Thursday, April 30, 2015

LIBERTY FOR ALL - By MileStanford


 Â "If ye died with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, do ye subject yourselves to ordinances?" (Colossians 2:20.

 When it comes to spiritual growth and walk, any help from ourselves is a hindrance to us. The source is wrong. On the death side, we are to receive deliverance from sin's power through the Spirit from the Cross; on the life side, we are to receive growth through the Spirit from the Lord Jesus. It is a matter of receiving, not contributing. We are branches, not vines.

 "The old elementary legal rudiments of a legal age are for those 'living in the world' (having an earthly temple and worship). Believers are seated in the heavenlies in Christ, and are spiritual people with a sanctuary in Heaven. 'Touch not,' 'taste not,' 'handle not'; such commandments of men have no value. They perish with the using.

 "'Voluntary humility,' 'neglecting of the body,' 'fasting,' etc., have a show of wisdom. They gratify religious pride and self righteousness, they 'puff up the fleshly mind,' but they are 'not of any value against the indulgence of the flesh.' The flesh is not subdued by fasting, nor pride by whipping, nor worldliness by neglect of the body. These are of 'no avail' though men glory in them. Only the Holy Spirit brings one into liberty - and that via the Cross. 'The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death' (Romans 8:2).

 "Stand fast, then, in the freedom which Christ has given us, and turn not back again to entangle yourselves in the yoke of bondage" (Galatians 5:1.



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


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Conversation Peace - by Pastor Ricky Kurth



   Conversation Peace  
by Pastor Ricky Kurth



“Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” (Philippians  1:27).

Interestingly, whenever Paul uses the phrase “stand fast,” it is always to challenge people to stand fast in an area in which they were not standing fast! For instance, he tells the Corinthians to “stand fast in the faith” (I Cor. 16:13), for they had lost their faith in one of the fundamentals of the faith, the resurrection (I Corinthians 15:12-50). He told the Galatians to “stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free” (Galatians 5:1) because they were forsaking grace for the law. He told the Thessalonians to “stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught” (II Thessalonians 2:15), especially the “tradition” of working for a living (3:7-12). The Thessalonians had become so excited about the Rapture that many of them quit their jobs in anticipation of the Lord’s coming!

But here in Philippians 1:27, Paul tells the Philippians to “stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.” This is because two ladies in the church were quarreling (4:2), and some in the church were siding with Euodias and some with Syntyche. “Striving together” is the Greek word sunathleo. The prefix sun means together with, and athleo is the word from which we get athlete and athletics. Athletes are often teammates who must strive together to achieve a common victory, and this is what Paul was calling on the Philippians to do for the cause of Christ.

Notice Paul isn’t talking about faith in the gospel. The faith of the gospel is our faithfulness or fidelity to maintaining the gospel as God gave it, just as old “high-fi” or “high-fidelity” records claimed to be highly faithful to the sound recorded in the studio. We are to strive together to maintain fidelity to the gospel God gave to Paul.

Finally, Paul does not say we should strive with one another for the faith of the gospel. He rather says we should be striving “together” as those who see the fellowship of the mystery with those who don’t. With all the talk about “peace on earth”, how refreshing it would be if we could enjoy the “conversation peace” Paul longed to see in Philippi! (Psalms 133:1; Ephesians 4:3



Paul's Gospel 
Romans 2:16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.
Romans 16:25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began.
2 Timothy 2:8 Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel.

How God Saves Men
Believing Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
Read Acts 16:31 Romans 1:16, and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4

(A 10 Minute Video)


 Posted By Cecil and Connie Spivey
cspivey1953@gmail.com


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Wednesday, April 29, 2015

The Mystery - by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


The Mystery
Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

 In Ephesians 3:1-3 “the dispensation of the grace of God” is specifically called “the mystery” (i.e., secret). It is thus designated for two reasons:

1.  It had been “kept secret since the world began, but now,” through Paul, had been “made manifest” (Romans 16:25). “In other ages” it was “not made known” (Ephesians 3:5). Rather, “from the beginning of the world” it had been “hid in God” (Verse 9), “hid from ages and from generations, but now… made manifest to His saints” (Colossians 1:26).

2.  It was at the same time the explanation, the key, to all God’s good news, including that which had been proclaimed in ages past. It explained how it was that Abel could be declared righteous by bringing an animal sacrifice, “God testifying of his gifts” (Hebrews 11:4), how Noah could become “an heir of… righteousness” by building an ark (Hebrews 11:7), how anyone could be saved under the dispensation of the Law, and how it is that we can be saved today by grace through faith alone.

Thus we have in Paul’s epistles, not only the gospel [good news] of “the secret” (Ephesians 3:1-3), but at the same time, “the secret of the gospel” (Ephesians 6:19,20).

This great secret, revealed to and through Paul, has rightly been called the capstone of divine revelation, for it concerns God’s eternal purpose in Christ. Through Paul, the chief of sinners saved by grace, God has now made this glorious secret known to us (Ephesians 1:9) that we, in turn, might make it known to others (Ephesians 3:9).

In Him All Things Created

 Jesus Christ is the One by (in) whom "all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him" (Colossians 1:16-17a). The word "all" means exactly that. Because He is God, everything that was created was created by (in) Christ. Who else but God has the wisdom and power to do so? John said of Him, "All things were made through Him, and without (apart from) Him nothing was made that was made" (John 1:3). These verses are devastating to the blasphemous idea that Christ Himself was a created being. That is why the Jehovah's Witnesses, in their perversion of the Scriptures, add an extra word to Colossians 1:16 so that it reads: "For by him all [other] things were created." The word "other" is not found in any Greek text. Christ is "the Firstborn over all creation" because all things were created in Him (sphere), through Him (agency) and for Him (purpose).

He is Before All Things

 Jesus Christ is "before all things" (Colossians 1:17b). Being the eternal Word, Christ is before all things as to time. In the beginning, when the universe came into being, Christ already existed (John 1:1-2). Being Almighty God, the Creator of all things, and thus the "Firstborn," Christ is before all things as to position and authority.

In Him All Things Consist

 Not only did Jesus Christ create all things, bringing them into existence out of nothing, He is also the One by (in) whom "all things consist (hold together)" (Colossians 1:17c). Hebrews 1:3 says that Christ, "being the brightness of God's glory and the express image of His person" upholds "all things by the word of His power."

Head of the Body, the Church

 Just as Jesus Christ is over all the created universe, He is over the new creation as well, being "the Head of the Body, the Church (Colossians 1:18a). After His death on Calvary, God raised Christ from the dead, exalted Him to His own right hand, "far above" all authority and rule and every name that is named, and gave Him to be "the Head over all things to the Church" (Ephesians 1:21-2

He is the Beginning

 Jesus Christ is Head over the Church, because "He is the beginning" (Colossians 1:18b). The word "beginning" is from the Greek word "arche" which speaks of that which holds the highest position. For example, Michael is called the archangel. "Beginning" carries the ideas of both originator and ruler. Christ says of Himself: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End" (Revelation 1:8). He is the beginning of life, not just physical life, but spiritual life as well, for "in Him was life" (John 1:4).

Firstborn From the Dead

 Jesus Christ is not only the "firstborn over all creation," "He is the firstborn from the dead" (Colossians 1:18c). Jesus was not the first man to be raised from the dead, but He is the first to be raised unto eternal life, never to die again. Christ's resurrection ensures resurrection and eternal life to all who will trust in Him as Savior. Paul assures us of this truth from the negative standpoint in 1 Corinthians 15:17-18: "And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished;" Then from a positive standpoint in 1 Corinthians 15:20-23: "But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming." Christ is, therefore, both "the Author and Finisher of our faith," having endured the cross for our sins and being raised from the dead (Hebrews 12:2). He is our risen and glorious Savior and Head.

That He May Be Preeminent

 Jesus Christ, simply because of who He is, is to "have the preeminence (first place)" in all things (Colossians 1:18d), for He truly is superior to all things. He is the eternal God; He is the Creator and Sustainer of all things; He is the Firstborn from the dead; He is the Alpha and Omega; He is the Head over all things to the Church, His Body. "In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" and, because of this fact, those who trust in Christ as Savior are "complete in Him" (Colossians 2:9-10). How important it is to acknowledge the superiority of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and to give Him the preeminence in our hearts and lives.


How GodSaves 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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Our Great Commission - by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


Our Great Commission

by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

Much is said of the “great commission” which our Lord gave to His apostles just before His ascension. We wonder whether our readers have ever examined the various records of this commission carefully.

This “great commission” does not say one word about “the preaching of the cross” or “the gospel of the grace of God”. The “gospel” which they were sent to preach was very evidently the same “gospel” they had been preaching — the Gospel of the Kingdom — only they could now declare, as Peter did at Pentecost, that the King had risen from the dead and would still some day occupy the throne of David.

The “great commission” demanded faith and baptism for the remission of sins (Mark 16:15,16); it included the power to heal the sick and work miracles (16:17,18), but it did not include the glad message that “Christ died for our sins” (ICor.15:1-3). At Pentecost, when Peter began to carry out this commission, he rather blamed his hearers for the death of Christ and when, convicted of their sins, they asked: “What shall we do?” he did notsay: “Believe on Christ who died for your sins.” He rather commanded them to “repent and be baptized every one…for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38).

But after Christ and His Kingdom were again rejected, God interrupted the prophetic program and sent Paul forth to proclaim “the preaching of the cross” and “the gospel of the grace of God”. In II Corinthians 5: 14-21 this apostle proclaims “the love of Christ” who “died for all” and instructs us as to our“great commission”:
And all things are of [provided by] God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, AND HATH GIVEN TO US THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION;
To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself… AND HATH COMMITTED UNTO US THE WORD OF RECONCILIATION” (II Cor.5:18,19).


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 
















Monday, April 27, 2015

Yet Not I, But Christ! - By John LaVier


Yet Not I, But Christ!

John LaVier


ce the Apostle Paul uses this phrase, "Yet not I, but ". In his epistle to the Galatians he wrote:

 "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." (Galatians 2:20)

his testimony of the great apostle belongs to all who have been saved and made members of the Body of Christ, and identified with Him "who was delivered for our offences and raised again for our justification." Each one can say, "I was crucified with Christ." This is clearly brought out in Romans 6:3-4:

 "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into His death; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."

 This applies to every believer, and the baptism mentioned has not one drop of water connected with it.

 When Christ died on the cross He not only died for our sins, but we died with Him. His death was our death. His resurrection our resurrection, and now His life is our life. We reckon ourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God, and by faith we can say, "I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." This great truth is expressed in a separated life, a surrendered life, a life lived in the faith of the Son of God.

 Once more Paul used "Yet not I, but ..." when he wrote to the Corinthians:

 "But by the grace of God I am what I am; and the grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." (1 Corinthians 15: 10)

 He had mentioned himself as a witness of Christ risen from among the dead. He saw the Lord, and his whole life was changed. He was as one born out of due season, a type of Israel's regeneration yet future, when "They shall look on Him whom they pierced." That great vision on the road to Damascus made of Paul not only a believer in the Deity and Messiahship of the Lord Jesus Christ, but he became the faithful servant of the Lord. It made him humble. Though he was by the will of God the great Apostle to the Gentiles, the one to whom was made known the truth of the mystery and to whom was given an abundance of revelations, yet he called himself "the least of the apostles" and "less that the least of all saints." He boasted that he had labored more abundantly than the other apostles, but he added, "Yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." He ascribed it all, not to himself, but to the grace of God.

 These two expressions, "yet not I, but Christ" and "yet not I, but the grace of God," describe the entire ministry of Paul. Two things he magnified and glorified, extolled and exalted: Christ, and the grace of God. In all things, in all his messages and personal testimony, an exaltation of Christ and complete effacement of self are the great leading marks. He made his boast in Christ. He magnified Him and the grace of God which had been bestowed upon him.

 How little of this self-effacement we see today. How many exalt themselves, boast of their attainments, their service, their ministry, their converts, instead of glorying in an all-sufficient Savior and the all-sufficient grace of God. The "Soli Deo Gloria," to God alone be the glory, is often forgotten. May the Lord help all of us in all our service for Him, of whatever nature it may be, to magnify Christ and the grace of God and to seek His glory only.

 Twice the Apostle Paul uses this phrase, "Yet not I, but ". In his epistle to the Galatians he wrote

 "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." (Galatians 2:20)

 This testimony of the great apostle belongs to all who have been saved and made members of the Body of Christ, and identified with Him "who was delivered for our offences and raised again for our justification." Each one can say, "I was crucified with Christ." This is clearly brought out in Romans 6:3-4:

 "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into His death; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."

 This applies to every believer, and the baptism mentioned has not one drop of water connected with it.

 When Christ died on the cross He not only died for our sins, but we died with Him. His death was our death. His resurrection our resurrection, and now His life is our life. We reckon ourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God, and by faith we can say, "I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." This great truth is expressed in a separated life, a surrendered life, a life lived in the faith of the Son of God.

 Once more Paul used "Yet not I, but ..." when he wrote to the Corinthians:

 "But by the grace of God I am what I am; and the grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." (1 Corinthians 15: 10)

 He had mentioned himself as a witness of Christ risen from among the dead. He saw the Lord, and his whole life was changed. He was as one born out of due season, a type of Israel's regeneration yet future, when "They shall look on Him whom they pierced." That great vision on the road to Damascus made of Paul not only a believer in the Deity and Messiahship of the Lord Jesus Christ, but he became the faithful servant of the Lord. It made him humble. Though he was by the will of God the great Apostle to the Gentiles, the one to whom was made known the truth of the mystery and to whom was given an abundance of revelations, yet he called himself "the least of the apostles" and "less that the least of all saints." He boasted that he had labored more abundantly than the other apostles, but he added, "Yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." He ascribed it all, not to himself, but to the grace of God.

 These two expressions, "yet not I, but Christ" and "yet not I, but the grace of God," describe the entire ministry of Paul. Two things he magnified and glorified, extolled and exalted: Christ, and the grace of God. In all things, in all his messages and personal testimony, an exaltation of Christ and complete effacement of self are the great leading marks. He made his boast in Christ. He magnified Him and the grace of God which had been bestowed upon him.

 How little of this self-effacement we see today. How many exalt themselves, boast of their attainments, their service, their ministry, their converts, instead of glorying in an all-sufficient Savior and the all-sufficient grace of God. The "Soli Deo Gloria," to God alone be the glory, is often forgotten. May the Lord help all of us in all our service for Him, of whatever nature it may be, to magnify Christ and the grace of God and to seek His glory only.


How God Saves Men
Believing Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
ead Acts 16L31 Romans 1:16, and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4


(A 10 Minute Video)


 Posted By Cecil and Connie Spivey
cspivey1953@gmail.com


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What is Grace? - by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

 “

What is Grace? 
 Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

The father of lies” always hates the truth, but he does not ways oppose it by the same methods. If he fails to succeed as a roaring lion he may appear as an angel of light, suggesting that surely a God of love will not condemn Christ-rejectors forever. Sinners, he will contend, are not responsible for their sins anyway, for does not Ephesians 1:11 teach that “[God] worketh all things after the counsel of His own will”? And thus God Himself is supposed to have conceived the idea of sin as “a gracious means to a glorious end,” and to have caused man to fall into sin so that He might finally save him from it!

Why an almighty, all-wise, all-loving God permitted sin to enter the universe must, for the time being, remain an impenetrable mystery to us, but one thing is certain: He is not the author of sin, and never accepts the responsibility for it — except that in grace and love He bore its penalty for man.

God calls sinners “children of disobedience” and “children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:2,3), explaining in the clearest language that He hates sin and that His anger is kindled against it (Romans 1:18; Ephesians 5:6; John 3:36). But if God meant man to sin and caused him to sin, how was man disobedient and what cause could God have to be angry? Those who would shift the responsibility for sin from themselves to God should remember that He proclaimed His standards of righteousness in the Law “that every mouth may be stopped and that all the world may be brought in guilty before God” (Romans 3:19).

The contention that all will finally be saved may at first sound like wonderful grace, but actually there is not one particle of grace in it, for it is based on the theory that since God got us into sin it is only just that He save us from its penalty. But grace is God’s mercy and kindness to the undeserving. In Ephesians 2, after calling sinners “children of disobedience” and therefore “children of wrath,” the Apostle Paul goes on to say:

“BUT GOD, who is RICH IN MERCY, for His GREAT LOVE wherewith he loved us… hath quickened us… raised us up… and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus; that in the ages to come He might show THE EXCEEDING RICHES OF HIS GRACE IN HIS KINDNESS TOWARD US THROUGH CHRIST JESUS” (Ephesians 2:4-7). 






   "Why So Many Different Belief Systems?"
Les Feldick
 





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)
Jesus is JEHOVAH The One True GOD (Click Here)








Posted By Cecil and Connie Spivey
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