There are many false humanistic teachings out there that believers are convinced are right, but are not Biblical. We must always go to the Word to prove our position, and we must be willing to give up what is proven wrong by Scripture.
A believer we may say "I am convinced of...based on the Word", but they must never be saying, "my opinion is." Once we defer to our desired opinion, we have lost our moorings and must return to the Bible for our answers.
We must be willing to challenge ourselves, all that we have learned from our culture, our church and our families, to be ready to receive what Christ has for us from His Word.
Are we willing to give up everything we were taught to know all that God teaches in His Word. When the Holy Spirit prompts us to question something, we need to go to prayer and study.
2 Timothy 2:15 "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth."
Saturday, September 6, 2014
Repent or Confess!
When Christ said on the cross "Father forgive them, they know not what they do", He was asking the Father to extend forgiveness, however they would not receive the forgiveness unless they repented.
The same is true of believers, we must confess our sins to grow in grace through God's blessing. We don't lose our salvation if we do not confess, we simply lose rewards in heaven and blessings here on earth. We may have terrible consequences for our refusal to admit and ask for cleansing, God cares too much for His children to allow them to be dishonoring to His name.
1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
The 1 John passage was written to believers.
Acts 20:19-21 "19 serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews; 20 how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, 21 testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ."
Christ will not save anyone who does not want to repent and become cleansed from their sin. He will not grow a believer who will not confess, but He will bring discipline to His children, sometimes very harsh discipline when they are stubborn.
Hebrews 12:6 "FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES."
Do we want to be spiritually blessed by God, with heaven to look forward to? Then obey the Word, repent if you are unsaved and confess if you are already born again.
The same is true of believers, we must confess our sins to grow in grace through God's blessing. We don't lose our salvation if we do not confess, we simply lose rewards in heaven and blessings here on earth. We may have terrible consequences for our refusal to admit and ask for cleansing, God cares too much for His children to allow them to be dishonoring to His name.
1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
The 1 John passage was written to believers.
Acts 20:19-21 "19 serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews; 20 how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, 21 testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ."
Christ will not save anyone who does not want to repent and become cleansed from their sin. He will not grow a believer who will not confess, but He will bring discipline to His children, sometimes very harsh discipline when they are stubborn.
Hebrews 12:6 "FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES."
Do we want to be spiritually blessed by God, with heaven to look forward to? Then obey the Word, repent if you are unsaved and confess if you are already born again.
Grow in the Grace We have been Given
2 Peter 3:13-16
"13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; 1
5 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you,
16 as also in ALL his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures."
17 You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked;
18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen."
"13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; 1
5 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you,
16 as also in ALL his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures."
17 You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked;
18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen."
God Answers His Way!
Perhaps all the prayers of true believers are being answered, not they way we had hoped, but what will be effective for a rebellious people to see their need for Christ.
1 Samuel 8:18-20
"18 And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day.”
19 Nevertheless the PEOPLE refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, “No, but we will have a king over us, 20 that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”
1 Samuel 8:18-20
"18 And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day.”
19 Nevertheless the PEOPLE refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, “No, but we will have a king over us, 20 that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”
Signs Abound!
There are so many signs now that Christ is coming soon, I expect it to happen on any given day.
David Reagan said; "I no longer look for signs, there are too many, now I am looking for sounds."
What an exciting time it will be when the trumpet of the Lord sounds and we will be going up in the clouds to meet Him.
Luke 21:18 ""But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
David Reagan said; "I no longer look for signs, there are too many, now I am looking for sounds."
What an exciting time it will be when the trumpet of the Lord sounds and we will be going up in the clouds to meet Him.
Luke 21:18 ""But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
Going Through Futile Motions?
The apostate church is not looking for ways to please and obey God, they are looking for how many ways they can still sin while maintaining what they think is their standing with God. It is likely that most who think they are "Christians" have never been born again, the reason they have no dedication or desire to please the Lord.
They want their "religion", that brings them a sense of safety without having to obey God.
They don't read their Bibles because they fear finding out things they don't want to know. They use excuses that the Bible is subjective because they don't want to have to be accountable to it. When challenged by fellow believers, they fight and argue and accuse to avoid facing the truth.
The modern church is violating so much of the Scripture, that what the people follow is not God's will at all, but a humanized concoction of a little here and a little there of the scripture while infusing a lot of psychology, folk lore and personal opinion to come to their conclusions about what God says, if they even know any of what He says.
Watch what will happen in the comments when I list many things that American believers practice that are not only unBiblical but also in opposition to God's Word.
The list is short but every one of these things is being violated and the sins are even defended as though they are from God when they are opposing God's standard.
1. Divorce and Remarriage
Luke 16:15-18
"And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God... Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is DIVORCED from her husband commits adultery."
Proverbs 6:32-34
"32 Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding;
He who does so destroys his own soul. 33 Wounds and dishonor he will get,
And his reproach will not be wiped away. 34 For jealousy is a husband’s fury;
Therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance."
2. Loving Yourself: Self Esteem: Love of Self is condemned by God.
Luke 9:23-24
"And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it."
Philippians 2:3
"Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves."
3. Marriage to Non-believers: God says to marry only believers if we are born again.
2 Corinthians 6:14
"Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?"
4. Grace means you can sin all you want: According to the Bible we have "Grace", not to sin.
Romans 6:1-3
"6 What shall we say then? Shall we CONTINUE in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?"
5. Sin Doesn't Matter: The Bible says sin is so serious that anyone who sins must die.
John 8:24
"Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."
6. Christmas and Easter: There is no scripture that instructs us to celebrate this holiday that was concocted by man to be able to enjoy their festivals while adding to them pagan practices. There is only one observance the Lord gave us:
Luke 22:19
"And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."
8. God doesn't care how you dress
1 Timothy 2:9 "Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments,"
It is one thing to be ashamed of sin and repentant when caught in them, it is quite another to defend them and fight for the right to engage in them. Anyone who will fight to defend any one of these sins, are looking for ways to enjoy their secular lifestyle, pretending to be devoted to Christ.
Too many people are turning to the church for safety, not because they are ashamed of their sin and want to be cleansed, but because they love their sin. They want the safety that the Lord offers without having Him.
Luke 10:27
"And he answered, "YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF."
Anyone who thinks that they can sin all they want and go to heaven have not been changed into a new creation by Christ. First they never came to Christ in brokenness, desiring to be cleansed, and they have no desire to walk in holiness.
2 Corinthians 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."
1 John 3:6-10
6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.
7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.
8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.
9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother."
May each one reading this, take inventory, asking themselves do I have a desire to please the Lord, seeking Him for His answers, or am I merely wanting to pretend Christianity to feel safe? This may be the most important question you may ask in your life.
They want their "religion", that brings them a sense of safety without having to obey God.
They don't read their Bibles because they fear finding out things they don't want to know. They use excuses that the Bible is subjective because they don't want to have to be accountable to it. When challenged by fellow believers, they fight and argue and accuse to avoid facing the truth.
The modern church is violating so much of the Scripture, that what the people follow is not God's will at all, but a humanized concoction of a little here and a little there of the scripture while infusing a lot of psychology, folk lore and personal opinion to come to their conclusions about what God says, if they even know any of what He says.
Watch what will happen in the comments when I list many things that American believers practice that are not only unBiblical but also in opposition to God's Word.
The list is short but every one of these things is being violated and the sins are even defended as though they are from God when they are opposing God's standard.
1. Divorce and Remarriage
Luke 16:15-18
"And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God... Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is DIVORCED from her husband commits adultery."
Proverbs 6:32-34
"32 Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding;
He who does so destroys his own soul. 33 Wounds and dishonor he will get,
And his reproach will not be wiped away. 34 For jealousy is a husband’s fury;
Therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance."
2. Loving Yourself: Self Esteem: Love of Self is condemned by God.
Luke 9:23-24
"And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it."
Philippians 2:3
"Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves."
3. Marriage to Non-believers: God says to marry only believers if we are born again.
2 Corinthians 6:14
"Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?"
4. Grace means you can sin all you want: According to the Bible we have "Grace", not to sin.
Romans 6:1-3
"6 What shall we say then? Shall we CONTINUE in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?"
5. Sin Doesn't Matter: The Bible says sin is so serious that anyone who sins must die.
John 8:24
"Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."
6. Christmas and Easter: There is no scripture that instructs us to celebrate this holiday that was concocted by man to be able to enjoy their festivals while adding to them pagan practices. There is only one observance the Lord gave us:
Luke 22:19
"And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."
8. God doesn't care how you dress
1 Timothy 2:9 "Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments,"
It is one thing to be ashamed of sin and repentant when caught in them, it is quite another to defend them and fight for the right to engage in them. Anyone who will fight to defend any one of these sins, are looking for ways to enjoy their secular lifestyle, pretending to be devoted to Christ.
Too many people are turning to the church for safety, not because they are ashamed of their sin and want to be cleansed, but because they love their sin. They want the safety that the Lord offers without having Him.
Luke 10:27
"And he answered, "YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF."
Anyone who thinks that they can sin all they want and go to heaven have not been changed into a new creation by Christ. First they never came to Christ in brokenness, desiring to be cleansed, and they have no desire to walk in holiness.
2 Corinthians 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."
1 John 3:6-10
6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.
7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.
8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.
9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother."
May each one reading this, take inventory, asking themselves do I have a desire to please the Lord, seeking Him for His answers, or am I merely wanting to pretend Christianity to feel safe? This may be the most important question you may ask in your life.
The Signs are Here!
There are so many signs now that Christ is coming soon, I expect it to happen on any given day.
David Reagan said; "I no longer look for signs, there are too many, now I am looking for sounds."
What an exciting time it will be when the trumpet of the Lord sounds and we will be going up in the clouds to meet Him.
Luke 21:18 ""But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
David Reagan said; "I no longer look for signs, there are too many, now I am looking for sounds."
What an exciting time it will be when the trumpet of the Lord sounds and we will be going up in the clouds to meet Him.
Luke 21:18 ""But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
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