01/18/22 STILL TRUE. This is the gospel. 1 Year Ago

01/18/22 STILL TRUE. This is the gospel.
1 Year Ago

Jesus blood does not cleanse from a little sin, some sin, a lot of sin or most sin.

The blood of Christ cleanses from ALL SIN.

01/17/22 A WORD OF PRAISE

01/17/22 A WORD OF PRAISE 

It might not seem spectacular to others but I am awestruck with God's goodness.
I just want to say I love my home, my family, my neighbors, my community.
I am amazed at God's provision and protection.
I enjoy the nature around me, the environmental changes, the wildlife.
I praise God for loving family, faithful church family, God's blessing in our lives, my opportunity and privilege to share the glorious gospel of Christ, the advantage of online meetings when we can't all get together.
And most of all that God saves and keeps and sanctifies me by His power.

I am overwhelmingly blessed.

01/17/22 HEART PURITY, ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION, HOLINESS (of heart), PERFECT LOVE,

01/17/22 HEART PURITY, ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION, HOLINESS (of heart), PERFECT LOVE, are different names, titles, terms (emphasizing specific qualities) given to the same work of God's grace in the heart and life of a believer.

We were born with a Human Nature, which came from God when He created Adam. Being human is something that we will always be, into eternity. Our Human Nature has been corrupted by sin, but through salvation, God redeems, converts, and transforms our Human Nature by being Born Again, by becoming New Creatures.

Human Nature is,
Body (other consciousness, through seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling, and tasting),
Soul (self-consciousness, through desire, reason, emotion, conscience, and will),
Spirit, (God-consciousness).

We were also born with what is commonly called, a "Sinful Nature," (the nature to be sinful, also called the Adamic Nature), which came from fallen Adam. However, it is Biblically referred to as the Old Man, the Carnal Mind (Mind of the FLESH), the Double Mind, the Law of Sin and Death, Sin (in the singular, as a condition rather than an action).

Remember, Jesus had a human nature but He did not have a sinful nature, being the Son of God, rather than the descendant of Adam. Upon His resurrection, His human nature went to heaven. Our human nature was designed and intended for heaven and through salvation, it is qualified for heaven. The sinful nature was never intended for heaven and cannot be saved or qualified for heaven.

At the time of our conversion, we become New Creatures, New Creations, we receive a New Man, a Divine Nature (a new heart, a new attitude). We are told that the New Man is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Though conversion saves sinners from their sins, the new convert still has the Old Man. Sins, which are committed can be forgiven, but we cannot be forgiven of the Old Man because we were not guilty or responsible for having been born with the Old Man, the Carnal, worldly, sinful bent (disposition, inclination). God's solution to the Carnal problem is death to the Old Man.

As converts, the Old Man is an impediment to our spiritual growth and spiritual well-being, and it cannot be fitted for heaven. However, God's redemptive plan includes victory over, and deliverance from our Old Man. God's plan is to destroy it, crucify it, kill it, purge it from our life through the infilling of the Holy Spirit and the purifying of our hearts.

At the time of our conversion, we receive the New Man, but we continue to be plagued by the Old Man until we are delivered from that sinful disposition in this present life. We will always be human, even into eternity, but we do not have to continue to be plagued by the Old Man. God can and will deliver us by purifying our hearts with the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

As long as we have the Old Man, we are not pure in heart. God's plan does not include controlling, converting, or cleansing the Old Man (the Carnal Mind, the Double Mind), since it is an attitude that is unchangeably rebellious to God, which is not subject to the law of God nor can be. No amount of prayer, Bible study, spiritual service can deliver us from this inward tendency to sin. God's saving grace enables us to obey God, even when we are having an inward battle with the Old Man. But God's deliverance from this inward battle results in our loving God with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength.

God's answer to our problem of the Old Man is to remove it, destroy it, deliver us from it.
This comes:
When the believer realizes that a rebellious attitude remains after our conversion and we realize that this rebellious attitude must be crucified with Christ. When the believer is willing to die to the world and die to self then God delivers the believer from the Old Man.

This means that the believer will wage war against the very presence of the Old Man and follow after holiness, we will hunger and thirst after righteousness, we will crucify the flesh (Old Man) with its affections and lusts.

God gives the new believer a new nature by imparting His Holy Spirit to the new convert. After the new believer walks with God he realizes that He needs to be delivered from the Old Man. Just as a sinner becomes a believer through faith in Jesus Christ, the believer is delivered from his Old Man through faith in Jesus Christ.

God commands and requires heart purity.
Hebrews 12:14-15
14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

If God does not purify the believer's heart, how will the believer get purified?
God promises and provides heart purity.
Don't confuse purity of heart with purity of life.
Though they do go together, they are not one and the same.
Neither of these two conditions is accomplished without God and neither is accomplished without human submission to the work of God and the power of God, by faith. Holy living leads to a pure heart and holy living follows a pure heart but they are not synonymous.

Purity of heart is not incremental, it is instantaneous and complete, and should be continuous. There comes a moment when the Double Minded believer becomes pure. When purity is present, purity cannot be made purer. Maturing in the faith begins at conversion and continues until we finish our course. Purity of heart should come at a specific time and continue through the rest of our spiritual walk.

Though purity of life is possible, as we walk with God, by faith, step by step, we are also expected to advance in our knowledge, understanding, and wisdom as new light is received in our relationship with God. As we get new light from God we should walk in that light, which is basically instantaneous, however, growth in grace and knowledge is progressive, incremental. Once we have spiritual insight, we should live by that truth, but we can extend the borders of behavior as we grow.

It can be said,
Heart purity is approached gradually, entered into suddenly, and grown in for a lifetime.
Heart purity is cleansing from all sin.
Heart purity is a state of righteousness.
Not only is Heart Purity possible, BUT IT IS ESSENTIAL TO ETERNAL LIFE.

I ENCOURAGE YOU TO READ THESE FEW PASSAGES. You can read them in 3 to 4 minutes. It could be your best invested few minutes of the day.

Matthew 5:8
8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Acts 15:8-9
8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
1 Timothy 1:5
5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:
2 Timothy 2:21-22
21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.
22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
Titus 2:11-14
11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
James 4:7-8
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
1 Peter 1:22-23
22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
2 Peter 3:2-10
2 That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:
3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
5 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:
6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
1 John 3:2-10
2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

 

01/13/22 John MacArthur preaches (through Scripture twisting)

01/13/22 John MacArthur preaches (through Scripture twisting)
"Simultaneously Righteous and a Sinner."

It is like,
"Simultaneously Saved and Lost."
"Simultaneously Good and Evil."
"Simultaneously Spiritually Alive and Spiritually Dead."
"Simultaneously Godly and Demonic."
"Simultaneously Child of God and Child of Satan."
"Simultaneously Pure and Defiled."

Be faithful to God's word, not to a theological error.

01/13/22 THREE DIFFERENT MESSAGES

01/13/22 THREE DIFFERENT MESSAGES

PRESUMPTION:
God commands you to live righteously.
God does not require or expect you to live righteously.
You don't intend to live righteously.

WORKS RIGHTEOUSNESS:
God commands you to live righteously.
God does not require, but He expects you to live righteously.
You try to live righteously, by your own effort.

SALVATION BY GRACE:
God commands you to live righteously.
God requires and expects you to live righteously.
You live righteously by God's purifying grace and enabling power.

01/12/22 BIBLICAL HOLINESS IS REQUIRED

01/12/22 BIBLICAL HOLINESS IS REQUIRED

God does not require anything from us that He does not provide for us.
2 Peter 1:1-4
1  Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
2  Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
3  According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
4  Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Hebrews 12:14-15
14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

Beware the preachers who say we should live a holy life, but then tell us we can't, and they tell us that God Himself can't (or won't) enable us to obey Him (love Him with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength and love our neighbor as we love ourselves).
Beware the preachers who say we should live a holy life, but then tell us that God does not purify our hearts from all sin.

Biblical holiness is both:
The condition of the heart, by Divine deliverance from Double-Mindedness (the Carnal Mind, the Old Man, The Law of Sin and Death) through the saving work of God, by the Blood of Christ, the Infilling of the Holy Spirit and the continuous washing if God's word.
AND
The life lived in complete faith, surrender, and obedience to the known will of God.
Biblical holiness is both Being and Doing.
Biblical holiness is both Clean Hands and a Pure Heart.

Biblical Holiness is a whole person reality.
1Thessalonians 5:23-24
23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

If we are not conformed to the image of Christ we will not consistently walk in the steps of Christ.
If we do not consistently walk in the light we will not be cleansed from sin.
Romans 12:1-2
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

1 John 1:7
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

James 4:8
8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

01/12/22 GOD CALL US AND GOD TRANSFORMS US

01/12/22 GOD CALL US AND GOD TRANSFORMS US

God is willing and able to purify your heart from all sin, in this present evil world.

Beware those who oppose this great truth and those who profess this great truth but do not possess this great truth.
You can tell a tree by its fruit. Those who are Entirely Sanctified live in loving, humble submission and obedience to God.
There will always be haters and hypocrites in this life.

1Thessalonians 5:14-24
(especially vss. 23-24)
14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.
15 See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.
16 Rejoice evermore.
17 Pray without ceasing.
18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
19 Quench not the Spirit.
20 Despise not prophesyings.
21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.
23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

01/11/22 A LITTLE CLOSER LOOK AT PURITY OF HEART

01/11/22 A LITTLE CLOSER LOOK AT PURITY OF HEART

Bible believers know that God requires CLEAN HANDS and A PURE HEART (an undefiled heart, a heart cleansed from all sin), or at least we should know this.

Some argue that a pure heart is impossible (even for God's salvation) in this present world.
Some argue that a pure heart is not required by God.
Some argue that God counts us or sees us as having a pure heart (contrary to the facts and the evidence).
Some argue that Christians get a pure heart at the time of justification.

Let me review my understanding (based on the Bible witness).
Being regenerated does not remove the Sin Nature (aka, the Double Mind, the Old Man), the corruption from the heart of the believer.
God requires believers to have a pure heart.
A pure heart is not achievable through any human effort, any more than forgiveness, regeneration, justification, adoption is achievable through human endeavor. But no one is either converted to Christ or purified in heart without submitting to God and accepting God's grace.
God provides a pure heart to the believer, through the redemptive work of Christ, the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and faith in God's ability, desire, and willingness to cleanse us from all sin.
A pure heart is not attained through incremental and progressive growth (though incremental and progressive growth is essential for a believer to come to the point of receiving and obtaining a pure heart, as a work of God's grace). As long as there is any sin in the heart, the heart is not pure. You cannot grow into purity incrementally. You are either pure or you are not pure.
We do not grow into purity, since purity is the absence of any and all pollution. Purity, like justification and regeneration, is received instantaneously as a work of God's saving grace. On the other hand, maturity is incremental and progressive, attained by growth.

There will be a certain amount of maturity before there will be actual purity. After the heart is purified there will be more aggressive and thorough maturing.
Purity of heart is the expressed desire of the serious and sincere, yet Carnal (Double-Minded) Christian, just as forgiveness and newness of life is the expressed desire of the sinner who is seeking salvation. Purity of heart is a work of God done in the believer, just as Newness of the heart is a work of God done in the non-believer.

01/11/22 IT REQUIRES GOING, NOT SIMPLY KNOWING

01/11/22 IT REQUIRES GOING, NOT SIMPLY KNOWING

The Bible teaches that we walk in truth by trusting the Lord, calling on the Lord, following the Lord. The sinner is saved by grace, through faith. The believer is also purified (entirely sanctified) by God's grace through faith. This is because clean hands and pure hearts are the works of God's salvation.

Psalms 24:3-5
3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?
4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

James 4:8-10
8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

MacArthur and other sin preachers scoff at the idea of Christians being purified from all sin by God, and they mock the idea of Entire Sanctification, which God clearly addresses.

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

Yet MacArthur teaches that knowing the right doctrine actually sanctifies the believer. While it is true that knowing the truth sets us free, it is a "knowing" that is beyond intellectual comprehension. It is spiritual knowledge, spiritual understanding, spiritual wisdom, which comes from the Holy Spirit to those in a right relationship with God, through Christ. But even if we know the truth spiritually, we must then believe, call on, trust and follow Jesus into the reality and the life of holiness. It must be an act of faith or it is an act of the flesh.

However, to say that knowing the right doctrine sanctifies the believer, without seeking God for the reality of that doctrine is contrary to the revelation of God and the salvation of God. It is not simply knowing about the truth of deliverance that sanctifies us (purifies us, makes us holy, makes us righteous), Otherwise the person who hears the gospel would be saved without believing, without repenting, without confessing and without following Jesus (which is the false message that sin preachers preach). Knowledge without faith does not save or sanctify anyone. Such a salvation would be salvation by personal accomplishment (works of the flesh, works of the law) rather than salvation by grace through faith.

01/10/22 THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME

01/10/22 THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME

Sometimes you catch the wave and sometimes the wave catches you.

This principle is true in the spiritual realm as well as the natural realm and it applies to individual Christians as well as churches.

In order to catch the wave you have to be in the right place at the right time. In order to catch the moving of the Spirit of God we need to be in the right place at the right time. It is worth noting that this means a Christian must not be in the wrong place or be at the wrong time.

God provides the blessing for us, but if we deliberately choose to rush ahead of God or lag behind God or veer to the left or right of God, we will either miss the right place or we will miss the right time or we will miss the right place at the right time.
Our rebellion does not keep God from doing that which is consistent with His Own nature. He will save whosoever comes to Him by faith in Christ, as He said. He will not save those who resist, reject and rebel against His will, as He said.

As God's word says, our salvation is conditioned upon faith, repentance, obedience because God has sovereignly chosen to enable and require us to choose to receive His gracious work of salvation through faith and He requires that we continue in the faith, that we abide in the Spirit and that we walk in the light in order to be saved ultimately from our sins.
Matthew 16:24-26
24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

God is good to all men, but there is a salvific goodness experienced and enjoyed only by those who are in a right relationship with God. As long as we trust in Him, follow Him, obey Him then we are in line to receive from Him the blessings that He intends to give to His faithful followers. Rebellion, rejection, resistance disqualifies a person from receiving the blessings, which God has promised only to His children.

Therefore, if we are going to catch the wave of promised blessings...

WE MUST keep ourselves in the love of God;
Jude 1:21
21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
John 15:9-10
(9) As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
(10) If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

WE MUST walk in the light, even as He is in the light;
1 John 1:7
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

WE MUST continue in His word,
John 8:31-32
(31) Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
(32) And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

WE MUST continue in the Lord,
Acts 11:23
(23) Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.

WE MUST continue in the grace of God,
Acts 13:43
(43) Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.

WE MUST continue in the faith.
Acts 14:22
(22) Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

We do not decide the plan of salvation but by God's grace we can choose to believe, accept, follow God's plan of salvation.
Likewise, we can choose to reject God's plan of salvation.
We do not create the blessings of God but by God's grace we can avail ourselves of God's blessings.
Likewise, we can refuse God's blessings.

Being a Christian is not devising or providing our own salvation, but rather it is accepting the salvation of God, on God's terms, in God's time.

Romans 12:1-2
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.