Tag Archives: false followers

What Makes The Church Right?

Ephesians 4:9-12 (Now that He ascended, what is it but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, THAT HE MIGHT FILL ALL THINGS.) 11 And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

Jesus Christ Fills All Things

The Bible tells us that our Lord Jesus died on the Cross. He “descended first into the lower parts of the earth”. He came from glory, from Heaven, and was made like us. We are told in the Scripture that Jesus lowered Himself for our salvation:

Philippians 2:7-8 {Jesus}made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

Jesus came for the lowest and the least. He was often found sitting and eating with the dregs of human society. Jesus frequented with sinners, with tax collectors, with lepers, with crippled and broken people. The Bible says “you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich”. (2 Corinthians 8:9). Our Lord Jesus suffered. The Bible says “though He was a Son, He learned obedience through what He suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). Jesus died among thieves, and was buried in a borrowed tomb. Continue reading

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Fear God/ Fear Sin

Proverbs 22:28 (KJV) Remove not the ANCIENT LANDMARK, which thy fathers have set.

Ancient boundaries were based on distinct landmarks. Some landmarks were valleys or mountains, rivers or streams. But where there was no distinct boundary, people would set boundaries of pillars and rocks. This is what happened between Laban and Jacob:

Genesis31:51-52 (ESV) Then Laban said to Jacob, “See this heap and the pillar, which I have set between you and me. 52 This heap is a witness, and the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass over this heap to you, and you will not pass over this heap and this pillar to me, to do harm.

In this case, Laban and Jacob made a pact that one would stay on one side of the boundary, and the other on the opposing side. The other reason for landmarks was to set property boundaries. People could steal land by moving the landmark (especially if it was a man made landmark). God tells His people:

Deuteronomy 19:14 (ESV) You shall NOT MOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR’S LANDMARK, which the men of old have set, in the inheritance that you will hold in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.

God’s people are forbidden to move landmarks, or to feed your livestock on another person’s property. God despises sin, but particularly despises covetousness and theft. The Tenth Commandment says: Continue reading

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God’s Wisdom Not Man’s Wisdom

Proverbs 8:1-7 Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice? 2 She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths. 3 She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors. 4 Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man. 5 O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart. 6 Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things. 7 For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

To those who say “I didn’t know”, God says “You did know, but refused to listen”.

There will be many who stand before God at the Great White Throne Judgment who will say, “I didn’t know”. In fact, I have heard people say “What about the people who never heard the Gospel, never heard the Word of God, never heard of the Old Rugged Cross? Will they get a free pass into Heaven because they haven’t heard?”

Short answer: NO!

Longer answer: God Himself has made clear and plain what He expects. No one leaves this life saying “I never knew”. Christians will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ (Romans 14:20; 2 Corinthians 5:10) where our works for Jesus that we did in this life will be judged. I am sure there of some of you who will say, … Continue reading

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The Mark Of The Lost

Do You Love Jesus, Or What Jesus Gives?

Word Study Let’s break this verse down. Jesus had “disciples” who followed Him. The word translated “disciples” is the Greek μαθητής mathētēs, which means “a student, a learner, a pupil, a follower of another”. There were a great deal of people who followed Jesus. What were they following Him for? Were they following Jesus because they loved Jesus? No, they were following Jesus because they loved what Jesus gave them.

The disciples who left Jesus were not following Him out of love for Him. They followed Jesus out of love for what Jesus would DO for them.

We see this in our context. You always need to read the context. If you flip back just one page in my Bible to the beginning of chapter 6, you read of the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand. Jesus took “five barley loaves and two small fishes” (verse 9) and blessing it, fed five thousand men (verse 10). The Bible says:… Continue reading

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