Newsflash: There is NO PEACE Without JESUS!

I recently made a website, Youtube, Facebook Fan Page, and Twitter for our church. We were WAY BEHIND times, haha. Our church has always been a ‘down home’ little hole in the wall-type of church where everyone grew up there, but we finally want to “get out there”… so we are dipping into cyber world to spread the word that there is a good church in our area that preaches Christ and Him Crucified!

We stay away from that watered down gospel that will pat you on the back and tell you that you are ok in your sin. We preach the whole truth: You are a sinner in need of a savior, Jesus IS that savior, He sanctifies and justifies through His death on the cross, and we teach how to live for Him after salvation takes place.

Anyway, I got a message this morning that our church twitter has a new follower. This follower is a “universal” teacher. He teaches that there are “bridges” that lead from all religions to God.

This made me angry!

There is only ONE WAY to God! And it’s through JESUS!

Jesus said,

“I am THE WAY, THE TRUTH, and THE LIFE: No man comes unto the Father (GOD) EXCEPT THROUGH ME” – John 14:6

This man was speaking of helping people find peace ‘within themselves’ and building a ‘bridge’ to peace.

THERE IS NO PEACE WITHOUT JESUS!!!!!! That bridge IS JESUS!

Why do people not understand this?!?

Reading this made me angry/ I began to read… 

and I stumbled upon this passage:

ROMANS 5:1-11

¹Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

²By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

³And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

⁴And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

⁵And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

⁶For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

⁷For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.

⁸But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

⁹Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

¹⁰For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

¹¹And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

If you get a chance, drop by our church Facebook Fan Page or our Twitter and follow us… Help me build up our followers!

OH!

And if you get a chance, check out our new website too!

God Bless!

Sin, Sin, or Sin?

 

Sin. What is sin anyway?

I am not asking for the typical definition of sin… I am speaking of sin in a different way.

When you see a verse like this, what do you think?

• James 4:17 - “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin”
• Matthew  1:21 - “And she shall bring forth a son, and you shall call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins”
• 1 Peter 2:24 - “Christ carried our sins in his body on the cross so we would stop living for sin and start living for what is right”

Now these verses have much deeper meaning than what I am going to bring out, but that’s ok.

SIN, SIN or SIN?

There are 3 words that are so important to understand in our Christian walk:

• SIN- (hamartia in Greek) - this is a noun meaning THE SIN [NATURE] that we are born with because of Adam’s fall. When we get saved, the power of this sin nature is broken & no longer has control of us ONLY IF we have faith in Jesus & what He did on the cross - This is the only way the Holy Spirit can work in our lives… is through this faith.
  • Sin ‘Nature’ – We are born in sin. This is why we need to get saved or born again. Don’t believe me? Put two babies in a crib with only one bottle. See what happens.  This is the sin nature. 
    
• SIN - ( hamartanō) - this is a past tense verb. A past ACTION. This is one single act of sin that happened in the past. This is the kind of sin that a Christian does. Once. Past. “I sinnED yesterday.”  It should be a mistake that does not happen regularly & continously.
  
• “To Do Sin” - The last word is prassō - This is a PRESENTS TENSE VERB - meaning "To habitually practice sin" – that is continually happening.
  • A  sinner habitually sins. A Christian habitually lives for Christ.

Let’s take Galations 5:19-21:

• The wrong things the sinful self does are clear: being sexually unfaithful, not being pure, taking part in sexual sins,²⁰ worshiping gods, doing witchcraft, hating, making trouble, being jealous, being angry, being selfish, making people angry with each other, causing divisions among people,²¹ feeling envy, being drunk, having wild and wasteful parties, and doing other things like these. I warn you now as I warned you before: Those who do these things will not inherit God's kingdom.

"They which DO these things will not inherit the kingdom" – in other words, if we do these things we will not make it into heaven?

No.

This word “do” is prassō – this is the ‘continual, habitual practice’ of a sinner.  A Christian should not be ‘practicing’ any of these sins as a continual habit. Of course Christians are not perfect… so we will mess up & sin. But this should not be a habit. As I said above, a Christian should be habitually living for Jesus.

My point to all of this ‘sin talk’?

Before you go throwing scripture around… know what you are talking about because these words are very important.

If you want to do a study on the Greek or Hebrew scriptures I recommend the  free download called e-Sword. You can download free bibles (many, many translations), dictionaries, concordances, commentaries, and many other historical books like Josephus.

One Absolute Truth

TOLERANCE

The traditional definition of TOLERANCE refers to recognizing & respecting other beliefs and practices without necessarily agreeing or sympathizing with them.

Today's definition of TOLERANCE considers almost all beliefs, values, and lifestyles to be equally valid. This is a false definition because there is only ONE ABSOLUTE TRUTH.

 

TOLERANCE or LOVE? 

TOLERANCE avoids offending people; true LOVE promotes their good.

TOLERANCE says, "You must approve of what I do." LOVE does something harder - it says, "I'll love you, even when you offend me."

TOLERANCE says, "You must allow me to have my way." But LOVE says, "I'll plead with you to follow the right way because you're worth the risk."

TOLERANCE seeks to be inoffensive, but LOVE takes risks and sometimes the truth does offend.

TOLERANCE costs nothing, but LOVE costs everything.

 

ONE TRUTH

There is only ONE ABSOLUTE TRUTH. This TRUTH does NOT change depending on circumstances (situations, cultures, societies) What is wrong for one, is wrong for another. What God says is sin for one is still considered sin for all (no matter the circumstances). Circumstances do not change the fact that there is a wrong and a right. This TRUTH is found in the WORD of God. It never changes. God's truth is not invented by people, communities, or societies. God's truth is universal. It is the same for all people, in all places, at all times. There is an answer to every question and it is found in the bible.

Jesus answered, "I am the WAY and the TRUTH and the LIFE. No one comes to the Father except through ME" John 14:6..............in other words..... if we want to make it through the gates of Heaven, we need to accept Jesus and be born again. "Good people" don't get into heaven. "Born again" people get into heaven.

Someday, "Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess, that Jesus Christ is LORD"...Phil 2:10-11  

Either here in this lifetime, or on judgment day when it is too late.

Either on this side of the grave or on the other side of the grave.

THE TRUTH will never die.

“Shall NOT Inherit The Kingdom Of God”???

WHO will NOT inherit heaven?!? ME?!? YOU?!?
Consider these verses:
Galatians 5:19-21 (King James)
¹⁹Now the works of the flesh (sins of the flesh) are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness (lewdness), ²⁰Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance (quarreling, disputes), emulations (jealousies), wrath, strife (selfish ambitions), seditions (divisions, disorder), heresies (distorting the truth), ²¹Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
So? What do you think?
“They which DO SUCH THINGS shall NOT inherit the kingdom of God”? Which translates into: We won’t go to heaven if we do any of these things?!?
Oh Man… I do some of those things, yeah I’m not perfect. No I don’t drink. I’m not into witchcraft. I don’t cheat on my hubby. No I’ve never murdered anyone. But wait… ‘murder’ could be considered ‘murdering’ someone’s name. When you talk about someone you can slander their name. Envy? Oh I might have been there before. Strife, jealousy, variance? Maybe at some point or another. Like I said, I’m not perfect.
So what does this mean?
{This is an important verse to me because of my recent past. We were going to a church that preached the “holiness” doctrine. Meaning this: Once you get saved, you should be perfectly holy. IF you sin then there is something wrong with you & you can not possibly be saved. It also taught that WHEN you DO sin… you are no longer saved. You need to repent and once you do repent – you are saved again. So forget about struggles, battles, falls. If you fall to temptation you are UNSAVED. Whew!! That is exhausting just thinking back to it. I guess they didn’t understand sanctification or justification. Sanctification is the process of becoming ‘Christ-like’. The growing process. The process in which the Holy Spirit cleans you up. Prunes your branches. Takes away the bad (works of the flesh) & instills the ‘Fruit of the Spirit’. We won’t be perfectly sanctified until we reach heaven.}
Ok. So where was I?
I am going to focus on the words “they which DO SUCH things”.
First of all this tells us that a person cannot have sin & God at the same time. There are people who think that their lifestyle does not matter. Some people think only their faith matters & not their actions. However, if we have the proper faith in Christ then our actions will match our faith. Now this doesn’t mean that the believer is perfect. None of us are. The bible does not teach sinless perfection.
Now on to the good stuff.
The word “do” in “they which do such things” is the Greek word “prasso” which means “to practice”.  This word is a present tense verb. (A continuous action.)  The Holy Spirit (through Paul) is speaking of the character of the person. The habitual practice of the person shows their character.   The person is either a habitual sinner or a habitual believer.  Paul’s statement does not mean that if a believer falls to a sin then he loses his salvation. He is speaking of a habitual continuation in sin with every intention to continue in this lifestyle. A believer is practicing a habitual lifestyle of a believer who slips & falls to a sin. This Greek word for ‘sin’ is a past tense verb. Meaning when we believers commit a sin – it is ONE SIN that we committed. PAST TENSE. It is a one time occurrence that happenED and is over. Not the same Greek word as here in this verse which is a present tense verb meaning continually going on.
God will forgive the individual seeking forgiveness. However this person seeking forgiveness should want these sinful situations to stop. To repent means to turn away from the sin. The person should not be seeking forgiveness just to continue in the sin.
Sin has no place in a believers life. “Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid” (Rom. 6:1,2) In other words: shall we continue sinning because God’s grace is big enough to forgive us? God forbid!  “How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (vs.. 2) In other words: Once we get saved we are dead to the sin nature. The sin nature is still IN us, but it has no dominion over us anymore.
To read more on the sin nature & victory over the sin nature read my post "Battles/Struggles & The Sin Nature".

Five Leviticus Offerings

These five offerings described in Leviticus foreshadow the One who would come – Jesus.

{I am going to pause here before I begin. I want to state why I am doing this. I want to show the importance of these old testament offerings. These five offerings point forward to The Cross. Every single detail in these offerings point to the future. To understand our walk with God NOW, we must understand the past offerings in the old testament. Did you ever wonder why “The Lord had ‘respect’ unto Able and his offering, but unto Cain and to his offering he had NOT respect” – Genesis 4:4, 5. We have always heard ‘Cain brought the wrong offering’… but what does that MEAN?  It really means EVERYTHING! Other important details: Salvation, sin, repentance and joy & peace in serving the Lord & walking WITH Him! God was the SAME yesterday as He is today!! He has NOT changed… which is sooo important to understand.

Here are some key words to understand first:

“Most Holy” – A specific offering was considered ‘most holy’ because it was placed on the fiery blazen alter & consumed by fire.

“Brazen Alter” – The alter was made of acacia wood, an incorruptible wood & covered in copper. It constantly glowed red from the fire. Fire = God’s unchanging righteousness & judgment. Inside the alter about half way down was a copper grate with fire below it. This grate is where the animals were laid & consumed by fire. Just above the grate is where the priest would sprinkle the blood that he collected in the basin from the slit throat of the animal.

“Fat & Blood” – Fat & blood was never to be eaten. LIFE was in the blood & the fat belonged to the Lord. The fat burned cleanly & was a sign of prosperity and health of the animal sacrificed.

“Day of Atonement” – Once a year the great high priest would place blood upon the topside of the Ark of the covenant (also called the mercy seat). This would atone for the sins of Israel.

“Incense Alter” – or “worship alter” was in the sanctuary. At all four corners was a GOLDEN HORN typifying that one day all worship would open up to ALL PEOPLE. Outside of this sanctuary was the ‘brazen alter’. It also had four horns, which typified The Cross of Christ.

These five offerings I am going to list here will not follow the order in which they are listed in the first chapter of Leviticus. I will be listing them in the order in which they were observed and carried out in Jewish religious life.

So a ‘quick’ look at the five offerings:

Whole Burnt Offering = SALVATION! Only offered ONCE. Just as we get saved only ONCE. {Unless YOU walk away from Him & discontinue your faith.  This is VERY important to understand. Especially if you are under a false doctrine that ‘claims’ you are unsaved to do a sin you commit. You are saved by faith. Faith brings you into a relationship with God. Only faith can bring you OUT of a relationship with God. If actions brought you INto a relationship with God then actions could bring you out of a relationship with God… but this is NOT the case!}

Meat Offering (Food offering) = Thankfulness to God for all that He has done.

Sin Offering = IGNORANT sin committed. This offering is relates to our GROWTH with the Lord.

Trespass Offering = WILLFULL sin. This offering relates to our WALK with the Lord.

Peace Offering = Offering because of our peace & joy with God. Not brought because of sin but brought simply as one person’s way of expressing thanks to God… realizing that every single blessing comes from the Lord. When we are properly walking with Him… we will have the peace & joy of the Lord.

{Please be patient… MORE TO COME! Under construction!}

 

Life With Him

Galatians 5:13 (New Century Version)


"My brothers and sisters, God called you to be free, but do not use your freedom as an excuse to do what pleases your sinful self. Serve each other with love."

This is just a reminder to all of us. Just because we know we are saved, and we know we can ask God to forgive us, and we know He will… this doesn’t give us an excuse to do the things that we know are WRONG. Simple as that. We take Him & His grace for granted too many times just to please ourselves. Because of course – ANY kind of sin feels good to some part of the body. No matter if it is physical or otherwise. Sin feels good to the flesh. Think about it. But keep in mind this:

Galatians 6:8 (New International Version)

"The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life."

So when we are ‘moaning & groaning’ about our miserable lives… remember… we may have caused our own destruction. Start living for Him (please the Spirit) and see how your life changes.

Condemnation vs. Justification

Romans 8:1 says, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit"

What does this mean? What is your standing in Christ? Are you a Christian? Are you "In Christ"? There are only 2 classes of people in this world: Christian and non-Christian. Sooo if you are a Christian you are "In Christ". If we are saved, washed by the blood, living & walking with Him then you are NOT living under condemnation. No matter what anyone says - God's Word says otherwise. God's Word says we are free.

Condemnation is not a feeling. Condemnation is a standing. The opposite of condemnation is justification.  Justification is also a standing. We are either condemned to hell or we are 'justified'.  Condemnation = GUILTY!  Justified = INNOCENT of all charges!!

Imagine two chairs sitting across from one another. One one side you have the seat of "Condemnation". On the other side you have the seat of "Justification".  IN the middle between these two chairs is THE CROSS OF CHRIST. To get from the seat of "Condemnation" to the seat of "Justification"... the person needs to go through the Cross of Christ!! Thank you Jesus for shedding your precious blood so we can live eternally with you!!

However we are imperfect, and apart from the grace of God, all we do is sinful and falls short of God’s glory - we are not condemned. The Christian who falls & commits a sin...  This is when the Holy Spirit will make us feel 'conviction' for the wrong we have done against God. This IS a FEELING. And a feeling we should be thankful for! Thank God He sends His Holy Spirit to convict us of our wrong doing and set us on the right path again. Again this conviction is a feeling - unlike condemnation which is NOT a feeling. No Christian should feel condemnation. We are free!! We are JUSTIFIED!! We are INNOCENT of all charges!! Thank you Jesus!!

Romans 8:2 goes on to explains this: Paul writes, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” He explains that because of the certainty of this awesome reality of life in Christ by God’s grace, the condemnation of sin that brings death no longer holds us captive. We are free. When we grow in grace, the grip of fear has less and less hold upon us.

It makes me angry when 'preachers' tell a whole congregation they are on their way to hell because they slipped up & sinned. For years I feared every move I made during the day. I was in prayer 24/7 repenting 'just in case'. I was living in fear and had NO JOY in my life. I was no taught about God's love & His grace. My kids were taught the same. They were taught that they would miss the rapture if they had a sin unrepented of. They also were not taught about God's grace. I have seen so many poor souls walk in church, get saved, and walk back out into the world - never to be seen again. That life is a miserable life. It is a life of constant condemnation. No joy. No peace. Why bother? It's too hard? No one can live under law. When living under law we are living under the death penalty. No one has successfully lived under law except Jesus. He came to fulfill the law. Put an end to it. We are now under His grace. I do not take sin lightly. Sin has no place in a believer's life. However, we do have Jesus. He will never leave us or forsake us. We can always call on Him!!

Battles/struggles & the "sin nature"

When Adam and Eve 'fell' they fell from the level of total God-consciousness ... down to the lower level of sin-consciousness. They were then controlled by the "sin nature". And then the entire human race became one of sin. Every single unredeemed person is controlled by the sin nature. No matter how you want to argue this fact - it is a FACT that the unsaved are ruled by the sin nature. US before we got saved were also ruled by the sin nature. The sin nature has POWER OVER us if we are unsaved. Our own WILL POWER is not strong enough to fight the sin nature. We may win at times. But ultimatly the sin nature has complete dominion over us. From the minute a baby is born the sin nature is in control. Do you need to teach a child how to lie? No. If you put two infants in a crib together along with one bottle... what happens? They fight over it. THIS is the SIN NATURE. (Eph. 2:1-3) Born in original sin, mankind is controlled by the sin nature, which is the cause of all war, strife, and man's inhumanity to man.

So how does a Christian STOP SINNING? If you take a poll and ask, "How do you stop sinning?" (I will use some big examples here: alcohol, drugs, sex, cheating, gossiping) - The answer you get will probably be the WRONG ANSWER! This saddens me. It is sad and depressing to battle something in your Christian life. It is sad and difficult to see someone else battle something in their Christian life when you don't know how to help.  If you have ever battled something in your walk that is similar to an addiction - then you have probably wondered the same thing: "HOW DO I STOP DOING THIS THING THAT I REALLY DON'T WANT TO DO...but I can't help but DO?" This answer can be found in Romans chpt. 6 & 7.  However the answer you will get from most ministers, teachers, fellow brothers & sisters in Christ... "DO" something. Read your bible more. Pray more. Stay away from the things that may lead you to be tempted to sin. Go to the preacher and have him lay hands on you. Stand in the prayer line. All these things are wonderful things to do in your Christian life, but they are not the answer to your struggles. My personal favorite...GIVE IT TO GOD! My answer to that one...HOW?!?!? Have you ever had a battle and sat there and talked to God and said, "Ok God - take this battle from me. I am giving it to you." How has that worked for ya? You have probably slipped to the battle not long after you asked God to take it from you, right? The reason that will not work is this: The believer who talks to God and says, "Take this from me"...is NOT putting his faith in the right area.

Unfortunatly this stuggle with the sin nature happens more to the believers who are the most consecrated. They love the Lord and to fail the Lord is a burden almost too heaye to bear. This make a Christian - a MISERABLE Christian. Not understanding how and where to get the victory, they are constantly failing the Lord. These people are lead to believe that the Christian experience is a daily struggle. IF a Christian is struggling with sin then he is fighting a battle which he can not win. Christians are to "Fight the good fight of faith" (1Tim. 6:12) but that should be the extent of our stuggle. Scripture says: "But this Man (Jesus), after He had offered one sacrafice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God; from hence forth expecting till His enemies be made His footstool. For by one offering, He has perfected forever them who are sanctified" (Heb. 13:20) In other words: Our Lord totally and completely defeated sin at the Cross of Calvary. His sacrifice of Himself was so perfect, so total, so complete, and so finla that it will never have to be repeated. Paul refers to this at "The everlasting convenant" in Heb. 13:20.

THE  ANSWER...
When a believing sinner comes to Christ, the sin nature is then made absolutely dormant. The sin nature has NO HOLD on the person anymore. The sin nature has NO CONTROL over the person anymore. The chains of sin fall off. The only way for this to happen is for the believer to register his faith totally and completely in Christ and the cross - and then MAINTAIN that faith. FAITH that when Jesus died on the cross and rose 3 days later... HE BROKE THE DOMINION that the sin nature HAD on us!! THIS IS WHERE OUR FAITH MUST BE!!! JESUS and the CROSS!!!! Jesus did so much more than just die on the cross!!! HE BROKE the POWER of the sin nature when He died!!! So the only answer to our sin 'battle' = Jesus and Him crucified!!!! FAITH in what HE DID on the cross!!! "FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH" (1Tim 6:12) We don't have to fight the sin nature - JESUS ALREADY DID!!!! That is exciting!! !!! There is NOTHING we can 'DO' except have FAITH in Jesus and His FINISHED WORK on THE CROSS

Here is a little formula regarding the sin nature and victory:
FOCUS:  The Lord Jesus Christ (Jn. 14:6)
OBJECT OF FAITH:  The Cross Of Christ (Rom. 6:3-5)
POWER SOURCE:  The Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:1-2, 11)
RESULTS:  VICTORY!! (Rom. 6:14; Gal. 2:20)

Now - this is the formula that most Christians will tell you to use:
FOCUS: Works (Rom. 4:2)
OBJECT OF FAITH: Performance - try harder (Gal. 2:21)
POWER SOURCE: Self (Gal. 5:2)
RESULTS:  FAILURE! (Gal. 5:4)

WANT HELP FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT?
 IF a believer continues to place his faith in Jesus & His finished work at the cross, then the Holy Spirit will work mightily in the heart and life of such a believer, bringing about righteousness, holiness, Christlikeness, and the Fruit of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit can not work any other way. The Holy Spirit is the 'dispenser' of the GRACE of GOD. Paul said, "For the LAW of THE SPIRIT of LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS has made me FREE from the LAW of SIN and DEATH" (8:2) The Holy Spirit works ONLY within the parameters of the Atonement.  It is the CROSS which makes it possible for HIM to live permanently within our hearts and lives, and to carry out HIS ministry as The Dispenser of GRACE on our behalf. HE ONLY REQUIRES FROM US FAITH IN CHRISTAND WHAT HE DID AT THE CROSS!!!!  However if the believer places his faith in anything other than the finished work on the cross... (for example: pray more. read more...) the Holy Spirit can not function. The Holy Spirit will not help that believer function under works & law. The Holy Spirit only functions under GRACE & FAITH in what Jesus did at the cross.

To sum it all up:  ALL the believer has to do is to understand that everything that comes to us from God has all been made possible through Christ and what He did at the CROSS. This is why Jesus said, "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself (deny his own ability & strength), 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" (Lk. 9:23-24) The "Cross" is so important that Jesus said we must take it up ON A DAILY BASIS. This is the only sucessfull way to follow Christ. When we do this, the Holy Spirit then works within our hearts and lives... to be sure the sin nature will then REMAIN DORMANT causing the believer no problems whatsoever.

It's all a matter of faith.

To read more about the sin nature I recommend this study guide:
"The Sin Nature"