Saturday, November 30, 2013

NEW TESTAMENT WASHINGS - B y J. C. O;Hair





First read John 13:1 to 14, the record of Christ washing the feet of His apostles. In John 13:10 two different Greek words are translated “wash.” “Jesus saith to him, (Peter), He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.”

He that is washed. The Greek word is “LOUO.” This is the same Greek word used in Hebrews 10:22 - Acts 16:33 and Revelation 1:5. “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies WASHED with pure water.” “And he took them the same hour of the night, and WASHED their stripes; and was baptized, he and his, straightway.” “Unto Him that loved us, and WASHED us from our sins in His own blood.”

“LOUO” has the meaning of “all-over” washing. This is what the believer receives when he comes by faith to Christ and to Calvary. He is there reconciled, forgiven, redeemed and justified.

After this the saint needs and receives the second “wash” of John 13:10. This Greek word is “NIPTO” and has the meaning of a cleansing, or washing, of part of the body. Note the blind boy in John 9:7: “And said unto him, Go. WASH in the pool of Siloam. (which by interpretation, Sent). He went his way therefore, and WASHED, and came seeing.” This is the same word.

This washing of the Christian’s feet speaks of Christ’s work at God’s right hand as Advocate. (I John 1:7 to 9 - I John 2:1 and 2).

Now note another Greek word, “APOLOUO,” used in Acts 22:16 and I Corinthians 6:11: “And now why tarriest thou? arise, (Paul), and be baptized, and WASH away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” “And such were some of you: but ye are WASHED, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”

Then in Matthew 27:24 the Greek word is “APONIPTO.” And in Luke 5:2 the Greek word is “APOPLUNO.”

Then note Ephesians 5:26 and Titus 3:5: “That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the WASHING of water by the Word.” “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the WASHING of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit.” The Greek word in these two verses is “LOUTRON.”

There were old testament “DIVERS WASHINGS” (Hebrews 9:10). The Greek word is “BAPTISMOS.” Some of these were pourings, some sprinklings, some immersions. The Greek word in Luke 11:38 is “BAPTIZO.”

Then in Revelation 7:14 - “Robes washed in the blood of the Lamb,” the Greek word is “PLUNO.”

No ceremonial or religious washing is needed to supplement the Divine washing of Titus 3:5 and Ephesians 5:26 to make it more efficacious or lasting.

In Mark 7:20 to 23 the Lord Jesus Christ gave us an ex-ray of the human heart. The description is up to date. “From within out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, murders, thefts, deceit, blasphemy, pride, foolishness, etc. “This is confirmed in Titus 3:3 - Read it. Then follows the statement of God’s kindness and love and how God, with a Divine WASHING, washes man on the inside. Surely we know that water on the outside could not cleanse man’s sinful heart on the inside.

Surely every sinner who comes by faith to Calvary and believes unto the saving of the soul is washed once-for-all by the precious blood of the Lamb of God Which beareth away the sin of the world. But that redeemed one then needs the constant washing of his feet. We praise God for these Divine washings.



How God Saves Men
Believing Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.

Read Romans 1:16, Romans 10:9-10 and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4


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The Breath of God - by Pastor James R. Gray





Learn more reverence, not for rank and wealth that needs no learning, That comes quickly, quick as sin dies, aye and culminates in sin; But for Adam's seed, man, trust me 'this a clay above your scorning, With God's image stamped upon him, and God's kindling breath within.
--Elizabeth Barrett Browning

God's breath! What a concept! One that is completely Biblical. The Bible clearly speaks of the breath of God. God's breath is an indispensable part of man. We cannot escape it. The Bible reveals there are distinct times that the breath of God is related to man:IN CREATION

 
When God created man, we are expressly told that He "formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Gen. 2:7). This verse is revealing about the creation of man. We see man was "formed" by God. The Hebrew is yatsar. It is an artisan word. It means to mold or form, and describes the activity of a potter forming or molding the clay on the potters' wheel. It carries the idea of molding the day with particular care and personal attention. Here God is seen as the potter. He fashioned us out of the clay of the earth with minute and precise detail. Interestingly, the word for dust here is not a clot of dirt, but the finest part of the material of the earth. No wonder the writer of the Psalms declares that he was "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:14).

Not only was man made by the artistic hands of God, but God "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life." The word translated "breathed" is interesting. It is the Hebrew word napah, the root meaning of which is to puff, as one puffs to forcefully ventilate a fire, thus to blow, to exhale. It is used of the giving up of life (Job 31:39, Jer. 15:9), as well as giving of life. In this passage the meaning of giving of life is dear, God exhaled or blew life into man. God formed man from the dust of the earth after His own likeness, and into this mold of dust, breathed or exhaled into it His own immortal breath. Of all creation, God did this only to man. As Leupold in his comments on Genesis notes; "A personal, vitalizing act of the Creator imparts life to man-- an honor bestowed upon none of the lesser creatures" (Exposition of Genesis, 116).

The result of this act was that "man became a living soul," The student of the word should be careful here.

While the act of imparting life to man was unique, the result does not seem to be. The phrase does not seen to point to a distinguishing aspect of man. In Genesis 1:24, we see that the same Hebrew word, here translated soul, is translated "living creature" and it refers to animal life. The Scofield Bible notes that the Hebrew word nephesh (soul), "implies self-conscious life, as distinguished from plants, which have unconscious life" (p. 5). A study of the phrase "living soul" shows it refers to both man and animals (Gen. 1 :24; 2:7; I Cor.15:45; Rev. 16:3). By the act of God exhaling into man the breath of life, man became animated, a living soul.

Because both man and animals are living souls, that does not mean that this event was not unique. God's breath animating man does have a special significance. It does place man on a higher plane, and a special place in relationship to God that is higher than the beasts of the field. It directly links man with God, a link formed by God Himself at the time of creation, a link that was marred and corrupted by an act of sin. Man will not be able to escape the responsibility before God for breaking that link.

* IN CONVERSION
The breath of God is active not only in creation, but conversion. Not unlike the work of creation, is the miracle of regeneration where the breath of God is a quickening breath. It quickens and converts dead sinners into living saints. This quickening is the work of the Holy Spirit. It is significant that the New Testament word translated spirit is pneuma, like its Hebrew counterpart ruach, means both "breath" and "spirit." It is a form of the Greek word, pneo, which means a current of air, to blow upon.

The word pneuma is translated both "wind" and "spirit" in John 3:8. Christ is making a comparison here between wind and the Spirit. Both are sovereign in their activities and mysterious in their operations. Both are sovereign in their actions, beyond all human control. Both are irresistible in their power and invisible, for who has seen the wind or the Spirit? Both are invigorating, refreshing us from the heat of the day and life.

There are those, however, who would argue that this verse needs to be better translated. As we have already pointed out, the word wind and spirit are the Greek word pneuma. This is the only verse were the word is translated wind. Some suggest that a better translation would be: "The Spirit breatheth where He willeth, and His voice thou hearest; but thou knowest not whence He cometh and whither He goeth. Thus it is (with) everyone who has been begotten by the Spirit. " Their points for this are well taken. They point out that if wind was meant, that the normal word would have been used (anemos). In fact, John uses the word anemos to express wind in John 6:18. It is also pointed out that it is not correct to say that the wind cannot be traced. Scripture itself affirms that comings and goings of the wind can be known and traced (Eccles. 1:6). It seems that this view deserves consideration by the student of the Word.

There can be little doubt that breath is the emblem of the Holy Spirit. To become a child of God one must be "born from above" which is accomplished by the Holy Spirit, the breath of God. It is He who breathes life into those who are spiritually dead in trespasses and sins. Just as God breathed into man at creation to animate physical life, so the breath of God, the Holy Spirit, animates man's spiritual life, and the sinner becomes a new creation in Christ. The Apostle Paul reminds us that "if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you" (Rom. 8:11). Quicken means to be made alive. Thus, we are born again from above "not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:13), the breath of God, the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit that gives life eternal (II Cor. 3:6)

” IN JUDGMENT”


The third place that the Breath of God will meet man is in judgment. Scripture is clear. Isaiah 11:4 declares that God "shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked." The very breath of God is the rod with which He will chastise and smite the wicked. The return of the our Lord Jesus Christ to set up His kingdom will be accompanied and accomplished by the outpouring of His breath of judgment.

The Apostle Paul uses this phrase regarding the judgment of the Antichrist. Notice II Thessalonians 2:8 where Paul declares that this one will be consumed "with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming." Again the word pneuma in the King James Version is translated "spirit," however, it can be equally and better translated "breath" as in the New King James Version. The Antichrist will be consumed "with the breath of His mouth."

A parallel to these events is seen in the book of Revelation. In Revelation 19 the breath of judgment is symbolized by the sword proceeding out of Christ's mouth, which shall consume the wicked (Rev. 19:15, 20-21). At the second coming of our Lord, He will not return in a lowly procession upon a colt, but upon a white horse, as the great conqueror over the Antichrist and His forces. The manifestation of Christ at Armageddon will be a time of dire judgment, out of His mouth will come the breath of judgment, symbolized by the sword. The wicked will be judged.

Paul describes this outworking of God's judgment in 2  Thessalonians 1:7-9. Even as Antichrist and His army are destroyed and consumed with the breath of the Lord's mouth, so also will two classes of people be punished in that judgment. Two groups or classes are clearly intended in the text by the repeated articles in the original Greek. They are those who "know not God" and those who "obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." The first class, those who "know not God" are what we would refer to as heathen, those who have refused such knowledge of God to be had from the light of nature (Acts10:34, Rom. 2: 1 0-15). The second class are those who have heard the gospel and rejected it. Their guilt is even greater. In disobedience they turned their back upon God and the gospel. Scripture indicates that those of this class, who have lived in this dispensation of grace, refuse the message of grace, and are alive after the rapture will still not believe. They will be duped by the Antichrist, "because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth; but had pleasure in unrighteousness (II Thessalonians 2:10-12).

Do you have "God's kindling breath within?" Have you been born from above, animated by the breath of God spiritually? If not, He who breathed life into man, will come with the breath of judgment. You are under that condemnation already, for "He that believeth not is condemned already" (John 3:18). You cannot escape the breath of God. But be assured, those who accept His provision of salvation by faith will pass from spiritual death into eternal life (John 5:24). The breath of God will quicken you spiritually, and you will be a new creation in Christ (II Corinthians 5:17


 How God Saves Men
Believing Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
Read Romans 1:16, Romans 10:9-10 and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4


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Paul:s Two Roman Impisonment - by Miles Stanford




Scripture Reading: 

"For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing." -- II Timothy 4:6-8 

Approximately two years after being delivered into the hands of Roman authorities things had apparently gone well for the apostle, therefore he anticipated his soon release from prison. Thus he writes to the church at Philippi: "For I know that this [their prayer for his release] shall turn to my salvation [deliverance from prison]" (Phil. 1:9). 

We believe that Paul did in fact enjoy a short period of freedom which enabled him to continue his apostolic journeys. We know, for example, that according to the Acts record the apostle never visited Crete on any of his previous apostolic journeys. Paul did sail around the island on his way to Rome as a prisoner, but it was not until his release from his first Roman imprisonment that he actually visited Crete. The apostle's brief stay on the island was long enough to see that the churches there were in a state of chaos (Titus 1:10-16). Consequently, Paul leaves Titus behind, his companion in travel, "to set in order the things that were wanting" (Titus 1:5). 

Probably from Crete Paul made his way to Corinth where he writes to Titus to inform him that he planned to winter in Nicopolis (Titus 3:12). It could well be that the apostle was apprehended at Nicopolis and taken again to Rome for preaching Christ. This time however, the sentence would go against him. So without hesitation he writes to Timothy, since it was nearing winter, to bring his cloak and also the Parchments (II Tim. 4:13).




Video Archive - Les Feldick Bible Study





How God Saves Men
Believing Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
Read Romans 1:16, Romans 10:9-10 and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4


(A 10 Minute Video)


 Posted By Cecil and Connie Spivey
cspivey1953@gmail.com


E-mail this BIBLE STUDY to all your friends 







"GOOD GROUND" - By Miles Stanford



"Jesus answered and said unto him, Before Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee" (John 1:48). 

"And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bore fruit an hundred-fold" (Luke 8:8). The more fully and thoroughly hearts are cultivated before conversion the more healthy and fruitful they will be after conversion. Many Christians hurriedly seek to plant the seed in unprepared soil, and then wonder why it is so soon withered, choked, or snatched away. "Good ground are they who ... having heard the Word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience" (Luke 8:15).

"I believe that a work of God sometimes goes on behind a particular man or family, village or district before the knowledge of the truth ever reaches them. It is a silent, unsuspected work, not in mind and heart, but in the unseen realm behind these. Then, when the light of the Gospel is brought, there is no difficulty, no conflict. The battle has been won. 

"It is, then, simply a case of 'stand still and see the salvation of God.' This should give us confidence in praying intelligently for those who are far from Gospel light. The longer the preparation, the deeper the work. The deeper the root, the firmer the plant when once it springs above the ground. I do not believe that any deep work of God takes root without long preparation somewhere." - J.O.F.

"Concentrate your prayers on behalf of some soul or souls and pray for such, night and day, until they come to Christ. Then continue to pray for them until Christ is formed in them!" (Phil. 4:19).

"Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me" (Mal. 3:1). 






How God Saves Men
Believing Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
Read Romans 1:16, Romans 10:9-10 and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4


(A 10 Minute Video)


 Posted By Cecil and Connie Spivey
cspivey1953@gmail.com


E-mail this BIBLE STUDY to all your friends 







Tuesday, November 26, 2013

THIS MAN CHRIST - By J. C. O;Hair



The blind, ignorant rulers of Christ’s day knew Him not. (I Corinthians 2:6 to 8). They thought they knew Him for they said, “Howbeit we know this Man whence He is: but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence He is.” John 7:27.

Some spies and detectives went out to apprehend Jesus that the rulers might put Him to death. But some of them, if not all, came back with a verdict in His favor. Christ had fed 5000 hungry people with less than a pound of food, and had performed so many miracles that even His enemies believed on Him. “And many of the people believed on Him, and said, When Christ cometh, will He do more miracles than these which THIS MAN hath done? (John 7:31).

And note what they said in John 7:46: “The officers answered, Never man spake like THIS MAN.”

The title of Christ “THIS MAN” used in the King James edition of the Bible had a twofold significance. It was used in derision by some and by others who were perplexed.

In John’s Gospel we learn that Christ claimed and proved unity and equality with the Almighty God, saying, “He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father”; “I had glory with the Father before the world was”; “I came down from heaven”; “I am the resurrection and the life, the one and only way to God”; “I have power to lay down My life and to take it up again”; “I am the door of salvation”; “before Abraham was I AM”; “if ye believe not that I AM, ye shall die in your sins.” (John 14:9 - John 17:5 - John 6:37 and 38 - John 11:25 - John 10:17 to 19 - John 9:5 - John 10:9 - John 8:58 and John 8:24).

Christ used the first person pronoun in speaking of Himself about 680 times in the Gospel of John.

Surely never man spake like THIS MAN. Can you image any other rational man saying, “I came down from heaven that a man may eat of Me and never die?”

No man can prove He is Christ by doing greater miracles than this Man did. “What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him!” (Matthew 8:27). He was approved of God by miracles, wonders and signs. (Acts 2:22 - John 5:36).

Was Christ “posse non pecaris” or “non posse pecaris?” Was He able not to sin or not able to sin? “THIS MAN hath done nothing amiss.” (Luke 23:41). Christ made no confession of sin to man or God. He was tested in all points like as we, yet without sin in word, thought and deed. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He knew no sin, but on the cross He was made sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. (II Corinthians 5:21).

Now note Hebrews 10:12 - Acts 13:38 and Luke 15:2 - “But THIS MAN, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God.” “Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through THIS MAN is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins.” “And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, THIS MAN receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.”

We are not serving a dead Christ but a living glorified Man Who is far above all heavens. However we are saved from God’s eternal wrath by His once-for-all sacrifice. (Ephesians 4:9 to 11 - I Peter 3:18 and I Thessalonians 1:10). “Reconciled to God by the death of His Son.” (Romans 5:10).

Glorious blessed truth told by those selfrighteous religious enemies of Christ “THIS MAN receiveth sinners.”

As many as received Him were given the right to become the children of God. (John 1:11 and 12).

This same Jesus is coming again as He went away. Then He will receive His own unto Himself. (Acts 1:9 to 11 - John 14:1 to 4). As He was once offered to bear the sins of many, so unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” (Hebrews 9:28).



How God Saves Men
Believing Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
Read Romans 1:16, Romans 10:9-10 and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4


(A 10 Minute Video)


 Posted By Cecil and Connie Spivey
cspivey1953@gmail.com


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Monday, November 25, 2013

CROSS CONTINUTITY By Miles Stanford




"That I may know Him ... being made conformable unto His death" (Phil. 3:10).

The wondrous depths of the finished work of the Cross will always be adequate to deal with the terrible depths of the unfinished work of the old man. As we glory in the Cross, the flesh is denied.

"When we have apprehended our death-position with the Lord Jesus (Rom. 6:6; Gal. 2:20, etc.), we may have failed to see the on-going conformity to His death (2 Cor. 4:11; Phil 3:10, etc.). The absence of this brings the anomaly of the Cross being preached with little or no marks of the Calvary spirit.

"This is the problem of teaching the 'identification' truths without the consequent conformity of death which brings forth life. We may rely upon the fact that we 'died' with the Lord Jesus, and assume that it is entirely wrought in us at once, not realizing that 'the fellowship of His sufferings' follows the apprehension of identification. That 'delivery unto death' must become deeper and deeper, until the 'conformity to His death' in the path of the Cross becomes a very real characteristic of the life."

"We are not to think that our exalted position in the Lord Jesus, seated with Him in heavenly places, frees us from the need of further application of the Cross. We never reach a point where we can leave the Cross. We are invincible, more than conquerors through Him who loved us, only as we are brought into ever deeper conformity to the Lord Jesus' death unto sin. Otherwise the flesh reinstates itself and we once more fall prey to the old man's reign. There are always remaining, however much we have advanced, hidden strongholds of the old man which must be rendered inoperative by the finished work of the Cross." 

"Let him deny himself, and take up his Cross daily" (Luke 9:23).




How God Saves Men
Believing Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
Read Romans 1:16, Romans 10:9-10 and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4


(A 10 Minute Video)


 Posted By Cecil and Connie Spivey
cspivey1953@gmail.com


E-mail this BIBLE STUDY to all your friends 






Thursday, November 21, 2013

THE NEW TESTAMENT HOUSES By J. C. O'Hair



The word “HOUSE” is found in the Bible more than 1200 times. It is doubtful whether it is correct to call all of the twenty-seven Books of the Bible, from Matthew to Revelation, “the New Testament Scriptures,” but in these twenty-seven Books we find many different HOUSES. We quote the Scriptures:
“But Christ as a Son over His own HOUSE; Whose HOUSE are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.” (Hebrews 3:6).
“And having a High Priest over the HOUSE of God.” (Hebrews 10:21).
“Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual HOUSE, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” (I Peter 2:5).
“But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the HOUSE of God, which is the Church of the Living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” (I Timothy 3:15).
“For the time is come that judgment must begin at the HOUSE of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” (I Peter 4:17).
“But in a great HOUSE there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour and some to dishonour.” (II Timothy 2:20).
“For we know that, if our earthly HOUSE of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a HOUSE not made with hands, eternal in the heavens, For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our HOUSE which is from heaven.” (II Corinthians 5:1 and 2).
“In My Father’s HOUSE are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” (John 14:2).
“And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not My Father’s HOUSE a HOUSE of merchandise.” (John 2:16).
“Saying unto them, It is written, My HOUSE is the HOUSE of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.” (Luke 19:46).
“And hath raised up a horn of salvation for us in the HOUSE of His servant David.” (Luke 1:69).
“And He (Christ) shall reign over the HOUSE of Jacob for ever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end.” (Luke 1:33).
“Therefore let all the HOUSE of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, Whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.” (Acts 2:36).
“When once the Master of the HOUSE is risen up, and hath shut the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and He shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are.” (Luke 13:25).
“Or else, how can one enter into a strong man’s HOUSE, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man: and then he will spoil his “HOUSE.” (Matthew 12:29).
The Lord Jesus was born in the House of David, to reign over the House of Jacob forever. (Luke 1:27 to 33). He was raised from the dead and He is coming back to this earth to do this very thing. But during this parenthetical “grace” period while the tabernacle of David is fallen down and the kingdom of heaven is in abeyance Christ is the Head of the Church which is His Body. (Ephesians 1:19 to 23). That Body is called the House of God. In I Corinthians 12:13 we learn how sinners can enter this House. Only Christ can deliver the strong man’s House from the strong man.



 How God Saves Men
Believing Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
Read Romans 1:16, Romans 10:9-10 and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4


(A 10 Minute Video)

Posted By Cecil  and Connie Spivey 

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Wednesday, November 20, 2013

GOD'S ETERNAM PURPOSE - By J. C. O'Hair




After reading the above Scriptures we might wonder what a man has to do with his salvation. These Scriptures tell of God’s eternal “grace” purpose. Man’s responsibility is set forth in other Scriptures.

We have God’s work and man’s part in salvation in II Thessalonians 2:13 and 14: “For we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. Whereunto He called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Here we learn that God chose, God called, God sanctified; man believed the truth; and by the gospel the believer obtained the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.

But in the Scriptures listed above for this lesson we see the sovereignty of God, or His eternal PURPOSE, in man’s redemption by grace.

Note II Timothy 1:9: “Who hath saved us and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own PURPOSE and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.”

Here we learn of God’s eternal “grace” PURPOSE; God’s grace and PURPOSE given in Christ Jesus before the world began. This is in harmony with I Corinthians 2:6 to 8 and Ephesians 1:4 and 5. The salvation and calling without any works on the part of man is in harmony with Ephesians 2:8 to 10 - Titus 3:5 to 8 and Romans 4:4 and 5.

And all of this is confirmed by Romans 8:28 to 30, where we read what God predestinated and that all things work together for the good of God’s elect.

Why do all things works together for good for those who are the called according to God’s PURPOSE (Romans 8:28)? Because God foreknew, predestinated, called, justified, and glorified. Who can be against God’s elect? (Romans 8:31 - 33 - 34).

We learn, in Ephesians 3:9 that God wants all His children to see the great truth called “the dispensation of the mystery,” “the mystery of His will” (Ephesians 1:9), “the mystery of Christ” (Colossians 4:3 and 4), “the mystery of the gospel” (Ephesians 6:19 and 20), which is according to His eternal PURPOSE, which He PURPOSED in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:11).

This is profound truth, wonderful, glorious truth. When did God PURPOSE His eternal PURPOSE in Christ Jesus? Before the world began, when He foreknew and predestinated the mystery of His will, that all things should work together for good to those who would be the called according to His PURPOSE.

Now note Ephesian 1:9 and 11: “Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath PURPOSED in Himself. In Whom also we have obtained an inheritance being predestinated according to the PURPOSE of Him Who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will.”

In I Corinthians 15:1 to 4 and Acts 3:19 to 25 and Acts 26:21 and 22, and Romans 11:27 to 29, we learn of some blessed events which are “according to the Scriptures,” foretold by the prophets. But truth, according to “God’s eternal PURPOSE” is different. It was not foretold by the prophets. Therefore it is called “the unsearchable riches of Christ.” (Ephesians 3:8).

Compare the “searchable” riches of Christ in Acts 17:11 with the “unsearchable” riches of Christ in Ephesians 3:8. In order that Christians might understand God’s eternal purpose God has instructed Christians to pray in Ephesians 1:16 to 18 and Ephesians 3:14 to 21. God’s instruction also is to test things that differ. Divine truth, according to the Scriptures, (in fulfillment of prophecy) is different from the truth of God in Ephesians, according to His eternal purpose.



How God Saves Men
Believing Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
Read Romans 1:16, Romans 10:9-10 and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4


(A 10 Minute Video)


 Posted By Cecil and Connie Spivey
cspivey1953@gmail.com


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Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Be Ye Reconciled to God - by Pastor C. R. Stam



Reconciliation postulates alienation. Only enemies can be reconciled. Thus God’s message of reconciliation takes us back to Adam, the father of the human race, who first rebelled against God, and explains why God must deal with us all on the same level, as sinners who need salvation.

In Romans 5:12, we read: “…By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned”.

Thank God, though, the message of reconciliation is not concerned exclusively with the “one man” by whom sin entered into the world. Indeed, it is chiefly concerned with the “one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” (ITim.2:5).

“Therefore as by the offence of one, judgment came upon all men unto condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one, the free gift [of salvation] came upon all men to justification of life.

“For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous” (Rom.5:18,19).

It is by this other “one Man” and His death on Calvary, then, that sinners may be reconciled to a holy God. In Colossians 1:21,22, Paul, the Apostle of reconciliation, writes to believers:

“And you, that were once alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled,

“In the body of His flesh, through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight.”

Thus “when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son” (Rom.5:10). And thus, too, the Apostle pleads: “We pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For He hath made Him to be sin for us, [Christ] who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (IICor. 5:20,21).


 How God Saves Men
Believing Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
Read Romans 1:16, Romans 10:9-10 and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4


(A 10 Minute Video)

Posted By Cecil  and Connie Spivey 

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Monday, November 18, 2013

He Wants to Live Through You - by Dr. Bill Gillham


"If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him" (Romans 8:9b). When you turned toward Jesus to become a Christian, the "Spirit of Christ" (Holy Spirit) entered into you. Why did Jesus come into you? Why didn't Jesus come before you so He could lead you (some say that's His function); or beside you so you could lean on Him when you grow weary (some say this is His function); or behind you to give you a jump start when you need help (others claim this is His job), or perhaps under you to carry you when you can't make it on your own (as the poem "In His Steps" teaches)? It's because Jesus is the only One who ever has or who ever will live the life which is pleasing to the Father, and He is to express His life through you on a moment-by-moment basis. Christ's life alone gets God's Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. Everything else is trashed.

It's presumptuous of any person to think he can emulate the life of Christ. God doesn't want to "help" you live on earth any more than He wanted to "help" you get saved. He did it all for you then: He's made provision through Christ to do it all for you now. This way God, not you, gets the honor (glory). Salvation is all of God, nothing of man. Guys, the Christian life is to be experienced in exactly the same way it's begun. He wants to do it all for you, through you. In this way He gets just as much glory (credit) for saving you from the hell of life as He does for saving you from the hell of death, and He gets to build the intimate, bonding relationship with you which He longs for. He died to attain this relationship with you! Imagine that! Please don't continue in your independent self-sufficiencyaively believing that this is pleasing to the Father, that He is proud of your strength. He's covered this in His love letter: "They will be held guilty, they whose strength is their god" (Habakkuk
 1:11). Your personal strength is His enemy. It keeps you from intimate fellowship with Him.


 How God Saves Men
Believing Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
Read Romans 1:16, Romans 10:9-10 and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4


(A 10 Minute Video)

Posted By Cecil  and Connie Spivey 

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Sunday, November 17, 2013

Adoiding Strong Drink - by Paul M. Sadler, Pastor

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Adoiding Strong Drink 
 by Paul M. Sadler, Pastor


Scripture Reading:

“Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken.”

– Habakkuk 2:15

There are many passages in the Word of God, such as the above, that are timeless and transcend all the dispensations of God. While the liquor industry goes to great lengths to get people to believe that drinking is a harmless way to have a good time, the facts are otherwise. They are very careful never to advertise the drunk driver who kills innocent people or the homes that have been destroyed by strong drink. But a voice in the crowd says that a few social drinks will never hurt anyone. Most recovering alcoholics, however, tell a much different story of how their slide into a life of drunkenness all started with a social drink. “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise” (Prov. 20:1).

A couple of years ago, I was driving through Apollo, Pennsylvania where I saw a piece of twisted wreckage along side of the road. Upon slowing down, I discovered that it was an automobile, or at least what was left of it. Apparently someone survived the crash because there were beer cans strategically placed beside the car along with a sign at the rear bumper which read, “And they told us we were going to have fun.” Someone lied!

While the world refers to alcoholism as a disease, the Word of God calls drunkenness a sin. It is not a disease, it is a matter of choice. Oh, the sorrow and heartache that has been caused by careless men and women who have given themselves over to the treachery of this sin. The answer is not found in the bottom of a bottle — the answer is Christ. Only He can deliver the drunkard from his drunkenness.

Therefore, a life yielded to God is the solution to the bondage of this terrible sin. Throughout the year social gatherings often bring with them a strong temptation to join the crowd. For those who struggle with this temptation, it is important to remember that the victory is already yours though Christ Jesus our Lord. Simply claim it! Then live one day at a time, by God’s grace, for His grace is more than sufficient (II Cor. 12:9). 



Read Also


How God Saves Men
Believing Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
Read Romans 1:16, Romans 10:9-10 and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4


(A 10 Minute Video)



Posted By Cecil and Connie Spivey
https://www.facebook.com/cecil.spivey


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UNSOUND TEACHING REBUKED - By John D. Bekemeuyer, Pastor




UNSOUND TEACHING REBUKED 
 By John D. Bekemeuyer, Pastor



Scripture Reading: I Timothy 1:3 

Our text for today makes it quite clear why Timothy was left in Ephesus: "That thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine." There was in Ephesus, as there will be in any Christ-honoring church, efforts to promote false doctrine; to entice believers away from the truth. With such there is to be no tolerance, but rather bold, outright confrontation. Timothy was not to reason with the false teachers, nor was he to seek to establish a "dialogue." He was to charge them, that is, he was to give an authoritative commandment that the promotion of false doctrine must stop.

Many complain that such an approach to the ministry is narrow-minded, and to that charge, faithful ministers of the Gospel must plead guilty. There is only "one faith" (Ephesians 4:5). If it is narrow-minded to believe that God has spoken; if it is narrow-minded to believe that God has given a distinctive message for the Dispensation of Grace; if it is narrow-minded to emphasize that we are expected to know what that message is; then let us all be narrow-minded.

The reason many are unsettled regarding doctrine, is that they do not understand where, in the Bible, doctrine is to be found. Efforts to amalgamate the Kingdom to the Body and Law to Grace are futile. Out of desperation, many determine that there are no absolutes---anything goes.

When such an attitude is prevalent, the ministers of Satan thrive. Paul warned the Corinthians of those who "corrupt"; the Galatians of those who "bewitch"; and the Colossians of those who "spoil." Let us also heed these warnings. 




     "Why So Many Different Belief Systems?"
Les Feldick

 


Posted By Cecil and Connie Spivey
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