Measure the Teachings Between New and Mature Christians

Check out this ride! I was riding high! I had a killer job, a good paycheck, and was able to buy my first car. I cannot even explain to you how pretty and very, very fast it was. I won’t bore you with the under hood stats; but, it would hit sixty in under three seconds. Much under it! Though I grew up driving the Kansas straight highways, where 100 mph was common to me, navigating the streets of Spokane were a bit different. Every stoplight in town became life threatening to everyone in my path. I could drive fast on the freeway, but, the car was too powerful for me to handle. No matter how hard I tried to anticipate the lights, I would always screech to a stop. Then on the green, I would leave all cars behind me, and usually some rubber. I didn’t want to admit to my family that the car was too much for me to handle. But it was. I was not yet skilled enough in perfect clutch control or the fine muscle uses of the accelerator. I drove to the dealership after having it only a few months, and was looking at a van that was more practical for my growing family. As I was looking, I saw my Trans Am leave the lot. I found an old boring van and the dealer was really happy, since he had already sold the Trans Am to someone that had seen it drive into the lot, even before I signed the papers!!! Oh it was a beautiful car!

As a Christian leader today, I have the crucial responsibility to measure Bible teachings to the appropriate level for each student. If I teach a babe in Christ (a brand new Christian with only folk training) a lesson meant for a mature Christian, two things can happen. The first would be the total failure of learning that Scripture since it was not based on foundational learning. The second problem can lead to young Christians reading a great deal of magical spirituality and misrepresent the Word of God. Just like my fast car, tragedy is just around the corner. That misunderstanding can lead to false teachings and possibly a loss of salvation. Scripture says:

And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? (1 Corinthians 3:1-3)

Some churches that are especially far away from Christ’s teachings often ignore the babes, or promote the babes way past their understanding, which leads to those churches getting worse and worse in the presentation of the Gospel of Christ. Most of the famous television ministries play to the babes and promise riches and power to come to them if only they send payment. So, the babes in Christ are taken advantage of and suffer greatly.

But, more and more, the babes in Christ just sit in a pew or send spiritual messages to each other on the Internet, and think this is all they must do to be right with Christ. That is error. Strong Christian leaders must try to teach every Christian that comes to them, including the babes. We must analyze spiritual growth correctly, and insure a foundation of Christ is laid. Then, we must go on to teach the Christian more advanced things of the Word of God which one day can lead to the revelation of the mysteries and supernatural doings of the LORD God. But, that is a long journey for a student of God’s, and it can never be hustled. My car was too much for me to handle at that point in my life; give it to me now, and I would perfectly operate the vehicle. The Word of God is even more powerful, and in the right hands, the LORD God can be known by many. However, those that study the Word of God must be given stair steps of training, with brick upon brick laid to the foundation, so the believer can eventually be fully equipped with the Word of God.

Salvation Fundamentals

What does salvation really mean?

Many Christians think Salvation is the forgiveness of sin and a ticket to Heaven. Others believe that Salvation cleanses you of sin, and prepares you for the Great Judgment Day, when you are resurrected from your grave and face Jesus Christ for His verdict of life or death. One of the great divisions among Faithful Christians is caused because they define Salvation differently. Usually, unaware that their definitions differ, they condemn each other’s doctrines for being legalistic or too conservative or too liberal and separate themselves from each other in anger.

If only we could get this definition nailed down and agree on this one important concept in our Christian faith, then many of the splinters and chasms between our Faithful brothers and sisters could be healed. More importantly, our Evangelistic efforts could become more focused, as all the Christians agree on the terminology and add to each other’s ministries as they go out to preach and teach to the unsaved.

The doctrine of Salvation is often wadded up into this big ball that encompasses prayer, baptism, forgiveness, hell, Heaven, faith, peace, righteousness, gifts, and evangelism. When we leave our
churches prepared to fulfill the great commission of Jesus Christ, to spread the Good News to all corners of the world, Salvation is the one word every Christian, on every Mission, speaks and the one word that cannot be defined confidently because of this confusion.

The word Salvation has become corrupted, as various doctrines of various beliefs defined it differently. Eventually, these different definitions combined, confused, and crippled the Evangelist and the sinner, as the unified definitions of Salvation became so confusing that no one dares try to explain it, for fear of looking stupid and faithless. It’s time we understand this important concept completely, and reach agreement to the basic tenets of Salvation, so our own Christian walk, and our evangelization efforts are fruitful and reveal the wonderful Grace of our LORD God.

What does it mean to be saved?

The Hebrew word for Salvation that is written in the Old Testament of the Word of God is “yeshuwah” and means literally “something saved” and abstractly “deliverance.” The Greek word for Salvation that is written in the New Testament of the Word of God is “soteria” and means literally the act of “physical and moral rescue”.

Salvation means deliverance!

In all my travels, in remembering all the words spoken by preachers, Teachers and Evangelists through the Word of God that is the meaning they understood. DELIVERANCE! Every Christian Church, every Christian Leader, every Christian Faithful believes that Salvation means DELIVERANCE!

It is not the definition of the word Salvation that causes the chasms to develop, to misdirect the focus of the Word of God. We all agree on the meaning of Salvation; the disagreement amongst our faithful brethren lies with the things we are delivered from, what results after we are delivered and why we need deliverance in the first place!

What do we need DELIVERED from?

Salvation means deliverance from our sinful nature!

Romans 3:23
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” (Romans 3:23)

1. Our souls are not condemned because we do great sin. We are condemned because of our sinful state!

2. All unsaved people do bad actions because their heart, their core, their complete being has sin that originated from Adam’s transgression against the Will of God.

3. Some unsaved do terrible sins, and some unsaved have no sign of the terrible condition of sin.

That does not mean that some are greater sinners than others. Every living human being has the full sinful nature inside him. Some may well be able to subdue those basic instincts, while others
are controlled by the same sinful natures to do grievous harm to others; both the noble and the derelict have the same nature inside them. If an unsaved person does not outwardly sin, self-control may be present, but the sinful nature still exists. The actions of the unsaved may well differ in degree, but not in guilt or cause!

4. Unsaved sinners must understand that they have sinful natures and are unable to save themselves.

5. All human beings begin life with the sinful nature and fall short of the glory of God.

The LORD God is not present in the sinful realm. Sin is offensive to God. It doesn’t matter how much good people do in the world, if their works were done while they harbored their sinful natures. The greatest works in humanity, religion, science, art, medicine, education, and government are made null by the presence of sin, and the LORD God will not see dead works. Those who come from families of “good stock,” those who are well-educated and able to advance the human condition to rightful places, those who do good daily and give all they have to others, and those who struggle daily to live an honest life, are all short of the glory of God, because they have the natures of sin within them.

Salvation means deliverance from eternal death!

Romans 6:23
“For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

6. Sinners die, no matter what they do in this lifetime. The wages that come to the unsaved is death. Until death is brought to that sinful nature, then it remains inside the unsaved, leading them toward their promised destiny.

7. It takes more than the death of the sinful natures to give the unsaved hope, however. Unsaved people that die and are placed in their graves, are dead unsaved people. Eventually, the unsaved
people will be resurrected to face the Judgment of Jesus Christ to answer for the things they did with their sinful natures, but until then, the unsaved lay dead in their graves.

8. The LORD God gives eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord, to those who seek deliverance from their sinful natures.

Salvation means deliverance from the ways of the worldly!

Ephesians 2:1-3
“And you [hath he quickened], who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein 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: Among 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.” (Ephesians 2:1-3)

9. The unsaved people with their sinful natures walk according to the course of the world. The “course of the world” encapsulates the entire degrading, grotesque, ugly things that have developed and become perilously established within our world today. They include those very things spoken of in 2 Timothy 3:1-7…

2Timothy 3:1-7
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, With out natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, overs of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (2 Timothy 3:1-7)

Sexual perversion, the sacrifice of our children, the dirty habits of obscene self- love and self-focus are the ways of the world; these are just of a few of the carnal things of sinful nature that entrap the unsaved in these Last Days.

Salvation means deliverance from the control of Satan!

10. The unsaved that are entrapped by their sinful natures, are led by the prince of the power of air. The prince of the power of air is Lucifer, also known as Satan, the Devil.

Salvation means deliverance from the Wrath of God!

11. People with the unsaved and sinful nature are children of LORD God’s wrath.

Salvation means deliverance from a lack of faith!

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

12. Salvation can only be received through FAITH. FAITH is the gift of God, given to believers through His wonderful and underserved Grace.

13. The Unsaved cannot give FAITH to themselves. If they could, they would boast of their godly ability. Only the LORD God gives those He Wills the faith to turn toward Him, reject their own sinful natures, and reach toward the righteous and holy nature of God, through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Salvation means deliverance from eternal damnation and a sentence to Hell!

Revelation 20:11-15
“And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, is [the book] of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:11-15)

14. Everyone will one day stand before the Judgment Seat of the Lord Jesus Christ and be judged according to their works or their sins.

15. Those works done by the unsaved are nullified and void; thus it is only their sinful thoughts and deeds that are placed before the Judge Jesus Christ. All works of a sinner are vanity. Works are not measured living and righteous when done while the workers had the natures of sin.

16. If the Unsaved maintained their status in their lifetime to their death, then they have no living works that can be measured.

17. Those with dead works, those who chose to go to their grave with their sinful nature and reject the Grace of the Lord God and the salvation through Jesus Christ, will be judged guilty and
sentenced to eternal damnation and be cast into the lake of fire.

How does Salvation come to the sinners?

Acts 4:10-12
“Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, [even] by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:10-12)

Salvation comes to believers through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ!

18. Through the belief and acceptance of the shed blood of Jesus Christ, and His Resurrection from the dead, the unsaved can receive salvation. Acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is the only way salvation can come to them, free them from the sinful nature, and make them whole.

How do the Unsaved receive the gift of Salvation from the LORD God?

19. Salvation is a two-step process. The first step is one of belief, and the second step is one of action. If the Unsaved believe, but do nothing, they remain unsaved. If the Unsaved do not believe, but go through the action of a repentant sinner, they too remain unsaved.

Romans 10:9-10
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10)

Salvation comes by faith in Jesus Christ only!

Steps to Salvation
1. Know that you are a sinner and cannot save yourself.
2. Confess the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior
3. Believe that Jesus Christ’s sacrifice was sufficient to atone for your sins.
4. Be confident that Jesus Christ physically rose from the dead.

What are the results of Salvation?

Galatians 2:20
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for
me.” (Galatians 2:20)

21. The confessors of Jesus Christ as Savior are crucified with him. (Note…Our Crucifixion is joined to the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ through our Faith. Our Burial is the acceptance of the Baptism of
Jesus Christ, which we will speak of in our foundational study of “The Baptism of Jesus Christ”)

Salvation brings more faith and the love of the LORD God!

22. Our crucifixion with Christ allows us to receive more faith and the love of the LORD God. Salvation makes the Saved holy, unblameable and unreproveable in the LORD God’s sight!

Colossians 1:19-23
“For it pleased [the Father] that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, [I say], whether [they be]
things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in [your] mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and [be] not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, [and] which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;” (Colossians 1:19-23)

23. Salvation establishes peace with the LORD God.

24. Salvation makes Faithful Believers holy, unblameable and unreproveable in the LORD God’s sight.

Salvation brings Eternal Life!

John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

25. Everlasting life is given those who believe in Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of the LORD God.

Salvation brings the Power of God to your Life!

2 Corinthians 13:4-5
“For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you. Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” (2 Corinthians 13:4-5)

26. The Power of the LORD God is with all saved Faithful through Jesus Christ.

What is NOT Salvation?

Hebrews 4:2
“For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard [it].” (Hebrews 4:2)

Salvation does not come to the Unsaved by simply the physical act of uttering words in prayer form! Their heart must be in it with the expression of solid faith.

If the UNSAVED receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ and hear with their heart and agree, then their confession will be heard. Without the understanding and repentant heart, the prayers of the Unsaved
are worthless.

Salvation is NOT the physical act of walking down the church aisle following an invitation from the Pastor. The Unsaved can be anywhere, at any time, and receive salvation through their belief and confession in Jesus Christ. It doesn’t take a church, and it doesn’t take people. It just takes a sincere and repentant heart to accept Jesus Christ and be saved!

Salvation is not contingent on great emotion (or lack of) during the conversion experience. Some feel great elation, some a quiet peace, and some don’t feel anything at all. It is a uniquely individual experience, and emotions vary with the experience surrounding the conversion as well as from the scars, blocks, and pains hidden deeply within a person from a life hard-lived.

Salvation does not come to a person just because they want to be saved from going to Hell! The question of whether someone would prefer Heaven to Hell is pointless. Anyone would readily choose Heaven if given the ability to discern the differences between the dwelling place of the most Holy God contrasted with the fiery pits of Hell.

Salvation comes to those who accept the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior; it does not come to those just trying to hedge their bets and cover all bases “just in case.”

Does Salvation guarantee Eternal Life?

Yes! Yes! Yes! Your belief in Jesus Christ brings salvation to you, and you are guaranteed eternal life. Your faith in Christ alone is all that is necessary for eternal life.

PRAISE BE TO GOD!

About the Author: Kathy L. McFarland is a Becker Bible Studies Teacher and Author of Guided Bible Studies for Hungry Christians. She has received her Bachelor of Science degree in Religious Studies and the Master of Divinity from Liberty University. Kathy is a noted expert on Old Testament exegesis, Christian apologetics, and Bible typology and mysteries.

Six Standards of Measurements for the Giving of Faith

Romans 12:1–3 (KJV 1900)
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

The LORD God’s mercy allows you to be a living sacrifice, giving yourself fully and yielding to His control.

The Reasonable Service of a Believer that gives control fully to God must become holy. “Reasonable Service” means a reward or notice will not be given by God for holiness for doing His will. The type of “Reasonable Service” expectations of the LORD God requires Believers to seek His will deeply and live as He wants.

It is the LORD God that deals to each man a measure of faith! It is unworthy for a holy believer of God to take credit for holiness that comes from God alone.

There are six standards measured by the LORD God to determine how much faith a person is to receive.

a. A measure of their giving themselves to the LORD God as a living sacrifice

b. A measure of how holy a Believer develops

c. A measure of how acceptable a believer is to the LORD God.

d. A measure of how non-conforming to this world a believer exists

e. A measure of how much a believer transforms through renewal of mind

f. A measure to be able to prove what is good, acceptable, perfect will of the LORD God

Consider these six standards. There are just three measurements that the LORD God considers “Reasonable Service.” They are:

a. The first is the measure of living sacrifice
b. The second is the amount of holiness that is achieved by the Believer
c. The third is the degree to which the Believer is acceptable by the LORD God.

There are NO rewards for achievement given by the LORD God or by the Lord Jesus Christ for the three standards of Reasonable Service.

21. There are three measurements for faith that DO NOT fall under the Reasonable Service standard.

a. Be non-conforming to this world
b. Be able to transform yourself by the renewing of your mind
c. Be able to prove what is the good, acceptable, perfect will of God

The six measurements that the LORD God uses to determine the amount of faith given to a person directly develops a Christian’s standards of faith for spiritual growth. When a person is given higher level faith, then confidence can be assured the believer has the adequate amount of spirituality to handle the faith award or increase perfectly.

This important concept contrasts those who receive just a little faith. It should be the goal of the Church, Christian leaders, Pastors, Counselors, Teachers, Chaplains, Parents, and Mentors to help
develop the six-steps of standards of faith to prepare Believers to receive the granting of more faith from the LORD God.

Being a “Living Sacrifice” IS your spirituality. It is the amount of yourself that is given to the LORD God by your choice.

When you are a “Living Sacrifice,” your spirituality is measured, and faith given to you by the LORD God. What you do as a “Living Sacrifice” is spiritual works directed by the LORD God.

Being a “Living Sacrifice” IS NOT your faith!

Being a “Living Sacrifice” IS NOT your works!

Standards of Judgment

Everyone that judges, the LORD God, the Lord Jesus Christ, Christians, Secular, worldly, and even evil, must use a measure to determine their verdict.

The measure for judgment seems to establish categories for the individual to “fit into the group of belonging.” An individual belongs to the category of measurement where judgment is favorable.

a. The LORD God uses His Law as measure for judgment

b. The Lord Jesus Christ uses His more detailed Standards based upon the initial Laws of the LORD God

c. The Christian uses Christ’s heightened Standards and teachings, all based upon the Laws of God

d. The Secular uses a measure that is often based upon partially recognizing goodness and badness within culture and religious practice standards without God.

e. The Worldly uses a measure that is often based upon popular trends, sinful changes, and perverse activities. Sexual proclivities and sinful expressions of desire are free from judgment.

f. The Evil uses a measure of successful control, manipulation, world domination, religious domination, gaining riches and ignoring the impoverished, dishonoring the LORD God, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and Christians with blasphemy and mocking, with rules for worshipping idols, witchcraft, and unholy things.

Matthew 7:3–5 (KJV 1900)

3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

A true follower of Christ helps heal every person he prays for

Recently, a very young Christian who we had just met asked us to pray for a woman acquaintance of hers. We asked what type of prayer was needed. She explained that her non-Christian, non-believing friend, had suffered tremendously in recent years with the sickness of anorexia, which was kicked in beyond her control as a result of a traumatic divorce. The sick woman’s daughter had threatened to kill both her mom and herself “to put both of them out of their misery”. The young Christian then went on to list crisis after crisis this poor woman had experienced in recent past, to convince us that this woman needed our prayers. She said that she had tried to witness to the woman, but the woman would have nothing to do with the Word of God.

As gently as we could, we told our young Christian friend that we would not be praying for this woman. Our friend was aghast, and wondered aloud to her church community how people professing to be Christians could refuse to pray for somebody in such dire straights. She cried to common acquaintances that our position to not pray made a mockery of the love of Christ and bordered on wickedness. Finally, she got up the nerve and shared her disappointment with us.

As a very young Christian, our friend cannot know the ways of the LORD God. It takes concentrated study, practice, walking and grace through the LORD God to gain the mature understandings to grow in the faith. It doesn’t happen overnight, and it doesn’t happen to all Christians.

So often, new Christians think that being a Christian requires you to submit to all worldly pain and suffering in the name of Christ. Sometimes, even older Christians believe that we should attempt to change all pain and suffering in the world. This position causes the servants of Christ to become servants of worldly wickedness.

I say a “true follower of Christ heals every person that he prays for.” A doubtful acquaintance looked at me in astonishment and says “that’s not possible! There have never been that many healings on the face of this earth!”

“I didn’t say he prayed often for healings! A true follower of Christ knows the ways of the LORD God, so knows the times to pray, and knows when to keep quiet!”

A Christian can never do the Will of the LORD God if he does not know the Way of the LORD God. Yes, the LORD God is completely capable of healing all sickness and disease that exist today. The LORD God is able to wipe out wickedness and change the fortunes of men. The LORD God can do anything He wants. However, He does NOT do anything at a whim. All Works of the LORD God are purposeful and planned, and follow specific ways.

If a mature Christian were to approach the LORD God with a request that conflicted with the LORD God’s ways, then the LORD God would think him a fool. If the LORD God has given the understanding of His ways to a person, that person is then responsible for honoring His ways in their works. The responsibility of every great child, in a very great family, is honoring the ways of the great Father, always.

The fine line of blessing haters of God

I am not aware of any direct instruction of avoiding the blessing of nonbelievers of God within His Word specifically. However, a mature and growing Christian will have a different take on this subject, as compared to a young Christian, and both will think much differently on the matter when compared to a person of the world. It’s not so much a matter of written rules, as it is the total relationship a person has with the LORD GOD. If you are a person of the world, and offer blessings to nonbelievers as a way to show that you are a caring person, then it is not wrong. That person would not be invoking the LORD GOD’s response, and the words might bring comfort.

If you are a young Christian, and just beginning to walk the walk of Jesus Christ, and trying hard to love in accordance with the standards that he has set, and are moved by him to express those first steps of love, then the offering of your heart felt blessing to a lost soul might not be wrong. Sometimes the beginning joyful walk with Christ leads many unable to distinguish the different types and responses to love that a mature Christian develops, and responding with a sincere blessing to a nonbeliever might be a result. In fact, Jesus instructs all of his followers:

Matthew 5:43-48

“43 ¶ Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more [than others]? do not even the publicans so? 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Mt 5:43-48 AV)

Bless your enemies are his instructions, and we must follow Christ’s instructions exactly. But what about the haters of God? What about the blasphemers and the idolaters and the deniers that have no thought or action toward the LORD God except for disdain and hatred? Does Jesus want Christians asking for His blessings to be bestowed upon the heathen and the worldly wicked.

If you are a mature Christian, with a solid foundation of Jesus Christ, and a dedicated relationship with the LORD God, then you are confident and reassured throughout His Word that he hears your prayers, and responds with His Will to your requests. You know that your word matters to God, and you are assured that your message will be delivered to His ears.

If a faithful and strong Christian were to bless a nonbeliever, he would be wrong, in most cases. By requesting the blessing of God to come upon a person, that Christian is asking God for that specific thing. Spiritually speaking, there are very few cases, if any, that He would be pleased that you were blessing someone that hated Him.

Praying for the nonbelievers to receive sight and hearing so they might turn to Him is one thing, but to ask for his blessings to be directed to the unbeliever seems insulative and blatantly using God’s name and nature to benefit only yourself with the world watching on. To presume that blessings should go to any non-believer or hater of God immediately places a Christian in a precarious place. If our Father were to listen and respond to the misguided Christian’s request for a blessing to the ungodly, then He would certainly suspect that Christian of not loving or walking in truth toward Him.

Nobody that loves somebody deeply wants to betray. We know the LORD God’s way of rewarding obedience and punishing disobedience. Those not belonging to Him, those not fearing and worshipping Him, are not going to be receiving the best parts of Him, and for a Christian to presume otherwise is wrong.

So it’s a fine, fine, fine grey line, and a very narrow path we sometimes have to walk. If we are being attacked by our enemies, then we are to pray for them, and offer blessings instead of curses. However, strong Christian workers must avoid placing themselves in situations where the haters of God can trick them for a blessing from practiced speech, expected responses or patterns of Christian behavior.

What we say as Christians matters to our God and our Savior. The words that come from our mouths are noted and acted upon according to Their Will. If the wicked sneeze, there is nothing in the Bible that tells us to say “God bless you”, and to offer that blessing makes you a fool. We are not expected to pray for blessings on the heathen, nor ask reward for the haters of God. On the other hand, if the wicked curse you, the Bible is clear that you are to bless them, and not to do so makes you disobedient to Christ.

It’s all about love in the end. Love your enemies when they attack you and fight the way of Christ, but for God’s sake, don’t forget to love Him also! To love the LORD God with all your heart and all your soul and all your might requires you to reject the wicked worldly who hate Him and His Way! If you are in the presence of the wicked worldly and they sneeze, hand them a tissue and keep your mouth shut.

What is a Pharisee?

A Pharisee is a sanctimonious, hypocritical, self-righteous heretic who practices and advocates strict observance of external forms and ceremonies of religion or conduct without regard to the spirit. He makes a hypocritical show of religious devotion, piety, and righteousness. He is confident of his own righteousness, and is smugly moralistic and intolerant of the opinion and behavior of others. He pretends to have moral, religious beliefs and principles which he does not possess.

In simple terms, a Pharisee falsely thinks he is a god himself as he pretends to do God’s bidding, enforces God’s laws, knows God’s mind, and has the imagined authority of God in his hands His power is gained by lording over the humble, fearful, sinners who dare not even consider walking toward God because of their dirty transgressions and lowly state.

The Pharisees know how to direct spectacular, awe-inspiring productions of worship that focus on traditions and ceremony that they only are good enough to attend. They follow the laws of God that benefit and showcase their pretend righteousness, and demand strict adherence of their ways before they can even be approached by those of lower ways than them.

In Jesus Christ’s day, the Pharisees tried to trick Him up constantly as they tried to get Him to stop his message of God’s expectations of His followers to adhere to the “spirit of the law.” It was in the best interests of the Pharisees that people follow after the “letter of the law,” because it was impossible to keep. As long as people failed at keeping the “letter of the law,” the Pharisees remained in control and powerful.

Jesus Christ changed that at his baptism into the ministry of the LORD God. In his third miracle, the Pharisees and Jesus Christ locked into the first of many battles, as the issue of the laws of Sabbath was argued. A new day had dawned, and new way of God delivered by His Son, Jesus Christ, to the world. No longer was it about the “law” but about the deeper things that He Willed His people to know and walk. No longer could power be gained by enforces of the law, as the faithful gained His ultimate power through walking in faith with His Son Jesus Christ leading them toward Him! Praise Be to God!

Now here is the part that is important for you to understand in these Last Days:

The Pharisee hypocrites are still trying to enforce their traditions and laws today, and they are trying to prevent many people from approaching God. As long as they can do this, they maintain their self-righteous glory, and the power to control others in the name of
their false religion.

This is some of the ways a Pharisee practices his sanctimonious hypocrisy today:

Pharisees loudly and falsely proclaim the absolute and eternal damnation of God upon the sexually deviants, with a focus on the dirty sins of homosexuals and the exclusion of attention to the dirty sins of the heterosexuals.

They uphold the crimes of monetary gain by white collared affluent as they build great shrines with their name and fame, and judge the poor harshly when they steal a loaf of bread to feed their family.

They attend the false worship of themselves every Sunday in the pomp and circumstance of tradition and honor that they deserve as the impoverished are allowed to admire them from the distance.

Many sinners are kept from the congregation of Pharisees for being unworthy as all pretend righteous are called by them to do service for their glory. That false doctrine of direct exclusion of sinners that is proclaimed by their golden leaders that sit upon their altars, is confusing and sometimes prevents sinners from approaching the cross of Jesus Christ, as sinners are convinced of their unworthiness to come to God.

Here is the Word of God and the knowledge of the Faithful, which the pretend Pharisees can never comprehend:

Mark 2:17

“When Jesus heard [it], he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Mark 2:17)

JESUS CHRIST COMES TO THE WORLD FOR THE SINNER, NOT FOR THE SELF MADE HOLY!

All murderers, adulterers, thieves, abusers, lustful, sexually deviant, morally corrupt, dirty sinners, Jesus Christ can be your Lord and Savior. He will never be the Lord of those that consider themselves His equal in glory and righteousness!

This is important!

Don’t wait until you become holy to come to Jesus Christ!

That requirement for holiness is something that the Pharisees invented to have control and power over the sinner. Bring your sins, your dirtiness, your shame and your pathetic nature as you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior. Through his crucifixion on the cross and resurrection from death, Jesus has brought death to sin. Your acceptance of Him as your Savior releases that power and hold of sins that prevent you from having a relationship with God.

Jesus does not expect you to come to him holy, and cannot be your King or your Savior if you think that you are. Don’t let the Pharisees of this world trick you out of becoming one of the Faithful and True worshipers of the LORD God and followers of Jesus Christ through their false teachings!

Trust the Word of God and the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made on your behalf. Your sins of nature will lose their power over you the minute you bring them to the cross of Jesus. Once you are part of the Kingdom of God, He will give you many skills, teachings and
techniques to overcome your sinful nature and develop your righteous spirit in the Way that He Wills.

It takes time and it takes faith, and most importantly, it takes Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and the LORD God to bring holiness to your spirit. Don’t let the pitiful Pharisee hypocrites trick you out of being freed forever from the holds of sin! For God’s sake and yours, push past their pretend holiness and their traditional barriers, and run forward toward the true holiness of God Himself!

Do I have free will to choose God or not?

The LORD God does not bound you to serve Him, unless He has given you a sense of justice to fulfill that obligation. In that case, you would be wise to complete His Will. If not:

You are free. You get to choose. Your choice will ultimately be made according to who you are made to be, and where you choose to belong in the big scheme of things. Even through your freedom, however, you are limited to the places, times, experiences and beliefs that the LORD God allows you to have.

If you are one of the common men, then your responsibilities toward serving the all powerful LORD God are usually limited to the common rules of nature that govern the natures of beasts, and of men, for the more highly evolved.

If you are one of the people of spirit created in the image of the LORD God, your responsibilities toward serving Him might well include greater and deeper commitment than them which just serve their nature.

If you are of the world, then the standards of your life are measured by the justice interpreted by man, until the great Day of Judgment, when all men are judged by Jesus Christ. Unfortunately for those of you of nature, His measurement will focus on the living works accomplished that brought glory to His Father. Many of both nature and spirit will face Christ on Judgment Day and sadly learn their good works of nature count nothing toward their defense.

Those who reject the gift of faith, servitude, or worship of the LORD God, are usually free from specific and directed punishment from Him in their life on earth, until the great Judgment Day, when they are raised from their grave to face Christ. There are circumstances where the LORD God will direct His attention to common men’s life to effect His Will. In these cases, His movement might be interpreted as punishment by natural man, but viewed as establishment of His Will by spiritual man. For the most part, life is as it is for the man of nature, and follows the rules of nature that were determined by Him from the start.

Those chosen, called and faithful men who were created in His Image, and accept Him as their LORD God, as He accepts them as His people, are held to much higher standards. Punishment does exist for action and inaction that goes against His Will, just as any father will punish a child to cause him to grow and move in the direction of righteousness.

When it gets down to it, when the LORD God gives a person the opportunity to move closer to Him, he would be wise to take that walk; but, there is no court, law or punishment that will force that decision. The LORD God will not force a man to serve Him, if that is not his free will to do so.

Attempts to make the Word of God obsolete

Many Christians are some of the laziest group of spiritual believers I have ever observed. Jewish children and adults study their Torah daily, and practice their prayers and traditions religiously. Muslim servants of God pray at least four times a day as ordered by their prophet, and memorize by heart their designated holy book, the Koran. Christians, on the other hand, most often rely on their thoughts and feelings to establish their faith walk, and depend heavily on the Holy Spirit inside them to give them the answers when they are needed.

Our Christian faith is the only faith that I know of that allows new converts and mere children of faith to speak doctrine and establish practices unquestioned. Because a new Christian feels such an empowerment when receiving the Holy Spirit, and because Christian leaders forgot a long time ago how to lead, many of the faithful Christians are being led by the nose by a Christian child that has little knowledge of the Word of God.

Many Christians refuse to open the Word of God and study it diligently, and will defend that neglect by citing their worth in His Kingdom as evidenced by the Holy Spirit that dwells in them. Simply speaking, they feel holy, so why do more than is necessary? Christians are Christians because they declare Jesus Christ their Lord and Savior. Jesus Christ IS the WORD OF GOD. Jesus Christ began as a result of the LORD God speaking HIS WORD. Every Word contained within the Holy Bible is the LORD God’s WORD, thus, the WORD OF GOD is Jesus Christ. When you study and read the WORD OF GOD, you are communing with Jesus Christ. When you understand deeply the messages in the WORD OF GOD, you are understanding deeply the things of your Jesus Christ.

A Christian that fails to constantly turn to the Word of God, and rely instead on the powerful feelings of the Holy Spirit alone, is like a child leaving his fathers wisdom and teachings yet still demanding that the father provide the feel good and protective things in life. The Holy Spirit is critical to the study of God’s Word, and the Word cannot be known completely without the Spirit revealing the things God wants you to know. However, you have to open God’s Word, and study God’s Word, if you expect to receive growth in the spiritual realm. It is as simple as that.

Now secular fools, and stuffy shirt pharisees will often pronounce the love of God’s Word as the “worship of the Bible” to the exclusion of God. They do this in an attempt to make the Word of God obsolete, and to gain control over the faithful of Jesus Christ.

The true fact is that the Word of God empowers and makes a Christian perfect. The more the Christian knows the Word of God, the more perfect a Christian he is.

Psalm 119 was written by David (according to most believers). It is one of the longest psalms, and one of the most beautiful. David soul is exclaiming with every breath the magnificence and glory of the Word of God. To read this psalm with purpose and meditation causes believers to be highly elevated because of the love expressed repeatedly by David to His God. The reader of Psalm 119 almost feels like he is intruding on the revealing of David’s soul to God. That is how impassioned and giving David is when he declares his beliefs in His Word. Yet, many stuffy shirts today accuse David of the same thing that many Christians on the Internet are being accused of today:

“Worshiping the WORD OF GOD to the exclusion of God Himself!”

Then to add to the confusion and mistrust of the young, the secular points out the different Bibles and the different translations and pronounces them all false because of this.

BULL PUCKY! Christian brothers and sisters, please don’t fall for this attempt to make the Word of God obsolete! You owe them no explanation, but most certainly, you do not owe them an ear! The secular and the pious fools want you to be weak and ineffective. Their worst fears is that you will break free of their control and become perfect in God’s Word. Do not let this argument dissuade you from study of the Word of God. You owe it to the Savior that you have chosen to follow to learn as much of Him as you are graced to receive!

2 Timothy 3:16-17

“16 All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 AV)

What will they think of us on the New Earth?

As all of you dedicated Bible students know, at some point in the LORD God’s Timing and Will, the old earth and old Heaven will come to an end, and a new Earth established under the rule of Jesus Christ. Oh, what a glorious life that will be when every law and judgment is righteous, and our neighbors are loving Him as much as we do!

It will be an exciting time, when all of the people who are judged worthy to continue life, began to occupy the new Earth. Sometimes, when the burdens of this life seem especially heavy, I think about that new life, when faithful people from all time periods on this earth will gather together and began forming that new and different life in the presence of the One we love.

How cool will that be? Imagine what it will be like when different century people come together and share perspectives from their place of life and growth.

When the strong, 19th century frontier men and women, share their steadfast courage and adventurous nature with the 20th century manager of machines and goals;

When the 17th century founders of theological thought mix with the 20th century feel good practitioners of religious abandonment;

When the Apostles who walked with Christ live next to those who barely survived the tumultuous times of the End Days;

When all the different time periods of God’s people gather together to worship and praise His Grace, and to establish cities and towns, and to make ways of life and patterns of developing according to the Truths they understand.

I wonder if there will be different cities for the 14th century explorers and artists, and others for the 20th century advanced race.

Will some gatherings of people have a slower life pacing, than others? Common sense suggests that groups will gather among like kinds, and known by the traits that differ from other groups. That’s human nature, isn’t it?

What will our 20th century End Times people be known for?

Will they marvel at our intelligence, and our mechanical skills, our abilities to multi-task, to drive at speeds unknown by most of the human race until now?

Will the people of old seek us out to learn new things, or will they kindly walk past us in search of slower and more predictable people?

Will they find our learned actions vulgar in spite of our righteousness?

Will they try to emulate us, or try to teach us their ways of life?

What habits have we formed as a result of living today, that will one day identify us to others?

Will our men be thought effeminate, and our women aggressive and unbecomingly bold?

Will our animated actions picked up from our televisions and the jerks and poses of our hip hop culture, translate to be tagged a people with exaggerated and untrustworthy affects?

Will we slow down to the pace of most other century people, or will they strive to speed up and learn the things of technology and knowledge?

Will they share their skills of plowing with us, as we share our language of computers with them?

Will they stick with riding the horse, as we zip around in the newest developments, or will we all choose to walk where we have to go?

Will our contact with the people of God from all times, stir us to greater heights of worship and praise?

Will our lives have more even more meaning when the rich tapestry of His Creation gathers together in His Presence and shares the things each knows?

I don’t know.

But I do know one thing. The day when the New Earth is established and the New Jerusalem with Jesus Christ on His Throne governs with righteousness for all to see, will be one of the most glorious and hoped for events I have ever thought about in anticipation. As I am meeting my brothers and sisters in Christ from all times and places, I am certain that we all will play an important role in each of our lives, as we began our new life walking in the Way and Will of the LORD God. I can’t wait!

Revelation 21:1-8

“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God [is] with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, [and be] their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:1-8 AV)

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