Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Have I Become Your Enemy?

Have I Become Your Enemy?


Like the rising and setting of the sun, God’s Word is reliable, unchanging and enduring. The Word of God teaches us that:
  • God’s promises will not be broken.
  • God’s plans will not be changed.
  • God’s rule cannot be challenged.
  • God’s judgment cannot be escaped.

Christians believe that the Holy Bible is God’s Word. We believe the Bible is absolute truth. We also believe it is very important to share our beliefs. This is done out of obedience to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and out of love for those who have not heard about or have not decided to surrender to the message of truth found in the Bible.
  • Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
    • Jesus, the human incarnation of God, commanded and commissioned His followers to teach the truth of the Bible to all the world.
  • Mark 12:29-31 Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
    • Jesus taught that there is only one true God, and that we are to love Him with all that we are. He also taught that we are to love all those we encounter in life (our neighbors).

In order to understand Jesus’ teachings on love, we need to look at the Biblical definition of love. It is important to understand how genuine Godly love is meant to drive the motives for, and methods of, sharing the truth of the Bible with others.
  • 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
    • Love is about putting others needs above our own. Christian love means that we are to make decisions and take actions that pursue the good of others while also glorifying Father God.
  • Romans 12:9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.
    • Hypocritical love is not Christian love. Our love is not so much about feelings as it is about being and doing what shows our love for God and our love for others (even when we strongly disagree with them).
  • Ephesians 4:15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.
    • The truth of the Bible can be a difficult message for someone who has not heard it before, or for someone who has heard but decided not to believe and receive the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ. The truth of the Bible is to be shared with love.

Here is a summary of the good news (gospel) message of Jesus Christ.
  • All people fall short of God’s commandments, requirements, standards and principles (this is called sin).
  • God is perfectly righteous (every person who has ever lived will stand before Him for judgment).
  • The penalty for sin is death (physical death – the separation of your soul from your body; and spiritual death – the separation of your soul from God).
  • The debt for our sin must be paid (this is the only way to be in a reconciled relationship with God).
  • Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, lived a sinless life, died on a Roman cross and rose from the dead to pay the debt for our sin and make a way for us to go to heaven (Jesus is the only way to peace with God).
  • When you surrender all that you are and follow Jesus as Lord and Savior, you are saved (saved from God’s wrath).
  • When you are saved though faith in Jesus, you are adopted by God as one of His children (washed clean of your sin, indwelled with God’s Holy Spirit, assured that you will spend eternity in Heaven with God).

Here are a few verses from the Bible about the gospel of Jesus.
  • Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
  • 2 Thessalonians 1:9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,
  • Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
  • Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
  • John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
  • John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
  • Romans 10:9-10 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
  • John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
  • Romans 5:1-2 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
  • 2 Corinthians 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
  • Ephesians 1:13-14 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

In the first century, the Apostle Paul established several Christian churches in a Roman province called Galatia. He taught the people there that being saved from God’s wrath against sin could only be accomplished through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. He had been clear in his teachings that nothing else was required. Years later, upon hearing that some of those who had professed faith in Jesus were allowing false teachers to lead them astray by teaching them that to be saved they also had to follow certain rules and traditions, Paul wrote them a letter. In this letter, Paul confronts his friends with this issue. He urged them not to be misled. He even expressed concern that some of them may not have made a genuine profession of faith in Jesus. And then he asks the readers of this letter an important question.
  • Galatians 4:16 Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?

Now I ask you the same question,
‘Have I become your enemy because I tell you the truth?’


My sincere hope is that you will not disregard the truth of God’s Word and the good news about salvation in Jesus Christ. My prayer is that you are, or will become, a child of God through faith in Jesus.


Prayer

Heavenly Father, King of kings and Lord of lords, please use the truth of Your Word and the power and presence of Your Holy Spirit to draw those who don’t know Jesus as Lord and Savior into a loving relationship with Him. Please rescue those lost in the darkness of sin by bringing them to the light of life – Jesus. I ask this in His holy name. Amen.

Sunday, February 3, 2019

Insurrection

Insurrection


The ‘world’ (the powers and people of God’s creation that attempt to discredit, reject and ignore His truth and love) is rebelling against the sovereign rule of God. Genuine Biblical Christianity is not only unpopular in the world today, it is being ferociously and openly attacked. Why! Because it stands in direct opposition to the lies and lusts of the world. This rebellion, and the associated attacks against God and His Church, are primarily focused on the Bible – the Word of God.

Christians look outside of themselves and into the Word of God for His truth.
  • Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

Those opposed to the Word of God look inside themselves for self-justification.
  • Matthew 15:19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.

The world is out to destroy faith in the Bible.


The world believes that:
Discrediting the Word of God Makes the Bible a Book of Lies!
Science, philosophy, religion – the intellectual pursuits of man are used to invalidate the truth of God’s Word. The depraved heart of man turns God’s truth into lies and man’s lies into truth.
  • 1 Thessalonians 2:13 For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.
    • The Bible teaches us that the Word of God is absolute truth. The Bible was written by men that were inspired and directed by God. His Word is a wonderful gift to us. To discredit the Word of God is to set a trap of deception. The Bible correctly answers the fundamental questions of life. Where did I come from? Why am I here? What happens when I die?

The world believes that:
Rejecting the Word of God Makes Christianity a Joke!
Go ahead and make fun of me behind my back – or even to my face. Call me stupid or foolish for my faith in Jesus. But don’t make the Word of God the target of your irreverent humor.
  • John 12:48 He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.
    • The Bible teaches us that the very Words the world laughingly discards will be the standard by which everyone will be judged. Rejecting truth is no laughing matter.

The world believes that:
Ignoring the Word of God Makes Forgiveness of Sins Unnecessary!
‘If it makes me happy, it must be OK.’ ‘I am who I am, don’t try to change me.’ ‘Live and let live.’ ‘I’m a good person, just look at all the nice things I do.’ ‘I am certainly better than him. Did you know that he ________?’ Setting our own standards is a great way to feel good about ourselves. We can easily obey our own rules – and if not, we can just change them. Who needs forgiveness if they never do anything wrong?
  • Romans 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
    • The Bible teaches us that every single person falls short of God’s standards, requirements and restrictions – His Law shows us our sin. God is a righteous Judge. To avoid the eternal condemnation that results from breaking His Laws, our sin debt must be paid in full. Forgiveness of sin is absolutely necessary.

The Bible often uses light as an analogy for life, truth and righteousness. Likewise, darkness often represents death, lies and wickedness.
  • John 3:19-20 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.

Jesus Christ is the light that has come into the world. He gave His life to bring eternal life to all who follow Him.
  • John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

As His ambassadors, those who follow Jesus shine His light into the world. Christians live for Jesus to bring glory to God.
  • Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

If you are rebelling against God’s truth and love, why not go straight to the source – talk directly to Him through prayer about your questions, complaints, concerns, frustrations, disappointments, etc. If you truly and deeply want to know the truth, He will reveal it and Himself to you.
  • Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

When God reveals Himself to you,
Prepare yourself to be humbled!
The rebellion will be over!!


Prayer

Dear Father, there are so many that try to discredit, reject and ignore You. I pray that you will open their minds and hearts to Your truth and love. For those who are genuinely seeking truth, I pray that you will reveal Yourself to them. Please do what only you can do – turn a hater of God into a lover of God. I humbly ask this in the name above every name, Jesus Christ. Amen.