The Flesh vs the Spirit
“For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.” Romans 8:5
This life is a daily test of who we truly love (Matthew 6:24; 22:37-40; John 14:15; 15:14; Romans 6:16).
You are not relegated to the flesh, to live after it, or be defeated by it.
“Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Romans 8:12-14
How does Christ’s victory work in our lives?
“I die daily (death) … But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (resurrection). 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. … But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” 1 Corinthians 15:31, 57-58 …10
Those who are crucified with Christ are walking in His victory – the victory He alone grants. And they are laboring by His grace in His work.
There was no other way to redeem fallen mankind but the cross. And there’s no other way to walk with the Savior who went to that cross for us – except by way of the cross He prescribed that we take up daily (Luke 9:23-24).
The War Within
“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Galatians 5:16-25
The Flesh or the Spirit: Which shall ye allow to reign?
“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Matthew 6:24
Agreeing with the divine declaration of condemnation on our fallen state is essential to victory, otherwise the temptation to compromise and have mercy on the old man will be present (Romans 1-3).
Adam is the father of the old man the fallen man. Jesus is the King of the new man the new creation. Romans 5
“And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. … 12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.” Genesis 6:5, 12
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9
“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. … 24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Romans 7:18, 24
We are not good, not one of us (Romans 3:10). If we don’t understand and own what the Bible states concerning the universal fall of all men in Adam, that there’s “no good thing” in us, we will not recognize the need for the daily cross – to be truly crucified with Christ.
The “old man,” the flesh, can not and will not ever be reformed (Romans 6: Colossians 3). It must be daily crucified. There’s no hope of a chance or possibility that the flesh can be reformed. It’s a lost cause and that’s why Jesus came.
“The truth is that while Christ dwells in the believer’s new nature, He has strong competition from the believer’s old nature. The warfare between the old and the new goes on continually in most believers.” AW Tozer
You can’t negotiate with a terrorist.
Kill or be killed. Kill the flesh or be killed by it.
There is no negotiating with the flesh and there can be no mercy afforded to it.
Allowing the flesh a foot in the door is the inroad to total destruction.
“Either you will crucify sin out of your life or sin will crucify Christ out of your life.” Burt Clendendon
“But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” 1 Corinthians 9:27
The flesh must be sentenced to death.
2 Corinthians 1:9-11
“But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:
10 Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;
11 Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf.”
- v. 9 – Sentence the self life to the death of the self life.
- v. 10 – Past, present, and future deliverance, victory over sin, can only come by way of the cross.
- v. 11 – we must pray for each other in this regard – that we would be conformed to the crucified image of Christ our LORD.
Perhaps the best prayer we can pray for each other is that we’d be crucified with Christ…. because this guarantees the resurrection, the raising up of that life!
God is waiting for you to lay it all down – to be truly crucified with the Savior, to own it, to wear it, to embrace that your life is over in this world and now it’s all about Him, about King Jesus.
“And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. 12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:9-12
(v. 9) Being found in Christ and not outside of Him (and lost), not having our own filthy-rag righteousness “through the faith of Christ.” (v. 10) & (John 17:3) Knowing Him is the very reason we are created by Him – “That I may know him.” Experiencing “the power of his resurrection” is preceded by “being made conformable unto his death.” (vv. 10-11) Seems the apostle here is intimating that he is not perfect in taking up the cross, realizing the utter need for such.
The LORD is “Holy, holy, holy” and commands you to “be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” (Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8; 1 Peter 1:15-16)
Recently, had a conversation with a long time friend who is a dear brother in Christ. We mourned together over the sin he’d been walking in. And, we discussed the only solution – the cross. I was able to share with him that the only victory I have ever been able to walk in is via the cross life.
The life of the disciple is a crucified life and this is what our water baptism is supposed to depict and yet the follow up, the messages we hear in local churches, regrettably is anything but the cross (Romans 6; Colossians 2:12). Scarcely if ever can the message of the cross be heard or even mentioned, much less talked of continually by preachers today. This is the fulfillment of end times prophecy (Philippians 3:18-19; 1 Timothy 4:1-2; 2 Timothy 3:1-7; 2 Timothy 4:2-4, etc.).
Read Romans 6 each morning this week. Pray and ask the LORD to teach you His way – the way of the cross. Ask Him sincerely to anoint your life to be dead and buried with Him and raised up by Christ – that you would be conformed to His holy image (Romans 8:29).
God’s way is the cross. No one will be in Heaven who didn’t walk His way – which is the way of the cross, the crucified life (Luke 9:23-24; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:3, etc.).
Jesus taught diametrically opposite to Satan’s message of the world to love self.
So many people claiming Christ as LORD continue to peddle lies. Beware of them (Colossians 2:8-10). Their memes and messages say things like: “Love yourself,” “take care of yourself,” “treat yourself,” “forgive yourself,” etc. …. Hmmmm I don’t remember reading any such thing in the Bible. No, in fact, the Bible says we all already, innately love ourselves and THAT’s our biggest problem and where our sin is rooted – pride! – “The pride of life” (Ephesians 5:29; 1 John 2:15-17). We are never instructed to pamper our “desperately wicked” self but rather Jesus commands us to “deny” or die to self – to live the crucified life.
“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.” Luke 9:23-24
People who are propagating these diabolical lies, encouraging others to love self instead of to crucify self, are clueless, walking in darkness, have no clue of who Christ is or His Gospel message – which begins with the essential command to “repent,” to lay down our lives in this world and obey Him – to follow Him, His example by preferring Him and others above ourselves (Philippians 2:3-5, etc.).
Recently a saint of Christ send this message:
“Never change Todd. Keep lifting JESUS up as you do. Keep dying, so you will not be cast away in the end. Keep increasing in humility and love. At any moment, you could jeopardize your place with Christ, when just a little pride slips in, self glory, lust… Keep that humble place until You see your Lord face to face. I want Todd to enter Heaven, my dear Todd, a wretched man, as I, who trusted Christ’s Sacrifice and lived, until the end, for His Name.”
“Jesus needs to Increase and I need to decrease. I am nothing without Jesus Amen.” David Reeves
“He must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:30
Do you desire and love God above self?
Get low.
Stay low.
“For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:3
Go down deep into death and burial and let the LORD Himself raise your life upward.
“Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. 11 For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. 12 So then death worketh in us, but life in you.” 2 Corinthians 4:10-12
HOW will you finish? It’s really how you finish that matters most! (2 Timothy 4:7-8) Finish strong beloved – lay down your life (death and burial) so that the strength of your life is Christ’s resurrection grace!!!!! Read 2 Corinthians 12:9-10. Go down deep.
“And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward:” Isaiah 37:31
Read the verse above again, looking for the death, the burial, and raising up!
The context of Isaiah 37:31 concerns Assyria seeking to seize Judah and yet out of that evil attempt to conquer God’s people came a “remnant.” Yet it’s those who submitted to the LORD in death, those who took root downward (death and burial) who were reciprocally raised up out of that snare and destruction. Resurrection grace wins every time, with no exception! The cross is the divine prescription for absolute victory in every situation.
The depth you allow God to bury you determines the height of His resurrection, His raising up in you! (2 Corinthians 4:10-12).
As we submit to Him, to His way, God liquidates us, putting away our sin, our past, and weaknesses and raising us upward in His power while granting us a clear conscience.
“God salvages the individual by liquidating him and then raising him again to newness of life.” AW Tozer
The cross is always God’s way – the blood of Christ’s cross, His death, burial, and resurrection, and daily our own (2 Corinthians 4:10-12).
“And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.” Romans 8:10-11
The raising up cannot and will not come before the laying down of one’s life.
God is not going to raise up the rebel but He is going to raise up the humble, the truly poor in spirit saint.
“The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.” Psalms 145:14
The soul, the spirit, the life of the true saint must be nourished in this essential cross message. A little dab will not do it – you must be saturated. You must be ever bowing downward in worship to the LORD. As your life is bowed down, the reciprocal divine raising will transpire!
If you are not learning the cross Jesus taught, you are fallen away.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I come to You now as a sinner. I am away from You and I do not want to remain alienated from You. Holy Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, I here and now ask You to take me back, to wash me clean in the blood of the Lamb, and to have Your way in my life. This moment, I lay my life into Your holy hands and rest in You, in Your love, by faith. Thank You for finding and saving me dear LORD. From this moment forward, I will follow You LORD Jesus till the end of my life on this earth. I pray all these things in the name above all names, the name of Jesus Christ! Sobeit dear LORD!
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“Rend Your Heart, and Not Your Garments” [podcast]
Who Does God Look to? Who Does God Dwell in?
Beware of any man pretending to represent Christ who isn’t praying and preaching for you to be possessed by a humble and contrite heart.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3
“‘Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven’ (Matthew 5:3). A low condition. ‘Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted’ (Matthew 5:4). To mourn over our sin and our utter wickedness before a holy and righteous God. Those are the ones who will receive the comfort and ‘joy in the Holy Ghost’ (Romans 14:17).” Karen Cochran
Abandoning Our Own Sin, Our Own Way, for God and His Better Way!
To “rend your heart” is a biblical phrase meaning to tear open your heart in radical sincerity, true humility, and genuine repentance.
The phrase comes from Joel 2:13 in the Bible: “Rend your heart and not your garments and return to the Lord your God.”
One source notes the following:
“Context and Deeper Meaning:
- Cultural Background: In ancient times, the Jewish people would tear (rend) their clothes as a public, highly visible display of grief or repentance.
- The Spiritual Message: God is warning that outward rituals (like ripping clothing) are meaningless if the heart remains unchanged. Rending your heart implies breaking through your pride, letting go of excuses, and being completely vulnerable and authentic before God.
- The Reward: The verse goes on to say that God is “gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love.” Tearing open your heart allows you to experience His forgiveness and restore your relationship with Him.”
To see an example of rending one’s physical garment in representation of rending their heart, see Acts 14:11-18.
Where is the LORD Looking?
“But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7
“Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: 13 and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. 14Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God” Joel 2:12-14
“What a gracious invitation is contained in these words. How tenderly the Lord reasons with his people. And what an encouraging assurance it folds up with. Reader! do not fail to observe that this call of the Lord, the accompanying grace to incline the heart to the observance of it is implied. It is most blessed ever to remember that when the Lord thus comes forth in his endearing invitations, he is secretly inclining the heart to accept them. Grace must first enter the heart, or there will be no inclination to obey.” Robert Hawker
“Jeremiah’s message was never meant to leave the heart in despair. Every warning from God carried an invitation to return. The Lord does not expose empty religion to shame His people, but to heal them. Repentance is not the loss of hope, it is the beginning of hope. Christ still receives every soul that comes with humility, and He gives living faith where there was only habit, peace where there was only fear, and joy where there was only emptiness. The call remains the same today, to draw near to Him with a sincere heart, trusting that His mercy is always greater than our weakness.” Dan Blincoe
A Fresh Start with God Always Begins with Humility and True Repentance
“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.” Acts 3:19
“Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: 13 and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. 14Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God?” Joel 2:12-14
Concerning rending our hearts before the LORD, one source notes:
The classic Bible passage on this concept is Joel 2:13, where God commands: “Rend your heart and not your garments”. In ancient biblical culture, tearing (or “rending”) one’s physical clothing was a customary, visible display of extreme grief, despair, or repentance. Through the prophet Joel, God is essentially telling His people: Stop doing the empty, outward religious ritual of tearing your clothes to show everyone how sorry you are. Instead, let me see true, inward brokenness over your sins.
Examples of Rending Physical Garments
In the Bible, the physical act of tearing clothes was used as a dramatic expression of deep emotion in several well-known narratives:
- Joseph’s Brothers (Genesis 37:29, 34): When Reuben realized Joseph was not in the pit, and later when the brothers brought Joseph’s blood-stained coat to Jacob, they tore their clothes in grief and despair.
- Job (Job 1:20): After hearing that he had lost all his wealth and his children, Job stood up and tore his robe as an outward sign of his overwhelming sorrow.
- King David (2 Samuel 1:11-12): When David received news of the deaths of King Saul and Jonathan, he and his men tore their clothes to mourn.
- The High Priest (Matthew 26:65): In a dramatic display of hypocritical outrage, the high priest tore his own garments when Jesus declared He was the Son of God, falsely accusing Him of blasphemy.
The Spiritual Meaning of “Rending the Heart”
The concept of “rending the heart” contrasts an outward show with inward reality.
- Genuine Repentance: Tearing your heart means being vulnerable, acknowledging your brokenness, and deeply repenting of sin before God.
- Prioritizing Relationships over Rituals: God desires a sincere heart—true sorrow and a desire to change—more than he desires traditional religious pageantry or dramatic, public displays of grief.
- The Promise of Forgiveness: In Joel 2:13, the command to rend the heart is immediately followed by the promise of grace: “Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love”.
God sees beyond our external habits and religious actions, requiring instead a humble, contrite heart to fully experience His mercy.”
God’s Mercy
“Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: 13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. 14 Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God?” Joel 2:12-14
In God’s Word, where we see men who tear open their garments…. This holds the illustration of rending our hearts before the LORD.
Don’t render outward tearing, no, rather, tear open your inner man, your heart—be honest, sincere, exposed, and vulnerable to the LORD whom you trust.
Let’s attempt to get at, to ascertain what God is commanding of His beloved people to do in this “rend your heart” passage.
“Joel 2:13: Rend your heart—Let it not be merely a rending of your garments, but let your hearts be truly contrite. Merely external worship and hypocritical pretensions will only increase the evil, and cause God to meet you with heavier judgments.
For he is gracious—Good and benevolent in his own nature.
Merciful—Pitying and forgiving, as the effect of goodness and benevolence.
Slow to anger —He is not easily provoked to punish, because he is gracious and merciful.
Of great kindness—Exuberant goodness to all them that return to him.
And repenteth him of the evil—Is ever ready to change his purpose to destroy, when he finds the culprit willing to be saved. See the notes on Exo_34:6, Exo_34:7.” Adam Clarke
“Joel 2:12-14: III. DIVINE APPEAL TO JUDAH TO REPENT (2:12-14)
Even now, the LORD calls the people to repentance. It is not too late to return to Him. But it must be more than outward ritual. Their turning was to be with all their heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” Believer’s Bible Commentary
To rend our hearts is the consistent message, mandate of God to His people of all ages and eras.
“The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” Psalms 34:18
“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” Psalms 51:17
In Joel 2 the LORD reminds those who are backslidden that He “is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. 14 Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God? …”
They must meet His stated conditions to receive His blessings ….
He promises that He will forgive them as they…..
“Joel 2:12-27: THE AVERTING OF JUDGMENT
To rend the garment is easy, but a broken and contrite heart can be imparted only by the grace of the Holy Spirit. The love of God should bring us to repentance. He takes no pleasure in our miseries and if men repent and turn from their sin they find an immediate and loving welcome to the Father’s heart and home. Joel had called for the trumpet to announce war; he now directs the trumpet blast to summon the people, from the highest to the lowest, to plead for help. Prayer and true repentance and faith bring an immediate answer. As the husband yearns over his erring but repentant wife, and is indignant with those who have maltreated her, so will Jehovah remove from us, when we turn to Him, those who have cruelly oppressed us.
The great things Jehovah did against Egypt and Babylon are an earnest of what He will do again. The earth (and all the creation of God) … have good reason to rejoice in what awaits them. God promises not only to forgive sin, but to make us happy and well provided as if the locust and cankerworm had never settled upon our lives.” FB Meyer
Religious hypocrites, counterfeits, emphasize the outward to cover their inner darkness, rebellion.
“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. 25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Matthew 23:23-25
“He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.” Mark 7:6
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Have We Misunderstood Why Christians Meet Together? [video]
“We’ve created a whole culture of Christians who are just known for going to church.” Dr Wadsworth!
“It is hard to convince a man (modern pastor) he is wrong when his livelihood ($) depends on not knowing he is wrong.” Unknown
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Articles
Salvation is Not a One-Time Experience but a Lifelong Walk [podcast]
WE’VE BEEN LIED TO!
Salvation begins at a one time born again event and is ordained of the Savior to be for a lifetime and into eternal glory with Christ and His saints.
“And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:” Revelation 2:26
Christ’s work is finished, not yours (John 19:30). According to Holy Scripture, if you’ve been truly born again, you must abide in Christ, remain in Him, endure to the end or you will be cast into the fires of eternal damnation (John 15:6; Matthew 10:22; 24:13, etc.).
“Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” Revelation 2:10
Enduring “to the end” is a condition for ultimately being in Heaven with the LORD.
“And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.” Matthew 10:22
The LORD Jesus and His apostles never once used the words “once saved always saved” or “eternal security.” So, who’s lying? What they did teach contradicts such a notion.
Who did Jesus promise is going to be “saved”?
“And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” Matthew 24:11-13
You MUST “walk in the light” of truth to the end of your life on earth to be with Jesus eternally (1 John 1:7). Only THEN will you be eternally secure!
“But IF we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7
Since when is obedience to the truth legalism or works salvation?
“He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” 1 John 2:4
Actually, if a person doesn’t have the fruit of good works in their life, it’s because either they have not yet truly been saved or due to their falling away (1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Peter 2:20-21, etc.).
“They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.” Titus 1:16
Who’s Going to Heaven and Who’s Not?
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 7:21
Who’s going to be with Christ eternally according to the Son of God?
“These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.” Revelation 17:14
Those who are “called, and chosen, and faithful.” God calls and chooses “ALL men to be saved” and yet it’s only those who repent, become converted and endure to the end (“faithful”) who will reign with Him eternally (Matthew 10:22; 24:13; 1 Timothy 2:4). He calls and desires all men to be saved and yet He will only save those who obey Him by repenting and putting their faith in Christ.
EVER WONDER why the OSAS adherent is often extremely vigorous about defending the unconditional eternal security sham he has bought into? What’s at stake for him? Why does he defend this teaching that has no ground in Scripture and that he has learned of men and devils?
The lame, refuses-to-take-personal-responsibility eternal securist hides behind his false facade that nothing he does including sin or doesn’t do affects or is related to his “relationship” with Christ. The word “fruit” appears 67 times in the New Testament canon. So is fruit important to the LORD? Good fruit, which includes good works doesn’t save us but it’s the clear proof that we know Him who came to do us and all mankind good by dying to bring us back to God (John 3:16).
PEOPLE who are hiding behind this satanic lie told by the serpent in the Garden become immediately irate and infuriated when the thin sham veneer of their pretention and self-preservation is pulled open by the truth. The light of truth shines into their darkened hearts. These want nothing at all to do with personal responsibility (Titus 1:16). They don’t care what the Bible teaches. They don’t want their little “eternal security” “I’m saved no matter what” myth busted because they are rebels at heart and refuse to truly surrender – which is what true repentance involves.
We need not kid ourselves, the fruit of our lives demonstrates clearly to God and man who we really are. Jesus taught “For EVERY tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.” (Luke 6:44) …. “Even a child is known by his doings (works), whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.” (Proverbs 20:11)
The Calvinist and eternal securist wants to put the whole responsibility of salvation upon God because he wants no part of personal responsibility to “Be ye holy; for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15-16) This is cowardly is it not? “Fearful” in Revelation 21:8 means cowardly and the lake of fire awaits all who are.
“But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:15-16
If you die in sin, HELL is where you end up in (Ezekiel 33:12-13).
What does Hebrews 12:14 guarantee us?
“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” Hebrews 12:14
God sent His Son to pay the full price “for the sins of THE WHOLE WORLD” and those He calls and chooses must be “faithful” or full of faith “to the end” or they will be shut out of the eternal kingdom just as the five foolish virgins were who ran out of oil due to neglecting fellowship with the Bridegroom (Jesus) (1 John 2:2; Revelation 17:14; Mathew 10:22; 24:13). See Matthew 25:1-13.
Explain why we think a bride to be can be unfaithful, commit adultery, fornicate, just before the wedding, and still be accepted as the bride at her scheduled wedding. Delusional. If such were the case, why is this not illustrated, why does it contradict Jesus’ parable of the 10 virgins in Matthew 25:1-13?
If we don’t truly repent and become “honest” with the whole counsel of God’s Word and rather live our one life on lies, namely, the myth that we are “eternally secure”, we shall find ourselves in the domain of the damned, from which we shall never escape (Luke 8:11-15).
Anyone Going to Argue with Jesus?
Jesus taught us that one who is in Him (saved) must abide or remain in Him or that person will be “cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned (hell).”
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned (hell).” John 15:1-6
Yes, salvation begins in the life of the sinner who has been drawn in and found by Christ and chooses to repent and put His faith in Jesus (John 1:12; 6:47; Acts 16:31; 20:21; Romans 3-5; Ephesians 2:8-9, etc.). Initial salvation is instant and yet that’s not the end of it … according to the record of the New Testament Scriptures. Christ and His holy apostles never spoke in terms of salvation being a one-time done deal.
Paul makes it clear that saving grace does NOT abound toward, in the life of any person who has been saved and yet is now living outside of Christ’s stated will, His Word.
“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” Romans 6:1-2
It’s time to get into the Word friends and cease to walk in delusions.
What is the agent that will cleanse the Great Tribulation saints? (Revelation 7:14) – “And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
The washing we are to receive of God by the cleansing blood of Jesus is not a one-time event but rather a lifelong walk/experience. Such is our walk with Christ – it’s an abiding relationship and to abide means to remain (John 15:1-6). And if we don’t remain in Him – we shall be “cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” (John 15:6) (more on this verse in a moment)
“But IF IF IF IF we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7
There are conditions for continuing to remain, to abide in Christ’s saving grace. Only counterfeits refuse to acknowledge this. They want no part with personal repentance, laying down their lives in this fleeting world, and truly following Jesus. No, they want the crown but not the cross. They don’t love Jesus enough to truly serve Him and so they buy into diabolical systems like the heretical “eternal security” or calvinistic systems.
The vast majority of pastors and writers today are in gross darkness and treat salvation as a one-time event instead of an abiding, a remaining walk with Christ “to the end” of our lives (Matthew 10:22; 24:13; John 15:1-6; Col. 1:23; Heb. 3:6, 12-15; 10:26-39, etc.). Many have espoused these lies because they have not chosen to get diligently and deeply into God’s Word for themselves but have rather followed other men’s selective line through Scripture. Those who aren’t diligently studying God’s Word daily are “not valiant for the truth” and will therefore be turned over to delusion and ultimately damned (Jer. 9:3; 2 Thess. 2:10-12).
“And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies (they go to the furthest lengths to embrace lies): but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD.” Jeremiah 9:3
Those who do not love divine truth (the Holy Scriptures) manifest plainly that they do not love He who is “the truth.” (John 14:6) God takes that personally and will actually help or assist in their delusions and damnation.
“And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12
God is able and will keep all who trust Him to the end and do not deny Him:
“Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, 25 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” Jude 24-25
Will Every One Jesus Saved be in Heaven? | Is Salvation Eternal? | Is Doubting Your Salvation a Bad Thing? |
FEEDBACK:
——- FROM Shannon Cook: “To the “once saved always saved theorists”
5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not “blot out” his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
For something to be “blotted out” (i.e. removed) it would had to have been there in order to be “blotted out” which totally contradicts the theory of “once saved always saved.”
So, who is saved?
13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Consider the warning to the church of Ephesus:
4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast “left thy first love.”
5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and REPENT, and do they first works;[or else] I will come into thee quickly, and remove thy candlestick out of his place, expect thou repent.
Laodicean Warning:
“And unto the angel of the church of Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, [the faithful and true witness], the beginning of the creation of God. 15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot,I would thou wert hot or cold. 16 [So then] BECAUSE thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot,I will spue thee out of my mouth.” Revelation 3:14-16 pass it on – Heaven Guaranteed to all who have Received Jesus?
Amen, never to depart from the Christ, he shall walk with us as we endure till the end!
“I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” Hebrews 13:5 Not never will you leave me nor forsake me. We’re sheep, we have natural, fleshly tendency to wander. Ever reminding us how crucial it is to continuously follow the Christ.
6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7 If ye [endure] chastening, (there’s that word endure again) God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he that the father chasteneth not?
8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof ALL are partakers, then ye are bastards,(illegitimate) and not sons. Hebrews 12:6-8
The elect of Christ have and will experience chastening, and no matter the discomfort in and through it, we always rejoice and know there’s purpose (to the glory of our Christ) as we “endure.”
– check this out – Will Everyone Jesus has Saved be in Heaven?
Reply Received:
“Where do I begin. Every person born of God, WILL be faithful. Even if they are faithless, He remains faithful because He can NOT deny Himself. We are HIDDEN in Christ, and seated with Him right now in the heavenlies. We have passed from death to LIFE. This is an event that is unchangeable. God causes it to occur and doesn’t change His mind. He adopts us. Permanently.
Context is everything. It is king. It determines what a passage actually means. Did you know Todd, that God has saved you forever? It’s great to be free and assured of that. Are you afraid He might not keep you to the end? It’s His desire and intent to do that, bro.
Reply Back:
We only have security in Christ AS we are abiding – remaining – in an intimate relationship with Him.
According to Jesus in John 15, “If a man abide (remain) not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire (hell), and they are burned.” (Jn. 15:6)
In order to receive final salvation, one must abide or remain in Christ (Jn. 15:5-6). There is no guarantee that God’s seed will “remain” in the person who is born again and later departs from the LORD.
What you are doing is simply spouting off what you have been taught of mere sinful men…. speaking of context, let’s look at the context of what you partially quoted, conveniently and selectively excluding the whole context:
2 Timothy 2:11-13
“It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.” 2 Timothy 2:11-13
The person seeking to convince others of “once saved always saved” will misquote this text by saying that because “he (God) abideth faithful” He would never “deny us.” This is a distortion. Let’s read the verse again okay? The passage states that “if we deny him, he also will deny US.” The Word here tells us that “if we deny him, he also will deny US.” Does it get any clearer than this? Being honest with what the Bible says is essential to a clear conscience and to possessing the mind of Christ and true doctrine. Again, those who seek to make palatable the unconditional security teaching can be heard misquoting this text saying “He cannot deny us.” Is that what verse 13 says? No. It says “He cannot deny HIMSELF.” This passage tells us that He “will deny us” if we “deny him” and that “He cannot deny Himself,” not us. In this Bible passage we see that the LORD “abideth faithful”to Himself and to those who do not deny Him. Didn’t Jesus tell us to “deny” ourselves and that if we were “ashamed” of Him or His words He would be “ashamed” of us? See Luke 9:23-24 and Mark 8:34-38.
Below is a classic perversion of this very passage of Scripture. I read this on the internet. The persuasion intended by the person who wrote this is to convince people of something the Bible simply never puts forth.
“If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.” 2 Timothy 2:13 – God wants you to know for sure that you cannot lose it (salvation) under any circumstance whatsoever, even in the worse scenario. The first part of the verse above says that we can come to a state of mind that we do not believe in God anymore. But, the second says that He will remain faithful if that happens…God cannot deny what He said, because God cannot lie! (Hebrews 6:18 KJV AV1611) He promised to keep us eternally secure and He will remain faithful in that promise even if we ‘believe not.’ Another possible way of looking at ‘he cannot deny himself’ is that we are one in Him. If He was not faithful in His promise, He would be denying himself of eternal security, that is, He would be casting part of himself in eternal damnation in the lake of fire.” J. A.
First off, if in fact as J.A. supposes, “God wants you to know for sure that you cannot lose it (salvation) under any circumstance whatsoever, even in the worse scenario,” then why did God Himself warn His very own people throughout His Word concerning the danger of:
• “Departing from the living God” (Heb. 3:12-15)
• Losing the reward of Heaven for turning back into sin after being saved (Ezek. 33:12-13; 2 Pet. 2:20-21)
• “Falling away” (Lk. 8:13; 2 Thes. 2:3)
• “Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith” (1 Tim. 5:12)
• Being “cut off” (Rom. 11:19-23)
• Being forsaken of Him (2 Chron. 15:2; Ezra 8:22; 2 Tim. 2:12)
• Being blotted out of the book of life (Exod. 32:33; Ps. 69:32; Rev. 3:5; 22:18-19)
The fact that God remains faithful in no way predicts or determines whether individuals will partake of His plan of salvation. His faithfulness in no way forces men to remain faithful (abide), nor does it disable the Almighty from rendering a due reward of eternal judgment upon those who do not meet His requirements/conditions. This is a truth completely ignored by those who embrace the unscriptural notion of an unconditional eternal security.
“For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar …” Romans 3:3-4
All sin will be accounted for – one way or the other, and this is the reason for the Judgment Thrones to come (Exod. 34:7; Rom. 14:12-14; Rev. 20:11-15). This should shine yet a brighter light upon the glorious Gospel salvation Jesus Christ wrought for His people and how we can “come boldly” with our sins to His holy throne of grace to receive grace and mercy in time of need (Heb. 4:14-16).
It seems to me, after listening to hundreds of those who believe in an unconditional eternal security, that some people believe that their theology is going to change the unchanging, immutable God (Rom. 3:3-4; James 1:17). The twisting of Scripture, instead of “rightly dividing the word of truth” is done to one’s “own destruction.” (2 Cor. 2:17; 2 Tim. 2:15; 2 Pet. 3:16-17) The disciple of Jesus Christ must be intent upon studying to show himself “approved unto God,” not men, and therefore be able to “rightly” divide “the word of truth.” (2 Tim. 2:15) The person who does not diligently study and know God’s Word, stands to be deluded by the many false teachings circulated in the church world.
What happens if a saved person does not obey and remain faithful to God? Those who do not choose to persevere in saving faith:
• Possess “an evil heart of unbelief” (Heb. 3:12)
• Depart from the living God (Heb. 3:12)
• Cannot and do not please God (Heb. 11)
• Depart from the faith through “doctrines of devils” (1 Tim. 4:1-6)
• “Turn away their ears from the truth” and are “turned unto fables” (2 Tim. 4:4)
• Cannot enter into His rest or presence (Heb. 3:19; 4:6, 11)
• Are “broken off” from the LORD (Rom. 11:20)
• The “unbelieving…shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone …” (Rev. 21:8, 27)
The Bible never guarantees that all Christ saves will automatically “endure to the end” which Jesus says is essential to ultimately being saved into Heaven when speaking to His very own people (Matt. 10:22; 24:13). Christ Himself invented the term “fall away” when speaking of those who would “believe” and be saved and not continue with Him (Lk. 8:13).
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