The Truth

As we all know, our culture is becoming more hostile toward Christians, especially those who speak the truth.  They don't care as long as we are wishy washy in our doctrine and allow them to spout off any number of lies without any accountability.

 

Jesus said, "I am the truth," (John 14:6) but he wasn't just "the" truth, he also spoke the truth.  Jesus said, "I tell you the truth," 78 times in scripture.

The plain truth is that many Christians who used to applaud the truth, now, no longer know what truth is.  They follow the power, money and leverage of the popular new age culture to determine their truth.  Jesus, however had no earthly power, money or leverage, but that didn't stop him from speaking the truth.

When the apostles were arrested after speaking the truth and converting many people, they were imprisoned until an angel released them and told them to go back to the temple and continue doing exactly the same thing that got them arrested in the first place.  And as expected, they were again arrested and brought before the leaders.  

Peter, speaking the truth, said, "We must obey God rather than men.  The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.  God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.  And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him," (Acts 5:29-32).

So, exactly what are Christians called to do?  We are called to speak the truth.  We are not called to change it, or fix it, or modify it to fit a changing reality or new lifestyle.  We are to speak the truth as plainly and clearly as we can.  And the truth we are to speak is concerning Jesus, not our feelings or ideas or our interpretations.

This probably won't make our truth any more tolerable to those who don't want to hear it, but it's a little better when we clarify that the truth is about us too.  It's a powerful message when you say, "You're sinful and in need of restitution but I can't do anything to help you because so am I, and I might be worse than you.  So, in reality, we both need to go to the Savior."

Speaking the truth is never about judgment.  It is always about love.  Ouch- we miss the mark on that one a lot!!  Peter said, "Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins." (1 Peter 4:8)

The apostle John said that we are able to love because he first loved us.  This is the true mark of a Christian.  Love without truth is shallow, but truth without love isn't true, it's arrogant self-righteousness.

Hebrews 4:12 says that the word is sharper than a two edged sword.  When we speak the truth of the word, God uses it to pierce even the hardest and darkest of hearts.

One other thing, when the apostles were released from jail the second time, after they returned to their followers, Luke tells us, "Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name of Christ, and every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ." (Acts 5:41-42).

What kind of witness are we to be then?  A truthful one who counts it all joy to suffer for the name of Christ.

Steve Brown would say, "Now you think about that.  Amen."

I remain, in Him,
JT

excerpts taken from Steve Brown's newsletters

Condemnation

Romans 8:1 says, "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."  What does this mean?  Does it mean that no one has the right to hold anything against us?  Does it mean that whatever we do is not held against us by God?   What it means is that no matter what we do, if we are in Christ, we will not lose our salvation.  We are eternally secure in the promises of God- that he saves us and we will spend eternity in heaven with him.  What does God save us from?  Punishment for sins committed or maybe Hell?  God actually saves us from himself.  He saves us from his wrath.  The wrath that he promises will be the future for all unbelievers.  Does that mean that we can do anything we want, right or wrong, any time we want and we can live life how ever we want and it's all OK with God and He will forgive us of anything?  No, if we are a disciple of Christ, we will want to learn about him and follow him and be obedient to his word and our call.  This means that we will not want to do things that displease God, and sin and selfish behavior definitely displease him.  A person who claims to be a christian and continues in blatant sinful behavior should cause us to consider whether that person is really a christian.  The proof of the Holy Spirit indwelling us is a righteous life.

In 2 Timothy 1:12, Paul wrote, "I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed unto Him against that day."  What day is that?  That is the day when Jesus comes back to claim his bride, the church, at the Rapture.  Philippians 1:6 says, "He who began a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."  Jude 1:24 says, "Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy..."

So, God saves us from his wrath, and there is no condemnation for us, and God is able to do good works in us and keep us until Christ comes back for us.  That is some awesome truth!!

God also causes all things to work together for our eternal good because we love God and are called according to His purpose.  (Romans 8:28)  This means that all thing that happen in our lives, if we are a christian, whether good things or bad things, or righteous thing or sinful things, God causes them all to work together for our eternal good.  How does this happen?  Romans 8:30 says, "Those whom He predestined He called, whom He called He justified, whom He justified He glorified."  The beginning and the end are finished.  No one will be left out.  We will all make it all the way to the end and God will use every event, decision, and act of ours to bring about His purposes to His glory.

Romans 8:31 says, "If God is for us, who can be against us?"  Plainly and simply, NO ONE!!

I remain, in Him,

JT

It is Finished

When Jesus was on the cross he said, "It is Finished."  What did that mean?  Was it that his earthly life was finished, or that his ministry was finished?  Consider that maybe it means that the work of salvation is complete.

Too often, Christians are trying to do what has already been done.  It's finished, you can't add anything more to what has already been done.  It doesn't matter how many bible verses you memorize, or how nice you are, or how many people you lead to Christ, or how many times you say "yes" to God or "no" to sin, or how often you go to church, or how many ministry teams you're on, or how many mission fields you've served on, you can't add a thing to what's already been done.  It is finished.

Romans 8:30 says, "And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified."  Now, if you've studied the bible, you know that we will be glorified when Jesus comes back for us at the rapture.  But the rapture hasn't happened yet, so how can Paul talk about our glorification as if it has already happened?  Because, it's finished!  It's a done deal.  He speaks of a future event as if it has already happened because it's as sure as our birth, call, conversion, and death.

It doesn't matter how far along you are on the road of sanctification either because that's finished too.   Philippians 1:6 says, "He who began a good work in you is faithful to complete it."  Who is doing this work?  God is- not you.  God is making you more like Jesus.  It is not anything done in your own efforts.

When the disciples realized on the day of Pentecost that it was finished, they were so overjoyed about it that the people accused them of being drunk.  Did this realization make them better?  No, but it did change them.  It gave them the confidence to change the world.

So why are we called to confess and repent?  Because it is for our spiritual and emotional well being and to keep us from being  too conceited.

Romans 6:11 says that if we are a disciple of Christ then we should consider ourselves dead to sin.  The reason he said that is because it is finished.  When was the last time you saw a dead man doing anything.  He's dead.  He can't do anything.  He can't work harder, or try to be better, or give or do anything.  The reason we have to be dead is because Christ is going to use our bodies and work through us.  We just have to get out of the way.  Isn't that knowledge freeing?  This is Christ's gig and we are basically spectators.  Sometimes, God decides to show us just how much Christ lives in us and how much we are becoming Christ-like and it's very affirming to know this.  It's his work for his glory.

I remain, in Him,
JT

I messed up again!

Have you ever had that terrible sinking feeling that you messed up and disappointed God...again?  Do you just want to crawl under the bed and hide?  What should you do?  

Face it, If you've been a Christian very long, you have sinned and disappointed God. The Holy Spirit will convict you of all unrighteousness which basically means that you will feel guilty. Actually, that's a good thing. If you immediately feel guilty after you sin, that's a sign of the Holy Spirit working in the life of a believer.  

There are a few practical things you should do at this point. 

1. Acknowledge that you have sinned 

2. Ask God to forgive you 

3. Repent or turn away from your sin

4. If you have sinned against another person, go to that person and admit your sin and ask for forgiveness. 

5. If possible, make restitution for your sin such as monetary payment or working off your debt. 

6. Forgive yourself

The bible says that as far as the east is from the west is how far God removes our transgressions (Psalm 103:12).  God knows us inside and out and he made us. He knows we are weak and sinful but he loves us just the same, not because of who we are but because of who he is. When we fall and are broken, he will pick us up and set our path straight. God's forgiveness is always there for the believer. There is no sin too big the God will not forgive. All we must do is ask for it. 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)

And by the way, if you're concerned that maybe you've committed the unpardonable sin, stop worrying. The unpardonable sin is the sin of not asking for forgiveness because you have stopped listening to the Holy Spirit's call and you won't repent because you don't care anymore. If you truly belong to Christ, this will never happen to you. 

Jesus said "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. (John 6:37). This means that you belong to Christ and nothing you do will ever get you kicked out. How reassuring is it that God loves us so much that he even protects us from ourselves. Now that's an awesome God!!

What Does it Mean to be a Christian?

Do you belong to a certain religion?  Have you adopted a certain value system?  Is this the measure by which you consider yourself a christian?  Being a christian is about embracing what the Bible says about salvation, mankind and God.

First of all, God is sovereign.  He is before all things, in all things, and He is the creator of all men.  God created us because he wanted to, for the purpose of loving, serving, and fellowshipping with him.  Since Jesus created everything (John 1:3) and he owns and rules everything (Ps. 103:19), then he has authority over our lives and we are obligated to give him, and him alone, all our devotion, obedience, and worship.  God is holy (Isaiah 6:3), and he requires us to be holy as well (1Peter 1:16).

We must have an understanding that man is sinful (1 Kings 8:46), and that we are unable to love, understand or please God in our own way or on our own terms (Romans 3:10-12).  Sin separates us from God. There is also a penalty for sin.  That penalty is death (Ezekiel 18:4).  This is the reason why being a good person will not make you OK with God.

We must also understand that Jesus is both our Lord and out savior.   We already stated that Jesus created everything and owns and rules everything, and that he has the right of authority over our lives and we owe him all our devotion, obedience, and worship.  Romans 10:9 says that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, that you will be saved.  This is the foundation of salvation.  But further than that, Gods law demands payment for sin and Christ's blood on the cross is the payment for your sin and mine (1 Peter 3:18).  Since Christ's death pays the penalty for our sin, he will forgive and save anyone who places their faith in him (Romans 3:26).

Repentance always follows genuine faith.  When you repent, you admit that you are sinful, as God says you are; you confess your sins, and then turn away from your sin (Luke 13:3; 1 Thessalonians 1:9).   Then you will want to actively pursue Christ (Matthew 11:28-30; John 17:3), and remain obedient to him (1John 2:3).  

It doesn't matter that you just believe in God, the bible says that even demons believe in God (James 2:19).  You must love and obey him to truly be his disciple (Ephesians 2:10).  

Excerpts taken from Grace to You website

I remain, in Him,

JT

Where I'm coming from

Hi, and welcome to my blog.  
My name is Jamie T or JT for short, and I have a lot to say about religion and its application and relevancy for us today.  
My mentors are first and foremost, the late and great Bill Farrar, whose teaching I sat under for over 15 years.  I am also a frequent listener of John McArthur, Steve Brown, R. C. Sproul,  and Alistair Begg to name a few. 
 I am a born again, conservative christian who has studied doctrine and biblical application for many years.  I believe in one God who presents himself in three forms, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit or the trinity.  I believe that the Bible is God-breathed, inerrant in the original documents, and is God's message to all people which transcends time and culture.  I believe that God created man on the sixth day for the purpose of His glory, and that in the fall of Adam, all men inherited a sinful nature except Jesus Christ.  I believe that Salvation is wholly an act of grace by God, through Christ by the shedding of his blood, and not by any merit or work of man.  I believe that man is dead in his trespasses and sins until the Holy Spirit quickens or regenerates him so that he becomes aware of his sin and becomes enabled to respond by faith to salvation. When the believer submits in obedience to the Holy Spirit, he will grow to become like Christ which climaxes in glorification upon death and entrance to heaven.  I believe in election, justification, sanctification, and eternal security.  I believe that all who put their faith in Christ become part of his body of believers, or the church which was born on the day of Pentecost and will be made complete at the second coming of Christ at the rapture.  I believe that the purpose of the church (which Christ is the head) is to glorify God and to train up disciples for the work of the ministry.  I believe that Christ is coming again to collect his bride, the church, at the rapture to take with him to heaven.  I believe in the pre-tribulation rapture of the church, as the tribulation marks the time when  God deals with Israel, his wife and subjects her to his wrath, and christians are saved, through Christ, from the wrath of God.  I believe the tribulation will end with the coming of Christ with his bride from heaven to mark the beginning of Christ's millennial reign on earth and that this reign will be preceded by the fall of the antichrist, the false prophet and the removal of Satan from the world.  I believe that the end of the millennial reign will be marked by the release of Satan for the battle of Armageddon, in which Satan will be thrown into the lake of fire for all eternity.  After this, we- Christ's bride, will live with Christ in eternity on the new earth where there will be no sorrow, pain, or tears.  
I will be glad to expand on several of these issues in the next few weeks as well as open up other discussions.  Please be respectful in your comments as the spiritual walk and level of maturity among believers varies widely.  
Thanks for spending your time with me.
I remain, in Him,
JT