On another post, I saw a video of a little girl who claims to know the day of the rapture and it is supposed to be in March.
I wish people would stop doing this!!! We don't need to know the day. If we believe God He said we would not know the day or the hour. That settles it!!!!
God expressly said no one will know the day or the hour. Just because a little girl had a dream does not mean it was from God. Sadly if this does not happen then the faith of weak believers will be shaken. We walk by faith, not by sight.
I remember a few years ago a little boy who claimed he had gone to heaven and back. He wrote a book with the help of his father. A few years later he admitted it was all a made-up story. Children love these kinds of games in which they are the star for a moment in time.
Do not pay any attention to these dreams and predictions. If you want to believe God then we need no more than what He said.
Matthew 24:36-44
36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
37 For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.
38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,
39 and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
40 Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left.
41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.
Be Ready for His Coming
42 “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.
43 But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.
44 For this reason, you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will."
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
The Consequences of Sin
Those who are saved and loved by God who sin will see the consequences of that sin even after they confess it and are cleansed.
David was the apple of God's eye even when he sinned with Bathsheba. However he was punished for his sin with her, their child that was conceived in sin before her husband was killed by David, died.
Also, God would not allow David to build the temple because there was bloodshed counted to his household. He never lost his salvation, but the consequences for him in this life were devastating.
1 Samuel 12:13-14 "13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” “The LORD has taken away your sin,” Nathan replied. “You will not die. 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have shown utter contempt for the word of the LORD, the son born to you will surely die.”…"
God punished David after he repented but also forgave him. He needed for all of mankind down through the ages to never take sin lightly or flippantly. God blessed the baby by taking him home to Himself.
Ananias and Saphirrah were killed by God for lying to the Holy Spirit but they remained saved. Unsaved people do not lie to the Holy Spirit, they don't know Him. It is only born again people who have the Holy Spirit who think they can get away with something. They thought if they could impress people it was just a small insignificant lie. However, God sees everything and didn't allow the couple to get away with lying. It caused fear in all the other believers, so they would not want the same thing to happen to them.
Acts 5:1-11
The fate of Ananias and Sapphira
5 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property,
2 and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet.
3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”
5 And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came over all who heard of it.
6 The young men got up and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him.
7 Now there elapsed an interval of about three hours, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.
8 And Peter responded to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for such and such a price?” And she said, “Yes, that was the price.”
9 Then Peter said to her, “Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out as well.”
10 And immediately she fell at his feet and breathed her last, and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
11 And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things."
Never lie for anyone, tell the truth and work to convince the one who wants to lie, to tell the truth. I wonder if Sappirah had refused, perhaps her husband would have changed his mind and the two of them would have lived.
Wives have an obligation to the Lord and to their husbands to convince them to do right when they are not thinking rightly.
If Ananias had lied all by himself without the help of Sapphirah God would have only taken his life. God is a just God, He does not judge a wife for the sins of the husband.
Deuteronomy 24:16
“Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin."
God is consistent and just all the time.
David was the apple of God's eye even when he sinned with Bathsheba. However he was punished for his sin with her, their child that was conceived in sin before her husband was killed by David, died.
Also, God would not allow David to build the temple because there was bloodshed counted to his household. He never lost his salvation, but the consequences for him in this life were devastating.
1 Samuel 12:13-14 "13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” “The LORD has taken away your sin,” Nathan replied. “You will not die. 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have shown utter contempt for the word of the LORD, the son born to you will surely die.”…"
God punished David after he repented but also forgave him. He needed for all of mankind down through the ages to never take sin lightly or flippantly. God blessed the baby by taking him home to Himself.
Ananias and Saphirrah were killed by God for lying to the Holy Spirit but they remained saved. Unsaved people do not lie to the Holy Spirit, they don't know Him. It is only born again people who have the Holy Spirit who think they can get away with something. They thought if they could impress people it was just a small insignificant lie. However, God sees everything and didn't allow the couple to get away with lying. It caused fear in all the other believers, so they would not want the same thing to happen to them.
Acts 5:1-11
The fate of Ananias and Sapphira
5 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property,
2 and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet.
3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”
5 And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came over all who heard of it.
6 The young men got up and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him.
7 Now there elapsed an interval of about three hours, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.
8 And Peter responded to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for such and such a price?” And she said, “Yes, that was the price.”
9 Then Peter said to her, “Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out as well.”
10 And immediately she fell at his feet and breathed her last, and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
11 And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things."
Never lie for anyone, tell the truth and work to convince the one who wants to lie, to tell the truth. I wonder if Sappirah had refused, perhaps her husband would have changed his mind and the two of them would have lived.
Wives have an obligation to the Lord and to their husbands to convince them to do right when they are not thinking rightly.
If Ananias had lied all by himself without the help of Sapphirah God would have only taken his life. God is a just God, He does not judge a wife for the sins of the husband.
Deuteronomy 24:16
“Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin."
God is consistent and just all the time.
Looking at the Word Rather than Circumstances
These verses are only a small portion of the evidence needed to prove that Christ did it all on the cross, that we could have not possibly added any help to our salvation, His sacrifice covered it all. The confusion happens because people appear to walk away from Christ or they claim to be Christian but do not obey Him.
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand."
John 6:37
"All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out."
John 10:28
"I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand."
John 5:24
"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment but has passed from death to life."
Romans 11:29
"For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable."
Ephesians 2:8
"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,"
Ephesians 4:30
"And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."
1 John 5:10-13
"Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life."
John 6:40
"For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
Ephesians 1:13-14
"In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory."
God never breaks a promise and we cannot break His promise.
2 Timothy 2:12-13 "…12 if we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He will also deny us; 13if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself. "
The evidence that we were born again is that we do endure. Those who don't endure were pretenders, they were never born again.
Matthew 7:21-23
"21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I NEVER KNEW YOU; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"
If anyone can find me the passages in the scriptures that tell us how many sins we must break, or how big they are, or which ones specifically, that would cause us to lose our salvation, then I will take a look at them. However, you will find no scriptures telling us how big, how many and which specific sins will cause God to take His Holy Spirit from us.
In fact, there is no example in the dispensation of grace, the new testament, in which God removed His Holy Spirit from someone.
We see God sending His Holy Spirit and leaving someone in the Old Testament before Christ died. After Christ died and sent His Holy Spirit to live in every born again believer, there was never an account of the Holy Spirit leaving the born again believer.
Christ said clearly that He disciplines those He loves, this means believers do sin at times, or there would be no need for discipline.
Hebrews 12:5-7 "…5 And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises everyone He receives as a son.” 7 Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?…"
When God's children disobey and sin, they will be chastised and receive consequences, sometimes life long consequences. And, if they do not confess to be cleansed they will suffer a loss of rewards in heaven, but they remain saved.
1 Corinthians 3:14-16 "…14 If what he has built survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as if through the flames. 16 Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?…"
Sometimes it's hard to discern who is saved and who is not these days because believers can be influenced by the world even though they are born again. Then we also have the pretenders who were never born again defending their sin and rejecting the Word of God and yet they still attend church gatherings.
Matthew 13:24-30
Tares among Wheat
24 Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
25 But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away.
26 But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also.
27 The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’
28 And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves *said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he *said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them.
30 Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
Matthew 13:3 And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow;
4 and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up.
5 Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up because they had no depth of soil.
6 But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
7 Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out.
8 And others fell on the good soil and *yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.
9 He who has ears, let him hear.”
So you see, the wheat can look like tares and the tares can appear to be wheat until they begin to whither, growing weary of the pretense and walking away. This is why we have so much confusion about eternal security, people are looking at circumstances rather than what the bible actually says.
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand."
John 6:37
"All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out."
John 10:28
"I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand."
John 5:24
"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment but has passed from death to life."
Romans 11:29
"For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable."
Ephesians 2:8
"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,"
Ephesians 4:30
"And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."
1 John 5:10-13
"Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life."
John 6:40
"For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
Ephesians 1:13-14
"In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory."
God never breaks a promise and we cannot break His promise.
2 Timothy 2:12-13 "…12 if we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He will also deny us; 13if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself. "
The evidence that we were born again is that we do endure. Those who don't endure were pretenders, they were never born again.
Matthew 7:21-23
"21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I NEVER KNEW YOU; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"
If anyone can find me the passages in the scriptures that tell us how many sins we must break, or how big they are, or which ones specifically, that would cause us to lose our salvation, then I will take a look at them. However, you will find no scriptures telling us how big, how many and which specific sins will cause God to take His Holy Spirit from us.
In fact, there is no example in the dispensation of grace, the new testament, in which God removed His Holy Spirit from someone.
We see God sending His Holy Spirit and leaving someone in the Old Testament before Christ died. After Christ died and sent His Holy Spirit to live in every born again believer, there was never an account of the Holy Spirit leaving the born again believer.
Christ said clearly that He disciplines those He loves, this means believers do sin at times, or there would be no need for discipline.
Hebrews 12:5-7 "…5 And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises everyone He receives as a son.” 7 Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?…"
When God's children disobey and sin, they will be chastised and receive consequences, sometimes life long consequences. And, if they do not confess to be cleansed they will suffer a loss of rewards in heaven, but they remain saved.
1 Corinthians 3:14-16 "…14 If what he has built survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as if through the flames. 16 Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?…"
Sometimes it's hard to discern who is saved and who is not these days because believers can be influenced by the world even though they are born again. Then we also have the pretenders who were never born again defending their sin and rejecting the Word of God and yet they still attend church gatherings.
Matthew 13:24-30
Tares among Wheat
24 Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
25 But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away.
26 But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also.
27 The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’
28 And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves *said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he *said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them.
30 Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
Matthew 13:3 And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow;
4 and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up.
5 Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up because they had no depth of soil.
6 But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
7 Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out.
8 And others fell on the good soil and *yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.
9 He who has ears, let him hear.”
So you see, the wheat can look like tares and the tares can appear to be wheat until they begin to whither, growing weary of the pretense and walking away. This is why we have so much confusion about eternal security, people are looking at circumstances rather than what the bible actually says.
Correction and Rebuke are Blessings from God
There are many people now who believe we should never correct someone else. My guess is that these same people don't want to be corrected. I am not afraid of correction, if someone does so with me I evaluate whether or not it is true without being offended. If I am wrong I will correct my sins and mistakes, if I am not guilty then I will dismiss the criticism.
Criticisms are blessings from God, they either make us stronger when we have been falsely accused or they redirect us when we have been wrong about something. Those who refuse to be corrected most often remain childlike in their life experience. Everyone must be corrected, rebukes and retrained if they are to grow into mature adults.
1 Timothy 5:20
"As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear."
We are to correct, rebuke and admonish daily those who are born again believers. To not do so is to enable them to continue in sin. We are responsible for those who are in the body.
2 Timothy 4:2
"Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching."
James 5:20
"Let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins."
Carmen, there is no scriptural basis for not speaking to others about their flaws and sins. If we love them we speak the truth, there must be support for obedience and lack of support for disobedience.
Ezekiel 33:8-9 "…8 If I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ but you do not speak out to dissuade him from his way, then that wicked man will die in his iniquity, yet I will hold you accountable for his blood. 9 But if you warn the wicked man to turn from his way, and he does not turn from it, he will die in his iniquity, but you will have saved your life."
I was once told by an older woman that I should not tell people they are wrong, while she was in the process of telling me I was wrong for telling others they were wrong. The belief that we should not rebuke or correct people cannot be consistent. At some point, those who believe we should not correct others will be speaking hypocritically because life is full of correction. IF we love people we will obey God and correct them.
Criticisms are blessings from God, they either make us stronger when we have been falsely accused or they redirect us when we have been wrong about something. Those who refuse to be corrected most often remain childlike in their life experience. Everyone must be corrected, rebukes and retrained if they are to grow into mature adults.
1 Timothy 5:20
"As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear."
We are to correct, rebuke and admonish daily those who are born again believers. To not do so is to enable them to continue in sin. We are responsible for those who are in the body.
2 Timothy 4:2
"Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching."
James 5:20
"Let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins."
Carmen, there is no scriptural basis for not speaking to others about their flaws and sins. If we love them we speak the truth, there must be support for obedience and lack of support for disobedience.
Ezekiel 33:8-9 "…8 If I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ but you do not speak out to dissuade him from his way, then that wicked man will die in his iniquity, yet I will hold you accountable for his blood. 9 But if you warn the wicked man to turn from his way, and he does not turn from it, he will die in his iniquity, but you will have saved your life."
I was once told by an older woman that I should not tell people they are wrong, while she was in the process of telling me I was wrong for telling others they were wrong. The belief that we should not rebuke or correct people cannot be consistent. At some point, those who believe we should not correct others will be speaking hypocritically because life is full of correction. IF we love people we will obey God and correct them.
"Why our church no longer plays Bethel or Hillsong music," Pastor explai...
"Why our church no longer plays Bethel or Hillsong music," Pastor explai...
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