“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.” Luke 6:45

There is no question about the fact that there has been more damage done to the church by the tongue than by any other thing.

“And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and is set on fire of hell.”

James 3:6

Have you ever heard someone complain about something or someone in the church? Well, unless they are complaining to you about something you are in charge of or that you have done, then that complaint is iniquity. Constructive criticism becomes sinful gossip when it is shared with a person other than the person who can change the situation or right that wrong. What’s more, even the listening to such “fire” as God calls it, is sin.

“Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, there the strife ceaseth. As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife. The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the inner most parts of the belly.” Proverbs 26:20-22

So what should you do when we hear someone being critical of something for which you have no power to change?

“Mark them (point them out) which cause divisions and offenses…and avoid them.” Romans 16:17

However, the problem isn’t with the tongue, as bad as it is portrayed. It is with the heart. That’s because the heart is desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). So, we need to have a “new heart.” We need to trust Jesus’ death on the cross as the complete and only requirement to save us and keep us for all eternity in order to receive that heart. Then we need to listen to and strengthen that heart (new man, new birth, new nature, or spiritual birth) so that our mouth can be controlled by God. After all: “The tongue can no man tame; (Only God can) it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” Pastor Jerry

“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” II Corinthians 10:5

It is evident that we are at war. The battlefield is the mind. The real estate to be won is our thoughts. These are not just talking points. This is a matter of life and death. If you lose, you die.

Now, we can make this hard, or we can make this easy.

We are battling against the world, the flesh and the devil for control of our thoughts. Their method is to flood through our gates troops…things that will enslave us and bring about our destruction. The gates they are assaulting are mainly the eye gate, and secondly, the ear gate. Their desired results are the capturing of our thoughts and the control of our mind. If they can get control of our thoughts, they gain control of our person. Bottom line, the world, the flesh, and the devil are not so much trying to get us to sin, but trying to get us to see and hear about sin so that we will think about sin. If they can get us to do that, then they know that we will be enslaved to sin.

Consider three verses. James 1:14-15: “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death,” and Romans 6:16: “Know you not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom you obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness.”

After you have viewed and listened to sinful things, and you have begun finding those things cropping up in your thoughts it is much harder to say “no” to temptation than saying “no” to watching or listening to those sinful jokes, stories, and activities. In short, the easiest place to defeat sin is in the viewing and hearing stage. It is hard to break a habit once you are enslaved to it.

Do we have to defeat sin to get to heaven? Actually, sin is not even an issue concerning our getting to heaven. Jesus, died and paid for all sin. All we have to do is trust what He has done. So it’s not a sin issue, but a believing issue. “He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, BECAUSE he hath not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:18 Pastor Jerry

“Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.” Proverbs 27:20

In the steps of sin, seeing and hearing would be the beginning steps. Before you ever consider doing something, you must at least see or hear about it. You cannot think about a thing you do not know about. You cannot desire a thing of which you have no knowledge. You cannot be tempted to do something which you have no desire to do. You cannot persuade someone to participate in some activity without first acquainting them with that activity. You cannot have a habit of doing something you have never done. A sin will not kill you that you have never committed. God will never judge you for something you have never done. However, there are steps between the hearing of a sin, and the eternal judgment for that sin. They are hearing, seeing, thinking, talking about, desiring, being enticed, actually participating, forming a habit, eventually dying, then being judged. The easiest place to stop this downward slide is to stop listening to those things that are not Godly.

An explanation of judgment of sin is warranted here.

All of our sins were placed on Jesus, and God judged Him in our place. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1. The operative words here are: "To them that are in Christ Jesus." To get "In Christ Jesus," we must trust the fact that Jesus is God, and He has done what it takes to get us to heaven. Once we trust Jesus‘ death and resurrection for our sins, we are eternally safe and secure, because what He did is complete and finished. It is complete in that all of our sins were paid for, and it is finished in that He finished paying for it two thousand years ago. All we have to do is trust what He has already done.

However, as believers, “We must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” II Corinthians 5:10. What we are looking forward to is the rewards that we will receive for works that we do for Him, and, while this reward is not heaven, lack of faithful service will result in loss 0f rewards. So, by default, those sins that are making us ineffective in our service for Christ will result in the judgment of loss of rewards. So “”Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us.” Hebrews 12:1 Pastor Jerry

 

“Preach the Word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” II Timothy 4:2

God has very definite instructions about what constitutes Biblical preaching. First of all we are to preach the Word. Little use of the Bible means little Biblical preaching. The words “reprove” and “rebuke” have almost the same meaning. Preachers are suppose to use the Word to reprove and rebuke the listeners rather than using stories to scratch their itching ears (whatever that means in verse three.) Then there is responsibility to exhort. Exhortation is an encouragement to positive action (Soul winning-verse five) through warning and instruction. Unlike reproof which is a call to negative action.

Also, there is an emphasis on patience. It may take a while of repetition of doctrine before application takes place. Finally, we are told what the tool is that the preacher is supposed to use. It is doctrine, and in view of the fact that they are supposed to preach the Word, it must be Bible doctrine. Preachers are not supposed to preach stories or fables (verse four) or even Bible studies, but rather doctrine. They are supposed to preach convicting Bible doctrine. Bible doctrine is simply Bible truth, but, according to the above verse, it ought to be taught with application so that a person feels reproof and exhortation. There are a number of styles of preaching. There are those who preach through some contemporary writer’s advice rather than preaching Bible doctrine. There are those who gripe and complain about others outside the church by focusing on the sins of the lost, social issues, or politics. Then there is the life application preacher who causes the congregation to become introspective and self centered by looking for things to make their own life and problems better rather than trying to reach others with the gospel. There is the preaching that focuses on Jesus and His majesty. Who could complain about that? However, according to the Bible, the way God is glorified is by our bearing fruit. (John 15:8) That is soul winning. So Biblical preaching ought to send out a call to disobedient believers to get their life squared away so they will not be a stumbling block to the lost, and so they will be trained with patience how “Do the work of an evangelist.” (verse five)

What is the work of an evangelist? It is simply explaining the freeness of salvation and the security of the believer to the lost so that they can trust Christ’s death and resurrection as the completed work required to get them to heaven. Pastor Jerry

“But rather seek ye the Kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Luke 12:31

Have you ever heard of someone who knew that they were doing wrong, but they were “trusting the Lord” to take care of them? Have you ever asked the Lord to relieve the problems a person is going through when the problems were of their own doing? Well, God delights in delivering us from the problems we are going through. Praying for deliverance even from the things we have brought on ourselves is very appropriate. The outcome of that prayer, however, is conditional. We must first “seek ye the Kingdom of God.” Do not expect to live like the devil and receive the blessing of God. Do not expect to “sow your wild oats” and then pray for crop failure. God longs to give us a happy, secure, peaceful life. However, problems and our response to them is what gives us that joy. Almost all of the promises of God are conditional upon our response.

Even salvation has a condition. The condition to be saved from the lake of fire is we must trust Christ alone to save us from the penalty of our sins. Do not expect God to save you your way. Salvation is accomplished God’s way or no way at all. As long as you are trusting your own goodness or lack of badness to get you to heaven, you are not trusting completely in Christ. A person who says that they are trusting Christ, but is going to do good works to get to heaven, is ultimately trusting themselves for salvation and will not receive salvation from God.

So we cannot call upon God to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves unless we fulfill His conditions first. In the case of salvation, we must trust His death and resurrection as all that is required to get us to heaven. In the case of the person who is suffering because of his own wrong doings, he must first seek the Kingdom of God in His daily decisions and life style.

To ask God to give you salvation, and then do something yourself just in case will keep God from saving you. To ask God to deliver you out of a particular situation without changing your lifestyle will keep God from extending His grace in you life here on earth. Pastor Jerry

“The fool hath said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.”

Psalm 14:1

At the beginning of last century there was a revival of the idea that there is no God. The resulting philosophy was a degenerate lifestyle that was called existentialism. This is the belief that our own existence is all we have and can be sure of, therefore, the only “sin” would be to deprive yourself of some desired experience or pleasure. This teaching was picked up by some superficial thinking professors, and became all the rage during the middle of the last century. The idea that happiness was to be found within yourself, and you needed to be true to yourself, find yourself, follow your heart, and a host of other New Age Cliché’s, guided people into selfishness and ultimate despair. The folly of such teaching and foolishness of living a life on such shaky presumptions have been the subject of hundreds of good books. When you read these authors, you would think by the soundness of their logic and reasoning when refuting the sensibility of these godless philosophies, there would be no more need for a further discussion. The subject has been profoundly settled. Yet, in the next generation, there seems to be another crop of fresh grey matter that will fall for these archaic teachings. Eventually, refuting them becomes exceedingly tiresome.

Is it any wonder that God warns us to “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” Colossians 2:8?

Spoil You? What does that mean? Spoil is what is taken away after a defeat. In the spiritual realm it would mean that we lost the battle for the mind (II Corinthians 10:5), and the enemy has taken the spoil. What has the enemy taken from us? He has taken our love, joy, and peace, leaving behind in their place, lust, fun, and hopelessness. He has taken the only lasting and completely fulfilling love that only comes through serving God. He has taken the joy of knowing that our works, which have nothing to do with our getting to heaven, when used to get other people to heaven, give us purpose and have eternal effect; and we lose the peace of mind of knowing that we are going to heaven when we die.

Pastor Jerry

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of he ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” Psalm 1:1

It is very significant to note that the very first instruction in this Psalm that was written to tell us how to be “blessed” is a negative one. That knocks the positive thinking crowd in the head. Also, notice what we are to avoid. It is “ungodly counsel.” What does that mean? It means counsel that goes against what God has instructed. Duh! Examples of ungodly counsel would be the name it, claim it philosophy; the conceive it, believe it, achieve it way of thinking; the visualization; meditation (on something other than God’s Word), positive confession; or any other of the humanist New Age religion’s way of thinking. Oh, they are effective enough at getting what you set before you as your goal, but they will not get you what you truly desire. God tells us that the children of Israel “lusted exceedingly in the wilderness” (for a more varied diet) and God “gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul (Psalm 106:14-15).

Many times Christians have lost sight of the blessings that come through faithfulness to God as they spend more time seeking “pleasures and riches of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.” (Luke 8:14)

What is fruit? Fruit is the people you lead to Christ. It is sad that when a believer begins to “forsake the assembling of yourselves together” (Hebrews 10:25) those that end up reaping the wild oats many times are their children and grandchildren. God is gracious, but when we turn our back on godly counsel, we become servants to sin (Romans 6:16). As a servant of sin, sin exacts its toll to the third and fourth generation.

For our friends and families sake we need to be demonstrating a faithful example of a believer so that they will listen when we tell them of the freeness of salvation and the security of the believer. We need to share with others the fact that Jesus did everything required to get them to heaven, and all they have to do is trust what He has already done. However, there is no greater stumbling block to others trusting Christ as Savior than the life of a hypocrite. Pastor Jerry

 

The following devotionals refer to the outline found in the link "Sermon Outlines" above under the heading " Logical assumptions."

“Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.” Romans 7:12

What does this verse mean to you?

 

What does this tells about our relationship to the law?

 

The law shows us at least three in general (Besides God’s immutable will on particular things). What are they?

1. ____________________________________________

2. ____________________________________________

3. ____________________________________________

“Hath in these last days spoken to us by His Son, Whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by Whom also He made the worlds.”

Hebrews 1:2

What does this verse mean to you?

In the verse before the above memory verse, what does it say is now in the past?

In Hebrews 2:3 who confirmed the things Jesus said to us? ________________________________________

According to Hebrews 2:4, what was the purpose of the sign gifts?

______________________________________________

 

“One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could no be eaten, they were so bad.” Jeremiah 24:2

When the Jews were carried away captive into Babylon, the ones who stayed behind considered themselves the blessed of God, because they were patriots who would not allow the King of Babylon to rule over them. In this passage God is pointing out that the good fruit is the fruit that would be taken away. The reason the others were not taken was, because they were rotten.

What was God going to do? First He would “Acknowledge them.” according to verse five. What does that mean? Jesus said that if we would confess Him before men, then He would confess or acknowledge us before our Father when we stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ to see what kind of rewards we will receive for eternity. You see, rewards do not come by just doing a bunch of stuff for others. Thank God there are people like that, but He is looking for those that will confess Him before others. We must use the opportunities we have to bring people to Jesus Christ. Can you imagine helping provide a place to sleep or food to eat for someone, yet not requiring them hear the plan of salvation? What would that do for them a hundred years from now?

God tells us in II Chronicles 16:9, “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him. Herein thou hast done foolishly.*”

Interesting enough, this was spoken about good King Asa. He was one of the few kings that was considered good. However, He did not have a heart that was “perfect.” That means *single minded.* That means that everything that you do has a purpose, which is to bring people to Christ.

What does it mean to bring people to Christ? That means that the good we do gets people to consider their relationship to Jesus. If we simply do good without getting people under the sound of the clear plan of salvation, they get the impression that salvation is by works. We need to use our works and goodness to clearly express that salvation is not of works and that there is none good but God.     Pastor Jerry

Which is more important, helping people, or telling people about how to get to heaven?

_________________________________________

Was the king spoken about in the above devotion good or bad?

 _______________________

What does it mean to have a heart that is "perfect?"

 ______________________________________________

“In Whom also ye have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him Who worketh all things after the counsel of His Own will.” Ephesians 1:11

What is predestination?

Is predestination and attribute or an act of God? _____

Does God reveal His method and reason for choosing who will be saved?

_________

How did God determine who He would save?

Is God’s method of choosing who He will save reasonable?

_____________________

Can we understand how God chose who would be saved?

_____________________

“And that from a child thou hast know the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

II Timothy 2:15

What are the five reasons we believe the Bible is the Word of God which are given in the outline?

1. ____________________________________________

2. ____________________________________________

3. ____________________________________________

4. ____________________________________________

5. ____________________________________________

Write these fives reasons on one of the blank pages in the front or back of your Bible. Leave some room for some Scripture addresses you can use for each reason, and add them as you find them in your Bible reading.

“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.”

Revelation 4:11

According to this verse, why did God create all things?

 _______________________________________

According to Hebrews 10:38, how do we bring pleasure to God?

 _______________________________

Why, do you suppose, does this bring glory to God?

______________________________________________

If this is how man brings pleasure to God, what does that tell us about the rest of God’s creation?

______________________________________________

“Even every one that is called by My name: for I have created him for My glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.” Isaiah 43:7

According to this verse, why did God create us?

______________________________________________

In Romans 4:20, how did Abraham bring glory to God?

How, do you suppose, does this bring glory to God?

After we have done doing the above, how can we continue to bring glory to God according to John 15:8?

______________________________________________

For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the Word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the Word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe. I Thessalonians 2:13

Some have said, “I believe that salvation is the gift of God. I believe that there is nothing you can do to earn it or deserve it. I believe that salvation is eternal, and, therefore, can never be lost, but how can I know that I really believe? How can I have assurance of salvation?”

The answer is really quite simple. Do you believe that Jesus promises everlasting life in John 3:16? If you do then you have everlasting life. Do you believe that He promises that you will never perish? Then you will never perish. Do you believe that Jesus said that He would never cast you out in John 6:37? Then He will never cast you out. Do you believe that Jesus said that He would lose nothing in John 6:39? Then He will never lose you. Do you believe that Jesus said that none could pluck you out of His hand in John 10:28? Then none can pluck you out of His hand. Do you believe that Jesus said that you have everlasting life in John 6:47? Then you have everlasting life. Do you believe that Jesus said that you are not condemned in John 3:18? Then you are not condemned. Do you believe that Jesus said that you have passed from death unto life in John 5:24? Then you have passed from death unto life. Do you believe that that Jesus said that you shall not come into condemnation? Then you shall not come into condemnation.

There are only two things in view i8n each of these statements. Is Jesus trustworthy enough to fulfill His promise, and do you believe ?

Do you have the kind of faith it takes to save you? That is a completely irrelevant question. According to Romans 12:3, God has given faith to every man, and God does not give anything defective. The question is the object of faith. Do you believe you must be faithful to gain eternal life? You do not have it. Do you believe that you have to commit your life to Jesus? Then you do not have eternal life. Do you believe that you have to ask Jesus into your heart to get to heaven? Then you will not go to heaven. Do you believe that Jesus has promised to give you eternal life? Then you have eternal life.

Pastor Jerry

“For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but He for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness.”

Hebrews 12:10

It is certain that, while God will never send a disobedient child to the lake of fire, it is also certain that He, as a perfect Father, will not allow His children to continue in his disobedience. Disobedience will result in loving fatherly discipline from God, and, while that punishment will never be the lake of fire, it may result in physical death.

There is another thing that is certain about God’s discipline of His children. It will always be for our profit. Salvation is free. It is a gift. Profit is neither a gift nor free. Profit is a return on investment. It could be a financial investment, investment of time, effort, expertise, or any number of things, but it comes at some cost to the investor. Hopefully, the yield will be worth the trouble.

God chastens us, and if we respond properly, we receive a handsome return on our efforts to obey. According to Scripture, we receive one hundred fold return for what we invest in the Lord’s work, both in this lifetime and in the rewards we will receive when we get to heaven.

On the other hand, while we will receive great reward in heaven for our obedience here on earth, heaven itself is not a reward. It is a gift that we simply receive with no promise or effort on our part. There is a response that is required, however. We must trust what Jesus did on the cross when He died to pay for all of our sin and believe that He came back from the dead after He had finished paying for our sin.

Exactly what must you do to get to heaven? You must simply believe that Jesus is God the Father that came to earth in the flesh and that He did everything it takes to get you to heaven.

If you have never trusted Jesus to get you to heaven, why not trust Him now? You can’t make a mistake, because He is trustworthy.

Pastor Jerry

 

“And He said unto them. ‘Render therefore unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s.” Luke 20:25

A study of the history of the founding of our nation brings out some unique facts. The charters of at least seven of the thirteen colonies declare that the main reason they were founded was for the propagating of Christianity. In other words, the colonies were supposed to be missionary states established for the purpose of converting others to Christianity. As the colonies began to unite, their expressed purpose was to unite to better reach the New World with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Even the colonies that were not founded for the purpose of spreading Christianity were founded with their eye on the providence of God and a desire to obey the Christian Scriptures. Secondarily, the colonies were populated by men looking for religious, political, and personal or economic freedom. Eventually, our nation was founded on July 4^th with the penning and soon signing of the Declaration of Independence based upon the desire to protect those freedoms, which were being infringed upon by Britain. The Declaration said that the basis for these freedoms was that God had created man with certain rights, and the very first amendment to the Constitution was worded to protect those freedoms of speech for religious and political reasons.

Now, since God was the author of these rights, a tyrant who wanted to abridge the rights of the people of the United States, would have to undermine the belief that men were created, and that there was a God that created them. So the basis for our self- determination is the belief in God and creation.

Now, whether God has in fact given us the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness based upon His creation of us, may in this present political arena be debatable. But the fact that the job of Christians is to propagate the gospel is still just as true as when the first ship landed in the New World to found the first colony.

What is that gospel which we are supposed to share? It is the Fact that God came to earth in the flesh as Jesus Christ, so that He could die and pay for all of our sin. Whoever trusts Him to get them to heaven will from that moment until eternity have eternal life. Pastor Jerry

“But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust wit the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God,, that trieth our hearts.”

I Thessalonians 2:4

There was recently a case before the Supreme Court in which: “A nonprofit group wanted to use the broadcast medium to explain why it opposed Hillary Clinton, but a federal judge blocked the attempt. A clearer threat to freedom of speech (or, for that matter, freedom of the press) can hardly be imagined.” From Israel My Glory May/June 2010 p. 9.

While the first amendment to the United States Constitution, which was written strictly to protect the responsibility of churches to speak out on political issues, and, more broadly, has been rightly interpreted down through the years to apply to nonreligious groups as well, the question naturally arises of how involved should a church be in politics? It is clear that we have the right to speak out on things that are in our statement of faith such as homosexuality, abortion, prayer, fornication, and any other stand which the law protects as our right to teach and preach from the pulpit, but how much emphasis should be given to these issues?

It would be fitting and prudent to Educate and publicize from the pulpit those individuals, political parties, and organizations apposing the things brought out in our statement of faith, but that does not make it God’s will. If we spent all day doing nothing but sharing and discussing new things as the men at Mars Hill did in Acts 17:21, then we would have time to discuss the political problems of our day. However, since we have abandoned the daily Christian gathering that was common in the early church, and have relegated Bible study to two or three hours a week, we need to spend the time on things of eternal value. After all, what is the purpose of the church? It is, primarily, to train and encourage Christians to share the gospel with the lost. That is done through the repetition of the plan of salvation before believers, so that they can clearly explain it to others. What is that plan of salvation? Simply put, it is the fact that we can go to heaven, because God came to earth and did everything needed to get us to heaven. He died on the cross to pay for our sins, and all He requires of us is that we trust His death payment to get us to heaven. Pastor Jerry

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1

What is faith? This is a beautiful verse. However, it is not a definition of faith. Many have pointed to this verse to justify their erroneous belief in the “name it; claim it,” “Believe it, conceive it, achieve it,” or “visualize and realize” heresy of the New Age movement begun a hundred years ago, and that took off for a short time forty years ago. What in the world is this talking about?

Most of this chapter is demonstrating the statement set forth in the first verse. Then it is culminated in the first verse of the next chapter. “Seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses…” He is talking about witnessing! This chapter has often been called “The faith hall of fame” yet with each assurance of the faith of each individual is also a work that they did. Do we have to subdue kingdoms, work righteousness, stop the mouths of lions, or turn to flight the army of the aliens to have faith? (Verses 33-34) No, this is how the unbelievers that they were trying to witness to could see their faith. Therefore, they received a good report through faith (V39) in the sight of the unbelievers. What is a witness? According to John 1:7 it is someone that tries to cause that “all men through him might believe.”

Possibly, one of the best ways to share the plan of salvation is to tell what Jesus did to save you. However, if we do not demonstrate a faithful life to Christ and His body, it will appear that what Christ did for you ain’t much. That’s why God is so careful to point out in James 2:20 that faith without works is dead or fruitless. (Cf. Jude 12) Then in verse 24 God says, “Ye see then how by works a man is justified (Before the lost), and not by faith only.”

Faith cannot be seen. The lost cannot see our faith. So we must be faithful so that they will see the effectiveness and reality of faith. That’s why God says in I Corinthians 4:2, Moreover it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful.” Pastor Jerry

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct Thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

These two verses teach us two very important things about trust and the Lord’s will. First, God’s promise is not very often in line with man’s understanding. For example, the way that seems right to a man is many times the way of death. (Proverbs 14:12) The best illustration of this is the way of salvation. If man is left to figure out how to get to heaven himself, he will invariably come up with some form of human works or human goodness to get to heaven. However, God says that He has done all of the work to get us to heaven already and there is nothing left for us to do but trust Him.

This same principle is true in every area of life, except the part of it being completely free. It’s just that the formula is never what would appear logical. The world’s logic says, “If you don’t want the child, hire someone to kill it at an abortion clinic. If it is more financially advantageous to remain unmarried, then just live together in sinful fornication (as if there were another kind.) If you don’t feel like changing to love your spouse, just divorce them so that you can get married again and commit adultery.” God has very different answers to all of these problems. And His answers are the only ones that really work satisfactorily.

However, there is another benefit to taking knowledge of and doing His will when making decisions. If we learn and do His will, then He shall direct our paths. Two things this tells us. If we do not know and do His will, He will not direct our path. Is it any wonder that when a person drops out of church, his life becomes stressful and desperate? Not that we all don’t have problems. Paul said in II Corinthians 4:8: “We are troubled on every side, yet not distresses; we are perplexed, but not in despair.” Wouldn’t it be wonderful if when we were perplexed or troubled on every side, we could be certain that we would not be stressed or desperate. However, we must know and do His will for that to happen.

Second, if we do His will, He shall direct our path. Notice the word, ”shall.” It didn’t say He “will” direct. “Will” indicates an act of God, “shall” indicates that that’s just what happens.

You get in the center of His will and He directs your path. How? By the knowledge of and obedience to His Word. Pastor Jerry

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” I Peter 5:7

So who is Satan trying to devour, anyway? According to Hebrews 10:27 those that will be devoured are the adversaries of God. We who have trusted Christ to get us to heaven are not God’s adversaries. Satan cannot devour us. Hebrews 10:10 says, “We are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” In verse fourteen God says that it is “By one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.” And in verse eighteen God says, “Where remission of these is there is no more offering for sin.” So we are safe. In fact He assures us in Romans 5:10 “When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son.” We are not adversaries. So who are the adversaries that will be devoured by the fiery indignation?

The previous verse: Hebrews 10:26 tells us: “If we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.” Why is that? It is because He paid for sin completely once for all, (V10, 14, 18) but our sin will affect others who will remain adversaries at the judgment due to our willful sin. What sin in particular? Verse 25 warns us of forsaking the assembling of ourselves together.

When we forsake the local assembly, it is the natural order of things for reaping the sown seeds of our unfaithfulness to come. In this age of grace God desires to bless us. He is desperately standing between us and the natural results of our sin, but blessing only comes through obedience. You may very well avoid the chastening hand of God and the reaping of the consequences of your unfaithfulness because of God’s love and grace to you, but sin takes its toll down through the third and forth generations. In other words, you may not feel the effects of your willful sin of unfaithfulness, but your children and grandchildren most assuredly will. Pastor Jerry

“Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Ephesians 6:11

There are a couple of things we ought to consider concerning this verse.

First of all, we see the need to put on the whole armor of God, not just most of it. There is only one word in the original Greek that is translated into the two words whole armor. In other words, if we are going to put on the armor of God, we are to put it all on. Consider a basketball team. There have been times in games with small teams that one of the teams will have foul trouble and have to continue to play with fewer than five players. Now if you were any kind of coach at all, where would you attack on offense? You would attack the position that was vacant. So it is with Satan. He will attack the church where there is a vacant position-where we are weakest.

Second, we ought to be aware of the wiles of the devil. The Greek word for wiles is the word “method.” II Corinthians 2:11 tells us that we do not have to be ignorant of his devices.

However, in the verses after our memory verse above we see the armor and weapons of war for our battle against Satan. First of all, and most importantly, is truth. We must also be righteous, be prepared to give the gospel, have faith in the face of doubt, have the helmet or crowns of those that we have led to the Lord, know the Scriptures, and finally, know the battle plan through prayer for boldness to give the gospel.

It is interesting that, while Satan may attack through principalities, powers, rulers of this world who are in darkness, and a spiritual organization above them; we are not told to protest, to petition, to pass out political literature, give speeches, or to organize rallies. We are told to be truthful, righteous, prepared to give the gospel, believing, soul-winning, knowledgeable of the Word of God, and praying for boldness to give the gospel. It takes a great deal of faith to believe that these things could really be that effective in our battle with a government that is antagonistic toward Christianity.

What is the gospel that we are supposed to give? It is basically that God the Father came to earth as Jesus Christ to die and be resurrected to completely pay for all of our sins, so that when we trust what He did to get us to heaven we can know that we have eternal life. Pastor Jerry

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Ephesians 6:12

This verse describes the realm of operation of the “wiles” (method) of the devil mentioned in the previous verse. There actually seems to be a satanic progression warned against in the above verse.

The warning is basically that government is not Christian friendly, and the closer you get to globalism, the less Christian friendly it will be.

First of all we wrestle against the local principalities. Christians have often had a profound positive effect on local government, and when ungodly activities are engaged in, the local Christian community has often been able to spearhead moral change. However, when the powers of a higher authority begins to usurp authority over the local government, the outcome is seldom good in the long run. The larger the government control becomes, the more restrictive are the restraints on the free exercise of faith, and the less restrictive are the laws against immorality.

The further away from the local government the controlling laws are, the less say so the individual has. Can one church affect the outcome on a national school board as easily as on a local school board’s decision?

There are two other steps that are mentioned here, however. After the principalities and then powers come the rulers of the darkness of this world. It does not say the rulers of the darkness of the spirit world. However, darkness is not something that is seen, so the indication is that there is an evil spiritual working behind the rulers of this world. Finally, there is spiritual wickedness in high places. This, apparently, is Satan’s plan. Take the power away from the locals, give it to people who he has in place in an expansive government, and then control them from his spiritual realm.

If there is any truth to any of this, it is scary stuff. Therefore, we need to be sure that our hope is not in this life. We need to make sure that we have accepted the free gift of eternal life by trusting Jesus Christ as God who has done everything it takes to get us to heaven. Then our hope is in heaven. Pastor Jerry

 

“And Thomas answered and said unto Him, ‘My Lord and my God.’” John 20:28

The statement that Thomas makes here seems to almost be redundant. The last two words in the statement are very clear. Thomas was expressing the fact that Jesus is God. Believing in the deity of Jesus Christ is not optional. If we are to believe on the name of the Son of God, we must believe in His deity. His name is Jehovah Yasha in the transliteration of His Hebrew name. That means we must believe that He is Jehovah God, and that He is the one who saves and keeps. “My God,” as Thomas put it in this verse, refers clearly to Jesus’ position as deity.

However, the first part of Thomas’ declaration, while clear, is less clear. The word for Lord in this passage is sometimes translated from the Old Testament word for Jehovah. However, sometimes this word is used for the term “master” and is used, not only on God, but of earthly masters. Which does it mean here? This passage could be referring to the position and person of Jesus. The word “God” refers to a position similar to the way the word “president” does not refer to the personal name of the man, but the position which the man holds. While Jehovah refers to the person of Jesus since that is part of His personal name. On the other hand, this statement could refer to the deity and mastery of Jesus Christ, and Thomas could have been declaring his own dedication to Jesus Christ. Two things we can be sure of, however. First, this passage definitely teaches the truth that Jesus is God. Second, this verse does not teach that you must make Jesus Lord of you life to be saved. How can we know that? Because there is no passage in the Bible that teaches that you must work to get to heaven. There is no passage in the Bible that teaches that you must make Jesus Lord of your life to get to heaven. Making Jesus Lord of your life is a decision that we should make after you have been saved. Pastor Jerry

 

“By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain,” I Corinthians 15:2

Is it possible for a person to believe in vain? The above verse sets forth that question. So the answer depends on what would make the belief vain. Could vain belief be belief that does not produce any works? Could it be a belief that does not change a person’s life?

God does not leave any room for confusion, because He tells us the condition for vain belief in the context of the passage. In verse fourteen and seventeen God tells us exactly what it would take to make our faith vain. “If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.”

The only way for your faith to be vain is for Christ to not be raised from the dead. But He already has been raised from he dead, so there is no suspense here. There is no possibility for our faith to be in vain, because Christ has already done everything it takes to remove our sins. Our sins were removed from us and placed upon Jesus. Then He died and destroyed our sin almost two thousand years ago. This is a process called imputation (placed to one’s account) and redemption (To deliver by paying the price.) The only way for us to still be in our sins is for Jesus to have not finished paying for them. However, the fact that He was raised again is proof that sin has been completely paid for and we now have a legal and practical sinlessness, even though we are going to sin until the day we die.

Bottom line, we find that our security after we have faith in Jesus is based upon what Jesus has already done, not on anything we do, stop doing, or the quality of our faith.

Is the resurrection of Jesus Christ important? Absolutely! Without it our faith would be vain and we would still be in our sins.                     Pastor Jerry

 

“For the poor ye have always with you; but Me ye have not always.”

John 12:8

Here we see clear instructions concerning priorities.

It is important to help the poor. If we do not, our faith is not bearing fruit. (James 2:14-17) The above verse is not saying that we should not help the poor. It is saying, however, what our priority should be in relation to others. We should use our help of the poor to honor Christ. That is what God is saying in Luke 16:9 when He says, “Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.” In other words, make friends with your material goods so that you can help that person accept eternal salvation in heaven. You see, it is not a question of right or wrong action, but it is a question of priorities. Doing a good thing with improper priorities can be sinful.

For example, God has told us that our number one priority after Him is the family. Does that mean that having fun and fellowship with our family comes before church? Of course not. It means that the first people you are responsible to make sure are in church is your family. You are constantly showing what is most important in your life to others by your priorities. If, for example, you choose to spend time with your family on a picnic rather than go to church, you are demonstrating to your family that picnicking is more important than your family’s relationship to God.

What will happen if we get our priorities mixed up?

First of all, God will chasten you to get your attention. He might make it rain on your picnic, cause your car to break down in the driveway, or give you a headache that day.

However, if you sin willfully by choosing not to be in the assembly, then He may not bother you at all, because you have made a decision to forsake the assembly. The results will not become evident until years later as you see your family become adversaries of God with no belief or concern about godly things. “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together…for if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.”  Hebrews 10:25-27             Pastor Jerry

 

 

“He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh His glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness in him.” John 7:18

Romans 3:23 tells us that all have sinned, then it defines sin for us. It says that sin is coming short of the glory of God. What does that mean?

Our memory verse tells us that if we talk about ourselves, then we are glorifying ourselves. So to glorify God we should talk about Him. Now, this is a very true statement, but the verse does not say that. It says that, to be righteous, we must seek the glory of God. So sin is doing anything that does not glorify God. It is our glorifying ourselves.

We can glorify God at church. It is impossible to glorify God when you choose to stay out of church. “But I was sick!” Remember Reba. Reba had arthritis in her hips and knees so badly that doctors wanted to do joint replacements in all four. She had bone spurs in the balls of her feet, and arthritis in her spine. It was excruciating for her to hobble out to her little car with her walker and climb down into her little car. Yet she would get herself up every Sunday and drive herself to church.  Were you sicker than Reba when she came to church? Late in her life she battled a losing war against cancer. Her feet became so swollen that she could not get them in shoes. She had to wrap her feet and legs, because her kidneys had shut down and her bodily fluids was oozing out through her pours. She could no longer dress herself, yet she insisted that her daughter, Julie, come home between Sunday school and church to get her dressed so she could be at church. I am convinced that her presence at church brought more glory to God than most of us when we stay home in bed.

"I was with my family.” some might say. Does having a family reunion at the park bring your loved ones closer to God? Could it be that it is actually teaching your family that enjoying pleasure is more important than having a continual relationship with God? I am convinced that bringing your family to church before the family reunion will bring more glory to God by their mere presence at church than the church missing your presence during the service.

However, you can be at church and still not bring glory to God. If, while at church, all you talk about is what you have been doing for the Lord instead of what God has been doing in your life and the lives of those around you through your faithfulness to God and His body, the church; you are glorifying yourself.

In John 15:8 God says, “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear mush fruit; so shall ye be My disciples.”

However, we cannot even begin to glorify God until we trust Him to get us to heaven. According to Romans 4:20 it is faith that gives glory to God. As long as we are trusting ourselves to help get us to heaven, we are glorifying ourselves, but when we trust Christ completely to get us to heaven, then at salvation we begin to glorify Him.                  

Pastor Jerry

“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10

There is an interesting contrast that is brought out in the Bible. The reason that Jesus came was to seek out the lost person, and save Him. What does that even mean?

To be lost means you do not know where you are going. You may have a very distinct desire to arrive at a certain place, and you may know where you are right now, but if you are not certain of where you are going, you are lost. To be lost spiritually means you do not know where you are going when you die. Jesus came to deliver us from that condition. How does He do that? He does that by giving us the knowledge that we are going to heaven when we die. He says in I John 5:13 “You that believe on the name of the Son of God may know that ye have eternal life.” Now, the only way that I can know that I have eternal life is for the condition to have eternal life to not depend on me. If I have to do, promise, or stop doing something, I could never know that I have eternal life, because I do not know what I am going to do or not do tomorrow-much less for the rest of my life. So salvation must depend completely on Jesus Christ for me to be able to know that I have eternal life. Jesus is seeking out those who want to know that they are going to heaven to deliver us from the fear of death by giving us the knowledge of going to heaven when we die.

Unfortunately, there is someone else who is seeking us. I Peter 5:8 tells us that Satan is seeking whom he may devour. From the unbeliever’s standpoint, the way the devil devours them is by getting them to depend on their own human efforts to get them to heaven. If he can get them to trust themselves, they will never have the complete assurance of life in heaven-plus he will have stolen the faith that should have been placed in Jesus, and caused the unbeliever to place his faith in himself.

Pastor Jerry

 

“And Jesus said unto him, ‘Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee.’” Luke 18:42

It is clear in Scripture that “By grace are ye saved through faith.” (Ephesians 2:8) The above statement was uttered By Jesus Christ to a blind man just outside Jericho. It is significant to observe what the blind man believed. In the blind man’s original approach to Jesus, he says, “Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.” We see two things that he believed concerning Jesus. First we see that he believed the truth about the person of Jesus that He is the Messiah- the Son or descendant of David. Second we see that he believed in the work of Jesus that He would have mercy. So he believed in the person and work and work of Jesus.

The Scriptures of Luke 1:69-72 are surprisingly similar as we read what John the Baptist’s father believed about Jesus. “And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David…that we should be saved …To perform the mercy promised to our fathers.”

The person and work of Jesus (The doctrine of Christ) is intrinsic in the name of Jesus. His name means “Jehovah the Savior and keeper.” We are required to believe on the name of the Son of God-Jehovah the Savior and keeper-if we are going to be saved…and kept. We see the person and work of Jesus in His name: Jehovah-His person, and Savior and keeper-His work. Why is this important? Because when we believe on the name of the Son of God we can know that we have eternal life. He says in I John 5:13: “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life.” If you have never understood that Jesus is God and that He has done what it takes to save you, why not believe it now? Then you can know that you have eternal life in heaven. Pastor Jerry

 

“As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you: continue ye in My love.” John 15:9

We see clearly from Scripture that God offers us love without any regard to our work, intentions, attitude, promises, or change in actions. The only thing He requires of us is that we trust who He is and what He has done on the cross. However, while we receive eternal life in heaven based solely upon what He has done for us, the above verse shows us clearly that we may not continue in His love. Now what does that mean?

He gives us His love freely. In John 3:16 we see that the only person doing any loving or giving in salvation is God. We simply believe it. In Romans 5:8 we see that God reveals His love by His death, not by our dying to self or our life. Salvation is not changed by what we do either before or after we are saved. It was effectively completed almost two thousand years ago, and nothing we do can add to or take from it. All we must do is receive the free gift of life in heaven by trusting His completed work. However, while we cannot be separated from the love of Christ, (Romans 8:35-39) we may not live (continue…to grow and mature) in His love.

You see, His love is kind of like a shower…you know…showers of blessings (Malachi 3:10). All we have to do is stay under the showerhead. (Continue in His love) God is continually pouring out His loving blessings for us, but we keep running out of the way. He will not bless us if we are living in sin or rebellion. Does that mean He stopped loving us? Of course not! However, do not expect His blessings on your life if you are not abiding in His love. Now what in the world does that even mean? “And this is love, that we walk after His commandments.” II John 6 Pastor Jerry

³ I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass. ⁴ Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass; ⁵ I have even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to pass I shewed it thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them.” Isaiah 48:3-5

The most powerful proof we have that the Bible is the Word of God is fulfilled prophecy. The Bible gives us many prophecies without one inaccuracy and with no contradiction. There are more than three hundred fulfilled prophecies about the first coming of Christ alone all of which were fulfilled by Jesus. His place of birth, the year of His birth, the virgin birth itself, His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on a donkey, His being sold for thirty pieces of silver, the silver being cast down in the temple and then used to buy a potter’s field, His death by having His hands and feet pierced, the very Words He would say on the cross as well as the very words His enemies would say at the foot of the cross, His clothes being parted and lots being cast for His cloak, His dying between two thieves, His burial in a borrowed tomb, and His resurrection were all prophesied.

Most importantly, however, is the purpose of His death. The Bible says in Isaiah fifty-three that His soul would be an offering for sin and by His death He would justify many.

Finally, the condition for salvation is also clearly taught in the Old Testament When it says in Haggai that the just will live by faith. Our sinfulness is also brought out in the Old Testament as well as our need for salvation.

Can we understand the plan of salvation from Old Testament Scriptures? Definitely! What is that plan of salvation? We must simply believe that Jesus Christ is God the Father who came to earth, and trust what He did as the complete payment for sin. In other words, all we have to do is trust who He is and what He did to get us to heaven. Trust Him. He’s trustworthy. Pastor Jerry

 

 

Where is the best place for a person to hear the plan of salvation?

Memory Verse

“Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.” I Timothy 4:13

There is a piece of literature that was being passed out in St. Augustine, recently, that had a question in it that warrants an answer. The pamphlet posed the question: “Should we go to church?” the erroneous answer was “Absolutely not!’ The reasoning was that people were no longer getting saved in the church, so the church age must be at an end.

It is true that the church age is drawing to an end. However, while it is vital to give the plan of salvation at church so that visitors can have the chance to trust Christ to get them to heaven, getting the lost saved was never the purpose of the church assembly. The church is a place to train and encourage Christians to go out into the world and proclaim the gospel. While it is cause for great rejoicing when someone trusts Christ at church, that joy is a little bit tainted by sadness. Kids should trust Christ at home where their parents teach them the plan of salvation. Others should be reached in their home and led to the Lord by visits from their Christian friends. Church is suppose to be a place we are commanded to attend (I Timothy 4:11 “These things command and teach.”) so that we can hear the Scripture read, be exhorted or encouraged to do good works, (Hebrews 10:24-25: “Let us consider one another to provoke to love and good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; and so much more as ye see the day approaching.”) and listen to the teaching of doctrine.

So the church is a training ground for believers. It is not a salvation station for unbelievers. It is fantastic when young believers bring their unsaved friends to church so their friends can hear the plan of salvation and get saved, but it is sad if that believer never grows from the place where they cannot or will not clearly share the plan of salvation with their friends and relatives in their homes. After all, very few unbelievers are going to come to church on their own.

What is the plan of salvation that we should be sharing? It is the truth that, even though we have all sinned and come short of the perfection it takes to get to heaven, Jesus died, was buried, and came back from the dead to pay completely for all of our sins so that we can go to heaven by what He did. All we have to do is believe that He is God the Father who came to earth, and that He has done everything it takes to get us to heaven. Trust Him. He’s trust worthy.                     Pastor Jerry

 

 “Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.” John 11:54

A quick look at this verse, and it appears to be very straight forward. It is good for our sake that one man, Jesus, would die for the benefit of all, so that all will not be condemned. That is exactly what Jesus did. He died for our sake. There is no indication or even consideration of the guilt of the person that should die. It is clearly a statement of what would be good for the whole nation.

If we look a little closer we can see some additional revealing things in this verse. A quick look at the context will find that this was spoken by Caiaphas, the high priest. He was pre-judging that Jesus should die lest they should lose their place of power in their nation. He was not overly concerned about his people, but rather his own position and power. As we look at governments, today, we see that most of our leaders are more concerned about their own power than the desires of the people which they represent. To them, we are just ignorant masses who do not really know what is best for ourselves. It seems that we are no longer in a republic, which is a representative form of government; but rather a benevolent big brother government, which is what communism and socialism has been called.

However, an even closer look at this passage, and we see some revealing things about God. God used this ungodly selfish man, Caiaphas, to make a clear and true prophecy about Jesus. God used him because of his position in spite of his selfishness and lack of integrity. Never forget who is in control. God is in control of the affairs of man and used even this ungodly man to prophesy of the death of Jesus for the good of man.

You see, Jesus’ death was necessary to get us to heaven. It was, also, necessary that Jesus be without sin. That way all of our sin could be laid upon Him. So, Jesus died for us, was buried, and rose again the third day so that we can go to heaven by what He has done. All we have to do His trust His death payment as sufficient and complete to get us to heaven. If you have never trusted in Christ alone for your salvation, why not trust Him, now? Trust Him. He is trustworthy. Pastor Jerry

 

“That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” Ephesians 4:22-24

This passage is packed full of references to the two natures (The old and new man; the flesh and the spirit). Remembering the doctrine of the two natures will make the meaning of this obvious, while ignorance of the two natures will cause the meaning of this passage to remain obscure. A study of the two natures would then be merited.

Nevertheless, this passage gives some simple keys to living the Christian life.

In V22 we are told to put off the old man which is corrupt according to deceitful lusts. The term “put off” refers to the act of taking off a coat. Taking off a coat does not change the person beneath it. It simply changes what people see on the outside. That’s what we should do with the lusts (desires) of the flesh. After we trust Christ as our Savior, while we know we are going to heaven through what Christ has done, we may find that we still have the same desires to sin that we did before we were saved. That is because we still have the old sinful nature with the same sinful desires. God says that the way to change your appearance is to “put off” those sinful desires. In other words, do not give in to what your inward desires are. Simply “put them off.”

As children, we were seldom disobedient, we simply “put off” doing what we were told until we forgot them. We did not realize that obedience is doing all you are told WHEN you are told to do it. So we never got around to doing what we were told.

If we use that same principle with the flesh, overcoming the flesh will not be so daunting.

One fellow used to tell of his desire to quite listening to ungodly music. When he got in the car, he immediately reached for the radio knob. He overcame that habit by simply “putting off” turning on the radio until he had a chance to pray. After praying for a short time, he simply forgot to turn on the radio.

Verse 24 tells us to “put on” the new man. “Putting on” indicates that doing what the spirit wants may be unnatural. (It is, in fact unnatural-contrary to the “natural” man.) In other words we are “faking it.” If you fake it long enough it will no longer be fake. It will become habit. Then habit becomes character. In other words we should do what is right even though we do not feel like it at the time.         Pastor Jerry

 

Have you ever made a promise to God then not followed through with it? Maybe you thought you were on your death bed, and you promised God that, if you pulled through, you would live differently. Maybe there was a loved one in the hospital, and you promised that if God would allow them to live, you would live for Him. You know what? It may be that the reason your loved one did not pull through was because you had gone back on your previous promise. Maybe God knew you would not have kept your promise to begin with. You used your own unfaithfulness to blame God and live the way you were before.
One woman explained that when she was a young woman, she asked God to deliver her from smoking, and He did, miraculously so. Some time thereafter, she began smoking again. Eventually, the smoking began to destroy her health. So, again, she asked God to deliver her from smoking. He would not. In fact He almost audibly told her that He already had, so this time it was up to her to kick the habit. She could not, but she received no more help from God in that instance. At least that is what she told people why should could not stop smoking.
There are a set of little known  wedding Vows that are expressed, not by the bride and groom, but by the witnesses:

"God says in Hebrews 10:24 'Let us consider one another to provoke (encourage) one another to love and good works.'
As witnesses to these vows that (bride and groom) are about to exchange, you have chosen to become a part of their wedding. Married couples, today, need encouragement, instruction, and godly examples to follow. I will now ask you to provide those things for this couple to the best of your ability.
Will you, as witnesses and participants in this ceremony, promise to encourage (Bride and groom) to be true and faithful to one another at all cost, to give sound Biblical advice when called upon for advice, to refrain from listening to or participating in gossip or criticism of either of the parties of this union, and to provide a faithful example of Christian marriage and lifestyle, while encouraging this couple to do the same.?
If you promise to do so to the best of the ability that God gives you, please answer: 'I will.'
The people shall answer: 
'I will.'
Then the minister says:
You may be seated. This couple has now promised to be true and faithful to one another, and you, the witnesses, have promised before God and witnesses to encourage this couple by word and example. God says in Ecclesiastes 5:4-6, 'When thou vowest a vow to God, defer not to pay it; for He hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou vowed. Better it is that thou shouldest not vow, than thou shouldest vow and not pay. Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say to the (death) angel that it was an error: Wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?'"
Interesting.
There is another ceremonial vow before God and witnesses that most believers express. That is the vow to “Walk in newness of life.” according to Romans 6:3-4 This is what baptism is. It is a vow before God and witnesses that we are going to die to our old selfish way of life, and walk in God’s new way of life.
 Of course, we know that water batism is not part of our salvation. Salvation is a free gift that God provides for all that trust Him for it. When we believe that Jesus is God, and that He has died to pay for all of our sins, then we can be sure of going to heaven. He says in I John 5:13: "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God that ye may know that ye have eternal life."

Salvation is free depending soley and completely on Jesus Christ's work and faithfulness. Water baptism is a work that we do to demontrate before God and to witnesses that we have dedicated our life to the Lord. This is a resolution that we should not go back on.

"This, therefore, is not by any to be entered into lightly or unadvisedly, but rather reverently, soberly, discreetly, and in the fear of God."           Pastor Jerry
 

 

New Year's eve fireworks in Sydney Harbor

“For the Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face as a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.” Isaiah 50:7

Salvation is free. We know that. There is nothing you can pay to gain that which is free. The reason that it is free is Jesus paid for our salvation completely by paying the complete penalty for our sins when He died on the cross and rose from the dead. All we have to do to obtain that which is free is receive it by believing it.

After we have accepted the free gift of eternal life by trusting Jesus for it, we ought to serve the Lord. As you consider who Jesus is: His sovereignty, power, faithfulness, and love to us; as we consider what He has done for us: dying to pay for our sins, providing for our daily needs, giving us eternal life as a free gift, giving us a special place in the body of Christ, and giving us the power of the Holy Spirit to enable us to serve Him; and as we consider His great promises to us: Eternal life in heaven, protection and provision if we serve Him faithfully on earth, rewards in heaven, and His personal guidance and presence as we seek to do His will; we ought to make a decision to live for Him. He says in Romans 12:1, “I beseech (beg) you therefore, brethren, by (based upon) the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Notice that it is only reasonable that we should do so.

Many of the Jews of Jesus’ time believed that they could enter the kingdom of God by being good. They believed that the kingdom was a physical kingdom, so they were preoccupied by earthly ideas. We as believers have realized that God’s Kingdom is spiritual, but because the spiritual realm cannot be seen, we still are bound by earthly desires and ambitions. So we fail to see the necessity of making a commitment to God.

At this time of year when we remember to make New Year’s resolutions, let us be resolved to “set our face as a flint.“ In other words, make a decision to be committed to Jesus Christ.

 

Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you is justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. Galatians 5:4

 While the Bible does not say much about the fall season other than explaining the fall feasts, it does give encouraging words about our falling, spiritually.

Maybe you have heard the warning that a person could fall from grace, but did not understand what the Bible meant by this statement. The passage above is the only one that refers to falling from grace. It clearly warns us that the way to fall from grace is to try to keep the law in order that we might be justified. In other words, those who are depending on works to somehow save them or keep them from losing salvation have fallen from grace. Those who trust Christ as the only and complete provision for their salvation cannot fall from grace.

Some might say, “If you can fall from grace, then you must have received the grace sometime earlier.” In a sense, that is true. What does grace do for a person who has not trusted Christ as his only hope for eternal life?

Titus 2:11 tells us. “The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men.” All men, even the lost, have had the grace of God that brings salvation appear to them. Here we see that the purpose of grace is to “bring salvation.” So those who do not receive salvation by faith alone in Christ alone have fallen from grace.

Trying to become saved from the lake of fire by keeping the law also frustrates God’s grace. The only place the Bible talks about frustrating God’s grace also tells you how to frustrate God’s grace. “I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” Galatians 2:21. Grace is trying to accomplish its purpose of saving you by grace through faith, but as long as a person is depending on their own goodness to save them, grace’s purpose is frustrated, and that person has fallen from grace.

Pastor Jerry

“And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” Deuteronomy 6:7

 

Memorials are to help future generations remember the sacrifices that our forefathers, fathers, brothers, and children have made and are making to establish and protect our freedoms.

In many places in the Bible we find “memorials” that God has given. As the word indicates, these are for the purpose of remembering the Lord and His work. These are opportunities to teach our children. He says in Exodus 12:26, “When your children shall say unto you, ‘What mean ye by this service?’”

All of the holidays that the children of Israel and the early church celebrated were religious holidays. They were celebrated at the temple, or at the synagogue, or in the home with much Scripture reading and religious symbolism. They were living object lessons.

It is sad that today many people and even some Christians use holidays as an excuse to get away from God. It used to be that you could count on the church being full at least twice a year on the religious holidays of Easter and Christmas. Now, there are some churches that cancel services on these days so that people can be with their families. Yes, these holidays were for the families. They were intended as times to draw the families into a renewed awareness of the Lord and His work. It was a time to have your family together at church so that some that had gotten away from the Lord might be brought back under the teaching of God’s Word even if it was for only one Sunday. Now, we use our unsaved visitors as an excuse to show them exactly how important church is to us by missing church with them.

It is a good thing that salvation is free, because we have failed to focus on God on these memorial days, and in some cases we leave Him out altogether.

What do I mean that salvation is free?

While it cost Jesus His life on the cross when He paid completely for our sins, it costs us nothing. In fact, in view of the payment He made, there is nothing that we can do to gain salvation. He has already done it for us. If we insist on trying to help pay for it, we are demonstrating that we believe the payment that God made by giving Himself to die was not enough. In reality, all we have to do is trust that He is God, and His death payment when He died, was buried, and rose again is good enough to save us from the lake of fire. Pastor Jerry

 

“And the LORD said unto Moses, ‘Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek under heaven.’” Exodus 17:14

We have days set aside to honor our veterans, our nation's birthday, etc. to help us remember what they have done for us. These are very important people and events that have been used to secure and preserve our liberty, and should have days and monuments so that they can be remembered.

God commanded that things to be remembered should be written. Some of the greatest memorials we have are writings. We have the Washington memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. with many more there and locally. But the greatest memorials that actually help us “remember” are written documents. For the ten years of the American Revolutionary war, the single document that expressed what we were fighting for was the Declaration of Independence. Our Constitution was not ratified until twelve years after the signing of the Declaration and five years after the war’s end.

It is important to note that the first document our nation signed which outlined the reasons for our fighting and desire for liberty, begins with the assumption that these reasons are based upon the foundation that all men have been created and given rights by our creator. To undermine creation, and the belief in our creator is to undermine the very basis for our existence as a nation.

We have a document better than that declaration. “We have a more sure Word of Prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place.” II Peter 1:19

Similarly, our spiritual liberty has been written in the pages of the Bible, and is based upon its teachings. It is “The Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” II Timothy 3:15

So, it is through the Scriptures that we learn that salvation comes through faith in Christ. What is it that we must believe? We must believe that salvation is through faith alone in Christ alone, and that nothing of ourselves other than faith in His work is required. In other words we must believe that Jesus is God, and that He paid for all of our sins.      Pastor Jerry

“I indeed baptized you with water: But He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.” Mark 1:8

We see two things from this verse that we can be certain about baptism. First, there are at least two different types of baptism: with water, and with the Holy Ghost. Second we cane see that the two baptisms do not take place at the same time.

In I Corinthians 1:17 God inspired Paul to write, “Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel.” It becomes obvious from this verse that water baptism is not part of the gospel.

In Romans 1:16 God tells us through Paul, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.” So we see that the gospel is what saves us, and since baptism is not part of the gospel, then baptism is not part of what saves us.

However, the Bible says in I Peter 3:21, “Baptism doth also now save us.” The question becomes: “Which baptism?” Would it be water baptism that can only wash away the filth of the flesh, or would it be spiritual baptism which washes away our sin and gives a clear conscience toward God? The next part of the verse makes it quite clear. “(Not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,)” So are we baptized by water for salvation, or by spiritual baptism? The rest of the verse tells us. “By…” (There is the operative word that expresses the cleaning agent of this baptism.)”…By the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

Some might wonder, “Wasn’t the spiritual baptism by the Spirit?” Actually, Jesus is the Holy Spirit. Jesus is His physical manifestation as the Son of God the second person of the trinity, and the Holy Spirit is Jesus manifested in the Spirit, the third person of the trinity. There are not three Gods. There is only one. So when we are baptized spiritually, we are baptized into Jesus’ death and resurrection according to Romans 6:3-8.

So baptism is absolutely essential to salvation. The question becomes: “Which baptism?” Baptism in the name of Jesus Christ (spiritual baptism) is essential for salvation, because it is the Spirit that washes us clean from all of our sin the moment we believe on the name of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Water can only wash away the filth of the flesh.   Pastor Jerry

“And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” I Timothy 3:16

It is hard to understand the trinity of God. How can the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit by one God? It is clear from this verse that God is manifested as the Father, in the flesh in the world who was later received up into glory as the Son, and as the Holy Spirit, but how can we explain these three being one? Well, according to this verse, it is a mystery. There should be controversy about that. We cannot fully explain it. However, God displays His trinity clearly in Scripture. Just as a three fold candlestick gives off one light, so the trinity is one God.

It would be similar to the riddle which asks, “Two fathers, two sons, one grandfather, and one grandson went fishing. How many went fishing?” Three went fishing, of course. Each person held two positions, yet they were just one person. They only had one name. That’s why when God says to baptize, He says to baptize: “in the name of the Father, and the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” (Matthew 28:19) There are three manifestations of God here, but only one name. Why? There is only one God. The name of the Father is Jehovah, the name of the Son is Jehovah (Jehovah Yasha) and the name of the Holy Spirit is Jehovah.

God, In His glory, could not dwell inside of sinful man, so He dwells inside of the believer as the Holy Spirit. God the Father came to earth in the form of a man so that He could die to pay for sin. We call that form of Jehovah God the Son. If God the Father would have come to earth in His glory, then the earth would have been consumed, because that which is sinful cannot exist in the presence of God. So He laid aside His glory, and came to earth in the form of a man. However, God in human form could not indwell a believer, so He indwells man as the Holy Spirit.

In Isaiah 9:6 we find that the name of the Son that was given is “The Mighty God, the Everlasting Father.” In Matthew 1:23 God says, “Behold a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, ‘God with us.’” And in I John 5:13 God says, “You that believe on the name of the Son of God may know that ye have eternal life.” God requires that we believe on the name o the Son of God, and that is all that He requires for us to believe to have eternal life. So, we must believe that Jesus is God the Father who took on flesh, and we must believe that He did everything required to get you to heaven. Pastor Jerry

How does God speak to man?

“And from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” II Timothy 3:15-17

The answer to the question: “How does God communicate to man?” is simple. God communicates to man exclusively through His Word, the Bible.

Since that is the case, why does God call pastors, teachers, counselors, commentators, and such like? God uses them to help us understand His Word. However, having taken one step away from God's only direct revelation to us, which is the Bible, we must begin to use caution. Men can be mistaken. Men can also intentionally deceive. While God encourages us to use the accumulated knowledge of sound Bible teachers, it is up to us to test what they say by the Word of God. So at this point of Bible interpretation, we need to be careful of the mistakes of others, the deceitfulness of others, and also the deceitfulness of our own feelings, opinions, and laziness. Laziness?

When we come to the point of choosing what we are going to believe, rather than testing what we think, have heard, or feel by the Word of God, we could have a tendency to just choose without verifying what we want to believe by the Word of God. Too many will take one verse of Scripture, or even part of a verse, and build a whole system of beliefs upon that. Yet God says that the Scriptures are “Hard to be understood...” something with which we must “wrest” (wrestle) in II Peter 3:16. That is why we are required to “Study to show yourself approved unto God.” II Timothy 2:15. According to Psalm 119 study must include memorization and meditation.

Did not God reveal Himself through miracles in the Bible? He used miracles in the Bible to confirm the position of those through whom He displayed the miracles as having authority to add their writings as Scripture. The Bible is now completed, so the purpose for the miracles has been fulfilled. God does not do things without purpose, and since the purpose for those miracles has been fulfilled, there is no reason to expect Him to continue in that manner. He tells us in Hebrews 1:1-2 that the times of that type of revelation is in the past. “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake IN THE PAST unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son.”

How can we know what Jesus said? We know, because the apostles wrote what He said.

How do we know that they were inspired of God? We know, because through them God did miracles to verify their authority. When people claim to do miracles today, they undermine the unique authority of the New Testament writers, and elevate themselves above the revealed Word of God. God continues His explanation of New Testament revelation in Hebrews chapter two verses three and four where He says, “How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him: God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to His own will."

Does God do miracles today? Sure He does, but not in the same manner and with the same authority as the apostles did.

So God reveals Himself and His will exclusively through His Word.

Does God ever speak audibly in the way He did in the Old Testament? There is no reason to. He has now given us a complete revelation. However, He does promise to bring to mind the things that we study, and help us understand the things that we study. In John 14:26 God promises “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

So God speaks exclusively through His Word as the apostles recorded it in the Bible, and as we study His Word, He will help us understand, and remember what we have studied.

Other sources are encouraged by God, but must be tempered with comparison and study of God's Word.

While the answer is an easy one, the application takes work, but the benefits of not taking the shortcuts of following feelings or opinions are eternal.

Did you notice at the top of the page the first thing that God reveals in His Word? The Word makes us wise unto salvation through Jesus Christ.

What is salvation through Jesus Christ? Salvation is being saved from the lake of fire.

Everyone does things wrong. The wrong things we do cause sickness, sadness, and death on the earth, so God cannot allow those things into heaven or there would be death in heaven, too. Since sin causes death, sin must be paid for by death. Here is where Jesus comes in. He had no sin, yet He took our sin upon Himself and died to pay for sin. The only thing that He asks of us is that we trust His death payment.

It is interesting that some would make getting to heaven hard by requiring work when God says that it is the gift of God, yet they will expect to understand God's will without working at it.

Pastor Jerry

 

“When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained: What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that Thou visitest him? “ Psalm 8:3-4

We have been told by scientists that know a lot more than us that there are about two hundred billion galaxies in the universe. (Although some say there are twice that many and others say there are only one hundred billion; So those who are off are only off by about two hundred billion. Let’s see, if you consider how far apart their expert opinions are, we could say that there are no galaxies and be as accurate as them.) At any rate, there are a bunch. And every Galaxy has about two hundred billion stars. (Beginning to sound like this year’s deficit) The amazing thing is all of these stars and galaxies move in exact predictable patterns and by distinct laws of physics.

What is even more amazing is the reason God made them in the first place. According to Genesis 1:16-17, they were created to give light upon the earth. Beyond that, is the reality that man was created to have dominion over the earth.

So God made the universe for us. Since the universe shows infinite intelligence by its intricate design, God must have infinite intelligence. An intelligent being does not do things without reason, so God must have a reason for the creation of man, who is ultimately the reason for the creation of the universe. If God has a reason or purpose for man, it would be illogical to think that He would not communicate that purpose to mankind. That communication must be available to all mankind in all generations. The most logical method of lasting communication is the written word. We believe that His written word is the Bible.

Perhaps the most amazing thing of all is the fact that God would “visit” us. The reason He visited us was not to communicate to us. He did that through the Bible. It was to provide a way for us to get to heaven. He came to earth to die for our sins and then come back from the dead so that we can go to heaven to be with Him. All He requires of us is that we trust Him to do that. Pastor Jerry

“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handiwork.” Psalm 19:1

When we consider the expanse of the universe, yet the intricate design of each molecule of each thing, we begin to see that the designer of the creation must have infinite intelligence. Intelligent beings do not do anything without reason and purpose. Therefore, it is logical to assume that God has a reason and purpose for His creation. Revelation 4:11 tells us that all things were created by Him and for His pleasure. How can mankind bring pleasure to God? Hebrews 11:6 tells us that we must have faith to please God, and in 10:38-39 He explains that those who draw back short of faith bring no pleasure to God.

What does faith do that is so pleasing to God? Two things: one is Godward and one is manward.

As far as the Godward part, when we have faith in God by trusting Jesus to save us and keep us safe from the lake of fire, we acknowledge His power over sin, and honor Him as the author and finisher of our salvation. As Romans chapter one puts it salvation is from faith to faith. In other words it starts with faith and it ends with faith. That is kind of like the starting line and finish line of a race. So faith honors God, and that pleases Him.

As far as the manward part, when we trust Jesus Christ as our Savior, we go to heaven to be with God and have fellowship with Him for all eternity. That also pleases God.

So those who trust Christ as Savior please God, and those that do not fail in the very purpose for which they were created, because they cannot please God.

There are those that say that God arbitrarily chooses some to be saved and some to be lost. They can give not reason or explanation Biblically for that belief. Remember, faith has been given to every man according to Romans 12:3, and it is our choice to have faith in Jesus that brings glory to Him. To say that we cannot understand the reason behind His purposes in salvation is to contradict Isaiah 1:18 where God invites us to: “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Pastor Jerry

For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who builded the house hath more honor than the house. For every house is built by some man; but He that built all things is God.” Hebrews 3:3-4

This verse is telling us that the builder is greater than the house which he builds. Since God built the universe, what does that tell about God? First of all, we see that the universe is endless. Since God is greater than the endless universe, He must be omnipresent. (Everywhere) Since all energy is held within the universe, and God is greater than all energy, God must be omnipotent. (All powerful) Since we have no knowledge of anything outside the universe, and all knowledge is contained within the universe, God must be Omniscient. (All knowing) And since Time began with the beginning of the universe, and will end with the end of the universe, so that even time is a creation of God, God must be eternal. Yes, we can learn a lot about God by simply considering the universe.

Romans 1:20 puts it this way: “For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.”

God says in II Peter chapter three that those who cannot see these things are “willingly ignorant.”

If we reject the salvation God offers, then we have no excuse. In verse nineteen of Romans chapter one God says that He reveals Himself to man through a God consciousness, and unto man through His creation. Have you ever heard of an animal that considered God? If evolution were true, and man is the highest level of development, then why does only man, the highest form of animal, consider God, and why do those who consider God and reject Him become hopelessly self centered?

God has created man alone to exist with Him for all of eternity. He provided salvation completely freely. All we have to do is trust Him to get us to heaven to be with Him. Is there any other animal that can even think about that? Pastor Jerry

 

“For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds.” II Peter 2:8

Lot’s soul, for Lot is who this is talking about, was vexed by the things he saw and heard. What in the world is this talking about?

When we trust Christ as our Savior, we are immediately born again spiritually. The problem is, this new birth is a new creation of God, it is not a remake or reformation of the old fleshly nature. The flesh still has the same self centered desires, while our spirit, or as it is called here, our soul desires to please God. The flesh still cannot do any good, and the spirit cannot sin. So, we have a battle that ensues between the selfish desires of the flesh, and the righteous desire of the spirit. The one that will win the battle is the one you feed. We see in this verse how we strengthen the flesh. We strengthen the flesh by what we see and hear: in other words what we watch and listen to.

Notice in this verse what it says about Lot. He is called a righteous man. Remember Lot? He was the guy that was a judge in Sodom, a city wholly given to sexual perversion. He offered his own daughters to the men of the city to do with them as they pleased. Eventually, he got drunk and sexually abused both of his daughters. How could he be considered righteous? It was not his spirit that sinned. It was his flesh. By the time of the writing in II Peter, Lot’s flesh had been dead for two thousand years, leaving only the righteous spirit.

How do we get this righteousness? It is given to us by God. Romans 4:5 tells us: “To him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” If we trust Jesus to declare us righteous (justify us) and give us the righteousness we need to get to heaven, he’ll do it. He’s already done what it takes to get you to heaven by dying on the cross and then coming back from the dead. All we have to do is trust Him. Trust Him. He’s trustworthy.

Pastor Jerry

“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handiwork.”

Psalm 19:1

A fellow was out mowing the yard one day, when the mower picked up a rock and threw it against the side of his garage. The rock flew all to pieces, and when the pieces landed, they grouped in such a way that they formed a beautiful watch.

 

 

Hard to believe? Of course.

Do you believe that the exhaustive healthcare proposal was thrown together in just a few months, and expected to be passed without any debate, study, or even reading? Somewhere along the line, there had to be a great deal of planning, of course. I wonder what they were thinking, where the model for these plans came from, and what the plan behind all this is.

The universe is far more complex and intricate than a watch or a healthcare system with its predictable laws and design. Was it design? The universe and the things in it (such as your eye, your ear: your own body) show such intricate design that scientists, with all of their expertise, are still trying to duplicate or at least figure out. Yet there are those that try to expect us to believe that the universe just happened into existence by some big bang. (Even fire works have design)

“O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!” Romans 11:33

When we consider the universe with its intricate design, we must come to the conclusion that the creator of it all must be of unfathomable intelligence. Thus is God.

On a more personal level, it is awesome to realize the lengths to which God went to secure our salvation. He did everything it takes to get us to heaven so that all we have to do is trust what He has done. When we consider how powerful and intelligent He must be to get all this stuff around us going, we realize the limits of our own intellect, and the power of His provision; so, what else can we add to what He can and has done, but trust Him for the outcome: our salvation. Pastor Jerry

 

“The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” Proverbs 22:7

A financial officer for a flagship auto auction recently commented on what he had observed to be the effect of the “cash for clunkers” on the used auto industry. He said that the most lucrative aspect of auto sales is the used side of it even for the “franchise” (new car) dealerships. Consequently, the lack of used cars, that would normally be their bread and butter, has driven the franchise owners to go to the auction for used cars. The problem is franchise owners pay more for what they want than the small business dealers can. Thus the small business dealers are hard pressed to complete. Those who survived the first part of the “creative mortgage finance recession brought on by the policies set in place by the Clinton administration and promoted by congress during the last four years of the Bush administration,” are now in danger of being forced out of business by the franchise used car division. So, while the cash for clunkers has helped the United Auto Workers to some extent by stimulating the new car sector, it has hurt the consumer with higher used car prices, and the small auto business owner with franchise competition. Ultimately, because of increased used car prices, more people than just those who traded in a paid for clunker for the debt of a new car will go into debt for a new car, because of the higher cost of used cars. While this policy may help the government controlled sector of the auto industry and the UAW, it could force the independent citizen to go into debt, and the small business owner out of business. Now, those who once owned a car free and clear with no possibility to be repossessed, must make payments or have their car taken back.

I’m glad salvation isn’t like that. God doesn’t “lend” us eternal life until we quit making the payments, then “repossess” it. When He paid for our sin, He gave a “propitiatory” payment (I John 4:15). That means a satisfactory payment. It would be like buying a car with a complete cash payment. That’s why He said on the cross, “It is finished.” literally translated, this could be read, “Paid in full.” If we accept Jesus’ death payment for our salvation, then there is nothing more we can add to it. If we choose to serve Him after that, it will not be out of the enslaving fear of losing our salvation, but out of choice, appreciation, or love; but never our of fear that our salvation will be “foreclosed” or “repossessed.” Pastor Jerry

 

“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom you will serve; whether the gods that your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15

Here the children of Israel were challenged by God to choose who they would serve. It is important to understand where the children of Israel were spiritually at this point. This was after the redemption from Egypt at the exodus, after the forty years of purging in the wilderness, and after the victorious living in conquest of the Promised Land. The children of Israel were never stronger, spiritually. The assumption is that they would have chosen to serve the LORD at this point. However, it is clear that they still had to make that choice.

According to Isaiah 43:7, we have been created to glorify God. According to Romans 4:20 it is our faith that gives glory to God. Yet, according to Romans 12:3 God has given faith to every man. So God has given us the faith that we need to glorify God by trusting Him to get us to heaven. The only thing that is left for us to do is to CHOOSE to trust Jesus to save us. It isn’t so much the faith that glorifies God as it is the choice to place that faith in the finished work of Jesus as our complete provision for salvation.

In like manner, God gives us everything that we need to serve Him. He gives us time, material resources, ability, opportunity, and energy to accomplish His will. However, it is our choice to use God’s resources for His work. It is really the choice that glorifies God.

I heard a man say recently, “If you are truly saved, you will serve the Lord.” If that is the case, then we cannot glorify God by our service, because we no longer have a choice in our service for Him. This point of view is extremely dangerous, because it makes the child of God unaware that he must constantly be vigilant to the fact that he can choose to use God’s resources for selfish ends. Pastor Jerry

 

“And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:” Hebrews 1:10

If I carried a ball into the house and placed it on the table, there’s a good chance that it will roll off onto the floor. Why? Maybe the table is not quite level. Maybe the air condition came on and blew it on the floor. Maybe the ball wasn’t truly round. Maybe the uneven pressure of my hand when I placed it on the table caused it to roll off. THERE’S YOUR ANSWER! Something “caused” the ball to roll onto the floor.

This illustration becomes more obvious if I had placed a book on the table, and it ended up on the floor. You know something had to cause that to happen. How do we know that? The foundational laws of nature demand that for every reaction, there was an originating action; for every effect, there is an underlying cause.

Everything that is had a preceding action or cause. The ball rolled off because the table wasn’t level. The table wasn’t level because the carpenter’s saw was not true, The carpenter’s saw was not true, because he cut through a nail, etc. (Kind of like the nail and the war)

Logically, however, there must have been a beginning cause somewhere along the line. Let’s give it a name. Say, I know, let’s call Him God.

The fact that there is a creation demands that there must have been a creator. The Bible tells us that He is God.

God created man, and wants man to live with Him in heaven. So, He did everything that it takes to get us to heaven. All we have to do is trust Him to get us to heaven. What did He do? He came to earth as Jesus Christ, then did what was necessary to get us to heaven by dying on the cross.

Pastor Jerry

“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.” John 12:42

The study of the flesh is interesting. The central desire of the flesh is pride. It isn’t sin. It is the desire to please self. “I’m worth it.” “This is what I want to do.” Have you ever noticed how a little child reacts when told to do something that he doesn’t want to do? He will cry and whine and say, “I don’t want to.” Have you ever seen a child in the store who doesn’t get what he wants? They cry, and whine and say, “I want it!” (I even know some adults like that.) So what? When did what we want ever have anything to do with anything? What we want is seldom what is best, and almost never what God wants.

The main way this is manifested is in salvation. The flesh wants to work for salvation. That strengthens pride and appeals to self. I have seen some people that are so proud that, even though they would have to be perfect to earn their way to heaven, they insist on relying on the works of the flesh to get them to heaven. However, nobody is perfect, so it is obvious that by depending on their own goodness to get to heaven, they will have to spend eternity in the lake of fire, because they are not perfect. They will jeopardize their eternal destiny for pride’s sake. That’s why God says that salvation from that lake of fire is “Not of works, lest any man should boast.” In Ephesians 2:8-9. And in Romans 3:27-29 God says, “Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.”

Pastor Jerry

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:9

What is forgiveness of sins for? If, as is so often preached by truly good, sound preachers, it is for salvation, then we may have a problem. Is salvation contingent upon our confessing our sins? The above verse sets that as a condition to forgiveness. Do we have to forgive others before we can get saved? That’s what Jesus said we have to do for forgiveness in Matthew 6:14-15. Can forgiveness be reversed? That’s what Jesus teaches in Matthew 18:23-35. So if we teach that salvation and forgiveness are synonymous there is truly a problem, because salvation would depend on something that we do instead of solely upon what God has already done. Furthermore, if forgiveness is for salvation, then you must be able to lose your salvation.

Of course, you don’t have to confess your sins in order to get saved or stay saved. That would be adding human works to salvation and salvation is “Not of works” according to Ephesians 2:9. You don’t have to forgive others to get yourself to heaven, because there is nothing that God requires of you to get you to heaven other than trust in Him. Then what is forgiveness for?

Forgiveness is for FELLOWSHIP. I John chapter one tells us that He is talking about fellowship four times in the ten short verses of the chapter.

That’s not to say that forgiveness has nothing to do with salvation. It is, in fact, the starting point of salvation. If God had not already forgiven man, He would never have come to earth to pay for sin to begin with. That’s why He said of the soldiers as they were driving the nails in His hands, “Father forgive them since they have confessed their sin.” Wait a minute! That’s not what Jesus said. He said, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)

God wanted to have fellowship with mankind, but man sinned, and sin separates us from God breaking that fellowship. So Jesus forgave us while we were yet sinners, then He came to die for us. That’s the first step in fellowship---salvation. Then we need to confess our sins. That’s the next step. Then we need to obey Him as the final step. Pastor Jerry

And the Lord said unto Gideon, “The people that are with thee are too many for Me to given the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel should vaunt themselves against Me saying, ‘Mine own hand hath saved me.’”

Judges 6:2

Think about Gideon. He started out with 32,000 soldiers ready to go to battle against an army that was too numerous to count. So God told him to send anybody home that was afraid. He lost twenty-two thousand. Then God told him to divide those who were left by how they drank water at the creek. Nine thousand seven hundred drank one way, and three hundred drank another way. I can imagine Gideon whimpered a prayer that went something like this, “Please send the three hundred home.” But God sent the nine thousand seven hundred home and left the three hundred. Why? To show that God didn’t need their help to save them. Interestingly enough, the three hundred didn’t even hold swords or spears according to the Bible. There is no record that they participated in the battle at all. All they did was scare the Midianites to death with a trumpet in one hand and a pitcher with a light in it in the other.

It’s like that with eternal salvation, too. God doesn’t need our help to save us from the lake of fire. He never asks for our help. He doesn’t even want our help. In fact He won’t accept our help, because He can’t use our help. Why? Because on the cross He finished the work that was required to save us when He said, “It is finished.” If we expect to help with our salvation that would show that we believe that Christ’s death on the cross was not enough to save us, and that we are not trusting Him for salvation, but rather our own selves. Then we could “vaunt (brag about) ourselves. However, by salvation not being of ourselves, then we can’t boast about it. Ephesians 2:9 tells us that salvation is, “Not of works lest any man should boast. If you have been trying to help God save you, you are insulting His work on the cross, and trusting yourself when you should be trusting Him for salvation.         Pastor Jerry

“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations.” Isaiah 14:12

We find in Ezekiel 28:17 that the first sin in the universe was when lucifer’s “heart was lifted up.” How was his heart lifted up? This is described in detail in Isaiah 14:13-14 where Lucifer uses the clause “I will” five times. Contrast this with the statement of God Himself while He was in the flesh when He said, “Nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt.” in Matthew 26:39.

The revealing word in lucifer’s clause is the word “I.” When trying to determine what is best, and trying to follow God’s will the word “I” should seldom be used. You can mark it down; if it is what you want, it probably isn’t what God wants for you. However, if it is what God wants for you, it is what you wanted all the time. You just didn’t know it, because the heart is deceitful above all things (even satan).

When you look at what satan wanted in Isaiah 14, there is really nothing wrong with what he wanted. In every case they are the very things that God wanted for him. He just wanted to have his own way. Look at them closely. Aren’t they the very things that God has promised to us, too? Doesn’t He want us to ascend into heaven, sit on thrones, and ultimately be like Him? However, if we try to attain these lofty goals by our own works, we have sinned in the same way as satan. God says, “We have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

It is a sure sign of spiritual immaturity---it is a sure sign of any kind of immaturity when a person insists on doing things their own way instead of God’s way. The effects of such an attitude are dire. God say in Romans 10:3 that as long as a person is trying to establish their own righteousness, they don’t have the righteousness of God that is required to get to heaven. That’s why God says that salvation is “Not of works lest any man should boast” in Ephesians 2:9 Pastor Jerry

And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand, and caught him, and said unto him, ’O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?’” Matthew 14:31

Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee by boat a number of times. Usually, the event was accompanied by some great miraculous display of His power over nature. In this verse Peter has just tried to walk on the water like Jesus did. The reason Peter sank is stated in verse 30. Remember, the last time Jesus was in a storm on the boat, Jesus just stilled the waves and there was a great calm.

Have you ever looked at a lake when there was a “great calm?” Sometimes in the morning the lakes look like glass, and they sure enough do look like you could walk on them.

At this time Jesus hadn’t stilled the storm yet. So, “When he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, ‘Lord, save me.’ And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand, and caught him.”

That’s a good thing to do if you need saving. Ask Jesus to save you.

If you have never trusted Jesus to save you from the Lake of Fire, just trust Him to save you right now. He has already done what it takes to save you by dying on the cross. So if you’ll trust Him, He’ll save you immediately.

The problem is, however, we keep looking at the problem instead of the solution.

When we are lost we think that the problem is that we are not good enough to get to heaven. Getting to heaven has nothing to do with how good you are.

After we are saved, we begin to doubt whether God will deliver us from the problems of this life. While getting to heaven is simply through trusting what God did to get you to heaven, if you want His promise that everything will work out for the best, there are two conditions. First, you must love God. That means that you obey His commands. Second, you must be trying to fulfill His purpose for you as a Christian. That means you must be trying to bring people to Christ.         Pastor Jerry

 

“There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Proverbs 16:25

There are many verses in the Bible that warn against the dangers of sin, but this verse is warning against doing what we think is right. That’s weird. Where is the “believe in yourself” and “follow your heart” philosophy? What’s God’s point?

God tells us that His ways are not our ways, because His ways are higher than our ways. Man is kind of stuck in a rut of self centeredness. He wants salvation for himself and he wants to do it by himself. He wants to do it his own way, and that will be a way that will honor himself. In other words, man thinks that it is only right that salvation depend on himself. Man thinks, “I’ve got to start working and stop sinning if I want to get to heaven.” So he spends his whole life working for his own self by trying to work for salvation. His whole life becomes centered on himself. If he helps others, it is because he thinks it will help his own cause of getting to heaven, or he thinks it will help him in this life.

God takes away that selfish motive by giving eternal life as a free gift without any work or sinlessness of man. Man is no longer glorified no longer spends his life preoccupied with his own eternal destiny. Now he can become interested in pleasing God out of love instead of fear, and he can begin working to get other people to understand the freeness of salvation.

Salvation is free because Jesus paid for our sin by dying on the cross and coming back from the dead two thousand years ago. All the work was completed before we were ever born. All we have to do is trust His death payment to get us to heaven.             Pastor Jerry