Tag Archives: gospel

You Are NOT Enough!

John 9:1-5 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? 3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. 4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

How many of you are parents? Grandparents? Do you remember the day your first child was born? The doctor delivered the baby, and that child began to cry. As you stood over your new baby, you counted their fingers and toes. You touched their hair. You looked into their eyes, and prayed that everything was fine.

A baby boy was born. His parents took the child, and counted its fingers and toes. The child looked normal. But in time, it became apparent something was wrong. The baby was blind. Now, this is not today with our medical technology, our advanced society. There were no hospitals to speak of in the ancient world. Many doctors believed if a person was sick, to let a little bad blood out, and it would make them better. Some believed that taking too many baths could lead to sickness, that dirt was what we came from, and dirt is how we ought to smell. …. Continue reading

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Wherefore, Part 1

1 Peter 2:1-5 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, 2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: 3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. 4 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, 5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

Southern Baptist Theologian and the very first editor of Christianity Today, Carl F. H. Henry stated:

“The Christian experience is always personal, but never private”.

Though salvation is a free gift of Grace from God,
free does not mean cheap.

In order to receive this gift, you lay your life down to Him Who laid His life down to you. Some believe that you can be saved, and yet live any way that you want, regardless of what God has said. This is Biblically unsound.

When you become a Christian you enter into a lifelong partnership with God. You come to God … Continue reading

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Who Is Abraham’s Seed?

John 8:37-42 I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you. 38 I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father. 39 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. 40 But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. 41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. 42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.

Last week we saw that the Pharisees were attacking Jesus. These were sincere people who believed in the Law of God. They were very conservative – and often added to the Law of God, making it more strident and binding. The Pharisees are also bullies, and try to bully Jesus. Jesus tells these religious zealots:

vs 37 I know that ye are Abraham’s seed…

These people thought that because they were direct descendants of Abraham, that they were in a right relationship with God. As Pharisees they were physically tied to a righteous man named Abraham. But this is not how you are saved.

To Be Saved, You Must Be PHYSICALLY And
SPIRITUALLY Tied To God The Father

There will be many Jews who spend eternity in hell because they rejected Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. These same Jews will believe that they are God’s “Chosen People” because they can trace their lineage back to… Continue reading

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Who Is The Boss?

Judges 19:30 And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day: consider of it, take advice, and speak your minds.

Last week we studied the horror that occurred at Gibeah, how homosexual crowds attacked a Levite Priest’s party in an attempt to “know” that Priest. The end result of this sad encounter is that the Levite’s Concubine was molested, raped, and murdered while the men of the family hid behind a locked door. The Levite afterward dismembered the Concubine, and sent the twelve parts to each tribe of Israel. What happened shocked the nation. We are told “no such deed {was} done nor seen” in Israel from the time it was freed from Egypt to that moment. The period of the Judges spans 400 years from the rise of Moses as Israel’s leader to the end of the period. So for 400 years Israel had never seen a thing so shocking and horrid.

But WHAT was shocking to Israel? Was it the open and aggressive homosexuality in Gibeah, the murder of the Concubine, or the fact that a Priest even had a Concubine in the first place?

The reason that Israel got to this horrible place is mentioned four times in the Book of Judges:

Judges 17:6 In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

Judges 18:1 In those days there was no king in Israel …

Judges 19:1 … it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel …

Judges 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes…. Continue reading

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In The Very Act

John 8:1-4 Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. {2} And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. {3} And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, {4} They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.

Our Background Is Found In Nicodemus

After Jesus presented Himself as the Messiah, the Savior of Israel and the Sender of the Holy Spirit, the Chief Priests and Pharisees sent the Temple soldiers to arrest Him for blasphemy in chapter 7. When the soldiers returned to the Temple without Jesus, they were asked “Why didn’t you bring Him?”. The soldiers replied,

John 7:46 (AP*) No one ever spoke like this Man!

As the powerful leaders of Israel condemned Jesus, and mocked the soldiers, a member of that group named Nicodemus spoke up.

Nicodemus came to see Jesus by night – we read about him in John chapter 3. It was to Nicodemus that Jesus told him in John 3:7, “You must be BORN AGAIN”. Jesus told Nicodemus, … Continue reading

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After These Things

John 7:1-2 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him. 2 Now the Jew’s feast of tabernacles was at hand.

Review: The Christian Feeds On Christ

In John chapter 6 Jesus fed over 5000 men with two fish and five small biscuits. Multiplying the biscuits, the emphasis our Lord was making is that He is God’s True Manna from Heaven. After feeding the crowd, the disciples gather twelve baskets filled with bread, showing Jesus to be the true Messiah of Israel. Rather than heed what Jesus was telling them, the people followed Jesus to Capernaum to be fed again. Jesus told them:

John 6:26-27 … Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. 27 Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

Jesus came as Messiah not to feed people bellies nor to satisfy their temporal needs, but to give whosoever will the life of God. The Apostle warned of those who are …

Philippians 3:18-19 … the enemies of the cross of Christ: 19 Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things…

There are many who presumably follow Christ, but are really pursuing not Him but what they can temporally gain from Him. Such a mindset leads toward hell. In the latter half of John chapter 6 our Lord clarifies His reason for being on this earth. He is not here to be a present King over Israel, come to save God’s chosen from Rome. … Continue reading

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Will You Go Or Will You Stay?

John 6:66-71 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. 67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? 68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. 69 And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. 70 Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? 71 He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.

God Save Us From “Consumer Christians”

The crowd grew in Capernaum, flooding the synagogue there, as people flocked to see Jesus. They wanted to be fed without working, to be healed without condition, to be saved without condition. They wanted what Jesus had and what Jesus offered, but did not want a life WITH Jesus. They wanted what many
“Christians” in America today want
a “Consumer Christianity”!

Jesus doe not offer a “Consumer Christianity” where we are to be pleased regardless as to the glory of God. Jesus demanded something else. He wanted people to believe in Him for life just as they believed in FOOD for life. He wanted people to bind to Him, to hear Him, to live by His Words, to follow His commandments. Jesus said:… Continue reading

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Are You A USER, Or Is Christ Your TREASURE?

Last week we started studying Jesus’ discourse in Capernaum. Most people consider the Sermon on the Mount one of the greatest sermons Jesus ever preached – and it was. On the Sermon on the Mount Jesus explained the policies of God’s Kingdom. But here in Capernaum, Jesus is defining how we should regard Himself. The people that followed Jesus to wanted to be fed fish and bread again, just as they had been fed in Bethsaida. Jesus wanted to explain to them – and to us – that He did not come just to fill our bellies. Jesus came to sustain our souls.

John 6:40-42 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeS the Son, and believeS on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. 41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. 42 And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?

Saving Faith Must See Jesus As He Is

Word Study: Jesus declared that the WAY to “everlasting life” is to “see” (Greek theōreō) the Son. This word means to “perceive with the eyes”, to see Jesus as He actually is. You cannot believe on Jesus unless you first know Who He is. We are creatures that must see and perceive to believe. When Satan tricked Eve into eating the forbidden fruit, he called on her to believe him above God. The Bible says that … Continue reading

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Come Join The Minority

1 John 5:21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

Back when I was young and dinosaurs roamed the earth, we used to write letters that we’d put in the mail. Texting has destroyed this, but yes, we’d absolutely do this. When I ended a letter, I’d end with my name and something affectionate, like “I love you”.

Many of the books we have in the New Testament are letters the Apostles wrote to the Church. As the Apostle Paul closed his letter to the Romans he sends greetings from others in ministry with him. Paul closes with “The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” (Romans 16:24), and then adds a rather length “P.S.” that ends with “To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.” (Romans 16:27). As Paul ends his first letter to Corinth he says, “My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.” (1 Corinthians 16:24). The letter to the Hebrews ends simply with “Grace be with you all. Amen.” (Hebrews 13:25). The Apostle Peter ends with “Grow in Grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen.” (2 Peter 3:18).

Notice how the Apostle John ends his letter to the Church. What thought did John want us to remember, a final point that is so very important? He writes:

Little children, keep yourselves from idols…. Continue reading

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Whosoever Is Whatsoever Is All

1 John 5:1-5 KJV Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. (2) By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. (3) For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. (4) For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, [even] our faith. (5) Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

We’re always hearing bad news in the news, and many of us long for the time when there was less sexual perversion and more common sense in America. But surprisingly, a recent Barna Survey reported:

“Recent data show that Americans are trending toward spiritual openness. As of October 2022, Barna data show three out of four U.S. adults (74%) say they want to grow spiritually. Additionally, the same proportion (77%) say they believe in a higher power. Nearly half (44%) say they are more open to God today than before the pandemic.”

The door is open to the growth of God’s Kingdom. How will God’s people respond. Sheldon Vanauken, the author of “A Severe Mercy” (a beautiful book) wrote:

“The best argument for Christianity is Christians: their joy, their certainty, their completeness. But the strongest argument against Christianity is also Christians—when they are somber and joyless, when they are self-righteous and smug in complacent consecration, when they are narrow and repressive, then Christianity dies a thousand deaths.”

Christians have always been attacked. People call us names. “Homophobic. Transphobic. Misogynistic.” Let them call us names. Regardless as to what the world feels, let us stand firm on God’s Word. The world called Jesus “Drunkard. Sinner. Illegitimate Son. Insane.” Jesus stuck with God’s Word. Over and over He declares, … Continue reading

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