The Gift of Righteousness

Romans 5:8

For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-8)

Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. (Romans 5:9-11)

All three members of the Trinity are involved in salvation.  The Father loved us so much that He sent His Son to bridge the gap between us (John 3:16).  The Father and the Son send the Holy Spirit to fill our lives with love and to enable us to live by His power (Acts 1:8).  With all this loving care, how can we do less than serve Him completely!

Who is The LORD?

But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” So He said, “I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?” (Exodus 3:11-13)

Moses made excuses because he felt inadequate for the job God asked him to do (Exodus 3:10). It was natural for him to feel that way. He was inadequate all by himself. But God wasn't asking Moses to work alone. He offered other resources to help (God Himself, Aaron, and the ability to do miracles). God often calls us to tasks that seem too difficult, but He doesn't ask us to do them alone. God offers us His resources, just as He did to Moses. We should not hide behind our inadequacies, as Moses did, but look beyond ourselves to the great resources available. Then we can allow God to use our unique contributions.

Jesus Is Our Advocate!

My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.  And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. (1 John 2:1-2)

John uses the address “dear children” in a warm, fatherly way.  He is not talking down to his readers but is showing affection for them.  At this writing, John was a very old man.  He had spent almost all his life in ministry, and many of his readers were indeed his spiritual children.

The Olivet Discourse

Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.  And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” (Matthew 24:1-2)

The discourse of Matthew 23:1-39 had evidently been given in the temple precincts. The first temple, built by Solomon, was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C..  The second temple, built under the encouragement of Haggai and Zechariah and the leadership of Zerubbabel and Joshua (Hag. 1:1), was completed after considerable delay in 516 B.C..  This second temple was completely and lavishly renovated by Herod the Great.  He began the work around 20 B.C., but the renovations were not completed during the lifetime of Christ (John 2:20).  The work was finally finished in A.D. 64, and the temple stood completed for only six years before it was reduced to rubble by the Romans.

Jesus Saves Sinners!

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (John 3:14-17)

When the Israelites were wandering in the desert, God sent a plague of snakes to punish the people for their rebellious attitudes.  Those doomed to die from snakebite could be healed by obeying God's command to look up at the elevated bronze snake and by believing that God would heal them if they did (Numbers 21:8, 9).  Every time the words "lifted up" occur in the Gospel of John there is a reference to Jesus’ death (John 8:28; 12:32, 34).  When Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, those who looked at it lived.  So it is with the Son of Man (John 1:51).  Our salvation happens when we look up to Jesus, believing He will save us.  God has provided this way for us to be healed of sin's deadly bite.

Rejoice in the Lord!

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.  (1 Peter 1:6-9)

Peter mentions suffering several times in this letter:  1 Peter 1:6-7; 3:13-17; 4:12-19; 5:9.  When he speaks of trials, he is not talking about natural disasters or the experience of God’s punishments, but the response of an unbelieving world to people of faith.  All believers face such trials when they let their light shine into the darkness.  We must accept trials as part of the refining process that burns away impurities and prepares us to meet Christ.  Trials teach us patience (Romans 5:3, 4; James 1:2, 3) and help us grow to be the kind of people God wants.

Worship God in Spirit and Truth

Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.  You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.  But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.  God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:21-24)

By mentioning the two different worship sites (John 4:20), the woman at the well was perhaps trying to shift the conversation away from the subject of her own sins to theological questions. Or perhaps she realized that she was a sinner (John 4:18), and knew that she was required to offer a sacrifice.

Did God create Women and Men equally?

While surfing the Internet, I have come across several Christian blog sites that sometimes tend to place women as second class citizens.  When God created man, did He actually intend for him to have total control (dominate) over women?  Or, did God create woman to be man’s companion and to share equally (Genesis 1:27) in their dominion over all of the earth (Genesis 1:26).

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26)

Why does God use the plural form, "Let us make man in our image"?  One view says this is a reference to the Trinity - God the Father, Jesus Christ His Son, and the Holy Spirit - all of whom are God.  Another view is that the plural wording is used to denote majesty.  Kings traditionally use the plural form in speaking of themselves.  From Job 33:4 and Psalm 104:30, we do know that God's Spirit was present in the creation.  From Colossians 1:16 we know that Christ, God's Son, was at work in the creation.

Christians must test the Spirits!

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.  By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God.  And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.  (1 John 4:1-3)

"Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits" means that we shouldn't believe everything we hear just because someone says it is a message inspired by God.  There are many ways to test teachers to see if their message is truly from the Lord.  One is to check to see if their words match what God says in the Bible (1 John 2:22; 1 Cor. 12:3).  Other tests include their commitment to the body of believers (1 John 2:19), their life-style (1 John 3:23, 24), and the fruit of their ministry (1 John 4:6).  But the most important test of all, says John, is what they believe about Christ.  Do they teach that Jesus is fully God and fully man?  Our world is filled with voices claiming to speak for God.  Give them these tests to see if they are indeed speaking God's truth.

Are you condemned before God?

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1-2)

"Not guilty; let him go free" - what would those words mean to you if you were on death row?  The fact is that the whole human race is on death row, justly condemned for repeatedly breaking God's holy law.  Without Jesus we would have no hope at all.  But thank God!  He has declared us not guilty and has offered us freedom from sin and power to do His will.

Are you Righteous before God?

But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:21-23)

In these verses we see two functions of God's law.  First, it shows us where we go wrong.  Because of the law, we know that we are helpless sinners and that we must come to Jesus Christ for mercy.  Second, the moral code revealed in the law can serve to guide our actions by holding up God's moral standards.  We do not earn salvation by keeping the law (no one except Christ ever kept or could keep God's law perfectly), but we do please God when our lives conform to His revealed will for us.

Our Hope is in Jesus!

Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.  (1 Peter 4:1-2)

Some people will do anything to avoid pain.  As followers of Christ, however, we should be willing and prepared to do God's will and to suffer for it if necessary.  Sin loses its power to defeat us in our suffering if we focus on Christ and what He wants us to do.  When our bodies are in pain or our lives are in jeopardy, our real values show up clearly, and sinful pleasures seem less important.  If anyone suffers for doing good and still faithfully obeys in spite of suffering, that person has made a clean break with sin. 

Where was God on 911?

You say you will never forget where you were when you heard the news on September 11, 2001. Neither will I.

Rapture of the Church (Part 2)

 

Most churches contain people who do not yet believe.  Some are moving in the direction of belief, and others are simply pretending.  Imposters, however, are not to be removed (Matthew 13:28, 29), for that is the Lord’s work alone.  The Good News about Jesus Christ will save us if we firmly believe it and faithfully follow it.

Paul established the Corinthian church on his second missionary journey.  In this study of 1 Corinthians 15:50-54, we will see that the church in Corinth needed the same reassurance as did the Thessalonians regarding their fellow believers who had fallen asleep (died).

Rapture of the Church (Part 1)

The rapture and the second coming of Christ are often confused.  Sometimes it is difficult to determine whether a scripture verse is referring to the rapture or the second coming.  However, in studying end-times Bible prophecy, it is very important to differentiate between the two.

The rapture is when Jesus Christ returns to remove the church (all believers in Christ) from the earth. The rapture is described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 1 Corinthians 15:50-54. Believers who have died will have their bodies resurrected and, along with believers who are still living, will meet the Lord in the air. This will all occur in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye.  The second coming is when Jesus returns to defeat the Antichrist, destroy evil, and establish His millennial kingdom. The second coming is described in Revelation 19:11-16.

To understand fully the scriptures that deal with the rapture of the church, there will be two separate Bible studies.  In Part 1 we will study and meditate on 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18; and in Part 2, we will be studying and meditating on 1 Corinthians 15: 50-54.

Walking In the Light

This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.  If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.  But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.  (1 John 1:5-7)

Light represents what is good, pure, true, holy, and reliable.  Darkness represents what is sinful and evil.  The statement “God is light” means that God is perfectly holy and true and that He alone can guide us out of the darkness of sin.  Light is also related to truth in that light exposes whatever exists, whether it is good or bad.  God is light by nature, in His essential being, just as He is Spirit (John 4:24) and love (1 John 4:8, 16).  Light refers to God’s moral character.  God is holy, untouched by any evil or sin – there is no darkness at all.   Because God is light, those who desire fellowship with Him must also be pure.

God’s Sovereignty

Have you ever questioned God’s sovereignty? With all the tragedies happening in the world today some folks may question whether God is truly in control. Every time we turn on the television, radio or read the newspaper we are subjected to all of the violence and assaults on humanity. Our churches are beginning to water down the FAITH and manipulate God’s Word by interpreting Holy Scripture to fit man made doctrines and traditions.

Non-believers and believers alike are becoming confused when they hear the Gospel because of all the fighting and bickering regarding the interpretation of God’s Word. Is it any wonder that there are so many people in this world that turn to false religions and cults instead of turning their life over to Jesus Christ.