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This book of the bible is frequently and
erroneously
referred to as the start of "The Church, The Body of Christ".
99.44% of fundamental, bible-believing teachers and pastors
embrace this falsity as truth! The fact is, The Book of Acts is
primarily about the unbelief of Israel and God's postponement of
her program. |
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These books of the bible are where believers in this dispensing
of God's grace should go for their day-to-day doctrine on
living. These books contain the revelation of the mystery,
otherwise known as the gospel of Jesus Christ. |
Click here to
contact LMM
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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! 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. What is my reward then? Verily that,
when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ
without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel.
1
Corinthians 9:16-18
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REMEMBER,
THE FOUR SYNOPTIC GOSPEL ACCOUNTS OF THE EARTHLY MINISTRY OF JESUS
CHRIST WERE WRITTEN
TO
ISRAEL UNDER THE LAW:
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SINCE
PROPHECY IS SUCH A HOT TOPIC THESE DAYS, DID YOU EVER WONDER WHAT THE
TRIBULATION SAINTS WILL STUDY AFTER THE BODY OF CHRIST IS RAPTURED?
Doctrine
for
The
Tribulation Saints after the rapture of the Body of Christ:
Here Israel is now back at the forefront under the law against the
imminent judgment and earthly return of The Messiah, Jesus Christ.
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1 For this cause I Paul, the
prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, 2 If ye have heard of
the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to
you-ward: 3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the
mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, 4 Whereby, when ye
read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) 5
Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as
it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the
Spirit; 6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the
same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the
grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his
power. 8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is
this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the
unsearchable riches of Christ; 9 And to make all men see what is
the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the
world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus
Christ: 10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and
powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the
manifold wisdom of God, 11 According to the eternal purpose
which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: 12 In whom we have
boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. 13
Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my
tribulations for you, which is your glory -
Ephesians 3:1-13 |
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Creation From a "Grace"
Perspective Part II ....
I have always been
fascinated with the creation story recorded on the pages of
Genesis. In Ephesians 1, the apostle Paul mentions
something specifically for today's grace-age saints. The passage
in verses 1 through 6; (especially verse 4) may prompt us towards
further study as we learn about the richness of God's grace
which was planned before the creation account: - RICK
Last issue we concluded
part one with a biblical description of planet earth before
mankind inhabited it. We discussed the fact that God in His
infinite wisdom through the merits of Jesus Christ would use
mankind to demonstrate the riches of His love and grace!
Further, God would allow sinful man to partake in His ultimate
plan to overthrow Satan and his angelic host when the
Dispensation of The Fullness of Times arrives in time future. We
began exploring based on Paul's account in Ephesians 1 on how
God had already determined how He would use mankind to His
glory!
 We
discussed the difference between the age of the earth;
"pre-Adam" and "at creation" while concluding that since the
time God created Adam and Eve approximately 6,000 years have
expired. A "Pre-Adam" planet could have been as old as God
Himself (depending on when God created it as described in
Ezekiel 28) and therefore incalculable since we know God is
infinite!
As
grace-age saints, it is our privilege and responsibility to
investigate and understand
all
that God has for us under His marvelous dispensing of grace
as Christ revealed to Paul.
 Please understand that the bible
tells us that this special dispensing of God’s grace was hid
in God through Jesus Christ. Although unpopular as this
teaching is, verses 4 and 5 of Ephesians
1 tells us plainly that this “mystery” was not revealed to
man until Paul received it from Christ.
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Scripture references that tell us that Christ's dispensing
of grace as revealed to Paul was a mystery hidden in God
until now:
Romans 16:25-27
1 Corinthians 2:6-8
Colossians 1:25-27
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To further worsen
matters, many scholars erroneously confuse the issue of
pre-destination with the text in Ephesians as well as
passages from Romans to allegedly prove that man has no free
will of his own; thus missing the whole context and point of
Paul whose desire is to simply tell us about Jesus Christ’s
perfectly planned, great love for us that is now
revealed through his magnified office!
Our
objective then in this study is to understand the
origination of the plan of grace now that we have all 66 books
of the bible! More importantly we are to examine the latest roadmap, doctrine and
marching orders we plainly received from Jesus Christ who
entrusted it to our ambassador of grace; The Apostle to the
Gentiles....Paul.
At the
conclusion of Part 1, we left off at a passage found in the Book
of Ezekiel where through inspiration of The Holy Spirit we find
the prophet describing what most scholars will agree on as the
origination of Lucifer who would later become Satan.
"Thou hast been in Eden the
garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the
sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the
jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold:
the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in
thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed
cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the
holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst
of the stones of fire."
- Ezekiel 28:13,14
As in
many prophetic bible passages, God's word spoken through His
prophets serve as a two-fold instrument: one for the current
time and one for a time yet to be; otherwise known as prophecy.
Although Ezekiel had received spoken revelation from God
concerning the
then prince of Tyrus (Ezekiel 28:1) most scholars would agree
that the prophet is talking about Lucifer and his origination.
This is true since it would be impossible for the present day
prince of Tyrus to be in Eden as noted in verse 13.
In
conclusion in understanding prophecy, although the prince of
Tyrus was a real person who existed in approximately 588 B.C.,
he was also a "type" of Anti-Christ; one of many throughout the
ages. Through other prophetic scriptures such as Isaiah,
Revelation, and Daniel...believers have the ability to study and
piece together information concerning Satan's plan of evil
against God and mankind!
Ezekiel
in his prophecy continued to describe this "prince" who was in
fact Lucifer, who would later become Satan. This angelic being
(and highest ranking official in God's host) was responsible for
the "trafficking" of other angels in order to join him in
his mission to be like The Most High (see Isaiah 14). Like a
salesmen, Lucifer convinced 1/3 of the heavenly host (Revelation
12:4) to join him in his plan.
Scripture tells us that beginning in verse 13 of Ezekiel 28
Lucifer (as called out in Isaiah 14:12 specifically) was with
God in Eden when it existed before man was created.
"Thou hast been in Eden the
garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the
sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the
jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold:
the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in
thee in the day that thou wast created.
I would
like you to consider that God used Eden as "City Hall" or as the
"Hall of Justice" and dwelt there. God used the prophet to
describe a past time of harmony before Lucifer's fall when we
read:
14 Thou art
the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou
wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou
hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
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Friends, what were the stones of fire? What beauty,
harmony and grandeur did Satan forsake in the hopes of
trying to be like God? |
The
bible tells us that pride was the root of the fall of Satan. And
today, it is the same five letter word that is the problem and
root of man's troubles as well. Did the beauty Lucifer witnessed
make him envious of God rather than thankful? That is a question
that can be discussed when we get to heaven but for today,
Satan's plan of evil for man originated in a pre-earth state as
a direct result from his own fall!
So with
the groundwork laid on this topic you may be asking what this
all has to do with creation from a grace perspective.
It all
has to do with God's infinite ingenuity, love and matchless
grace for man. Every attribute of His greatness shines through
this "plan of plans" for all ages in regards, to His total and
complete redemption for man.
And I heard
as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of
many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying,
Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. -
Revelation 19:6
Jesus
Christ through His all-sufficient cross work at Calvary
completed the legal aspect of mankind's redemption by
being 100% God and 100% man therefore being
the only One
qualified, sinless and perfect to take God's wrath on behalf of
man.
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SICKNESS AND SIN
by Cornelius R. Stam
One thing that really concerns
this writer about modern life, is how sin is constantly called
sickness. A man commits some moral outrage and they say he is
sick -- they even tell him that.
I went to see a man some time ago who had fallen into
unspeakable immorality and it had caught up with him. For years
his sanctimonious life had been a sham; now the mask was torn
off and he was in trouble -- deep trouble.
I had been telling him that now his best course was to make a
clean confession --
to the courts and to God. But
someone else had gotten to him first. While he stood by,
listening, this man had told his wife: "You must get Jim to see
that he’s sick and needs help. I’m not condoning what he has
done, but I’m hopeful that if he gets the proper help he can be
cured."
What a way to evade the sin question! Of course the man was sick
-- I imagine you and I would be sick too if we lived as he had
been living! But let’s get this straight: His sick-ness came
from his sin, not his sin from some sickness. He would have been
far better off to sob out his heart in
contrition before God for his sin
than to excuse his conduct on the grounds of illness. Rom. 5:12
says: "By one man sin entered into the world and death by sin,"
and Rom. 6:23 says: "The wages of sin is death."
The sobering fact is that while there may be differences in the
kinds of sins we commit, or in the degrees of our sin, Rom. 3:23
declares that there is no difference in this, that "all have
sinned and come short of the glory of God."
This is why we are so pleased and proud to proclaim "the gospel
of the grace of God," how Christ paid the penalty for our sins
that we might have a perfect standing before a holy God, "being
justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in
Christ Jesus" (Rom. 3:24). "Thanks be unto God for His
unspeakable gift!" (II Cor. 9:15).
"Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus
Christ, Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from
this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father."
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Today's World News
What does the bible teach about
homosexuality?
Sodom and Gomorrah -
One of the most divisive and combustible topics today is the issue of
homosexuality. It has become a focal point in our distinct faiths across
the world and it has become widely discussed across the political
platform; especially when talking about same sex marriages.
Homosexuality
has generated more hate and violence then we could possibly understand,
is an issue that has been with mankind for nearly all of his existence
and has been recorded as early as Genesis roughly 5,000 years ago. In
light of these facts, let us take a look at what God has to say about
this subject...
In Genesis 10,
we read that Sodom and Gomorrah were two cities which were founded by
descendents of Noah's middle son Ham. Although unimportant while
discussing this topic it's geographical location can be
derived from Genesis 13:11-12.
Genesis
13:11-12 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan;
and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the
other. Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the
cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.
 Like
any city of its time, it thrived due to its location and expansion. Of
particular note was the fact that these twin-cities were well watered.
Each city had a
political infrastructure (monarchy - king) as noted in Genesis 14
where we find Abram (Abraham) taking 318 trained servants from his own
household to go to battle in order to rescue his nephew Lot. The King of
Sodom, who was also the beneficiary of Abram's rescue, offered God's man
untold riches in exchange for the people who were saved from slavery
and bondage. Abram
declined for good reason:
Genesis
14:21-24 And the king of Sodom said
unto Abram, Give me
the persons, and take the goods to thyself. And Abram said to the
king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high
God, the possessor of heaven and earth, That I will not take from a
thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is
thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram
rich: Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the
portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them
take their portion.
Later in Genesis 13 we
also read that the Lord Jehovah destroyed both Sodom and Gomorrah
because they had sinned exceedingly. Here in God's eyes, whatever they
were doing up until this point was in direct rebellion and sin as far as
He was concerned. We do not find out until later (Genesis 19) that sin
had manifested itself into
rampant and destructive homosexuality and the thriving cities of Sodom
and Gomorrah had turned into a place of debauchery and wickedness. Here,
two angelic messengers of God had visited Lot and warned him that the
cities would be destroyed due to its great and exceeding sin. The wicked
man of Sodom had formed a mob and in Genesis 18 they fanatically gave
Lot an ultimatum concerning the new angelic strangers in town:
4But before they lay
down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom,
compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every
quarter: 5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are
the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that
we may know them. 8 Behold now, I have two daughters which have not
known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to
them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for
therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. -
Genesis
19:4-8
The bible tells
us here that these depraved men (yes the entire city) wanted to get to
know the angelic strangers. And beloved, they wanted to have more than a
cup of coffee with them. Lot, although terribly wrong, offered up his
own daughters to dissuade the mob's burning desires! Fearful, Lot
knew that these angelic strangers were from God.
Friends, did not each person in that city have an opportunity to leave
knowing of the pending judgment of God? What it boiled down to was
whether or not man would take God at His word. Lot begged his
son-in-law's to leave with him but to no avail. Any one of those
fanatics could have repented and followed the angels out of the city.
However,
in the end, all of mankind who lived between the borders of these two
cities were destroyed by God! The Lord patiently waited as He told Abram that He would not even
kill 10 innocent people if they could be found within the city ready to
be destroyed (read Genesis 18:22-33).
And the LORD said,
Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is
very grievous; 21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done
altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if
not, I will know.
Genesis
18:20-21
From this point
going forward we hear nothing more of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Old
Testament other than the
fact that like the Roman Empire it destroyed itself from the inside out.
Whether it is
politically correct or not, whether you agree or disagree God's word is
very clear on this issue. If you believe that the Old Testament is too
outdated or too strict in its principles then lets see what the Lord
Jesus Christ had to say about the issue of homosexuality when he
revealed truth to the apostle Paul in the book of Romans.
Romans 1:17-19 -
17 For therein is the
righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The
just shall live by faith. 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from
heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the
truth in unrighteousness; 19 Because that which may be known of God is
manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
Friends, God's
wrath is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and
unrighteousness. The bible tells us that right versus wrong is the core
issue and that God has showed us the difference.
Romans 1:24-27 -
24 Wherefore
God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own
hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed
the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more
than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. 26 For this cause God
gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the
natural use into that which is against nature: 27
And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned
in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is
unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error
which was meet.
Friends, I have
had several friendships with people who volunteered that they were
homosexuals. In once instance, the individual confessed his struggles
which had originated from his youth. On another occasion, my friend
attempted to find a church that would help him through some personal
trials. How about if I tell you that there are several gay couples
living in my neighborhood and that one couple has proven to be an
excellent neighbor while the other has done a great job landscaping
their home which helps keep the value of all our properties!
Sadly, I have
found these people to demonstrate more care than many Christians that I
know, but then again that is the sad state of the Body of Christ in the
last days!
"The complete and finished work of Jesus Christ saves to the
uttermost (Hebrews 7:25) and no man is beyond the reach of
God! Foolish leaders erroneously teach that a person cannot
remain gay and be saved. Well, that rationale then
disqualifies all saved people (including all the saints at
Corinth) who continually sin even after
being saved!"
If the bible
repeatedly speaks of homosexuality as being sin then as a
bible-believer, I take God at His word concerning this matter. I believe
in the sanctity of marriage between a man and a women (for without this
the world could not reproduce). But friends, I do not believe that
homosexuals are evil or out of God's reach. In fact, I have met plenty
of evil Christians I might add...
For whatever
reason which is none of my business , homosexuals have chosen this
lifestyle and I know it is not what God has for them. I do find it an
amazing tribute to the intelligence and creativity of many gay people
who are successful and wealthy despite the prejudices and hatred they
endure. But beloved, God still has something better for
them! They have sold themselves short and believed a lie....JUST LIKE WE
ALL DO WHEN WE SIN. I am in no position to judge since I am a sinner
saved by grace. My simple evaluation and opinion on why many have
chosen this lifestyle is that they have not learned how to love
another human being from the same gender without bringing this type of
intimacy (that was only ordained between a man and a woman) into a
relationship . Friends, I can spend an entire page on how men
have failed to provide the God-ordained headship entrusted to them which
has played a huge role in the reason for the declining values and
depravity in this country, but that will be for another time....
Many opponents
of the "choice" issue as concerning whether or not a person is
born
homosexual is also a hot topic. We are all influenced by things from the
moment we are born and raised. Ultimately, we all have choices to
make....who we date, who are life partners are or how we take care of
our bodies which the bible says are Jesus Christ's. I know that if I
look at a female, I can distinguish her between a male. If I see a
person with dark skin they may be of Italian decent, Spanish or
Afro-American. If I see a homosexual, please let me know because I could
not tell if a person is gay or not by how they look. A gay person is
someone that defines his or her differences by the sexual orientation
they prefer or in other words, their private actions define who they
are. A female does not choose at birth whether or not she is a female.
Nor does a dark skinned person choose his or her origin or race. Yes with
modern medicine and plastic surgeries I guess you can be whatever you
want to be today my friends. But the one defining distinction between a
person's gender or ethnicity and a homosexual is what goes
on in the privacy of that person's life....something that should be left
out of the public domain.
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COFFEE
CORNER
Anger Management
by Paul M. Sadler
Scripture Reading:
"Be ye
angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
Neither give place to the devil."
-- Ephesians 4:26,27
Around the turn of the century, the Church was graced with
an array of great preachers, but none were more tenacious
and outspoken than Billy Sunday. He seemed to have a way of
driving home a point. It is said that a woman once
approached him after one of his meetings who was well known
for her bad temper. She sought to defend her actions by
saying: "But Mr. Sunday, although I blow up over the least
little thing, it's all over in a minute."
The evangelist looked her straight in the eye and said, "So
is a shotgun blast!! It's over in seconds, too, but look at
the terrible damage it can do."
God created us with a wide range of emotions, each of which
serves a purpose. Yes, even anger can be good. Contrary to
popular opinion, anger itself is not sinful. Notice how the
apostle words his above statement, "Be ye angry, and sin
not." In essence, Paul is saying that we are well within our
rights to be angry over an injustice or unrighteous
circumstances.
The
recent debate over "partial birth abortion" is a good
example. We should be incensed by "abortion" in general and
horrified by "partial birth abortions" in particular. Any
procedure (usually performed at 7 or 8 months gestation)
that allows the infant's head to remain in the birth canal
while the abortionist forces a surgical instrument into the
base of the skull to suction out the little one's brains is
nothing short of first degree murder. Here a righteous anger
is perfectly justified. In fact, there are scores of times
in the Old Testament where the anger of the Lord is said to
be kindled against His enemies (Num. 25:1-9; Jer. 12:13).
Surely our Lord is a prime example that anger itself is not
necessarily sinful, for He knew no sin. Thus the Lord was
well within the boundaries of godly behavior when He
exhibited a righteous anger toward those who had made His
Father's house a den of thieves (John 2:13-17). In the
future Tribulation Period those who reject God's anointed
and worship the beast and his image, "the same shall drink
of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without
mixture into the cup of His indignation; and he shall be
tormented with fire and brimstone" (Rev. 14:10).
Carefully note, Paul adds to the phrase "be ye angry" a
warning, "and sin not." Unbridled anger can easily turn into
a fit of uncontrollable rage which normally leaves a path of
destruction in its wake. Unchecked, anger that overflows
into resentment almost always results in some form of
retaliation. This may take the form of verbal attacks,
threats, or even physical abuse.
In a
worst case scenario, it is much like a volcano that builds
pressure over a period of time and finally erupts. Whenever
you watch a news report of a lone gunman who enters his
former place of employment with a semi-automatic weapon and
kills his supervisor and three other fellow workers, you are
witnessing the eruption of pent-up anger. Another example is
the believer who allowed his anger to get the better of him
and shot an abortion doctor outside a clinic down south.
With one pull of the trigger, this young man disgraced the
name of Christ, labeled all Christians as radicals in the
eyes of the world, destroyed his personal testimony, and
ended up with life in prison. These are both cases where
anger spun out of control with tragic results.
"Unchecked, anger that overflows into resentment almost
always results in some form of retaliation. This may take
the form of verbal attacks, threats, or even physical
abuse."
How to Deal with Anger
We
are living in a day when philosophy says, "express yourself
openly," "tell it like it is," "open up," "let it all hang
out." However, the Scriptures counsel us to exercise
restraint.
The
fruit of the spirit is "love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against
such there is no law" (Gal. 5:22,23). As we walk by grace
through faith, temperance will enable us to keep our anger
under control. But how does this work out in a practical
sense? Those who fly off in a fit of rage permit their anger
to take control of them. Consequently, the energy emitted
from this emotion is usually misdirected at someone or
something. Sinful anger tears down. Thus, in the heat of the
moment things are often said and done which cause
irreparable damage to relationships.
Paul adds here in Ephesians, "let not the sun go down upon
your wrath." We should never allow our anger to simmer
overnight. This will only cause it to become more deeply
seated. "Neither give place to the devil" (Eph. 4:27). You
see, if you fail to handle things in the proper manner, you
may well be giving Satan an opportunity to drive a deeper
wedge in your relationships with others. Surely, we are not
ignorant of his devices. Always remember, Satan is an
opportunist.
Bible on "homosexuality" (continued)
Although I
wouldn't consider myself to be a prude, I do not feel comfortable having
any sexual discussions in public, in social settings or even with close
friends. Why start now you may ask?
Because I feel as if at times my privacy is being challenged.
As a believer in the Gospel of Jesus Christ committed to Paul, I am
feeling less included
and more discriminated against because the bible calls homosexuality
sin and I believe the bible. As a grace-believing Christian (the
minorities of minorities amidst "religiondome") I am asked
to be politically correct in this sin-soaked world instead of being more
able to boldly proclaim of the One who can fill all of our needs and
resolve all of our continual sin...Jesus Christ and His completed work
at Calvary! The rest of the best of this story on this side of heaven is
the fact that once a person believes in Christ's death, burial and
resurrection for their
 sin
state and sin condition, God The Father gives us the very righteousness
of Jesus Christ! This is called imputation. Although, undeserving and
still sinners, God gives us the very righteousness of His own Son and
seals us (marks us) with His Holy Spirit who then lives inside
us....what a deal!!!! Gay sinner, straight sinner...all sinners qualify
on one condition....just believe and take God at His word concerning the
all-sufficient work of His beloved Son!
I guess the challenge of
this
life is knowing when to speak; when not to speak while "being all
things to all men". Our apostle also tells us "that as much as
that lies within us, be at peace with all men." We must use
great discernment in dealing with the issues of life lest we lose our
testimony to reach the lost friends.
The complete and
finished work of Jesus Christ saves to the uttermost (Hebrews 7:25) and
no man is beyond the reach of God! Foolish leaders erroneously teach
that a person cannot remain gay and be saved. Well, that rationale then
disqualifies all saved people who continually sin even after being
saved! There is no sin bigger than the cross. Should we not sin, of course but as Paul says in Romans 7:23:
23 But I see another
law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me
into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
The idea and
teaching that homosexuality is some type of unpardonable sin flies in
the face of the gospel of grace while attempting to minimize the
power of the cross. The bible tells us that even under
the Dispensation of The Law, Christ Himself told His followers on at
least six separate references that Sodom and Gomorrah would received
less judgment when compared to those cities who had rejected God.
And whosoever
shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off
the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto
you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of
judgment, than for that city.
- Mark 6:11
Each sin and sin
in and of itself is destructive in its own way...sometimes more obvious
than others, but no sin can
challenge the accomplishments of Jesus Christ at Calvary.
It is my prayer that this
article touches someone's heart and gives people a better understanding
of what the bible says about homosexuality and sin and that no
transgression is beyond the bar of God. My prayer is that believers
would grow in their understanding of the dispensing of God's grace
(Ephesians 1:15-22; 3:16-21).
24 O wretched man
that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25
I thank
God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the
mind I myself serve the law of God; but
with the flesh the law of sin.
- Romans 1:24,25
___________________________
The Gospel of the
Grace of God:
-
God’s Son Jesus Christ died
on the cross for all
of your sin (past, present and future), He was buried, and
gloriously rose again for your justification (1 Cor. 15:1-4)!
-
Not only did Christ die for
the debt and penalty of your sin but at the moment you take God The
Father at His Word concerning the finished and all-sufficient
cross-work of Christ His Son, you take on
His (Christ’s) very righteousness
(justification) Rom. 3:21-26!
-
As a result of just
simply believing the above (1 Cor. 15), God The Holy
Spirit tabernacles in you,
forever (Eph.1:13) until we die (to be with Christ) or
meet Him in the air (1 Thes 4:16-20).
-
No strings attached, no
outward expression of faith, no
incremental forgiveness since
it was taken care of all
up front, no kidding!
|
been revoked".
Joe
knew that this could be a major problem in that he would not be able
to get his work completed without access to area XYZ! However, after
further review of the e-mail, the man quickly discovered that he was
not the intended recipient but instead "copied" or "cc'd" as a
reference only! As it turns out, a collogue of his was the man who lost
his access! Joe, as the superintendent of area XYZ, simply needed to
be aware of this. For a brief moment, Joe confused his TO
mail with his CC mail. Not understanding that distinction for
those brief seconds after reading the message caused severe anxiety for
Joe until he realized the message was indeed TO someone else!
In a much similar example, when
we
read the bible, identifying our TO
mail is very important lest
we make the same fundamental mistake as the person above. Without
understanding the distinction between our "to" mail and our
"cc" or our "reference only" mail, believers inadvertently
"read themselves" into areas of the bible that God did not intend.
The result when this happens: confusion!
(see
