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The Cross is a Non-Negotiable Original Gospel Imperative [podcast]


Grasping the Concept of the Cross

Are we looking for a promotion or a demotion today? Jesus alone can promote and He only does such in the lives of those whose lives are laid down! (Matthew 23:11; John 12:23-25; Psalms 75:6-7).

“Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain (death), and be raised the third day (resurrection).

23 And he said to them all, 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.

25 For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?

26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.” Luke 9:22-26

In the above passage, we see Jesus speaking of His own death, burial, and resurrection. Then immediately following, Christ speaks of the necessity of the daily cross  for those who will follow Him. Please read the passage again. His obvious inference is that those who do not lay down and lose their lives in this world for His sake, will “be cast away” and “ashamed.” Of these the Son of man will be ashamed at His soon return.

The First Act of Surrender

One disciple noted that: “True freedom is not choosing our own way, but submitting to God’s way.”

Choosing to love the LORD with all our being requires the living sacrifice of self – as we choose the LORD Jesus over ourselves.

“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40 

Those who are full of self cannot love God or others as Jesus commanded (Matthew 22:37-39). Their capacity to love is being wasted on the false god of self. The cross exes out self so Christ can reign and His love will fill the heart of the disciple! Self love is not what the LORD made us for nor His intention for our lives. His stated reason for creating us is to know Him, to love and worship Him, and to humbly serve others. If you read this following passage prayerfully every morning this week, your life will change forever. Philippians 2:3-5.

Next: Admit Your Own Utter Spiritual Poverty

TODAY: We declare with Paul:

There is NOOOO good thing in me except Christ! … “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” (Romans 7:18).

This is the first step to victory! Get very familiar with this truth in Romans 7:18.

“Self control” is not Bible but rather NIV (Not Inspired Version). The real Bible, the King James Bible, uses the word “temperance” in the list of the 9 fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. Big difference. We don’t control self (self control). No, we die to self. deny self, lay down self in surrender to Christ and He raises self up by His resurrection life (Luke 9:23-24; Romans 8:11; 2 Corinthians 4:10-12, etc.). This is the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ – the Gospel – in our daily lives…. We cannot control self but rather must release self to the Savior in surrender. The use of the term “self-control” instead of “temperance” (KJB) is yet another corruption of God’s Word found in the new versions as a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Please get a King James Bible beloved of Christ.

“Romans 8:7-8 ‘Because the carnal mind (flesh) is enmity (hostile) against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.’ 

“Our flesh is our sinful selves! I lived many years in my flesh! Works of the flesh. (Galatians 5: 19-21). If we live out of our sinful selves we cannot please God.

“We must take it to the cross of Christ to die.

“Dying to self is a total surrender of yourself to Jesus. Just as Christ did in the garden when He said not my will but yours be done! (Luke 22: 42). You have to want a relationship with Jesus and be willing to give up whatever He asks of you. I have had to give him my shame, anxiety, pain, anger, all of my heart! So He can purify me and make me more like Him! And we then begin to take on His characteristics and attributes. Which are holiness,( 1 Peter 1:15-16) righteousness (Romans 3:21-31), and purity (1 John 3:3). Fruits of the spirit Gal. 5: 22-23.

“It’s a choice to allow your flesh to control you or to live by the Spirit of Christ! John 3:30. “He must increase, but I must decrease.” Karen Cochran

The Daily Cross

Overcoming Sin Requires Surrender

Overcoming sin is a Gospel necessity and all who don’t will be damned. 

THE more I let go, the freer in Christ and from sin I become! This original Gospel truth of the cross of Christ is catching on among His remnant body!

To this point, Anita Armagnac writes:

“SELF EFFORT CAN BE IDOLATRY; KEEPING SELF ON THE THRONE, THINKING THAT WILL PLEASE GOD WHEN IN REALITY WE FIND WE FALL AGAIN AND AGAIN. IT’S GOT TO BE A WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.”

PRAYER! “JESUS PLEASE GET ME OUT OF YOUR WAY!” Insert the cross here! WHATEVER words I use cannot top God’s WORDS …. ministry is all about simply putting forth HIS words and not making a brand out of ourSELVES which need to die. You are going NOWHERE in God without this!

Let go and let God is a Bible truth – we must LOSE our lives to gain them Jesus taught. “Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it” (Luke 17:33).

The cross. Surrender is the key, and that is faith – in GOD not us (Romans 4:4-5).

Overcoming Sin? Yes!

Surrender is what Jesus did at Gethsemane and that’s what made Calvary possible! Surrender IS following Christ – His pinnacle, ultimate example set forth for us (1 Peter 4:1-2). Focus on JESUS! In the Garden of Gethsemane, as the Son of God agonized, sweating blood, He cried to the Father “Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42). And, while dying for our sins on that cross, Jesus cried to the Father “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46).

See if you catch the divine Gospel prescription for overcoming sin in this 1 Peter 4 passage:

“Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; 2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.” 1 Peter 4:1-2

Jesus was submitted, surrendered to the will of His Father and so should we be.

“I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” John 5:30 

ADDICTION WARNING

If you begin to learn the daily cross – laying down your own feeble life – and saying “JESUS YOU reign in this life” …. letting go and letting God….. settling that issue every morning as you awake ….. you are going to get addicted and wonder why you didn’t obey the Savior much earlier!

WARNING: If you get this message of the cross in you, the full victory of Jesus will begin manifesting in your personal life! Don’t say you haven’t been solemnly warned! The Daily Cross: Let the Addiction Begin!

God requires and has ordained that His children walk in full victory and yet it must and can only be done HIS way. That is the problem because most of us have been misled to believe that it’s just up to us! No! This should concern us utterly and cause a desire to search out what the LORD’s prescription is for total victory! David says He HATES “EVERY false way” and there are many false ways being peddled by the pied piper pastors today (Psalms 119:104, 128).  

Are We being Foolish?

“Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” Galatians 3:3 

Shall we overcome sin and Satan in the flesh? If so, why did Jesus come? (Galatians 2:20-21)

IF WE DARE BOAST OF ANYTHING EXCEPT THE CROSS OF CHRIST – the altar he chose to shed His blood for our sin – WE ARE AMISS (GALATIANS 2:20; 6:14).

The original Gospel of the cross of Christ will no longer be withheld! God’s men are preaching it! Be gone devil! (1 Corinthians 2:2; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Galatians 6:14; Jude 3-4)

Are we being “foolish”? See Galatians 3:3 … Are we not in utter need of proclaiming …

“It’s no longer I that live but Christ! I am dead and my life is hid with Christ in God! Without JESUS I can do nothing to glorify God! I give up Father. I lay my life in Thy holy hands right this moment. Into Thy hands I commend, release, and submit my spirit, in Jesus’ name! Amen LORD!”

When you struggle with sin, being tempted as we all are, surrendering is the divine answer, not more self effort which is what has gotten us in sin instead of out of it, right?

THE WORK OF CHRIST IN APPLYING THE CROSS IN OUR LIVES IS NOT A WORK OF THE FLESH BUT RATHER A CRUCIFIXION OF THE FLESH AND WILL OF MAN SO THAT CHRIST is REIGNing SUPREME (JOHN 12:23-25; ROMANS 8:11-14).

The Bible prescription scares the legalist, the immature, misled believer who has been taught that through his own self-effort, trying harder, he can overcome sin. Such is a false notion saints and it’s proven in that it never has nor ever will work, right? In his blinded mind the misled believer sees surrender as justification of sin. NO, never! To please God in all things, which brings complete victory over all sin, is letting go so GOD can prevail in victory over sin! Faith – in CHRIST instead of self (Romans 4:4-5; Hebrews 11:6). YOU and I are no match for sin and Satan! Christ is the Victor over sin and Satan and only IN HIM are we victorious and not in our flesh or self. We must say with the angel of God “The Lord rebuke thee” (Jude 9). We are dead with Christ and our lives are hid with Christ in God. Memorize Colossians 3:3 today!

“For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:3

Yes, the Bible says “Be ye holy; for I am holy” and so such is not nor ever will be in question. Yet, reading further, what is the biblical prescription for being holy and not mere human self-effort? Our part is to die and Jesus, the resurrection and the life, then raises us up in HIS victory! Child of God, please prayerfully catch this, okay:

“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

Make this passage (above) your spiritual meat, feeding daily on it.

“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 

The Imperative of Personal Holiness

God requires personal holiness and anyone with the spot of sin will not be with Him eternally (Ephesians 5:25-27, etc.). But being spotless comes by surrender, by faith resting in Christ from our own self-effort, allowing the power of the grace (divine enablement) of Christ to have full victory!

“But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:57

WHEN IT’S ALL SAID AND DONE, IT’S JESUS CHRIST PLUS NOTHING THAT EQUALS JUSTIFICATION AND ALSO SANCTIFICATION – BOTH OF WHICH ARE ESSENTIAL FOR FINAL SALVATION INTO ETERNAL GLORY!

To Be Holy, We Must Get Lost!

NOT one of us is without the daily necessity of dying! As we do, Christ raises us up in HIS victory! (Colossians 3:3)

WHO is “the resurrection and the life”? Is that you, I, or is it Jesus?

“I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:” John 11:25

The resurrection life of Christ is essential to victory in our own lives and such happens only as we lay down our lives in death and burial with Him! (Romans 6:1-14; 2 Corinthians 4:10-12, etc.). God will never raise up someone who is not dead with Christ! And, the Bible says we are fools to think He would (1 Corinthians 15:36).

Lay it all Down or Lose it All

“He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. 25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” Matthew 16:24-25

“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.” Mark 8:35

“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.” Luke 9:24

“Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.” Luke 17:33

“He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” John 12:25

Yes it’s God. Christ! He initiates and enables. We respond, and as we do, the LORD Himself works His good pleasure in our lives:

“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Philippians 2:12-13 

Dying is not a work of the flesh…. However, it does take our choice …. Then “through the Spirit” of God it’s accomplished – see Romans 8:13-14.

Yes we make the choice daily to obey Christ in participating in co-death with Him – Romans 6:1-12; Galatians 2:20. Make these passages your spiritual meat!

It’s surrender to the Savior and not asserting self that brings God’s glory. That’s the obedience, that’s “the faith of the Son of God” (Galatians 2:20).

THIS DISCIPLE (TODD) IS NOTHING BUT FILTHY RAGS WITHOUT JESUS TODAY AND LESS THAN THE LEAST OF ALL WHO ARE OUTSIDE OF JESUS! EPHESIANS 1:6; JOHN 15:5

Exerting Our Energies in Surrender

“There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. 10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. 11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” Hebrews 4:9-11 

“REST”! OVERCOMING sin requires surrender, not more SELF-effort. Our part in laboring to enter into HIS rest (Hebrews 4:11) is surrender, not self-effort. That is a lie being peddled by many a preacher today. Beware. “Not I but Christ” (Galatians 2:20)! SELF-effort comes out of self-worship in place of SAVIOR worship. Selah. That never works nor does it bring glory to the only One who died for our sins and who alone can presently deliver us from all sin! Jesus!

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Articles

Grounded in Grace [podcast]


“What a powerful message! Life changing for sure. It truly blessed me. Every believer should listen to this video! But God! Two little words that I missed. And found this phrase used at least 44 times in the KJB. Those little words takes the focus off us! If it wasn’t for God coming to save our wicked souls we would be doomed forever to burn in hell. Psalm 49:15 “But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for He shall receive me. Selah.” We are saved by the grace of God and kept by the power and grace of God. To which none of us can boost! (Ephesians 2:8, 1 Peter 1:5).” Karen Cochran | Grounded in Grace [podcast]

“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) :  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8  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. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:4-10

Satan continues to pick off people with the same exact law-keeping deception he snared the Galatians with. They become in unbelief about Christ’s perfect sacrifice and begin to add law to salvation’s equation. This is deadly. Having begun in faith, in the Spirit, they fall away from the faith by trying to help God save them through self-effort, law-keeping (Galatians 3:3; 5:4). Many of those snared are seduced into this by way of the sabbath keeping deception, foolishness.

Being established in the saving grace of God is the only defense against the many deceptions creeping in among God’s people.

When the self-righteous legalist hears someone preach that Christians are saved by grace and not under the old testament law, they react – because they are still trusting self and have not truly repented/surrendered and putting their whole faith in christ. Law and grace don’t mix! You MUST choose! (John 1:17) Either you are saved by Jesus or your own law keeping works. There’s no in-between! It’s time to get into God’s Word, asking Him to give you a NEW Testament clue!

Especially with the upsurge of Judaizers and the law-keeping doctrines they perpetrate, every true born-again believer should pray, seek out, and study to be grounded in God’s saving grace in Christ.

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.

To the Galatians, when Paul said “A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump”, he was saying that trying to mix even “a little” law keeping into the equation of salvation Christ alone 100% earned for us, ruins your whole relationship with God (Galatians 5:9). In fact, you don’t have one if you don’t 100% trust Jesus Christ!

Remember when Jesus saved you? He found and saved our wretched soul alllll by Himself!!!!! Right? Please pause and let that soak in. …. In light of this reality, this sheer mercy, how is it that we still strive in the flesh, thinking we are going to earn divine forgiveness, merit His blessings, etc. – “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. 5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” (Romans 4:4-5)

“But God”

“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,” Ephesians 2:4

After hanging the backdrop (vv. 1-3), reviewing our alienation, our past life of trespasses and sin, how we are now found and rescuedbrought back to life from our dead stateby the LORD, the writer now transitions upward.

Of Ephesians 2:4, William MacDonald writes:

“The words, But God, form one of the most significant, eloquent, and inspiring transitions in all literature. They indicate that a stupendous (astonishing, stunning) change has taken place. It is a change from the doom and despair of the valley of death to the unspeakable delights of the kingdom of the Son of God’s love.

The Author of the change is God Himself. No one else could have done it, and no one else would have done it.

One characteristic of this blessed One is that He is rich in mercy. He shows mercy to us by not treating us the way we deserved to be treated (Psalm 103:10). Though it has been expended by Him for six millennia, and myriads and myriads have been partakers of it, it is still an unexhausted mine of wealth, as Eadie remarks.

The reason for His intervention is given in the words, for his great love wherewith he loved us. His love is great because He is its source. Just as the greatness of a giver casts an aura of greatness on his gift, so the surpassing excellence of God adds superlative luster to His love. It is greater to be loved by the mighty Sovereign of the universe, for instance, than by a fellow human being. God’s love is great because of the price He paid. Love sent the Lord Jesus, God’s only begotten Son, to die for us in agony at Calvary. God’s love is great because of the unsearchable riches it showers on its object.” William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary, p. 1917

Satan attempts to make God out to be an unloving Father. Only mankind is created in God’s image, and He loves us beyond words (Ephesians 2:4-9). He loves us so much so that He gave His only begotten Son to die a horrible yet redeeming death on the cross, raising Him from the dead three days later to fully, completely justify us (John 3:16). God still has a remnant who trust Him and not self (Romans 5:6-8).

Justification

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) You have called Him a liar! (Galatians 2:21) 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 stupid, ridiculous, laughable religious fig leaves which are a sham at best! 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 in the biblical word “antichrist” 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!

Revelation 2:8 “I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.”

Revelation 3:9  “Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.”

William MacDonald writes:

“His kindness toward us (2:7)

“His grace in His kindness toward us (2:7)

“The riches of His grace in His kindness toward us

“The exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us

“Now it follows that if God will be disclosing this throughout eternity, then we will be learning throughout eternity, then we will be learning forever and ever. Heaven will be our school. God will be our Teacher. His grace will be the subject. We will be the students. And the school term will be eternity.

“This should deliver us from the idea that we will know everything when we get to Heaven. Only God knows everything, and we will never be equal with Him.

“It also raises the interesting question: How much will we know when we get to Heaven? And it suggests the possibility that we can prepare for the heavenly university by majoring in the Bible right now.

“2:8 The next three verses present as clear a statement of the simple plan of salvation as we can find in the Bible.

“It all originates with the grace of God; He takes the initiative in providing it. Salvation is given to those who are utterly unworthy of it, on the basis of the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

“It is given as a present possession. Those who are saved can know it. Writing to the Ephesians, Paul said, ‘are ye saved.’ He knew it, and they knew it.

“The way we receive the gift of eternal life is through faith. Faith means that man takes his place as a lost, guilty sinner, and receives the Lord Jesus as his only hope of salvation. True saving faith is the commitment of a person to a Person (Christ).

“Any idea that man can earn or deserve salvation is forever exploded by the words, ‘and that not of yourselves.’ (2:9) Dead people can do nothing, and sinners deserve nothing but punishment.

“‘It is the gift of God.’ A gift, of course, is free …. The gift of God is salvation by grace and through faith. It is offered to all people everywhere.

“2:9 It is not of works, that is, it is not something a person can earn through supposedly meritorious deeds. It cannot be earned, for instance, by:

Confirmation

Baptism

Church membership

Church attendance

Holy communion

Trying to keep the Ten Commandments

Living by the Sermon on the Mount

Giving to charity

Being a good neighbor

Living a moral, respectable life

“People are not saved by works. And they are not saved by faith plus works. They are saved through faith alone. The minute you add works of any kind or in any amount as a means of gaining eternal life, salvation is no longer by grace (Rom. 11:6). One reason that works are positively excluded is to prevent human boasting. If anyone could be saved by his works, then he would have reason to boast before God. This is impossible (Rom 3:27).

“If anyone could be saved by his own good works, then the death of Christ was unnecessary (Gal 2:21). But we know that the reason He died was because there was no other way by which guilty sinners could be saved.

“If anyone could be saved by his own good works, then he would be his own savior, and could worship himself. But this would be idolatry, and God forbid it (Exod. 20:3).

“Even if someone could be saved through faith in Christ plus his own good works you would have the impossible situation of two saviors – Jesus and the sinner. Christ would then have to share the saviorhood with another, and this He will not do (Is. 42:8).

“Finally, if anyone could contribute to his salvation by works, then God would owe it to him. This, too, is impossible. God cannot be indebted to anyone (Rom 11:35).

“In contrast to works, faith excludes boasting (Rom 3:27), because it is non-meritorious. A man has no reason to be proud that he has trusted the Lord. Faith in Him is the most sane, rational, sensible thing a person can do. To trust one’s Creator and Redeemer is only logical and reasonable. If we cannot trust Him, whom can we trust?

“2:10 The result of salvation is that we are His workmanship – the handiwork of God, not of ourselves. A born again believer is a masterpiece of God.  When we think of the raw materials He has to work with, His achievement is all the more remarkable. Indeed, this masterpiece is nothing less than an new creation through union with Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passes away; behold, all things have become new (2 Cor 5:17).

“And the object of this new creation is found in the phrase, for good works. While it is true that we are not saved by good works, it is equally true that we are saved for good works. Good works are not the root but the fruit. We do not work in order to be saved, but because we are saved.

“This is the aspect of the truth that is emphasized in James 2:14-26. When James says that ‘faith without works is dead,’ he does not mean that we are saved by faith plus works, but by the kind of faith that results in a life of good works. Works prove the reality of our faith. Paul heartedly agrees: ‘we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.’ (2:10)

“God’s order then is this:

“Faith->Salvation->Good Works->Reward

“Faith leads to salvation. Salvation results in good works. Good works will be rewarded by Him.

“But the question arises: What kind of good works am I expected to do? Paul answers, Good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. In other words, God has a blueprint for every life. Before our conversion He mapped out a spiritual career for us. Our responsibility is to find His will for us and then obey it. We do not have to work out a plan for our lives, but only accept the plan which He has drawn up for us. This delivers us from fret and frenzy, and insures that our lives will be of maximum glory to Him, of most blessing to others, and of greatest reward to ourselves.

“In order to find out the good works He has planned for our individual lives, we should: (1) Confess and forsake sin as soon as we are conscious of it in our lives; (2) be continually and unconditionally yielded to him; (3) study the Word of God to discern His will, and then do whatever He tells us to do; (4) spend time in prayer each day; (5) seize opportunities of service as they arise; (6) cultivate the fellowship and counsel of other Christians. God prepares us for good works. He prepares good works for us to perform. Then He rewards us when we perform them. Such is His grace!” William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary, p. 1918

“Riches” appears five times in Ephesians

Ephesians 1:7 – “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;”

Ephesians 1:18 – “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,”

Ephesians 2:7  – “That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.”

Ephesians 3:8  – “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;”

Ephesians 3:16  – “That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;”

Ephesians 2:1-10
WHAT GRACE HAS DONE by FB Meyer

“Evidently dead men may walk; that is, they may be dead to the eternal world but alive to this world, which is moving past like the films of a moving picture. The death of the spirit is compatible with much active interest in the course of this world. Behind the shifting scenes of the material is the great enemy of souls. As the Spirit of God works in the obedient, so does the evil spirit work in the disobedient. Note this trinity of evil-the course of this world, the lusts of our flesh, and the prince of the power of the air. If we desire to save men, we must be in living union with the all-conquering Spirit of Christ.

Notice, also, the past tense which describes the finality of Christ’s work, Eph_2:5-6. In the purpose of God we have been raised from the grave of sin and are seated with the risen Lord in the place of acceptance and victory. We were one with Christ when He lay in the grave and arose. In God’s thought we have already taken our seat with the glorified Christ upon the throne; only the pity is that we do not believe this or act as if we had done so. All this is the gift of God’s unmerited love. By grace have we been brought into this position, and by grace are we maintained in it. We are of God’s “making;” such is the Greek word for workmanship, Eph_2:10. We have been created for good works; they have been planned for us and we have only to walk in them.”

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Abiding

5 Soul Damning Sins Named! Learning from History! [podcast]


THE 5 SINS THAT KEPT ISRAEL (God’s own covenant people) OUT OF THEIR PROMISED LAND OF BLESSINGS and will keep us out if not relinquished. Friend, please read 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 with all your might. Make this text your meat.

The world seeks to romance sin but if God says it’s sin, that’s what it is. Toning down the terms changes nothing. Judgment Day is on the way.

We are fighting the good fight of faith, “striving against sin” and “more than conquerors” over sin through Jesus who loves us and bought us with His own blood! (1 Timothy 6:12; Hebrews 12:4; 13:12; Acts 20:28; Romans 8:37)

There are the 5 sins listed here that kept God’s people out of His blessings. We all need to L.I.F.T.M. up to the LORD in repentance and for His perfect forgiveness and cleansing. God the Holy Spirit warns us here through Paul’s pen (1 Cor. 10:1-13), that Israel and these sins are “examples” (vv. 6, 11) to all NT believers. God destroys those who go back on Him after knowing Him (transgressors – Ps. 68:21; 73:28; 125:5, etc.). If not ridden out of our lives, any one of these 5 sins WILL keep us out of our promised land. God is holy (Heb. 12:14). As taken in order from 1 Cor. 10:6-10, here are those 5 sins:

  • Lust

  • Idolatry

  • Fornication

  • Tempting Christ

  • Murmuring

This simple acronym should help us to remember these sins and remain separate from them as we grow today to know and love our Savior more fervently. “Keep thyself pure” (1 Timothy 5:22).

Committing the sin is one thing (1 John 1:8-10, right) and refusing to repent of it is yet another. Refusing to acknowledge, repent, confess, and cease is what snares the soul and ousts us from Christ (Proverbs 28:13).

“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” Proverbs 28:13

If the Holy Spirit has quickened any offences of your heart, simply L.I.F.T.M. up to Christ the Redeemer, Forgiver, Cleanser, and Transformer of lives.

WHATEVER it takes – those who choose to get real with God will sever themselves from anything and anyone who causes them to sin. This is what Jesus says about sin and hell:

“And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 
44  Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 
45  And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 
46  Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 
47  And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: 
48  Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 
49  For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. 
50  Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.” Mark 9:43-50

NOTICE: When a believer or group of believers backslides, they no longer separate from the transgressors who are unrepentant:

Fornication Defiles

“It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have (Gr. possessed and wouldn’t repent) his father’s wife. 2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.” 1 Corinthians 5:1-2 

1 Corinthians 10 completely destroys the OSAS / eternal security argument.

Notice the word “OUR” in verses 6 and 11. This is directly spoken to warn NEW Testament saints that they are going to hell if they live and die in sin.

Case closed.

1 Corinthians 10:1-12

1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;

2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;

3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;

4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

6 Now these things were OUR examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also LUSTED.

7 Neither be ye IDOLATERS, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.

8 Neither let us commit FORNICATION, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.

9 Neither let us TEMPT CHRIST, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.

10 Neither MURMUR ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.

11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for OUR admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

Eternal security is a false teaching. 1 sin separated Adam and Eve from God and “The wages of sin is (still) death” because God is Holy (Rom 6:23, etc.). Moral coward counterfeits hate, despise the Gospel essential of the cross, the crucified life. They want Jesus to save them to Heaven but not from sin. These are the sin-justifying, grace-perverting “ungodly men” Jude warned us about (Jude 4).

The divine declaration that “The wages of sin is death” which means separation from God, appears throughout Scripture (Romans 6:23).

“He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul; but he that despiseth his ways shall die.” Proverbs 19:16 

Die or death always means separation.

OSAS/eternal security is a lie from hell. OSAS was Satan’s first lie and so it’s blasphemy to teach this doctrine of devils and claim it’s part of the Gospel. You are attributing Satan’s lie to the LORD Jesus. Repent now sinner. See Genesis 2:17; 3:4; Romans 11:20-22; 1 Timothy 4:1; Hebrews 3:6, 12-14; 10:26-39; 2 Peter 2:20-21; Jude 4, etc..

The concept of an un-conditional eternal security is not established in Scripture … Except for it being Satan’s first teaching, His first lie – the “Ye shall NOT surely die” lie (Genesis 2:17; 3:4).

Eternal Security/Once saved always saved is a lie from hell.

PEACE with GOD

Support | STORE | | Podcasts | Eternal Security/OSASAccounted Worthy to Escape [podcast] | Eternal Security Exposed | Sealed?The Return of Christ | SupportLie of the Ages [podcast]10 Questions about Eternal SecurityIs Salvation Eternal?The Damning Myth of Unconditional Eternal Security [podcast]The Essential of Fearing God | The KING is Coming [podcast]Sound Doctrine for a Glorious Church 

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Abiding

“The Unalterable Basis of an Open Heaven is a Grave” [podcast]


Concerning the raising up process of the Gospel of God, T. Austin-Sparks wrote:

“The unalterable basis of an open heaven is a grave, and a crisis at which you come to an end of your own self-life. It is the crisis of real experiential identification with Christ in His death.”

Though we entered into His death upon initial salvation, accepting and experiencing that death is still a daily choice, an individual decision to be made on an ongoing basis. One’s choice to continue to persevere, following Christ as He clearly prescribed, will determine his eternal destination (Luke 9:62; 19:13; 21:19; Romans 6:16; Galatians 6:7-9).

The insidious circumventing of the cross can come in many clandestine ways that are masked with pious outer garb. Today, while refusing to utter the full counsel of the One they claim tobe representing, smiling and charismatic men stand in sheep’s clothing, promising heavenly life to those who live in sin. They only prosper due to the volitional biblical illiteracy of the masses. Ignorance of the truth is a choice with eternal consequences (Hosea 4:6; Matthew 22:29; 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12).

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. 25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” John 12:24-25

Of seeds, one source notes:

Seeds do not technically ‘die’ when planted; rather, they germinate, transforming from a dormant state into an active, growing plant. While the outer shell breaks and the original form changes, the embryo inside remains alive.”

Just as nothing in hell could have held Jesus in that grave, NOTHING in hell can hold down the crucified saint! The divinely volcanic resurrection life of Christ bursting forth in the life of the crucified consenting disciple will be utterly unstoppable!

“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 (make alive, raise up) your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.” Romans 8:11

The true disciple is always “delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake” (2 Corinthians 4:11). He has “crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” (Galatians 5:24). He is daily putting to death “the deeds of the body” and being “raised up” by the power of the same Holy Spirit “that raised up Christ from the dead” (Romans 8:11, 13). He rejoices in “Christ Jesus” and has “no confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:3).

“I die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31)

“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. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake … that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life in you” 1 Corinthians 15:31; 2 Corinthians 4:10-12.

The disciple who is dead and buried with Christ is “dead to sin” (Romans 6:2). There are tell-tale symptoms in one whose self life has not been terminated, put to death. When we justify the sinful things we do, and call those who point them out “legalistic,” it is symptomatic of a life that is not crucified with Christ. The Bible says, “Lie not against the truth” (James. 3:14). If we argue against the truth when we are shown it, we are manifesting rebellion. The “corn of wheat” must be planted and remain planted in order to bud and bring forth new life. The one whose life is laid down does not make excuses when he realizes that he harbors sin. No, instead he rejoices to be yet more sanctified and dwelling in the place of blessing and holiness with the One He delights to please and serve.

Prayer: LORD Jesus, I am crucified with You. I am dead and my life is hidden with Christ in God. Here and now I lay my life in Your holy hands, this moment. Please use me now and here forward in the Father’s business of the Great Commission as we eagerly look for Your soon return. I love You LORD Jesus. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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