(KJV) Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. Psalm 2:12
Has your relationship with Jesus Christ been so sweet, that you just caress your Bible and kiss it? The devil tried to make me feel silly and stupid when I began doing this. He will use any means whatsoever, any tactic, to separate you and I from Jesus. Satan is jealous of God, he always has been; and he is out to destroy whoever belongs to, or is trying to draw near to, God and His Son Jesus Christ. Don't let this snake destroy you.
What is The Holy Bible? It is The Word of God in print, enabling individuals to READ The Word of God. This Holy Bible that is so carelessly tossed aside by some, is cherished by others. We know: The Word of God is Jesus Christ. In John 1:1-4, 14-17 we see that this is true:
1In the beginning was The Word, and The Word was with God, and The Word was God. 2The same was in the beginning with God. 3All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made. 4In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. ... 14And The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of The Father,) full of grace and truth. 15John bare witness of Him, and cried, saying, This was He of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for He was before me. 16And of His fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. 17For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. 18No man hath seen God at any time; The Only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him.
That Holy Bible IS The Holy Word of God. In print. Under the inspiration of The Holy Spirit, The Holy Scriptures were given to men to write. Today, The Holy Bible is printed in thousands of languages and dialects. But not all tongues have heard The Good News, the gospel of salvation. What is The Good News? The gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God. And what are Christ's first words after preparing for the ministry which was given Him by His Father? 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Matthew 4:1-9 is the way in which Jesus prepared for ministry. Matthew 4:17 17From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Another word for kingdom is sovereignty. Jesus was preaching The Good News, 'Repent (turn from your wicked ways back to God): for the Kingdom (The Sovereignty) of heaven is at hand (near, close). Words that bring conviction on a person's heart are not scary once you know what they mean. It is not the meaning of the word that bothers us, though: it's the after we repent part: change. This universe is in constant motion, change is inevitable. When our immediate universe is confronted by The Holy Spirit, we need to walk through that spirit of fear and allow ourselves to be changed by The Word of God.
Repent. Turn away from your sins. Turn back to God. It is a 180-degree turn. It is turning our back on wickedness and evil and facing our God with our hearts wide open. We say, Lord God, I am a sinner. I know I have been disobedient to Your Word. I know I have broken Your law. I am a terrible person. Oh Lord, please forgive me. I did not know before. I was ignorant of Your Word and of You. Please, Lord, take the wicked desires from my heart and replace them with Your Word, with Your Son. Wash me clean, Lord. I believe that Your Son is True. I believe that Jesus Christ is The Only Begotten Son of The Father. I believe that He died for me on that cross; that instead of me being humiliated, tortured and killed, Jesus took my place and died in my stead. I believe that three days later, Christ rose from the dead and walked out of the grave, then later ascended into heaven, where He is interceding on my behalf. Please, God, let me live. In You, with You and for You. Your Word says to see You a person must be holy, so Lord make me holy, 'cause I want to see You. Thank You and Praise You God for Your merciful kindness to me. I who once was lost in my sins am now saved in Your grace. Teach me Your Ways and Your Word. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Recognizing that Christ is The Sovereignty of heaven, one would hope that repentance would be instantaneous. But, unfortunately, many who see that this is so will walk away from The Truth. Because not only is their sight unclear, their heart is too full of themselves to make room for one more, especially if that one more is going to change the life they enjoy living. See, we have to want to be changed more strongly than we want to be who we were before we got saved. I bet some of you are put off by the word saved, too.
There are terms in The Word of God that throw people off, scare them away. It is not God's fault that these terms are off-putting to people: it is the fault of the wolves in sheep's clothing who have infiltrated churches and misused and abused The Scriptures to suit themselves. These people are also known to God as false prophets, false teachers, liars. I am not one of these people: I am one of God's people. You can see when you study Your Word that what I share with you is Truth. Do not raise me up, nor lower me down to their level; it is not I who receives praise, God gets the glory for everything I do.
We have already seen what Repent means. Saved? John 3:16, 17 16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Romans 5:6-11 6For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. 11And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
Ephesians 2:1-10 1And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Saved from what? The wrath of God. How? Through faith. And faith simply means to believe God Is and that His Word is True. Hebrews 11:1 describes what faith is: 1Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Faith is both substance and evidence for the believer, the one who believes that God Is and that His Word is True.
Saved by grace. And what is grace? It is the gift of God. It is God's lovingkindness exemplified in Christ Jesus, through Him we are saved from the wrath of God.
God's wrath is for God's enemies. Through Jesus Christ, The Only Begotten Son of The Father, we are saved from that wrath. Nothing you or I, nor any one else, can save us. Only Jesus can save us from God's wrath. And what does God ask us to do in order to receive that gift? Believe. Repent.
No comments:
Post a Comment