Please take your bible and find the book of Romans. Take Romans in one hand and
the book of Hebrews in the other. Now while you do that please listen to what
Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles has to say to the Phillipians in Phillipians,
Chapter One and verse nine
(Phil 1:9 KJV) And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in
knowledge and in all judgment;
(Phil 1:10 KJV) That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be
sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;
Now it is plain here that Paul is associating the gaining of knowledge and the
exercising of judgment with abounding love. Why does Paul want the Phillipians
to exercise judgment based on knowledge? He says, in verse ten, that the
exercising of judgment based on knowledge has the result that they will
"approve things that are excellent" and the end result will be that
they are "sincere and without offence" til the day of Christ.
We who are in the church, the body of Christ, are charged with the
responsibility of making judgment calls, based on knowledge, in order that we
are able to approve things that are excellent. The other side of the coin is
that without the proper knowledge of the word of God and being lax in our
responsibility to judge things....as in things that differ.....that we WILL NOT
APPROVE THINGS THAT ARE EXCELLENT. We could wind up being insincere....or
perhaps even worse....being very sincere....maybe even having the "zeal of
a crusader"....but not having the knowledge of sound doctrine, and making
poor judgments and in so doing....be OFFENSIVE to the gospel of the grace of
God.
The bible is very plain on this subject. II Timothy 2:15 clearly points out
that there are some of us who stand to be ashamed at the judgment seat of
Christ because we fail to approve things that are excellent. Paul says,
"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be
ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." Now if you think about that
for a minute...it makes sense that if someone is hired to do some work
somewhere....he needs the right tools for the job and he also needs to
understand the plans for the job....otherwise, his work could turn out to be
pretty sloppy at best.....or even worthless....at the worst.
(Acts 2:38)Think about this: Is it more excellent to tell a person to repent
and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ and be careful to keep the
commandments and endure unto the end in order to be saved....in the age in
which we live? (Revelation 20:15) Is it more excellent to teach people that at
the great white throne judgment, when heaven and earth has fled away and there
is no more sea....that if your good works somehow outweigh the bad that maybe
you will hear the words, "enter in thou good and faithful servant"
instead of the words "depart from me ye workers of iniquity, I never knew
you?"
OR...Is it more excellent to study and learn the doctrine to the church, the
body of Christ....given by direct revelation of Jesus Christ to the apostle to
the church the body of Christ....and found in the books of Romans through
Philemon?
If a dispensation of the gospel was committed to the Apostle Paul, and it was
according to Paul in I Corinthians:
(1 Cor 9:16 KJV) For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of:
for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!
(1 Cor 9:17 KJV) For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if
against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.
Paul says, "I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the
Gentiles" in Romans 11:13. He says he is "preacher, a teacher and an
apostle to the gentiles" in
I Timothy 1:2 In Second Timothy 1:11 Paul says:
(2 Tim 1:11 KJV) Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a
teacher of the Gentiles.
If Paul is the preacher, the teacher....the apostle....to the Gentiles....then
WHERE in the bible would a Gentile expect to find the message to the Gentiles?
Could it be in what Paul wrote in Romans through Philemon?
People by the thousands in the religious system have what appears to be a very
vivid imagination. It's as if people think that the Day of Pentecost in Acts
Chapter Two was some kind of great worldwide church festival. Like a
combination crusade of Oral Roberts, Benny Hinn, Billy Graham and T.D. Jakes
all rolled into one. I mean people have flown in from all over the world, come
in their charter buses, made reservations months in advance.....even preachers
on motorcycles are there and it's being carried live on radio and television
everywhere. Do you know what the Day of Pentecost is? It is a Jewish Holy Day.
It is one of the three days out of each year that EVERY JEWISH MALE is required
to show up. (See Deuteronomy 16:16) Acts Chapter Two, verse five says:
(Acts 2:5 KJV) And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of
every nation under heaven.
There was not a Gentile in sight! Years later, Peter is told to go to the home
of Cornelius and he doesn't want to go. Peter is finally convinced to go,
and when he gets there what are the first words out of his mouth?
(Acts 10:28 KJV) And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful
thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another
nation;
How is it that years after the events of Acts Chapter Two, Three, Four, Five
and etc that Peter thinks it is an unlawful thing to keep company with a
Gentile? How is it that your religious teacher can teach you that Gentiles were
there in Acts Chapter Two? How is it that your teacher can teach you to repent
and be baptized for the remission of sins, keep the commandments and endure
unto the end to be saved...which is, in fact the gospel to the church at
Jerusalem but is not the gospel to the church, the body of Christ!
(II Timothy 2:15)Do you know how it is possible for your teacher to be confused
about "approving things that are excellent?" (Phillipians 1:10) Is it
because he WILL NOT acknowledge the things that are different, he WILL NOT see
that some things are offensive to the doctrine to the church, the body of
Christ and he WILL NOT follow the instructions to "rightly divide the word
of truth." as in II Timothy 2:15 and he WILL NOT see that the "gospel
of your salvation" as in Ephesians 1:13 in NOT THE SAME as the gospel of
Peter's salvation
Turn with me to the book of Romans, chapter eight, verse one. Paul says, in
Romans 8:1:
(Rom 8:1 KJV) There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in
Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
He goes on to say:
(Rom 8:2 KJV) For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me
free from the law of sin and death.
Paul is saying here that those of us who have been baptized into Christ, into
the body of Christ, by the Spirit have been made FREE FROM THE LAW OF SIN AND
DEATH. (Galatians 3:10) The Law judges sin and brings death. The bible says,
"cursed is the man that continueth not in all things written in the book
of the Law TO DO THEM." That says that if you are under the Law you are
under a curse! (Galatians 5:4) What is the end result of the law? DEATH! The
law cannot SAVE YOU....it can only KILL YOU! (James 2:10) The book of James
says that even if you KEEP THE WHOLE LAW but just fail in one single
point....THEN YOU ARE GUILTY OF ALL....and you die! The Law cannot save
you....it can only judge you and kill you! Listen:
(Rom 8:3 KJV) For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the
flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin,
condemned sin in the flesh:
(Rom 8:4 KJV) That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who
walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Now some people have it that the Spirit came to help us keep the Law. That is
NOT what Paul is saying. Paul is saying that we are DEAD TO THE LAW! Now if you
are DEAD...by the body of Christ...what more can the law do to you? It can't
save you. Only the resurrection of Christ can save you. Those who place their faith
in the FINISHED WORK of Christ are baptized, BY THE SPIRIT, into the body of
Christ. This has nothing to do with getting wet, but has to do with God
IDENTIFYING YOU judicially with Christ IN DEATH on the cross. (Hebrews 2:9)The
wages of sin is death. Christ died for you....instead of you. Hebrew 2:9 says,
Christ "tasted death for every man."
In God's eyes, JUDICIALLY, when Christ was crucified, YOU who are in the body
of Christ, were crucified with him. (Collosians 2:12) When Christ was buried,
you were buried. When Christ was raised, then YOU were raised WITH HIM. By
placing your faith in Christ and what HE DID, and NOT IN WHAT YOU ARE DOING,
God credits what Christ did....to your account! (Romans 8:2) That is why Paul
says, "the Spirit of life IN CHRIST JESUS has set me free from the law of
sin and death."
How do you get this "baptism by the Spirit?" Not by getting wet! Not
by walking the aisle for Jesus, not by praying through at the alter.....BUT BY
THE HEARING OF FAITH.
Galatians 3:2 says you receive the Spirit by the hearing of faith. You don't
have to go anywhere, do anything, or say anything....JUST SIMPLY BELIEVE.
Believe what? That Christ died for your sins, according to the scriptures and
that he was buried and that he rose again the third day....according to the
scriptures.
Now go on down to Romans 8:31-35:
31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against
us?
32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall
he not with him also freely give us all things?
33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that
justifieth.
34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen
again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for
us.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
And then he goes on to list a number of things that CANNOT separate us from the
love of Christ, (Romans 8:39) including persecution or trouble that comes from
the false religious system that knows nothing of the truth of the gospel of
Christ for which Paul suffered so much. If you are trying to keep the Law in
order to please God...if you are doing good works in order to be saved....THEN
YOU ARE FALLEN FROM GRACE...according to Galatians 5:4:
4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified
by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
Now WHO is Paul talking to here? Is Paul talking to the "church of Matthew
16?" Is Paul talking to the same group as those in the Acts Two church? Is
Paul talking to the "church at Jerusalem", the "little
flock" Not at all! Paul is preaching the Gospel of Christ. (Galatians
2:7)Paul is preaching the doctrine to the church, the Body of Christ. Paul is
preaching to Jews and Gentiles who are THE UNCIRCUMCISION, while at the same
time, Peter, James and John are preaching the gospel of the kingdom as in the
so-called "great commission" of Matthew 28 and Mark 16. Peter, James
and John are preaching the GOSPEL OF THE CIRCUMCISION to the CIRCUMCISION.
Preachers by the thousands today, claim they are following the so-called
"great commission" of Matthew 28 and Mark 16. Money is constantly
collected in pulpits and on television to further the "great
commission." Now IF THOSE PREACHERS who collect money to follow the
"great commission.....REALLY FOLLOW the great commission....why is it that
they ignore the second half of it?
In Matthew 28, verses 19 and 20, the Lord gives instructions to eleven men, the
disciples who became Apostles. TWELVE APOSTLES....as in TWELVE TRIBES OF
ISRAEL.(Matthias was numbered with the eleven in Acts Chapter One and in Acts
Chapter Two HE STOOD WITH THE ELEVEN AND SPOKE IN TONGUES. This was proof that
his being numbered with the eleven was approved of God.) In Matthew 28, verses
19 and 20 the Lord says, "Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: TEACHING
THEM to observe ALL THINGS whatsoever I have commanded you...."
Now why is it that your teacher teaches you to give money to further the
"great commission" BUT HE DOES NOT TEACH YOU TO OBSERVE THE THINGS
THE LORD COMMANDED THEM? In Matthew Chapter 6, the Lord says, forgive men their
trespasses....IF YOU WANT TO BE FORGIVEN. (Matthew 6:19) The Lord says, in Luke
Chapter 12, don't worry about working...he says the lilies toil not, they spin
not....yet Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.....the
Lord says...seek not what you shall eat or drink or wear.(Luke 6:29)
The Lord told the "little flock" it was the Father's good pleasure to
GIVE YOU THE KINGDOM. (Luke 6:32) He told them to sell out all that they owned,
to take to thought for their lives, to keep the commandments. to love not their
lives unto death Matthew 24:14).....he said, "and he that endureth to the
end....the same shall be saved." And if you check out the Acts Two church
they are doing just what he said:
Acts 2:44, "And all that believed were together, and had all things
common; AND SOLD their possessions and goods and parted them to all men as
every man had need."
These people had gone through boot camp for the tribulation. They had prepared
themselves for the coming of the antichrist. (Acts 2:19-20)They were expecting
the wonders and signs and blood, fire and vapours of smoke Peter quotes from
the book of Joel in Acts Two and they were looking for the second coming of
Christ. But it didn't happen. Why?
Because God had other plans for ANOTHER group of people. Not the little flock.
Not the church of Matthew 16. Not the Baptist - Pentecostal church of Acts
Chapter Two...but a totally new group....AND A TOTALLY NEW APOSTLE! (Acts
26:17) You see, Peter preached Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of prophecy.
(Acts 3:21) Peter said that Jesus would come again, and fulfill all things
spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets since the world began. But not
Paul!
Paul preached a DIFFERENT GOSPEL. (Ephesians 2:8) Paul preached Jesus Christ
according to the revelation of the mystery which was hid in God before the
foundation of the world and was NOT WRITTEN IN THE OLD TESTAMENT and was not
revealed to Peter, James and John. (Romans 16:25) Paul called it the Gospel of
Christ, the Gospel of the Grace of God. He called it the Gospel of the
Uncircumcision.
(Gal 2:7 KJV) But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the
uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was
unto Peter; .......and it ends up: "they gave to me and Barnabas the right
hand of fellowship."
Fourteen years after Paul was saved, the Lord sent him to Jerusalem. (Galatians
2:1-2) By direct revelation, according to Paul in Galatians chapter two, Paul
went up to Jerusalem and got the apostles in a private room and SHARED with
them, communicated to them THAT GOSPEL THAT I PREACH. It was only at the time
of Acts Chapter Fifteen that Peter, James and John learned the WHY of the cross
of Christ. It was only then that they PERCEIVED THE GRACE that was given to
Paul. (Galatians 2:9)
By this handshake, Peter, James and John LOOSED THEMSELVES from going into all
the world and BOUND that responsibility over to Paul (Matthew 18:18) and
"whatsoever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever you
loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" and on the authority of the Lord
Jesus Christ by direct revelation to Paul, as in Galatians Chapter Two, verses
One and Two, agreed to NEVER AGAIN teach all nations to observe all things
whatsoever the Lord had commanded them (I Corinthians 9:17)....AS LONG AS A
DISPENSATION OF THE GOSPEL WAS COMMITTED TO PAUL.
And by the way....the Lord sent Paul NOT TO BAPTIZE. (I Corinthians 1:17) The
Lord sent Peter, James and John to baptize in the great commission of Matthew
28 and Mark 16 but the Lord, in I Corinthians 1:17 sent Paul NOT TO BAPTIZE but
to preach the gospel!
Paul preached a message of salvation by grace alone through faith alone. Peter
told Cornelius in Acts chapter ten to "fear God and work
righteousness" but Paul wrote Titus in Chapter Three, verse five,
"Not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to his
mercy he saved us." Paul said, in Romans 11:6 that salvation is BY GRACE
and no more of works....he said...."otherwise grace is no more grace. But
if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
YOU CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS!
Now for some things that differ: Please turn to Hebrews, Chapter Six, verses
one through six:
6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on
unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works,
and of faith toward God,
2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection
of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
3 And this will we do, if God permit.
Now by this, it is obvious that in the Hebrew church, in the church at
Jerusalem, there were things that God would permit and there were things that
God would not permit.
4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of
the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they
crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
Did you know that those in the church at Jerusalem who had been baptized WITH
the Holy Ghost.....those who had tasted of the POWERS of the world to come that
IF THEY COMMITTED AN INTENTIONAL SIN THERE WAS NO HOPE FOR THEM? (Hebrews
10:26) Remember that John 1:11-12 says that they were given POWER to become the
sons of God. No person alive today has such power.:
Go find the oldest man alive that you know of and ask him to tell you if he has
reached the point where he has each and every facet of his life under the
Lordship of Christ. (If he's not Lord of all he's not Lord at all) It's a noble
sounding statement but it just ain't so! I don't know of a man alive who can
honestly say that there has ever been a time when he totally and completely had
every aspect of his life, his every action or thought, under the Lordship of
Christ. (Romans 7:18) People will spend their lives trying to reform their
flesh! God NEVER tried to reform the flesh! The flesh is un-reformable!
In the flesh YOU CANNOT PLEASE GOD. (Romans 8:9)
Now what was true of the Acts Two church is not true of the church, the body of
Christ. (Revelation 12:11)Those in the Baptist-Pentecostal Church of Acts Two
and those in Hebrews through Revelation are overcomers! "And they overcame
by the word of their testimony and the blood of the Lamb...and they loved not
their lives unto death." Listen to what John says in I John 5:16:
(1 John 5:16 KJV) If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death,
he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death.
There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.
Now what is it that John is talking about here? Go back to Acts, Chapter Five
and verse one:
(Acts 5:1 KJV) But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife,
sold a possession,
(Acts 5:2 KJV) And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to
it, and brought a certain part, and laid it, at the apostles' feet. (Is
greed a form of idol worship...having other gods?)
Now remember that the Lord had told them to not lay up for themselves, to sell
all that they owned, to take no thought for what they would eat or what they
would wear.....to seek the kingdom of heaven....and those in the Acts Two
church were following the so-called great commission of Matthew 28, verses 19
and 20...to the letter.
And then what happened?
(Acts 5:3 KJV) But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to
lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
And boom! Down he went. Later his wife came in....told the same lie....and
boom, down she went (Acts 5:10)....and the young men carried both of them out
and buried them.
Would you like to try that in the church today? There wouldn't be enough casket
builders to keep up! Funeral directors would have a heyday! No! That wouldn't
work in the church today. Why? Because these people had been baptized with the
Holy Ghost. They had an UNCTION from the Holy One as in 1 John 2:20 and they
had POWER. They had power to suffer. They had power to ENDURE UNTO THE END. They
had power to LOVE NOT THEIR LIVES UNTO DEATH. (I Peter 2:9) This was the
beginning of the holy nation, royal priesthood, peculiar people who were to
show forth the praises of God and HAVE THEIR CONVERSATION HONEST AMONG THE
GENTILES as in I Peter Chapter Two and verse nine. You were not there.
You and I who are in the church, the body of Christ are NOT the holy nation,
the royal priesthood having our conversation Honest among the Gentiles. We do
not have the UNCTION they had. We do not have the power that was upon them. We
are from another place and another time! (Matthew 6:33)
While they were SEEKING THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, and looking forward to the
RESTORATION OF THE KINGDOM to Israel (Acts 3:19) and the blotting out of their
sins at the Day of Atonement at the second coming of the Lord... we are not.
(Collosians 1:13)
The Day of Atonement as to Israel, as to the Church of Matthew 16, as to the
Baptist-Pentecostal Church of Acts Chapter Two IS YET FUTURE. They are SEEKING
THE KINGDOM. Not us. We have already been translated into the everlasting
kingdom of God's dear son. Paul says, "by whom we have now received the
atonement" in Romans 5:11. Not Peter in Acts Three. Peter in Acts Three,
verses 19 through 21 says their atonement is yet future. (Acts 3:21) He says
their sins will be blotted out when God SENDS JESUS CHRIST WHICH BEFORE WAS
PREACHED UNTO YOU. He says of Jesus Christ, "whom the heaven must receive
until the time of RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS spoken by the mouth of all the holy
prophets since the world began." That's KINGDOM GOSPEL. That's earthly and
visible. We are not there!
In Matthew 25, at verse 31, Jesus Christ tells them that the "Son of Man
will come in all his glory with all his holy angels with him and SIT ON THE
THRONE OF HIS GLORY" where he will rule on the Throne of David over Israel
and all the nations of the earth and he will separate the sheep and the goats
in a judgment based on their treatment of HIS BRETHREN....the true, believing
NATION OF ISRAEL...the church Peter is preaching to in Acts Chapter two.
(Isaiah 9:7)
Peter told the Acts church that Jesus Christ had been raised from the dead to
SIT ON DAVID's THRONE. David's throne has never been anywhere but in Israel. On
the other hand, Paul, the apostle to the church, the body of Christ never
mentions David's throne. He never talks about the restoration of the kingdom to
Israel. (ROMANS 16:25)
Peter was preaching the fulfillment of prophecy but Paul was preaching the
revelation of the mystery which had been hidden. It was kept secret and NEVER,
EVER revealed until the Lord Jesus Christ told Paul "Paul, I died for your
sins." (I Corinthians 15:3-4) Paul said, in I Corinthians 15, verses one
through four that "I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received."
Paul received the message of salvation by grace through faith in the shed blood
of Christ.....not Peter. (Acts 2:23)
Peter preached a murder indictment against the Jews in Jerusalem on the Day of
Pentecost. He said, "by wicked hands you have taken...and slain...the
prince of life..." But he told them what THEY MUST DO: (Acts 2:38) repent,
change their minds, be baptized with water to identify themselves with Christ,
the Messiah, receive the power of the Holy Ghost, love not their lives unto
death....endure to the end and IF THEY DID...be saved. Christ had told them,
"and he that endureth unto the end, the same shall be saved." They
were looking for the RETURN OF THE LORD and for the Kingdom to be restored to
Israel. In Acts 1:6 they had asked the Lord, "wilt thou, at this time,
restore the kingdom again to Israel?" and the Lord's answer, verse seven,
in effect was: Not right now. So that Kingdom is yet future. Two men in white
stood by and told the disciples "This same Jesus would come again:"
Acts 1:10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold,
two men stood by them in white apparel;
Acts 1:11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into
heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come
in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
What many people refuse to acknowledge is the fact that the Lord, apart from
this prophecy of the literal and visible second coming and apart from ANY
PROPHECY OR ANY HINT suddenly made an UNSCHEDULED APPEARANCE and did something
that was TOTALLY CONTRARY to the gospel Peter preached in Acts Two, Three,
Four, Five and so on and contrary to what he said to Cornelius in Acts Chapter
Ten. Peter told Cornelius, "I perceive that in every nation, him that FEARETH
GOD AND WORKETH RIGHTEOUSNESS is accepted of Him." (Acts 8:3) Now tell
me....if you honestly think that Saul of Tarsus was WORKING RIGHTEOUSNESS? Why
he was the WORST ENEMY OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH! Saul
of Tarsus was a type of the antichrist! But God showed forth all long-suffering
in Paul the Apostle. Paul said that he was the FIRST. HE SAID THAT HE WAS THE
PATTERN. Paul said in:
(1 Tim 1:15 KJV) This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
(1 Tim 1:16 KJV) Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first
Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which
should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.
The chief of what, the first of what, the pattern for what? Paul was the first
member and the pattern for all other members of the church, the body of Christ!
Paul taught a different message. Paul's gospel was different. Paul taught that
Christ endured unto the end FOR US. We look back to the cross and believe that
Christ died for our sins and was buried and rose again the third day...NOT TO
SIT ON DAVID'S THRONE....BUT FOR OUR JUSTIFICATION. (2 Corinthians 5:21) The
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the VERY PROOF that God has
forgiven our sins because "God made Him to be sin for us. Him who knew no
sin became sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in
Him."
Now if God made the Lord Jesus Christ to be our sin, if all of our sins were
put on him then they are NO LONGER ON US. That's justification! That's the gift
of God! The wages of sin is death. Christ died. YOU CANNOT PUNISH TWICE FOR THE
SAME CRIME. Now since all of our sins were on Christ when he died...how is God
going to get him out of the grave and out of hell, unless HE HAS FORGIVEN US?
He could not. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the LIVING PROOF of what Paul
says in Collosians 2:13:
(Col 2:13 KJV) And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh,
hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
We are saved by the finished work of Christ. We are justified by the finished
work of Christ. (Phillipians 3:21) We are sealed by the Holy Spirit unto the
day of redemption. The day that our vile bodies will be changed. We have
ALREADY been delivered from the penalty of sin by the cross of Christ. (Romans
8:14) We are being delivered from the POWER of sin as we learn to walk not
after the flesh but after the Spirit....and ONE DAY we will be delivered from
the PRESENCE OF SIN when Christ descends from Heaven with a shout, with the
voice of the archangel and the trump of God and the dead in Christ rise first
and both the dead and those who remain alive WILL BE DELIVERED FROM THIS PRESENT
EVIL WORLD. (Phillipians 3:20) Our citizenship is in Heaven, Paul says, from
whence we eagerly look for the Saviour who will change our vile bodies and take
us to our heavenly home. Why is that so hard for some people? Genesis 1:1 says,
"In the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth." That's two
different places.
Now the Lord Jesus Christ has already made one unscheduled appearance. That was
when he appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus and saved his worst enemy and
our pattern and began a totally new thing called the church, the body of
Christ. There's one more yet to happen. It's called the Rapture.....when he
will take the church which is His body....away from this present evil world.
If you are saved by faith in the finished work of Christ then this is your
position and your promise. If you are not saved then you are lost. If there has
never been a day in your life when you saw your self as a lost sinner in need
of a Saviour then you are "without God and without hope in this world"
and have no hope for getting out of this world.
If you want to be saved, you can. The bible says that God would have all men to
be saved and come unto the knowledge of the truth. The bible says there is one
God and one mediator between God and men, the man, Christ Jesus who gave
himself a ransom for all. That means all.....and that means you. The bible says
that Christ died for sinners. It says Christ died for the ungodly. It even says
that Christ died for the enemies of God.
It makes no difference who you are, where you are, where you have been or what
you were doing while you were there. God can save you and seal you and keep you
until the time he delivers you from this world. You don't have to go any where,
you don't have to do anything. You don't even have to say anything. If you, in
the privacy of your own heart and your own mind can see and understand that you
are a sinner, lost and without hope.....and can understand that God has
commended his love toward us in that while we were yet without strength....no
power and no ability to do anything at all to save ourselves....that Christ
died for our sins....then you can be saved. (Acts 16:30-31)
You can be saved right now, as you are, where you are. Will you do it? Will you
trust the finished work of Christ and be saved. If you will God will accept
you. God will save you right now. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou
shalt be saved.