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This Last Days church will never survive without it.

The power of the gospel to save is as real today as it ever was. Its power to heal our hurts, to comfort our hearts, and to do all kinds of tangible miracles is still available, too.

But what about the power of the gospel to actually mature believers, particularly to bring spiritual maturity to the collective members of a local body so that we are led to measure up to the stature that belongs to Jesus Christ? Is that power still available? Yes! It is still available, too! But it must be believed and appropriated in order to be realized in the same way that the gospel’s power to save, heal, comfort, and do miracles must be.

We are so far from understanding the theme of spiritual maturity that many believers do not even know that it is a part of the gospel message. This is true even among many who believe in spiritual gifts. Only a tiny percentage of Christians really have a vision for the fullness of Jesus Christ in the body, or even see it as a part of the gospel message. But the gospel is a whole life message. It brings change immediately, it saves ultimately, and between the two it grows us up.

How We Got Here

There are several contributing factors which have led to our present spiritual dilemma. The primary one is that for the last 500 years we have prioritized preaching for saving over teaching for spiritual maturity. Another one is that it is much easier to preach the saving part of the gospel than it is to submit to the maturing part of the gospel. And finally, the natural man likes things that can be measured and boasted about, and preaching for saving usually yields a headcount. But there are no immediate grand results from submitting to the power of the gospel for spiritual maturity. They come over time.

Even though Christianity today is accustomed to prioritizing salvation over spiritual maturity, this does not change the fact that we are spiritual creatures, born after God Himself. As spiritual creatures, whether we feel like it or not, our new default is to be spiritual. But the natural man fights the spiritual man for all he is worth (which is not very much, by the way). As born-again believers, we are reprogrammed away from the natural man altogether, but we are all too familiar with how difficult it is to keep him in check. Nonetheless, our new spiritually advanced DNA leads us to preach not only the gospel that saves, but also the gospel that grows us up into the full measure of the stature that belongs to Jesus Christ. I do not discount the great importance of preaching the gospel that saves, but only advocate that we also teach and practice spiritual growth by it, too; and it is through our growing up spiritually that we will see more people saved, anyway.

Reformation but Not Spiritual Maturity

I mentioned earlier that a major contributing factor to our lack of spiritual fitness is that for nearly 500 years we have prioritized numerical growth, giving very little attention to spiritual maturity. Allow me to give an overview to show you what I mean.

By the time of the death of the beloved apostle John, the center for the church for all practical purposes had moved to Rome, under the leadership of Clement of Rome, who was later named the bishop of Rome. Within just a few short generations, succeeding church leaders began dominating Christian thought and doctrine entirely. Having left the Spirit’s leadership and fallen captive to Satan’s religious bondage, the early church evolved into a damning religious institution. Roman Catholicism purposefully set out to bring all people everywhere under its thumb. Its leaders interpreted the scriptures to say that all souls who wanted to claim Christ would have to come under the established church. Thus they taught that any hope of salvation had to come from the Catholic Church; and their dogma reigned supreme throughout much of the world for nearly 1400 years.

Amazingly, it still enslaves more than a billion souls today!

Then, about 500 years ago, God loosed Truth that resulted in the freeing of countless souls throughout the institution’s horrid domain around the world. Whole families and even nations had been under the Roman religious system for generations, but finally God raised up Christian reformers who, in the face of papal authority, established soundly through the scriptures that anyone could be saved by grace through faith in Christ alone – apart from the Catholic Church or any other institution. And with that, the battle for proclaiming Christ alone through open evangelism had begun!

A dozen years or so later, after Martin Luther openly challenged papal supremacy, new authority was assumed by King Henry VIII over the Church of England, and he continued the fight against any unbridled Christian who preached that souls are saved by faith alone. But the cat was already out of the bag; and by the grace of God, within just a few decades, multitudes of people who had lived in the darkest dungeon of humanity’s existence for centuries burst into the glorious light of the gospel! Countless numbers of people were set free to read the Bible for themselves for the first time (at least as quickly as they became available) and to evangelize. And for the first time in more than 1000 years, the world discovered that any and every man, woman, and child was a priest in his or her own right through faith in Jesus Christ. Surely the heavens shouted in delight when, after so many centuries of hellish religious bondage, earthly humanity realized that it was not in Jerusalem, or in this mountain” (John 4:20-24), or under Rome’s Catholicism, or the Church of England, or anywhere else that they would have to worship! But as wonderful as that was for the gospel to have been loosed, the road to spiritual maturity had only just begun. At this point, the deeper understanding of the believer as a new creation and his enablement by the Spirit to actually grow up into Christ’s image was not even known, much less pursued on a large scale. And since so much of our modern-era evangelical doctrine finds its base in Reformation theology, I dare say that, in spite of great spiritual awakenings around the world over more recent centuries, today’s most vocal voices in Christianity are more influenced by John Calvin from 500 years ago than by the Spirit of God of eternity past! Authentic spiritual understanding for authentic spiritual maturity is provided for by Christ in us, the hope of the glory of God on earth; but mainstream evangelicalism is still in the dark ages on this truth.

The apostle Paul knew this revelation was deep and easy to overlook. He prayed earnestly that believers everywhere would come to an understanding of all that had been accomplished through the work of Jesus Christ for His glory to be revealed in us here and now, as well as for our eternal glory (Ephesians 1:15-23)! It is in knowing and appropriating those benefits which we have received for this age that we are made a truly spiritual people in this age – something that only segments of Christianity have touched in recent centuries.

Is there any wonder why we are not growing up into the image of Christ? And what about taking on the demonic battles that are lurking at our doorstep? How many among the Christian community are ready to take on Satan’s spiritual forces as he marches against this Last Days church? Can you not hear the Spirit of the Lord crying out to you and me that we MUST become a spiritually mature church if we expect to endure victoriously the times in which we live? Let us look at more evidence of why we are still spiritual babies, not ready for this late hour.

Great Awakenings but Not Spiritual Maturity

The Great Awakenings of the 1700s and 1800s boosted preaching for salvation and renewal for those already saved – and it was very effectual. God used a few inspired men to call the world to attention. Men such as Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, and John Wesley started, followed in the next century by Charles Finney, James McCready, Barton Stone, and others. These led tens of thousands into repentance from sin and faith toward God. Their preaching set on fire hundreds of other fiery preachers, then thousands. From England to America, makeshift pulpits popped up on busy streets and in the open fields, wherever there were people. And this was wonderful! Oh, how many of us would love to see this kind of revival preaching now! But it would have to happen on the streets and in the fields, since the churches far and wide, large and small, are in their own Dark Age and will NOT let God in! And many do not even realize it! Again our point is made that, as wonderful as this power preaching for salvation was then, there was still no knowledge of or emphasis given to spiritual maturity as it relates to the whole body coming into the image of Christ.

In the same way, there is lack in that area today. In the largest denomination in America, in fact, the call for salvation (watered down though it usually is) is still the focus of preaching every Sunday – even to those who are already saved! Is there any wonder why the body of Christ is so spiritually immature? Oh, what a spiritual awakening we need to get us out of the nursery! Limiting ourselves to the traditions and priorities of revivals past will not allow God’s people to come into lasting spiritual maturity – which was God’s goal from the beginning, and which is an absolute MUST if we are to endure these last chapters of these Last Days, not to mention our need to become His spotless, glorious bride!

Sunday School / Bible Studies but Not Spiritual Maturity

In the continuing evolution of evangelical Christianity, Bible study was first given emphasis through what came to be known as Sunday School. Most historians attribute its origin to Sunday Bible-reading lessons for children that took place in England, starting in the 1780s. As a part of the industrial revolution, thousands of young children were forced to work in awful conditions and for unthinkable hours six days a week, making it impossible for them to attend school; so God raised up a man named Robert Raikes, an Anglican evangelical, to start teaching these underprivileged children to read the Bible on Sundays, their only day off. From that was born Sunday School, which eventually spread to America. From that humble beginning, Bible study became a regular part of early elementary education. Then approximately 100 years later, when the state began to take over the responsibility of educating children, Bible training began to be moved out to the churches for Sunday study only, where it became a mainstay for the next 100 years. More recently, evangelicalism has largely turned from authentic Bible study in Sunday School to opinion-based discussions about God, with perhaps an accompanying Bible reference or two to support free thinking. Even so, the early Sunday School program set the pattern for regimented Bible study among 20th century evangelicals. Of course, there have been many other outstanding programs for Bible study that have contributed to excellent Bible training as well. But the point is that even 200 years of consistent Bible study has not solved the believer’s handicap of  Spirit-life underdevelopment.  Again, this is primarily due to our unwillingness to progress beyond doctrines and traditions established in centuries past.

There are those believers who, in their earnest pursuit to walk with the Lord, have returned to the land where He and His apostles walked. They have gone to Israel, as well as to the lands of Paul’s missionary journeys. Other believers have pursued a closer walk with Him by going back to get seminary training, and some have even learned a little Greek and/or Hebrew, so they can read the Bible in its own language; but few have come away from any of those things having grown deeper in their spiritual understanding of all that has been accomplished through Christ for us in real time. To truly walk as Jesus walked still seems far away; and to pursue the fullness of Christ in the body is, for all practical purposes, foreign. Once again, Christianity as a religious practice has failed to actually yield Spirit-filled Christ-likeness on a large scale. Millions and millions of genuine believers today have been kept in the state of the natural man by traditional thinking and doing which can be traced back to early religious ideas since the Reformation. Oh, if only we could break out of the nursery and enter into Bible study and fellowship with spiritual understanding that would lead us all to spiritual maturity! Indeed, the world is waiting!

Pentecostal Denominationalism but Not Spiritual Maturity

Consider the Pentecostal denominations. Their origins can usually be traced back to truly authentic spiritual awakenings at the turn of the 1700s, 1800s, and 1900s. Some churches that considered themselves Pentecostal genuinely sought to allow the Spirit to have His way. Their meetings were obviously accompanied by the Spirit’s presence, evidenced by the activity of spiritual gifts just as was the case with the church of Corinth. The opportunity was certainly there for believers to develop into spiritual maturity and deep Christ-likeness. In the end, however, they followed in the footsteps of the church at Corinth, too. They had all the gifts but never reached spiritual maturity. Eventually they gave in to a religious form, and the Spirit’s power faded; but they continued to duplicate the habits and practices of their early stages, nonetheless, not knowing that the Spirit had moved out.

The largest Pentecostal denominations in the world have become nothing more than giant religious institutions. Just like their more spiritually conservative brothers and sisters in Christ have done, their system is tiered, weighty, and burdensome on local churches. They have long snuffed out any hope for true spiritual development. Here again, the effort of the Spirit to bring about deep spiritual understanding that leads to a deep spiritual walk was overwhelmed by Christianity becoming religious.

The Charismatic Movement but Not Spiritual Maturity

I should not neglect to mention a genuine move of the Holy Spirit that started in America in the 1950s and spread around the world, called the Charismatic Movement. The Spirit of the Lord moved afresh on God’s people of every denomination. Tens of thousands of churches were started in America alone by believers who came out of traditional churches which refused to allow the Spirit His liberty in their meetings. Many of those newly organized churches sought to mature spiritually – not only in their worship meetings, but also as corporate bodies growing up into the measure of the stature of Christ. But they experienced burnout when too many became so emotionally driven that they moved away from a truly Biblical foundation. Today, theology among the remnants of the Charismatic Movement, for the most part, is about as emotionally exaggerated and theologically twisted as it could ever be. Yet when evaluating that movement along with all the others, we must separate what men have done from what God was trying to do through men. If we discern between God’s way and men’s results, we can take the good and grow while leaving the bad behind. 

Even though God’s work in that season of spiritual awakening did not lead to widespread spiritual maturity, it was certainly an authentic work which  impacted the body of Christ around the world on a scale that no previous move had done. Yet we still groan within ourselves to become more like Him. God has not failed; we have. And even though we know there is something missing, and we read the scriptures spelling it out, we have yet to make the connection for the long-term. Oh, that God would take us to the fullness of Christ’s measure soon!

But Jesus Said: “I will build My church.”

Regardless of the tremendous spiritual warfare that keeps the body of Christ as spiritual babies, our Lord said that He would build His church. Any true believer who honestly evaluates the general spiritual condition of Christianity today would have to concede that the Lord is not the one who put this mess together. He has built the church indeed, in that He is the author of our salvation individually; but we have built ourselves together corporately. Nonetheless, based upon His promise, He will build His corporate body His way; and just like many of you, I can hardly wait to see it come together!

We have all the ingredients. The scriptures declaring what we should become are clearly seen in the Bible. The example of how we are to follow the Father’s perfect way was set by His Son. His aid and guidance are freely offered by the grace of His Spirit within. And His promise is sure.

We need only to ask Him to show us every area in our thought and practice that should be removed, and then remove it, or allow Him to do so. We should seek a continuing infilling of His Spirit and provide a place that is wholly hospitable for Him within. We should abide in His Word and believe it completely. We should come together when He calls us to. We should wait patiently on Him and be sensitive to obey. We should not lose hope but instead take heart. We can appropriate and facilitate His work by doing these things, but only HE can do the work itself. Let us not frustrate His Spirit but yield. This Last Days church will never survive without Him!

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Articles

PURGATORY: CATHOLIC FRAUD [podcast]


Purgatory is never once mentioned in God’s Word and is a blatant and antichrist denial of the efficacy of the precious blood of Jesus Christ.

“One of the scandalous practices of the Catholic church was the sale of “indulgences” to raise money. Indulgences allowed Catholics to buy forgiveness for their sins with cold, hard cash. Most remember that indulgences were one of the primary reasons Martin Luther made the cataclysmic decision to leave the Catholic church and start the “Protestant” movement. However, few realize that indulgences were used by the Catholic church as a primary source of revenue for over a thousand years, and that the practice did not end as a result of Luther’s protests:

“The cost of running the church’s kingdom while maintaining the profligate lifestyle of one of Europe’s grandest courts pressured the Vatican always to look for ways to bring in more money. Taxes and fees levied on the Papal States paid most of the empire’s basic expenses. The sales of produce from its agriculturally rich northern land as well as rents collected from its properties throughout Europe brought in extra cash. But over time that was not enough to fuel the lavish lifestyles of the Pope and his top clerics. The church found the money it needed in the selling of so-called indulgences, a sixth-century invention whereby the faithful paid for a piece of paper that promised that God would forgo any earthly punishment for the buyer’s sins. The early church’s penances were often severe, including flogging, imprisonment, or even death. Although some indulgences were free, the best ones — promising the most redemption for the gravest sins — were expensive. The Vatican set prices according to the severity of the sin and they were initially available only to those who made a pilgrimage to Rome.” Delancyplace.com

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” Hebrews 9:27-28

Notice that after a person dies, “after this the judgment” and not purgatory!

Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God died for, paid the full and complete price for all sin one time on the cross and anyone believing in purgatory spits in the face of a holy God, openly claiming that the sacrifice of Christ was not enough. Such openly deny Christ and are antichrists.

—— CATHOLIC PURGATORIAL FAIRY TALE SCAM ….. ABSOLUTE BLASPHEMY AND OPEN DENIAL OF THE EFFICACY OF THE VERY BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST. PURE GIMMICK – $–PAY YOUR DEAD RELATIVE OUT OF PURGATORY? The Catholic indulgence system is completely diabolical and antichrist. This system teaches that living relatives can $ pay $ their dead relatives out of purgatory (no such thing) by giving monies to the Catholic church. This system wasn’t even initiated until the twelfth century by the then pope in order to raise money for the financially hurting Roman Catholic church. This delusional lie, myth, and exploitation is antichrist in that it brazenly denies the efficacy and power of the blood of Jesus shed once, and good for all time (John 19:30; Hebrews 10:12).

***IN THE MIDDLE AGES, A CERTAIN POPE AT THAT TIME INVENTED THE TEACHING OF PURGATORY TO RAISE $MONEY$ FOR THE FINANCIALLY HURTING ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH.

IS PURGATORY A CATHOLIC FRAUD? IS THERE EVEN ONE MENTION OF A purgatory in the Bible? Could it be that PURGATORY is a mere scheme to obtain money from poor souls who pay the Catholic church $$$ thinking they are getting some loved one out of a place that doesn’t even exist – purgatory? THE INVENTION OF PURGATORY is but one of the diabolic devices the aCtholic church holds over its people to deceive, delude and ultimately destroy them in eternal damnation.

Heaven and hell (as eternal destinations) appear approximately 600 times in God’s Word and purgatory appears no where – not even once in Holy Scripture.

$$$–Catholic “indulgences” are monies/revenues paid to the Catholic church to get people out of “purgatory” – a place that doesn’t even exist – THIS IS FRAUDULENT!!!

$$$–Purgatory is nothing less than a money-making scam of the Catholic church exploiting its own people$$$.

Does not purgatory exploit the precious Catholic people FOR WHOM CHRIST DIED TO COMPLETELY FORGIVE?

Is purgatory a money-making $$$ lie? – through the sale of Catholic “indulgences”??

The most blasphemous element about this fraud is that PURGATORY DENIES CHRIST’S REDEMPTION by saying His blood was not enough to pay for ALL sins.

Purgatory is simply another Catholic lie.

If God named “Heaven” 582 times and “hell” 54 times by name in His Word, He certainly would have named “purgatory” (by name) if such a place existed.

Purgatory IS a big deal because the Roman religion stands or falls on whether it is teaching God’s holy Word which is final authority.

IF “THE BLOOD OF JESUS CLEANSES US FROM ALL SINS” (1 John 1:7), WHY WOULD GOD INSTITUTE A SO-CALLED PLACE OF “PURIFICATION” NAMED PURGATORY? HE SIMPLY DIDN’T. “the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from ALL sin” (1 John 1:7).

Only the blood of Jesus applied by the grace of God and faith can save from eternal damnation.

Jesus says that justification is instantaneous (John 6:47).

IS PURGATORY A MONEY-MAKING SCHEME?

PURGE-atory is a lie because it purports that once a “good Catholic” dies, he is then PURGED in an intermediate state. Purgatory is blasphemy against the finished work of Jesus Christ who stated on the cross that “It IS finished” (John 19:30). The teaching of purgatory is just one more way the roman church denies the total sufficiency of the cross of Jesus Christ our LORD causing millions to be deluded and lost and without true love and peace that only God can give as a person comes to Him the way He prescribed – in His Word – Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of the Father.

CHRIST’S BLOOD IS GOD’S MERCY.

Jesus is the only Hope God gave us for forgiveness of sins. Jesus stated, “The Son of man hath power ON EARTH (not in purgatory) to forgive sins” (Matthew 9:6).

PURGATORY EXISTS NOWHERE IN HOLY SCRIPTURE IN WORD NOR CONCEPT.

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IS A WASTELAND OF IDOLS.

WHERE ARE SINS FORGIVEN? ON EARTH OR “PURGATORY”??? Jesus stated, “The Son of man hath power ON EARTH to forgive sins” (Matthew 9:6).

WHO ARE SINS FORGIVEN BY???? Jesus stated, “The Son of man hath power ON EARTH to forgive sins” (Matthew 9:6).

1 John 1:7 “the blood of Jesus cleanses us from ALL sins.” No need for a so-called “purgatory” OR CATHOLIC PRIEST.

THE BIBLE CLEARLY TEACHES US THAT THE PUNISHMENT FOR ALL OUR SINS WAS POURED OUT UPON CHRIST ON THE CROSS – ONE TIME, 2,000 YEARS AGO – THEY ARE DEALT WITH COMPLETELY FOR THOSE WHO ARE BORN AGAIN.

DID GOD DO A COMPLETE AND “FINISHED” WORK THROUGH CHRIST? ARE YOU CALLING HIM A LIAR? JESUS SAID, WHILE DYING ON THE CROSS FOR US “IT IS FINISHED (COMPLETE) (John 19:30).

DID CHRIST FAIL IN HIS MISSION? DO WE NOW NEED SOME COSTUME-WEARING PRIESTHOOD OF SODOMITES TO HELP GOD OUT AND TELL US WHAT TO DO? ABSURD!

ARE YOU CALLING THE SON OF GOD A LIAR?

“It IS finished” simply means that the total and complete price for the sins of the whole world were paid for “one time” on the cross by Christ alone (John 19:30; Heb. 10:12-14).

ONLY JESUS CAN CLEANSE: “Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me” (John 13:8).

ONLY JESUS CAN WASH AWAY SINS, NOT PURGATORY. JESUS TOLD PETER: “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me” (John 13:8).

OFFICIAL CATHOLIC TEACHING/DOGMA:

The following statements can be verified by consulting volumes 1 and 2 of the book, Vatican Council II printed by Costello Publishing Co., Northport, New York. Austin Flannery, O. P., is the general editor and each volume contains the Nihil Obstat and the Imprimatur. The editions are: 1984 (Vol. 1) and 1982 (Vol. 2).

This most recent Roman Catholic Council, which closed on December 8, 1965, is the current official stand of Roman Catholicism. The following quotes are that official stand. (Bold print has been used for emphasis. Furthermore, brackets have been used to increase clarity.)

(10) “We believe that the souls of all those who die in the grace of Christ — whether they must still make expiation in the fire of Purgatory, or whether from the moment they leave their bodies they are received by Jesus into Paradise like the good thief — go to form that People of God ….” (Vol. 2, p. 394)

(12) “The doctrine of purgatory clearly demonstrates that even when the guilt of sin has been taken away, punishment for it or the consequences of it may remain to be expiated or cleansed.” (Vol. 1, p. 64)

(d) “If anyone says that after the reception of the grace of justification the guilt is so remitted and the debt of eternal punishment so blotted out to every repentant sinner, that no debt of temporal punishment remains to be discharged either in this world or in purgatory before the gates of heaven can be opened, let him be anathema.” (ibid., p. 46 — Sixth Session, Chapter XVI, Canon 30)

1 Corinthians 3 is where Paul is simply using this imagery to show that the works true believers did while on earth that were not truly out of the right heart motive, would not be rewarded.

Have you ever been told in a Catholic church that you could not go to Heaven unless you are “born again”? The Son of God said “Ye MUST be born again” (John 3:7). You can’t go to Heaven without being “born again” – the Bible way.

Purgatory simply is not found in the Bible and actually blatantly contradicts Bible doctrine.

If you are a Catholic defender, please quote the verses verbatim and tell everyone here how many times the word “purgatory” appears in the Bible.

Purgatory is a mere proofless myth – invented to steal money from the Catholic people.

Purgatory is a fool’s hope – eternal hell awaits all who die without being born again (the Bible way).

The Bible never mentions purgatory … it’s a myth and wasn’t invented till the 12th century in order to scam money from the Catholic people by selling indulgences.

Hell is the eternal and unending judgment of the holy God of Heaven and earth upon all those who do not repent, falling upon His mercy through the blood of Jesus Christ – BEFORE THEY LEAVE THE EARTH.

We are only made holy by God through Jesus’ blood – THIS IS THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST – not some mythical and unbiblical place called “purgatory.”

THOSE WHO DISREGARD THE BLOOD OF CHRIST MUST SUFFER ETERNAL PUNISHMENT IN HELL:  “Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?”  (Hebrews 10:29).

THE WORD OF GOD IS THE FINAL AUTHORITY NOT THE ROMAN CHURCH – who are you going to trust? God or the Catholic church?

What is there to understand other than the Catholic teaching of purgatory is a blatant denial of the sufficiency of Christ’s blood which was shed to pay for ALL sins one time on the cross (John 19:30; Heb. 10:12, etc.). While dying on the cross for our sins, Jesus said “It IS finished” which simply means that all the sins of mankind were paid for in full by His blood and there was therefore no need ever for any other sacrifice for sin – including the vile and vain idea that man could ever pay for his own sin debt in a place that doesn’t even exist (“purgatory”).

PURGATORY IS JUST ONE OF MANY exploitational devices of the Catholic church. Purgatory exploits the Catholic people, leading them to destitution and despair and ultimately damnation. These poor souls, most of which are in dire straits financially, to afford a funeral are then asked to give $$$money$$$ to the Roman church (which is already the richest organization in the world). How can this be!

JESUS also said “Sanctify them through thy Word, the Word is truth” (John 17:17).

If Jesus’ blood totally cleanses of all sins those who believe upon Him, what need would God have for a purgatory?  HE simply never mentioned such a place – it is a Catholic myth – A LIE FROM HELL.

What is your faith built on? God’s Word/truth or religious myth?  Your eternity is in the balance – better check it out;)

WILL YOU TRUST THE CONFUSED & CHANGING TEACHINGS OF SINFUL MEN OR THE CLEAR AND UNCHANGING TRUTHS OF A LOVING AND HOLY GOD WHOSE WORD NEVER CHANGES?

JESUS WARNED US TO “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening (devouring) wolves” (Matthew 7:15).

Catholic Church ExposedMaking Peace with GodBorn Again: What Does that Mean? 

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“Lord, Teach us to Pray” [podcast]


“Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.” 1 John 1:3

Prayer is simply communing with God.

“One of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray.” Luke 11:1

“Lord, teach us to pray.” Christ’s disciples today should ask the LORD to “teach us to pray.” The disciples called on Jesus to teach them to pray—to have a prayer life, to live a life of prayer, to commune with Him and the Father perpetually. Christ answered them and us by giving the whole Church a model prayer to be followed in spontaneous and joyful relationship. Here it is:

“And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a

certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples

said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also

taught his disciples. 2 And he said unto them,

When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in

heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom

come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. 3

Give us day by day our daily bread. 4 And forgive

us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is

indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation;

but deliver us from evil.” Luke 11:1-4

When addressing the remove of the words “Our” and “which art in heaven” by the fake, the corrupted “bibles,” one writes asks:

“Is your Bible geared to glorify antichrist? Is your Bible going to be used by antichrist to convince you he is Jesus?” unknown

Jesus is coming—ready or not.

“Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:41

Prayer is to spiritual life what breathing is to the natural life. If you stop breathing, you die. If we don’t “pray without ceasing” we will not be in the will of God, will not be obeying God, and will fall into temptation, into sin.

“Pray without ceasing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17

You cannot and will not overcome sin and Satan, the world, and the flesh, without living a life of prayer.

Prayer: Father in Heaven, in the name of Jesus Christ, I ask You

to teach me to pray. Here and now, I lay my life into Your holy

hands afresh. You must increase, and I must decrease. In the

name of Jesus, please bless this life to be dead and buried and

raised up by You, LORD. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Support | STORE | Podcasts | Jail/Prison MinistryMexico Mission here | All Ministry Updates | Because You Care Page | The Greatest of these is CharityBe Ready in the Morning [podcast]The Sure Mercies of David [podcast]That Repentance and Remission of Sins should be Preached [podcast]At His Feet | Prepared to be Used of God Walking with Jesus on His Stated Terms – the Cross | Fasting and PrayerThe Old Man Must be Put Down [podcast]The 5 Sins That Keep God’s People Out of Their Promised Land [podcast]What Did Paul Mean by “I Keep Under My Body”? [podcast]“Jesus the Author and Finisher of our Faith” [podcast]A Living Sacrifice unto God [podcast]Departing from Hell BeneathPrayer

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7 Questions on Justification [podcast]


Justification by grace is the biblical doctrine that God freely declares sinners righteous, not based on their own merits, goodness, or works, but through faith in Jesus Christ’s redeeming work (book of Romans). It is an undeserved act of God’s love (grace) that forgives sins, reconciles believers to God, and imparts new spiritual life.

7 Questions on Justification

  1. How is fallen mankind made righteous, justified in the eyes of a holy God? (Romans 3:21-28; Galatians 2:16)
  2. What law makes New Testament believers “free from the law of sin and death”? (Romans 8:2)
  3. What could the law not do? (Romans 8:3-4)
  4. What is fulfilled in the life of the born again, Spirit-led New Testament follower of Christ? (Romans 3:31; 8:3-4)
  5. How does the Law apply to saints? How does it apply to sinners? (1 Timothy 1:9-11)
  6. Can anyone be justified by the works of the law, by law-keeping? Become intimately familiar with Galatians 2:4-5, 16; 3:1-3; 5:4.
  7. What is the over-arching divine revelation of Hebrews 8-10?

We owe a debt we cannot pay.

He paid a debt He did not owe!

Anyone who gets saved and then doesn’t drill down into the doctrinal letters and epistles and get grounded in grace through faith justification and living, will be susceptible to being deceived by the antichrist judaizers in our midst. It will cost many of them their eternal souls. There will be not 1 law-keeping judaizing snake in Heaven. If you don’t know that, you are biblically illiterate. Romans. Galatians. Ephesians. Philippians. Colossians. Hebrews.

Biblical Justification

ANY PERSON who teaches that blood-bought NEW Testament saints, saved by grace through faith, are under the law of Moses is an antichrist! Run!

“O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? 2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” Galatians 3:1-3 

MANY who have refused to study and get grounded in the NEW Testament revelation of the saving grace of God in Christ, have now departed from the faith into the hell bound heresy of law keeping!

“Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man (Christ) is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: 39 And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.” Acts 13:38-39

When Jesus told us the law would not pass away, He was in no way contradicting Himself by saying that one must keep the law to be saved (Matthew 5:17-18). That is a heresy. Paul picks this up in 1 Timothy 1 when he tells us that the law, law keeping is NOT for the righteous – “Knowing this, that THE LAW IS NOTTT MADE FOR A RIGHTEOUS MAN, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers…” (1 Timothy 1:9)

Dear law-keeper who thinks you can earn your own justification …. There is no justification in the law as pertains to fallen mankind and he cannot possibly fulfill it, and has broken it (Romans 3:10, 23, 28). Works mean nothing until one is first justified by faith in Christ alone and not the vain attempt to keep the whole law perfectly – which no one except Jesus did!

“For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” James 2:10

ANY person who is trying to be justified by laughable law-keeping, is 100% a vile Christ-rejecting antichrist lost soul. As He died, shedding His precious blood on that cross for the sins of the world, Jesus Christ the only Messiah declared “It IS finished” which means simply “Paid in FULL.” (John 19:30) Law-keeping devils call Christ a liar, pretending that their own obedience and futile attempt to keep the law is needed for them to be saved – as they declare that Jesus’ sacrifice was not enough, was not sufficient. Blasphemy!

“Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. 23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.” 1 John 2:22-23 

“But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.” Acts 15:11

Gary Nygard writes:

 “Trying to keep ONE IOTA of the law (to be righteous); ala, tithing, sabbath keeping, etc puts you under the bondage of the ENTIRE law and makes the Righteousness of God/GRACE completely and totally ineffective to you!

What you think enhances your walk with God actually DESECRATES it!

The works of the law are the arch enemies of GRACE!

The law worketh WRATH!

Romans 4:15

Because the law worketh wrath!

It makes those who attempt to keep it self righteous religious zealots like Apostle Paul BEFORE he got saved!

He warned the Galatian Church that they were like he was and they better take heed “lest they bite and devour one another.”

And we wonder why our churches have become a dysfunctional self righteous mess?!?”

It’s pride in the hearts of self-righteous men who want to believe THEY are meriting their own salvation by their own works! Nonsense! Read Romans 3-5 over and over and over again!

Justification

SAINTS, we are saved by the LORD Himself, by His grace and not our own works. People who are still self-righteous, thinking THEY are earning their own justification, get very uneasy when the saving grace of God is preached. They are not yet students of NEW Testament truth. WE MUST have an ever-deepening biblical revelation of God’s justification by grace and faith! Please begin by memorizing Romans 5:1-2. AND, please read Romans chapters 3-5 prayerfully and over and over, this week.

The highest insult to a holy God is to say that the sacrifice of his only begotten Son is insufficient! Is Christ dead in vain? Did He come for nothing? WHY did Jesus even bother coming if men could be justified by their own futile attempt at law keeping or trying to keep the whole law? James 2:10 anybody?

“I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” Galatians 2:21 

IF the law was sufficient, why did God replace it with an infinitely superior covenant, paid for, ratified in the blood of His only begotten Son? (Hebrews 8-10) WHY O WHY did Jesus come and die if the law was sufficient? (Galatians 2:21) Are you denying Christ and don’t realize it – by saying you can personally keep the law while despising His perfect sacrifice as He nailed the law to the cross and took it out of the way in His death? (Colossians 2:14-19) If you name the name of Christ, you’d better study until you understand this – biblical justification! We are saved and overcome by grace and not law – the law simply magnifies sin. Only JESUS can save! Read Romans 6-8 over and over and over, prayerfully.

One is justified immediately upon believing, true saving faith (John 6:47). Then, as that person chooses to abide, to continue with Christ, good fruit will be produced including obedience and yet, those things do not save, they are only the proof that such a person has been saved and is enduring to the end, abiding, continuing in Christ (John 8:31-32; 15:1-6, etc.). Attempting to add the law and keeping it to the NEW Testament message of Christ and His apostles is a gross, insidious addition to the original Gospel. The Old Covenant was infinitely inferior and had to and was replaced by the infinitely superior NEW Covenant which was ratified by the very blood of the one the old merely foreshadowed (Hebrews 8-10, etc.).

Obedience as an expression of our relationship with and love for our Savior – not to save us. We know that saving faith will always result in good works, good fruit (Ephesians 2:8-10, etc.).

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

The law is not completely removed but rather present to convict, magnify the sin, and bring sinners to the Savior (Galatians 3:24).

“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. 5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. 6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not…” 1 John 3:4-6

And we keep the “law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus” we is impossible without the saving grace of God and Holy Spirit (Rom 3:31; 8:2-4). New Testament believers are the only ones able to fulfill the law as did the Savior perfectly. The law demands perfection which it does not provide the divine, saving, enabling grace to fulfill. –“For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17)

ARE YOU justified by sinful self or the Savior? Good luck flashing those “filthy rags” at the Throne of the Almighty who sent His only begotten Son to die for you! (Isaiah 64:6) Righteousness comes from knowing and trusting the only One to ever keep the law perfectly and not from trying to keep the law (Galatians 2:16). Though the law be righteous, there is NO righteousness in the law other than repenting of your own efforts and putting your full trust in the only One who ever kept the law! (Romans 10:4) You deserve judgment and hell – you have nothing to offer God except a deeply repentant, honest, contrite, humble heart! (Psalms 34:18; 51:17; Matthew 5:3) You are a guilty sinner and must trash your religious fig leaves which are a sham at best!

“The aprons of fig leaves speak of man’s attempt to save himself by a bloodless religion of good works.” William MacDonald

True NEW Testament saints are dead to the law (Romans 7:1-4). Law keepers, do-gooders, and moralists are completely self-righteous antichrists who’ve put themselves in place of Jesus Christ as their own savior – denying Christ that place while vainly believing they can earn their own justification before a holy God and Judge of their eternal soul (James 2:10). Anti means “in place of.” Selah (meditate on that) God doesn’t want His children trying to keep the old law but rather to choose to worship, love, trust, and obey Him who is the only One to keep it and then nailed it to the cross and took it out of the way!

Are you under the law or under Christ? Can’t be both (John 19:30). The law for righteousness is over and to deny such is to deny Christ, to deny that His one sacrifice satisfied the righteousness of the law, that the law of Moses demanded, and the claims of the Father’s justice to redeem fallen man (Romans 8:2-4; 10:4).

The law is still in force for the unbeliever and for those who backslide (1 Timothy 1:9-11). Yet Believers are not under the law – the law convicted them and they ran to the foot of the cross, falling prostate upon the mercy of God poured out to us in the blood of Jesus (John 19:30; Romans 5:6-9; 2 Corinthians 5:19, 21). Jesus’ New Testament saints are under the law of Christ who fulfilled the law perfectly and nailed it to the cross and took it out of our way (Colossians 2:14-19). It’s all about JESUS to true New Testament believers, not law.

MAKE NO MISTAKE: The vain attempt of law-keeping for righteousness is the highest insult to the Almighty who sent His only begotten Son to die for our sins! (Galatians 2:21) Torah-Keeping Judaizing Devils Busted and Exposed as Hell Bound Frauds!!! 

The “circumcision” Lives to Deny Christ and Destroy Souls!

Titus 1:10-11

“For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision:

Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake.”

One thing we should take heed from James is:

Acts 15:19-21

“Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:

But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.

For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.”

Galatians 2:1-10
STAND FIRM FOR TRUTH by FB Meyer
The great controversy in Paul’s career was over the initial rite of Judaism. It would have been comparatively calm, if he had been willing to admit that Christianity was a sect of Judaism, and that men must become Jews before becoming Christians. His contention was that the ceremonial aspect of the Law did not apply to converts from heathendom. Gentile sinners had the right to go directly to Jesus Christ for salvation, without traveling around the circuitous route of Judaism. When men insisted on the outward rite, he resisted it with all the fiery vehemence of his nature, Gal 2:3; Gal 2:12. But when his opponents were willing to admit that circumcision was not essential, he administered it to one of Jewish blood, as a concession to the weak and uninstructed, Acts 16:3.

Galatians 3:1-10
RIGHTEOUSNESS BASED ON FAITH by Life in the Spirit Study Bible
The strong tendency of the Galatian Christians to depend upon ceremonies or upon legal obedience, in addition to their faith in Christ, elicits in this chapter a magnificent demonstration of the simplicity and sufficiency of faith alone.

Faith had underlain the commencement of their Christian life, Gal_3:1-5. They had found peace with God through faith. Through faith they had received the fullness of the Holy Spirit. As they had begun, so let them finish!

Faith had been the means, too, of Abraham’s acceptance with God, Gal_3:6-10. From the first the gospel of faith had been proclaimed to him by the divine Spirit. Long before he had become a Jew by the initial rite of Judaism, he had been a humble believer in God’s promise, on the basis of which he was reckoned righteous. Simple faith was the only condition that he had fulfilled, and the promise that all flesh should be blessed through him had been given when he was still a believing Gentile. Surely what had sufficed for the father of the faithful was good enough for his children! Let each reader see to it that he does not merely believe about Christ, but believes in Him, so as to be no longer under the curse, but within the blessing.

JustificationJudaizing Devils Busted and Exposed

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