bore its weight on Calvary’s cross! When we trust alone in the shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, that perfect sacrifice reunites us with God, and we are declared “the righteousness of God” in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). As sinners, we qualify for God’s plan of salvation available only to sinners. By God’s abounding grace, we can be saved from the curse that our performance generates….

Judge Not? #4

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

“Judge not, that ye be not judged” (Matthew 7:1 KJV).

Today’s Scripture, often used against the Bible believer who exposes sin for what it is, is not teaching what it is often assumed to assert.

Clearly, Jesus, in today’s Scripture, was not teaching we should be silent about exposing sin (He merely forbade hypocritical judging; verses 2-5).

The Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul preached against sin in order to show lost people they needed to be saved from those sins through the finished crosswork of Jesus Christ (Acts 13:26-41; Acts 14:11-18; Acts 17:16-31; Acts 24:25; et cetera). Notice the Holy Spirit’s references to specific sins which gender His righteous wrath—murder, envy, pride, homosexuality, drunkenness, fornication, idolatry, witchcraft, disobedience to parents, theft, hatred, gossiping, cruelty, lying, and so on (Romans 1:21-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9,10; Galatians 5:19-21; 1 Timothy 1:9,10; 1 Peter 4:1-5). Notice Paul’s divinely-inspired instructions about having no relations with Christians who are fornicators, covetous, extortionists, idolaters, railers, and drunkards (1 Corinthians 5:9-13).

Christ declared, “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:48). God in His Word has already declared what is and what is not sin. Technically, we are not judging the world; God’s Word does that when we believe it and preach it! Remember, “But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:15,16).

Dearly beloved in Christ, let us be bold to speak out against sin by sharing God’s Word with others, but let us do it in meekness and love (2 Timothy 2:24-26). Our goal is not to be unkind to lost people, but to tell them the answer to their sin problem is only found through the shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ! By preaching this Gospel of Grace, we remind ourselves we were once where they are.

Israel, Stand Still! #12

Saturday, July 20, 2013

“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:10 KJV).

Israel must stand still and do nothing in order to see her God work mightily on her behalf!

Quoting Psalm 40:7,8, Hebrews 10:9-12 says: “Then said he [Jesus Christ], Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first [covenant], that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: but this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;”

God will use Jesus Christ’s shed blood offered 2,000 years ago to ratify the New Covenant at Christ’s Second Coming (just as the Old Covenant was instituted with animals’ blood in Exodus chapter 24). Quoting Isaiah 59:20,21, the Apostle Paul penned: “And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: for this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins” (Romans 11:26,27; cf. Jeremiah 31:31-34; Acts 3:19; Hebrews 8:8-13; Hebrews 10:14-25).

Recall what Moses told Israel at the Red Sea: “Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day:…. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace” (Exodus 14:13,14).

As in Egypt, Israel cannot save herself: she is enslaved to sin and Satan, as she was captive in Egypt. As in Egypt, God sends a Deliverer for Israel: Moses led them from physical captivity and Jesus Christ will lead them from spiritual captivity. This time, they will enter the Promised Land, fully forgiven and free forever (the context of today’s Scripture)—not because of their works, but because of Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork at Calvary.

The whole world will see redeemed Israel glorified in her earthly kingdom, and JEHOVAH will be exalted forever!

~FINIS!~ 🙂