Some time ago we did a study on the Seven Miracles In John. In that study I showed that the focus of John’s gospel is the Lord’s Judean ministry, and really only the last 21 days of that. (The other gospels are mostly devoted the the Galilean ministry which preceded it.) Fully 10 chapters of John (From 13 on) are given to the last week of the Lord’s life and, when you consider that the Jewish day begins at sunset, 1/3 of the gospel’s 879 verses are devoted to the day of His death.

The first 11 chapters define the Lord’s ministry through John’s selective use of 7 miracles, 7 “I AM” declarations, and 7 discourses. In the “miracles” article I demonstrated how taking them in the order in which they are presented and combining the symbolic meanings behind each miracle into a summary statement, we find the complete gospel story, which I offer below. The numbers represent the 7 miracles in their given order.

From the stone cold, dead & empty way of man’s religion into a living and joyful relationship (1), we are saved by grace through faith (2), not by our own futile works (3), into his supernatural care and provision (4). With our eyes on Him not the world we achieve the supernatural (5), receive the wisdom of the Holy Spirit (6), and are restored from Death to Life (7).

Now let’s look at the seven “I am” statements to see what they’ll tell us. Here’s the first one.

1. The Bread Of Life

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:35)

The context was the Manna in the wilderness (Exodus 16:13-18). By this statement we know it was meant to be a model of the Messiah. Whoever partakes of Him will never again know spiritual hunger. Like the manna of Exodus 16 every one who seeks Him will find Him (Matt. 7:7-8), but each of us has to find Him for ourselves. No one can receive Him for us, nor can we receive Him for anyone else. We all get an amount sufficient for our salvation. No one is lacking, none of Him is wasted.

As for our thirst, remember how Jesus told the woman at the well that the water He offered would cure her thirst forever. Pointing to Jacob’s well, before which they were standing, He said, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14)

And then on the last and greatest day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. (John 7:37-39)

The Psalmist wrote, As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. (Psalm 42:1) In Jesus our spiritual hunger is satisfied and our spiritual thirst is quenched. Once we have the Holy Spirit, our search for spiritual fulfillment comes to an end, and we never need any other sustenance. The God shaped hole in our heart is finally filled.

2. The Light Of The World

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

Literally this means that those who join Jesus as one of His disciples will not be ignorant of spiritual matters but will have the power of understanding especially of the spiritual truth that brings eternal life. When we take the time to learn and apply these truths in faith we discover that the old adage is true. Whatever the spiritual question, Jesus is the answer.

Are you feeling down trodden or discouraged? Overcome by the worries of life?

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:4-7, 19).

Do you carry a burden of guilt because of your sins?

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9).

Do you have money problems?

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38). “You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” (2 Cor. 9:11)

Or health problems?

Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. (James 5:14-16).

I’ll say it again. Whatever the spiritual question, Jesus is the answer.

3. The Gate

I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. (John 10:9)

This is a reference to the Kingdom and recalls the words of the 23rd Psalm, “He makes me lie down in green pasture.” Salvation is found through Jesus, He is the gate to the Kingdom. Having entered through Him we will have the freedom to come and go as we please, dwelling in a state of peace in the midst of plenty. Surely goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our life, and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

4. The Good Shepherd

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11)

No one expects sheep to be responsible for themselves. Owners hire shepherds for that purpose. A Shepherd’s job is to accept responsibility for the safety and well being of his flock. Most shepherds only take that to the point where it would threaten their personal safety, rightly deciding that their life is worth more than that of a sheep. A few would be willing to risk their lives to protect their sheep, but our Shepherd knowingly and willingly died to save us, because there was no other way.

5. The Resurrection And The Life

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” (John 11:25-26)

This is an amazing statement. The Lord had already said that whoever believes in Him would not perish but would have eternal life. (John 3:16) Here he provided more detail, saying that even though a believer experiences physical death, he will still have life. He was referring to the resurrection of those who die in faith. And then He said there would be some would never die, but would pass from this life directly into the next one. If we didn’t already know about the rapture, we wouldn’t see this, but since we do we can understand that He was talking about that one generation who will be alive when He comes for the Church, and will receive eternal life without dying first. And once again the Lord confirmed that the single qualification for eternal life is to believe that His death paid the entire price for our sins.

6. The Way, The Truth, And The Life

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

There is no other way into the presence of God than by accepting the Lord’s death as payment in full for our sins. As Peter said, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) Jesus is the only remedy God has provided for man’s sin problem. He is the only way to eternal life. This is the truth of God’s Word.

7. The Vine

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

It’s important to understand that salvation is not a fruit bearing event, so in this statement Jesus was talking about our life after we’re saved. Of course a non believer cannot bear fruit, and even after we receive salvation believers are not automatically fruitful. But if we yield our life to Him, (Romans 12:1-2) and respond to the prompting of the Holy Spirit He sent to guide us (John 14:26) we can bear much fruit.

If not our lives will be unfruitful, because without Him we can do nothing of spiritual value. We’ll still be saved, but we’ll be of no more use to the work of the Kingdom than the unfruitful branches the gardner discards at pruning time. Paul confirmed this in 1 Cor 3:12-15. The unfruitful believer will be saved, but as one escaping through the flames.

This is not a matter of success or failure from a worldly stand point. It’s a matter of motive. Many of us will see some of our greatest accomplishments burn in the fires of judgment because we achieved them with wrong motives, like self satisfaction, or recognition from others, or even a desire to “make points” with God. Only those things that are prompted by the Holy Spirit and where our only motive is gratitude for all we’ve been given will survive. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God. (1 Cor. 4:5)

These are the seven “I am” statements in John. Like the miracles they reveal the Gospel, but now the message concerns what comes after salvation. I call it part two of the Lord’s message to us.

Jesus is the One who spiritually sustains us (1). Through Him we gain spiritual understanding and wisdom for living (2). He has given us free access to the Kingdom (3), having paid our entrance fee with His life (4). Whether we die before the rapture or are taken live in it, He has guaranteed our eternal life with God (5). He is the only one who can do this (6) and for the balance of our life on Earth, the things we do in His strength, out of gratitude for what He’s done for us, are the only things that matter (7). Selah 01-23-10

Table of contents for Living In Hard Times

1. From This Day On I Will Bless You
2. O You Of Little Faith
3. Where Your Treasure Is
4. Kingdom Dollars

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matt. 6:19-20)

US dollars are backed by the “full faith and credit” of the United States government, not by the approximately 147 million ounces of gold in Fort Knox, like they used to be. (At $1,000 dollars per ounce that’s $147 billion worth. The latest reliable estimates put the total dollars in circulation or on deposit at $8.3 trillion, so even if the dollar was backed by gold there’s less than 2 cents worth of gold behind each one.)

So the value of a dollar is determined by how confident the rest of the world is in the stability of the US economy. China holds the largest amount of dollars in reserve, about 2 trillion, and has about $800 billion more in bonds they hold. China has let it be known that their confidence in the dollar has been shaken by the recent economic turmoil in the US. Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and others feel the same way. And recently the UN has joined China and others in calling for a new, more stable currency to replace the dollar in world markets. Rest assured, if these countries can find a way to replace the dollar they’ll do so, and the value of the dollar will decline even more rapidly.

They’ll do this because they know the US has recently been flooding the market with money that isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on and sooner or later it will trigger an inflationary spiral that will further erode the dollar’s value. In the current round of Economic Summit meetings other nations are insisting that the US agree to stop spending (printing money) and start saving. But they don’t believe our government is willing to exercise the necessary restraint to make this action effective. Therefore their choice is to do something and lose a little now or do nothing and lose a lot later.

Meanwhile, Back At Home …

At the same time experts in this country believe that unemployment will remain high for another year or so. They believe that many more homes, perhaps more than a million, will soon enter foreclosure. They know that the commercial real estate and credit card markets are still in trouble and could trigger another recession, even before we’re out of this one. Lately, I’ve been seeing more references to “recession part 2″ in financial commentaries as a possibility for 2010.

It’s also been reported that a new phenomenon, called Strategic Default or “walkaway”, has come on the financial scene. It involves home owners with good credit scores who are often current on their payments deciding to just walk away from their mortgage obligations. They do this because they don’t believe they’ll ever get back to an equity position in their home. According to the LA Times there were over 580,000 cases nationwide last year, more than double 2007’s total, and current indications are that this number is continuing to grow. (In California where the once booming market has gone bust, walkaways were 68 times higher in 2008 than in 2005.)

Because of all this uncertainty, some people look at converting their cash into other currencies, like Euros or Yen, to protect themselves against the possibility of the dollar’s sudden demise, but quickly realize those currencies are just as volatile.

Still others enter the gold and silver markets, not understanding that this is just a place to temporarily park assets until the economy improves. You can’t spend the coins you buy. No matter how much the gold in your five dollar gold piece is worth, your neighborhood grocer is only going to give you five buck’s worth of food for it. You have to find a buyer who’ll give you paper money for your gold before you can spend it. If the economy never rebounds, you might be out of luck.

Bible prophecy says the world will get to a point one day where people will labor all day just to make enough money to buy their food for the day. (Rev. 6:6) There won’t be any left over for rent, utilities, car payments, or anything else. This won’t happen because food is so scarce, but because money will be worth so little. Therefore, trying to save up enough to get you through those times is an exercise in futility. In periods of run away inflation, savers are penalized by the consistent decline in the value of their savings.

For example, it takes 12 of today’s dollars to equal the purchasing power one dollar had at the end of WW2, and over that time annual inflation averaged less than 4% per year. The dollar’s purchasing power could erode that significantly in a matter of months during a period of runaway inflation.

But my purpose here is not to present a seminar on economics. It’s to introduce the only investment strategy that can protect you against catastrophic loss if the bottom falls out from under us. It involves exchanging earthly dollars, that have steadily declined in value in both good times and bad, for Kingdom dollars that cannot decline in value, or be lost or stolen.

There are two goals in this strategy. The first is to comfortably survive the coming hard times in what’s left of this life (Surviving), and the second is to create wealth for the next one (Thriving). You can do both starting today.

Goal 1. Surviving

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matt. 6:25,33)

A couple of years ago, I started warning people to either voluntarily change the way they live or wait till they’re forced to change involuntarily. Since then many have been forced to significantly adjust their lifestyles, and many more are teetering on the brink. Yet I don’t hear stories of churches filling up with people seeking after the Lord’s righteousness.

If you survived the first round of financial turmoil unscathed, don’t think you’ll automatically be immune to the next one. I truly believe that the Lord is allowing every source of security to be systematically stripped from us until only He is left. Make it easy on yourself. Take the first step now. Seek His kingdom and His righteousness and begin to feel the burden of worry lifting from your back, and the smile returning to your face, as you let Him take responsibility for your well being. The Lord is the only one capable of carrying us through the difficulties yet to come.

Goal 2. Thriving

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. (2 Cor. 9:6,8)

Waiting for the Lord to bless you before you start investing in His work is like waiting for a stove to give you heat before throwing in some wood. Sowing always precedes reaping, so start where you are. Recall how grateful you are that the Lord has saved you, and where you’d be heading had He not done so. Then express your gratitude by investing in His work. You don’t have to look around for an area of need. Just find a place where it’s obvious the Lord is already working and pitch in. Give gratefully and generously according to your ability. And remember, every time you do you’re exchanging earthly dollars for Kingdom dollars.

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. (2 Cor. 9:10)

Soon you’ll see other areas where you could help and you’ll find you have an increased ability as well. Where at first you only had a dollar to invest, you’ll see you now have two. Fight the tendency to hold some back and increase your giving instead, always with an attitude of gratitude. The main thing to remember here is that giving with the expectation of receiving isn’t being generous, it’s being greedy. (That’s the first fatal flaw in the so-called prosperity gospel.)

You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. (2 Cor. 9:11)

Most people worry that they’ll never be able to afford giving even 10% to the Lord. But people who follow this strategy in good faith eventually find themselves giving 30-40% and still have more than enough for themselves. If you work for a salary, it’s hard to imagine how this could work. But remember all money comes from the Lord, regardless of who signs your paycheck, and He has an unlimited amount. Show him you can be a good steward with what He’s giving you now and you’ll get an increase, because He promised that those who are faithful with a little will be given more. But for those who are not, even the little they have will be taken away from them. The evidence is all around us.

The first half of 2 Cor. 9:11 is so exciting to us that we forget the second half. Yes, we can be made rich in every way, but it’s so we can be generous on every occasion. And that’s prosperity gospel’s second fatal flaw. Wealth is not a gift to be wasted on indulgences for our personal benefit, it’s a trust to be administered for the benefit of others. Spending money we don’t have on things we don’t need is neither an expression of gratitude nor a demonstration of generosity. On the contrary, it’s evidence that if the Lord gave us more money, we’d just become greedier.

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23)

No matter how far upside down you are financially, you’re not beyond the Lord’s help. The very day you determine in your heart to abandon your self indulgent ways and begin to express your gratitude and demonstrate your generosity, He’ll go to work with you to help make the future different.

And remember, generosity is not a number, it’s a state of mind. It’s not how much you invest in His work that matters so much as the motive in your heart while you’re doing it. Remember the widow’s mite? (Luke 21:1-3)

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38)

The bottom line is that this investment strategy pays better than any other you can find. And it’s also unbeatable for overall security. The Lord’s bank can’t fail, inflation will never erode your earnings, and nothing can ever cause the value of your investment to decline. Also, we can see from the examples I’ve cited that your returns are payable both in this world and in the next. What other investment do you know of that can promise that?

And talk about safe. The value of Kingdom dollars is backed by the full faith and credit of the Almighty Himself. The value of earthly dollars is only backed by the full faith and credit of the US government. Are you OK with that?

“Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” (Luke 12:15)

The only condition the Lord imposes on this strategy is that we stop conforming to the patterns of this world and allow our minds to be transformed where it comes to our relationship with Him. (Romans 12:1-2) That means we start giving Him the final say in determining the direction of our lives, and expressing our gratitude for what He’s done for us by becoming a channel through which He can bless the world around us. When we do, we’ll discover that we feel more gratitude, demonstrate more generosity, and in turn we’ll experience greater returns. . We can’t lose. Selah 09-26-09

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matt. 7:13-14)

This passage is often quoted in reference to the different roads traveled by unbelievers as opposed to believers.  Unbelievers are said to be on a broad road with many fellow travelers, all on the way to their destruction.  Believers on the other hand are a small segment of humanity and are on a narrow road to salvation.  This difference is further defined by some as pertaining to our behavior.  The unbeliever’s gate is wide and his road is broad, supposedly indicating that there’s room for all kinds of sinful behavior, while for the believer it’s a small gate and a narrow road suggesting that there’s very little latitude for misbehaving.  A careless step or two and you may find yourself being rerouted onto the broad road.

If you look at these 2 verses alone it’s easy to understand why so many see them this way.  But in the context of the chapter a different picture emerges.

In Matthew 7 the people in focus all claim to be believers, and the emphasis is on their fruit.  The Lord began by admonishing us against judging others,

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Matt. 7:1-2)

Verses 3-5 have to do with judgment within the community of believers.

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

We’re all sinners and hypocrites who have a tendency to pounce all over even the “minor” sins of others while ignoring our own massive list of transgressions.  Why is it that those who test the Lord’s patience to the max are often the most acrimonious in their accusations of others?

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? (Romans 2:1-3)

Intolerant, judgmental believers are convinced they’re defending the faith and that they’ll receive the commendation due them from the Lord. But these verses indicate quite the opposite.

As much as we ignore the warnings in verses 3-5,  our disregard for verse 6 is even more glaring.  It has to do with our attitude toward unbelievers.

“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.”

Expecting the unbelieving world to conform to our moral standards is ridiculous. And yet to the world the church is known primarily for its holier-than-thou hypocrisy in doing just that.  Like the Pharisees of old we demand that others live up to behavioral standards we ourselves don’t keep.  For example studies show that our divorce and abortion rates are no different from theirs.  And it’s a known fact that we indulge in more than our share of adultery, theft, gluttony, avarice, greed, and so on, as well.

It’s like we have forgotten all about the Lord’s advice that the best way to convert the world is for the Church to become what it was meant to be, an agent of His love (John 13:34-35).  Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance? (Romans 2:4) It’s God’s kindness and mercy that bring people to Him, not threats of condemnation.

Some think it’s persecution when unbelievers pass laws that contradict our beliefs and restrict our freedoms while promoting the freedom of others.  But maybe it’s just them turning on us for the way we’ve pushed our beliefs on them, like the Lord said they would.

In Matt. 7:7-12 the way to salvation is explained to us. It’s summarized in verse 8.  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you’ve done.  If you ask for it, you’ll receive it. It’s this message of hope that’s needed for our time, not judgment and condemnation.

I don’t think it’s an accident that in verse 10 the Lord asked, “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?” The comparison of bread with a stone takes us back to the Wilderness Temptation when Satan challenged Him to turn stones into bread.  He replied, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matt. 4:4) God’s Word is life, and Jesus is the bread of life (John 6:35).  Stones are dead. If we ask for life will the Lord give us death instead?

But the comparison of a fish to a serpent symbolizes the central thought of the entire chapter.   The fish  stands for Jesus and became the symbol of His followers.  The serpent stands for Satan.  Jesus called the leaders of His day’s organized religion children of the devil (John 8:44),  who with their insistence on a mindless obedience to their laws (Isaiah 29:13) rather than faith in a coming Redeemer, made their converts twice the sons of hell as they were (Matt. 23:15). They had turned God’s love into a tool of the devil, and sadly there are many in the church still doing the same thing today.

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.(Matt 7:12)  The phrase Law and Prophets was a Jewish idiom for their Scriptures, the Old Testament. While we think of the Golden Rule as a New Testament idea, Jesus said it summarized the Old Testament as well.  If you don’t want to be judged, don’t judge.  If you don’t want to be condemned, don’t condemn. If you want mercy, be merciful. If you want to be forgiven, forgive.  If you want to receive, give. (Luke 6:36-38)

There’s a reason why verses 13-14 are in the middle of the chapter and not the beginning or the end.  Up till now we’ve been looking at misdirected believers who think they’re defending the faith but instead will find themselves defending fruitless lives at judgment time.  Now we’ll see examples of those who claim to be in the Church, but will actually be left behind when the Rapture comes.

Matt. 7:15-23 warns us against following false prophets, saying, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matt. 7:22-23)

Appearing to perform miracles in the Lord’s name does not make someone His follower, so we shouldn’t blindly accept them as such, but should inspect their doctrine.  Remember Satan will appear to perform miracles and will deceive many.  (2 Thes. 2:9-10)  Only those who do His father’s will can claim the Son, regardless of what else they say or do.  And what is the father’s will? Here’s the Lord’s answer.   “My Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:40)

Nowhere is the Father’s will as it regards our salvation stated more clearly.   Anyone who adds any requirement or qualification to this declaration (or takes anything from it) is a false prophet even if they perform miracles in the Lord’s name.

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” (Matt. 7:24-27)

Here is the Lord’s summary statement complete with one final comparison, this one aimed at the liberals.  In Matt. 16: 16-18 Jesus called Peter’s confession that He was the Christ (Messiah), the Son of the Living God, the rock on which He would build the Church.  Paul wrote that the rock Moses struck to provide water for the Israelites represented Christ. For they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. (1 Cor. 10:4)   From ancient times, the priest would call God’s people to worship saying, “Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.” (Psalm 95:1)  And today we sing, “On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.”

A doctrine of salvation that’s built upon anything other than the personal relationship with Jesus that comes from being born again rests precariously on sinking sand. (John 3:3)  He alone is the foundation of our faith, and unless our salvation is built exclusively upon this Rock, it will be of no avail to us when we stand before Him on that Day.

From the context of the chapter, we can see that the Lord’s topic was salvation.  We don’t deserve ours so we shouldn’t judge others when it looks to us like they don’t deserve theirs.  We have no right to think of ourselves as being better than unbelievers, so we shouldn’t try to impose our values on them.    We received our salvation simply because we asked for it in faith.  There was no merit or worthiness involved, nothing to commend us.  But we should be very wary of those who would propose alternatives to salvation by grace through faith alone, whether by adding to or subtracting from it, even if they perform miracles.

Now let’s go back to verses 13-14.   Each of the two roads is thought by its travelers to be the way to salvation.  But the name engraved above the wide gate is Works and multitudes who call themselves Christians are striving to get there. They run the gamut from extreme legalism to extreme liberalism, but have in common a belief that it’s their behavior that saves them.

The legalist proudly proclaims, “Jesus may have begun my salvation, but I finished it.  I have kept the commandments and no longer sin. I have earned the right to call others to account for their behavior.  How else will they learn?”

The false prophet says, “I’m a miracle worker, just like the Lord was. Who can doubt that I’m His.”

The artificially modest liberal says “I’m a good person and I’ve tried to live a good life. There are many roads to salvation and as long as we’re sincere in what we believe, the Lord will understand and accept us.”

None of them realizes the road he’s on leads to destruction.

But at the end of the narrow road stands a small gate on which the word Faith is inscribed.  As we come alongside the few travelers on this road we can hear them softly singing,

“Just as I am, without one plea,
but that thy blood was shed for me,
and that thou bidst me come to thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.”

This is the road to Life.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)  Selah.  07-18-09

It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. (Hebr. 6:4-6)

Gracethrufaith.com has experienced remarkable growth since we inaugurated our “Ask A Bible Teacher” feature 2 ½ years ago . In addition, a number of other sites now include our weekly articles as part of their regular offering to their readers. Many of you originally came to us from these other sites.

As a result, we’re continually getting new readers who have questions similar to those previously asked by those who’ve been with us a longer time. A prime example is the barrage of questions I’ve received lately about Hebrews 6:4-6,a passage we dealt with extensively 2 years ago when the site was much smaller. These new questions are based on a view of this passage that while Jesus will never drive us away, we can “fall away” by failing to live a holy life and once we do, it’s over for us. Since this is a controversial and much misunderstood portion of Scripture, maybe it’s time we look at it again.

Let’s Begin At The Beginning

Let’s start by reviewing the basics of our relationship with the Lord. What does it take to be saved? I think the best answer to that question is the one the Lord gave in John 6:28-29.

Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

Here was a perfect opportunity to list all the things we have to do to meet God’s requirements. Jesus could have rattled off the 10 commandments. He could have repeated the Sermon on the Mount. He could have listed any number of admonitions and restrictions necessary to achieve and maintain God’s expectations of us. But what did He say? “Believe in the one He has sent.” Period. It was a repeat of John 3:16, confirming that belief in the Son is the one and only requirement for salvation.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. There’s not much here that can be misunderstood. These are two of the Bible’s clearest statements on salvation.

A few chapters later He said that His Father was in complete agreement. And not only would our belief suffice to provide us with eternal life, it’s God’s will that Jesus would lose none of us who believe. You and I have been known to disobey God’s will, but has Jesus ever done so? And isn’t He the one who’s been charged with the responsibility for keeping us? Let’s read it.

“For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:38-40)

Just in case we missed this promise, Jesus made it again even more clearly in John 10:28-30. “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” The Father and the Son have both accepted responsibility for our security. Once we’re in Their hands, no one can get us away.

I have purposely only used words straight from the Lord’s own mouth to make this case because I can already hear the choruses of “Yes Buts” mounting as those who refuse to take them at face value get ready to trot out their favorite verses denying Eternal Security, misinterpreted though they are.

The one characteristic of God’s that gives us the most comfort is knowing that He can’t lie or change His mind or contradict Himself. He can’t say something in one place and then say something entirely different in another. He’s consistent. If He says that we’re saved solely because of our belief in Him, and that He’s accepted responsibility for keeping us so, then we can count on that. As we’ll see, anything in the Bible that seems to contradict these simple, straightforward statements has to be talking about something else.

But first, since He puts so much emphasis on belief, let’s take a closer look at that word. What does He mean when He says “believe”? The Greek word for believe is “pistis.” According the Strong’s Concordance, it’s a “conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervor born of faith and joined with it.” In connection with the Lord Jesus, it means “a strong and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God.”

The Apostle Paul gave us valuable insight into the nature of this belief. He wrote, If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. (Romans 10:9-10)

The belief he was talking about isn’t just some intellectual thing, or some passion of the moment emotion. It’s a conviction that’s formed deep in our heart, the realization that Jesus is not just a man. He’s our Lord, and He took upon Himself the penalty due us for our sins, which is death. And to prove that God counted His death as sufficient, He raised Jesus from the dead to be seated beside Him in the Heavenly realms. (Ephes. 1:20) Since God can’t dwell in the presence of sin, and since the wages of sin is death, every one of our sins has to have been paid for. If even one remained unpaid, Jesus would still be in the grave. So we have to believe that Jesus rose from the grave in order to believe that we will, too.

It’s that kind of belief that gets you saved and keeps you that way, because it sets in motion a chain of events that’s irreversible. There are four links in this chain. You supply two and the Lord supplies two. You hear and believe, and the Lord marks and guarantees.

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession-to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14)

The word translated “deposit” is a legal term. It describes a down payment that constitutes a legal obligation to follow through with the purchase. If you’ve ever bought any Real Estate, you’re familiar with the term Earnest Money deposit. It’s just like that. If you’re not, here’s another example. It’s like we’ve been put on “lay away.” The price has been paid and we’ve been taken off the display shelf until the one who has purchased us returns to claim us. In the mean time we cannot be bought by anyone else, because we legally belong to the one who has paid the deposit. “You are not your own,” we’re told. “You were bought with a price.” (1 Cor. 6:19-20) That means we can’t be “un-bought” even by ourselves.

All of this happened at our first moment of belief, before we could do anything to either earn or lose our position. The man on the cross beside Jesus is the prototype for this transaction. Having done something bad enough to get himself executed, he was promised a place in Paradise solely because he believed in his heart that Jesus was the Lord of a coming Kingdom. (Luke 23:42-43) Since Jesus was being executed too, it meant he believed that Jesus would be raised from the dead.

Paul made it even clearer when he repeated this incredible promise in 2 Cor. 1:21-22. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

This time He removed all doubt as to just Who it is that keeps us saved. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. God has put His mark on us and His Spirit in us, as His personal guarantee. What could be clearer?

Union And Fellowship

If the Doctrine of Eternal Security is so clear then why all the disagreement about it? I’ve found two reasons. The first is the two-sided nature of our relationship with the Lord. One side is called Union and is eternal and unconditional, based only on our belief. Ephesians 1:13-14 describes our Union with God, sealed and guaranteed. Once we’re born again, we can’t become unborn. It’s good forever. The Holy Spirit is sealed within us from our first moment of belief until the day of redemption. Nowhere is there even a hint that He will revoke that guarantee.

The other side is called Fellowship and it’s a bit more complicated. Fellowship is that state of continual closeness to God that enables Him to bless us in our daily lives, by making things happen for us and protecting us from attack. It’s like He’s teamed up with us to give us a supernatural advantage. Fellowship is defined by 1 John 1:8-9 as being both Earthly and conditional upon our behavior. Even as believers, as long as we’re here on Earth we’ll continue to sin. Since God can’t abide in the presence of sin, our unconfessed sins interrupt our Earthly relationship with Him and may deprive us of blessings we might have otherwise received. We’re still saved in the eternal sense, but out of Fellowship here on Earth.

When we’re out of Fellowship, we’re legitimate targets for our enemy’s mischief, just like Job was. His sin was self-righteousness and because he wouldn’t confess it, God had to let Satan afflict him in order to bring him to his senses. When he did, he confessed and was restored. (Job 42) God had never left him. Bringing Job back was His intention all along.

For a New Testament illustration, take the parable of the Prodigal Son. (Luke 15:11-32) Here’s a clear example of what it means to “fall away”. The prodigal left his father’s house and struck out on his own, but he never stopped being his father’s son. When he realized his mistake and returned it was like He never left.

Job’s case was real and we know the Lord was managing the entire event, something Job didn’t know. The story of the Prodigal is a parable, but I’m convinced the same principle holds true. Whenever a “prodigal son” takes off on his or her own, God works quietly to undermine the feelings of self-sufficiency, and the attraction of independence, nudging the wayward child back onto the path. This is the way a shepherd keeps the flock, and our Shepherd has pledged never to lose any of us.

Like the younger son, we’ll always belong to our Father’s family. But we won’t receive any of His blessings while we’re out of Fellowship. And like both Job and the Prodigal, when we return to our Father and confess our sins, we’re immediately purified from all unrighteousness and restored to Fellowship.

One reason that many Christians live such defeated lives is that having only learned about the Union part of being a believer, they only know that God has forgiven their sins and that they’ll go to be with Him when they die or are Raptured. They don’t realize that they still need to confess every time they sin to stay in Fellowship. And so, being deprived of God’s providence, they may become discouraged and even stop praying and attending church. Other believers, who don’t understand the dual relationship either, look at the mess they’re in and think they must have lost their salvation. Like Job’s friends, they look in God’s Word to find confirmation of what they already believe, and by taking verses out of context, think they’ve found the proof they were seeking.

Union and Fellowship are not just New Testament ideas. In the Old Testament, even when Israel was being obedient in thought and action, doing their best to please God, the priests still had to sacrifice a lamb on the altar every morning and every evening for the sins of the people. 1 John 1:9 is the New Testament equivalent of those daily sacrifices for sin. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. It was written for believers who are already saved, but are in danger of being out of Fellowship because of their sins.

The Gift And the Prize

The other reason people get confused is that there are two types of benefits in Eternity. The first is the free Gift called Salvation that’s given to all who ask in faith irrespective of merit and guarantees our admission into the Kingdom. Ephesians 2:8-9 is the model, saying that salvation is a Gift from God.

The second consists of Heavenly rewards we can earn for the things we do as believers here on Earth. Philippians 3:13-14 are good verses for explaining this. Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. In addition to the Gift, there’s a Prize.

A gift is something given out of love, irrespective of merit, and is never taken back. A prize, on the other hand, is something we qualify for and earn. And if we’re not careful we can lose it. (Rev. 3:11) Paul had already received the Gift of salvation, it was behind him. Now he was focused on winning the Prize as well.

In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 he explained the difference in greater detail. Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

No Olympic athlete was satisfied just to have qualified to participate in the games. Everyone wanted to win the victor’s crown. Likewise, we shouldn’t be satisfied just to have received the Gift of salvation. We must now live our lives as believers in such a way as to win the Prize as well.

The Bible calls some of these prizes crowns, and while the athlete’s crown soon wilted away (it was a wreath of ivy) the crowns believers can win last forever. They’re worth making some sacrifices for. That’s why Paul said, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (1 Cor. 9:27) The crowns are identified as the Everlasting Crown (Victory) in 1 Cor 9:25, Crown of the Soul Winner in Phil 4:1 and 1 Thes 2:19, Crown of Righteousness in 2 Tim 4:8, Crown of Life in Jas 1:12 and Rev 2:10, and the Crown of Glory in 1 Peter 5:4.

The difference between the Gift and the Prize is also seen in 1 Cor. 3:12-15. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

At the judgment of believers, the quality of our work on earth will be tested by fire. Only work that survives the test will bring us a reward. But notice that even if all our work is destroyed in the fire, we’ll still have our salvation. Why? Because it’s a free Gift, given out of love, irrespective of merit.

The Lord mentioned other rewards as well. In Matt. 6:19-21 He advised us, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

There are things we can do as believers while here on Earth that will cause deposits to be made to our heavenly account. Some believe that this passage refers to the way we use the money we’re given. Do we use it to enrich ourselves, stacking up possessions that far exceed our needs? Or do we use it to further the work of the Kingdom? Here’s a hint. Our tithe is what we owe to God. It’s what we do with the money we have left that really counts. And with the measure we use, it will be measured to us. (Luke 6:38)

To summarize, in the New Testament there are verses like Ephesians 1:13-14 that talk about Union. There are verses like 1 John 1: 8-9 that talk about Fellowship. There are verses like Ephesians 2:8-9 that talk about the Gift and there are verses like 1 Cor 9:24-27 that talk about the Prize.

The verses that stress belief, explain the permanent nature of our bond with God, and are directed toward eternity, are Union verses. Those that involve grace and faith are Gift verses. Those that require work and are directed at the quality of our lives on Earth are Fellowship verses, and those that require work and involve eternal rewards are Prize verses.

When you view Scripture from this perspective, all of the apparent contradictions disappear and you no longer have to wonder why God seems to be saying one thing here and something different there. The issue becomes one of correctly identifying the focal point of the particular passage you’re looking at. Determine the context by reading verses around it, and assign it to one of the four categories.

What About Hebrews 6?

Now we’re ready to look at Hebrews 6:4-6, a passage so often often cited in opposition to Eternal Security. Please remember that the entire letter was written to Jewish believers who were being enticed back into keeping the Law, so the context is New Covenant vs. Old. (The reason this letter is in the Bible is that this is still going on today, only now it concerns both Jews and Gentiles.)  In Hebrews 6:1-3 the writer said that he was now going beyond the elementary teachings concerning salvation and in verse 9 he confirmed that he’d been talking about things that accompany salvation. That tells us that verses 4-6 are not related to salvation (Union) but to things that accompany it (Fellowship). We know this because the idea that a believer could do something to irretrievably lose his salvation is in direct contradiction to the clear promise that the Holy Spirit is sealed within us from the very first moment of belief until the day of our redemption.

So what could these believers do that would be considered falling away? Remember, they were Jews who had tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, the Church. They were being admonished to return to the Old Covenant, to find remedies for their ongoing sin in the daily sacrifices.

And what could prevent them from being restored? Continuing to practice those remedies rather than simply confessing. By doing so they’d be relegating the death of the Lord to the same status as that of the twice-daily lamb. The Law was only a shadow of the good things to come, not the realities themselves. Once the Reality appeared, the shadow was no longer effective. And what would be their penalty? Loss of Fellowship. Living a defeated life, bearing no fruit, all their works burned in the judgment of 1 Cor. 3. But still saved? Yes.

So, the warning of Hebrews 6 is against interrupting our Fellowship with God, not breaking our Union with Him. The key is the phrase “renew again to repentance.” Those who relied on the daily sacrifice instead of confessing directly to God were in effect crucifying the Lord all over again, since He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The daily sacrifice was a foreshadowing of Him, and when He came the shadow gave way to the reality. The old way was no longer sufficient to restore them to fellowship. The modern application of this is going back to relying on our own works to keep ourselves saved, instead of trusting God to keep us.

Since 1 John 1:9 says that confession brings forgiveness and purification from all unrighteousness (renewal again to repentance), then by implication anything other than confessing our sins prevents forgiveness and purification and causes estrangement from God. It doesn’t revoke our salvation, but because God can’t be in the presence of sin, it does suspend our fellowship, depriving us of blessings we could have otherwise had.

There are many clear verses that unequivocally promise eternal security. Since the Bible cannot contradict itself and still be the Word of God, interpreting Hebrews 6 as having anything to do with salvation is a violation of a basic rule of interpretation, which teaches that we’re to use clear verses to interpret obscure ones, not the other way around. The clearest and most easily understood verses on salvation explain that it’s by grace through faith.

When people say that God doesn’t take back the gift of salvation, but that we can walk away from it it, they not only have to disregard the promises and guarantees God has made to us, they also have to put words in His mouth. When He says in John 10:28, “No one can snatch them out of my hand,” they have to insert the phrase “but us” after “no one”.

It’s the same with Romans 8:38-39.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Here they have to insert the phrase “but us” after “in all creation”.

None of this is intended to condone sin. As a demonstration of our gratitude for the gift of salvation, believers are continually admonished in Scripture to live our lives in a manner pleasing to God. Not to earn or keep it, but to thank the Lord for giving it to us. And to help us do that, the Holy Spirit has come to dwell in us to guide and direct us, and to pray for us. Since the Spirit of God lives in us we are no longer controlled by the sin nature and can choose to please God by the way we live. And even though we do this out of gratitude for the Gift He’s already given, which is Union with Him, He blesses us yet again, with Fellowship here on Earth and Prizes in Eternity. Selah 12-20-08

From the eMail I’ve received this week, it’s obvious that healing is a Biblical subject of singular importance and diverse understanding. It’s clear to me that many have formed their opinions from either hearsay or personal observation rather than God’s word.

After years and years of studying what the Bible says about healing it seems to me that while Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8) and while He said that anyone with faith would do the things He did (John 14:12) the results we’re experiencing in the Western Church today are far different than those described in the Bible. A logical mind can only conclude that something has changed and since it’s not Him, that leaves only us.

To prove my point, count the number of times when you’ve personally witnessed someone being healed. Not heard about, but personally witnessed. If you’re like most people you won’t know of very many, maybe not any. Somewhere along the way there’s been a disconnect, and while I work to find it I am trying to sound the alarm, hoping others will join me in the search.

I lack the resources to examine them personally, but I’ve received first hand reports from people I trust indicating that in some parts of the world, faith healing and other miraculous works are much more prevalent than in the West. So far I’ve received credible reports from China, India, Africa and Iraq. I view this as confirmation that it has to be us.

Got Faith?

Those of you who’ve reminded me of the famous people we all think should have been healed but weren’t, please remember this. We can only estimate how much faith we have by comparing ourselves with our contemporaries. We have no idea where we fall on God’s scale. Could we be favorably compared with those who came before us? We have no way of knowing. Many of us think we have great faith, but do you think anything you’ve ever done in faith would qualify you for inclusion in Hebrews 11? Do you know anybody alive today whose faith could?

Elijah challenged the 400 priests of Baal to a public test of faith before a crowd of thousands. As an old man Daniel faced the lions all night long as they got hungrier by the minute. According to tradition John preached the Gospel while being lowered into a cauldron of boiling oil, and then kept on preaching while it bubbled away around him. Paul walked into city after city knowing that he would likely be beaten severely enough to require supernatural healing before he left. Could even our most successful “men of God” pull off anything like that today? Name the mega pastor, Christian author, or televangelist whose work would qualify them. Now think of the growing number of pastors who won’t give an altar call to their own congregation for fear of offending someone! How the mighty have fallen.

Do you suppose Jesus was looking at mankind’s steadily weakening faith between His day and ours when He asked, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8) In the margin of my Bible, I wrote, “Not much.” Faith grows from a day by day dependence on God to fulfill his promises to us. We’ve had things so good for so long that we haven’t needed even a faith the size of a mustard seed to prosper.

Here’s How It All Began

When preparing the Children of Israel for entry into the promised land, God had Moses tell them these things.

He will love you and bless you and increase your numbers. He will bless the fruit of your womb, the crops of your land-your grain, new wine and oil-the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks in the land that he swore to your forefathers to give you. You will be blessed more than any other people; none of your men or women will be childless, nor any of your livestock without young. The LORD will keep you free from every disease. He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but he will inflict them on all who hate you. (Deut. 7:13-15)

It’s our nature to look to God when we have nothing and are struggling, and He blesses us in return. When I first became a believer, I concluded that one of the most popular products my company sold was not pleasing to God so I stopped selling it. Finding a way to make up for this huge loss in revenue was stressful, so I began getting up early in the morning to pray for guidance and give thanks for the blessings I’d received. Each morning I spent an hour on my knees in the living room before anyone else got up. The Lord blessed me through that time and brought me Christian clients with needs I could meet in a way that pleased Him. The lost revenue was more than replaced.

Remember Who Got You Where You Are

Someone wrote that religion gives birth to prosperity and the daughter consumes the mother. I believe he meant that God has always promised abundance to those who follow Him, but eventually man will make prosperity his religion and abandon God. Here’s how God warned His people against this.

Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God. (Deut. 8:11-14)

You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today. (Deut. 8:17-18)

As the blessings multiply and we become more secure it usually becomes harder to take the time to pray. We begin to feel that we no longer need to spend valuable time asking the Lord for direction. Also our confidence grows and we begin to believe our success is self generated. That means we don’t spend as much time giving thanks. As I got busier and began traveling more, it was harder to devote that hour each day so I began trying to do two things at once, praying while I exercised or while I drove to work. It wasn’t the same, and I saw how easy it would be to justify stopping altogether. I was saved by a series of contracts the Lord sent me that gave me an uninterrupted hour each day on flights to various cities in the Western US. In a 10 year period I logged nearly 2 million miles into my frequent flier account, almost all of them on flights 60-90 minutes long. I often wonder how different things would have been had I simply convinced myself that I was too busy to pray any more, or that my success was due to my own talent and skill so I no longer needed to thank the Lord or seek His direction.

It Doesn’t Take Much

The generation of Israelites who came into the promised land experienced some of the most faith building miracles of all time. But in Judges 2:10 we read this incredible statement.

After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel.

Within a span of one generation the people had forgotten the Lord and what He had done for them. The Book of Judges records one of the lowest points in their history. They showed that it doesn’t take much to destroy the faith of a nation. Just one generation of neglecting the Word of God.

And in His letter to the Church at Ephesus (Rev. 2:1-7) the Lord commended the believers there for remaining true to His word. But He also criticized them, saying they had forgotten their first love. They had become so busy in service to the King that they had forgotten the King!

“Remember the height from which you’ve fallen,” He said. (Rev. 2:5) He didn’t need their acts of service, and He really missed their company. They were only one generation from the cross. They went to church every week and spent time doing good works on His behalf. Yet they had forgotten Him.

With individuals it happens even faster. Stop praying for a day or two and you’ll miss it. Stop for a month and you’ll forget it. Oh, you’re still going to Church and may even be involved in a project or two, or serve on a committee or board. Maybe you go around looking for people to minister to and pray for. You may even refer to yourself as a follower of Jesus, not just a believer.

Sometimes we call this “maturing in the faith” meaning we’re not so dependent any more. We don’t need direction. We know what to do and we’re doing it. We forget that Jesus said we’re to become like little children. Little children are naive, trusting, and dependent. The most powerful believers among us stay that way. They never mature. They never get to the point where they don’t ask for His guidance or feel the need to express their gratitude. They never substitute works for faith, or become so busy in service to the King that they forget the King.

We Need More Exercise

In all likelihood we’re entering a time when the world as we’ve known it will be no more, perhaps forever. Our security will be shaken, our freedoms will be restricted, and our faith will be tested. Some of us will find ourselves back at square one after it’s too late to start over. Now’s the time to begin exercising our faith.

The faith to be saved was a gift from God (Ephes. 2:8) and keeping you saved is His job (2 Cor. 1:21-22). But you can exercise your faith to make it stronger by reading your Bible daily (Romans 10:17) and talking with the Lord about what you’ve read, asking for guidance in how to apply it. Faith only gets stronger when it’s accompanied by action (James 2:17). After praying for direction, do something you’re not sure you can do, trusting that God will give you the ability as you need it. You can begin with something as little as talking about the Lord with someone, helping out in a food kitchen or rescue mission, or visiting a sick person. He’ll point you to bigger things from there. Each time you take a step of faith, your faith will grow to prepare you for the next step. Above all, pray about everything, be fearful of nothing, and give thanks for anything. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:7) You can do this. Selah 10-25-08

Table of contents for Living In Hard Times

1. From This Day On I Will Bless You
2. O You Of Little Faith
3. Where Your Treasure Is
4. Kingdom Dollars

A bible Study by Jack Kelley

Store Up Treasure In Heaven

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” ( Luke 12:32-34)

According to a government analysis, the retirement accounts (like pension funds and 401k’s) of working Americans have lost more than $2 trillion in the past 15 months, half of it in the last 3 months. That means the average American family has just lost nearly 25% of its retirement fund, and we’re being cautioned that the end is not yet in sight.

This is on top of the 25% hit they’ve just taken in the value of their home and the increase in fuel and other costs associated with their daily lives. Many families have seen their net worth cut nearly in half. It’s not a pretty sight. Only the stock market crash of 1929 has been worse.

Who Started This?

If you’re following the editorials and news reports like I am you’ve been reading some of the most incredible speculation about what’s happening and why that we’ve seen in a long time.

Some say conditions are being created for the anti-Christ to step in and take charge. According to this scenario, he’ll be a financial peacemaker, and will take over the world’s banking systems to get control of the situation and restore order. At that point he’ll be able to determine what everybody buys and sells, excluding those who won’t follow him from the marketplace.

Others say that this crisis has been manipulated by a hand full of shadowy figures at the pinnacle of the US financial world. They’re the ones who triggered the Asian financial crisis a few years ago and now they’re implementing the same tactics against Europe. Their goal is also to control world finance but for the benefit of their cronies at Goldman Sachs, Citibank and JP Morgan.

Still others claim this is the long predicted (but studiously ignored) outcome of applying the philosophy of social activism to economic matters. They claim that since the days of the Carter Administration the government has been ignoring the basics of mortgage banking by forcing its sponsored lending institutions to grant loans to people who couldn’t pay them back. Such requirements as good credit history, proof of income, and down payments were all ignored to help more of the nation’s “disadvantaged” to own their homes. Their hope (which didn’t materialize) was that if more people in poor neighborhoods owned their homes, they’d help improve the neighborhoods which would increase the value of their property. Payment plans were sometimes adjusted downward to the point where they didn’t even cover the monthly interest charges, meaning that the “home owner’s” debt actually increased each month. While this program started off “small” in 15 selected markets, it was vastly expanded by President Clinton to become essentially a nation wide effort.

They say Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac ultimately failed because of these bad mortgages, which by government decree made up about half of their portfolios, and that triggered the failure of other institutions who bought their “Asset Backed Securities”, as bundles of these mortgages were called. Just about every sizable financial institution in the world with a fixed income portfolio holds some and will share in losses that could run in excess of $3.6 trillion dollars (that’s 3.6 with 11 zeros behind it). And that doesn’t count the losses caused by the sell off of other stocks as investors lose faith in all the world’s financial markets. The IMF estimates those losses to be another trillion or so.

And then there are those who say that God Himself is behind this. He’s giving “what-for” to those who’ve put their trust in silver and gold in an effort to humble the proud in fulfillment prophecies like James 5:1-6.

Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.

They see this all happening around the time of the Fall Feasts as being a sure sign that it’s from God. This, in spite of the fact that Israel, whose time of judgment the feasts were designed for, has been much less damaged by all this than the Gentile world.

One thing everyone seems to agree on is that this isn’t going to be over anytime soon. They all say that we’ll have short periods of relative calm that will make it seem like things are OK, but they’ll be followed by more times of unrest and even greater uncertainty. Many believe that our mountain of credit card debt will come crashing down next, and before it’s all over we’ll see a totally new world wide banking system, and perhaps even a single world wide currency.

Now What Do We Do?

How should a Christian family respond to these things? The natural way is to tighten the proverbial belt, stop spending money on things we don’t need and try to reduce living expenses as quickly as possible. Many will reduce their charitable giving immediately, thinking it’s the most discretionary of all their spending, and indeed some already have. Others are turning to Ebay and Craig’s List, hoping to convert non-essential possessions into cash to help pay the bills.

The Bible suggests a different strategy. It says not to worry about it. It says you should sell unnecessary things and work to reduce your income needs, but then give the money you recover to the poor. When things are declining in value the sooner you turn them into cash the more cash you’ll get, and the more you get the more generous you can be. If your retirement fund is disappearing anyway, why not give some of it away while you can and feel good, instead of watching it disappear into thin air and feeling bad?

You’ll also be building treasure in Heaven where things like inflation and depreciation are unheard of, and at the same time cranking up the measure of blessing you receive on Earth because with the measure you use in giving, the Lord’s blessings are measured to you. (Luke 6:38)

The anxiety people feel just now comes from watching something they’ve worked for and put their faith in eroding uncontrollably right before their eyes. And if, as some believe, this erosion will continue until there’s little or nothing left the stress can only get worse. Shifting your trust from your bank account to the Lord will immediately reduce your anxiety because you’ll be putting your faith in the One who has promised to look after you, and who will never run out of money. And using part of what He’s already given you to help the less fortunate will give you such a boost that you’ll finally understand what that phrase “peace that passes all understanding” really means.

Where your treasure is there your heart will be also. Now’s the time to move your portfolio to some place where things like this can’t ever happen. Since you’re going there soon anyway, now’s the time to send it on ahead. Financial adisors caution us against converting everything to cash because they say when we do we lock in our losses. But investing in the Lord’s work will store up treasure in Heaven . It pays an eternal dividend that will put anything you could earn here to shame.

I know this sounds counter intuitive. I know every fiber of your being is telling you to tighten up and horde what you have. But I’m saying that now’s the time to become generous. Now’s the time to switch your allegiance from the things of man to the promises of God. When you do, you’ll have finally found that “sure thing” that investors have hunted for in vain since the beginning of time.

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. (Colossians 2:8)

In these three articles on Living in Hard Times I’ve identified three Biblical principles that can guide us safely through.

1.Seek His Kingdom and His Righteousness,
2.Increase Your Faith,
3.Store Up Treasure In Heaven.

Seeking His Kingdom means to start living a life more pleasing to Him, not by keeping a bunch of rules, but by offering your life to Him to use as He sees fit. Increasing your faith means trusting Him to provide for you as His part of the bargain and watching your faith grow as He comes through for you. Storing up treasure in heaven means helping the work of the kingdom as the Lord guides you, using what He’s given you for His glory. All three require us to abandon conventional wisdom and the ways of this world in favor of Biblical truth. It’s one of the biggest paradigm shifts we’ll ever make but it’s based on Paul’s admonition of 2 Cor. 4:18. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

So come on, Church. It’s time to get our hearts and minds out of the world and into the Kingdom, to finally walk by faith and not by sight. To recognize that we’re citizens of Heaven and our temporary stay here is coming to an end. To stop worrying about things that aren’t our responsibility and that we can’t control and focus on things that are our responsibillity and that we can. Time to think about going home and what’s it’s going to be like there, and to send our treasure on ahead so it’ll be there when we need it. It’s time to place our trust fully in the One we can neither leave nor lose, the Giver of every good and perfect gift, who has promised to be with us always, even to the end of the age, and to see to our every need along the way. Selah 10-11-08

Table of contents for Living In Hard Times

1. From This Day On I Will Bless You
2. O You Of Little Faith
3. Where Your Treasure Is
4. Kingdom Dollars

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

Seek His Kingdom

On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Haggai: “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Ask the priests what the law says: If a person carries consecrated meat in the fold of his garment, and that fold touches some bread or stew, some wine, oil or other food, does it become consecrated?’ ” The priests answered, “No.”

Then Haggai said, “If a person defiled by contact with a dead body touches one of these things, does it become defiled?”

“Yes,” the priests replied, “it becomes defiled.” Then Haggai said, ” ‘So it is with this people and this nation in my sight,’ declares the LORD. ‘Whatever they do and whatever they offer there is defiled.

” ‘Now give careful thought to this from this day on —consider how things were before one stone was laid on another in the LORD’s temple. When anyone came to a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten. When anyone went to a wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were only twenty. I struck all the work of your hands with blight, mildew and hail, yet you did not turn to me,’ declares the LORD.

‘From this day on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, give careful thought to the day when the foundation of the LORD’s temple was laid. Give careful thought: Is there yet any seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not borne fruit. ” ‘From this day on I will bless you.’ “ (Haggai 2:10-19)

After returning from the Babylonian captivity the Jews had faced a lot of resistance in trying to rebuild their Temple. Finally they gave up, wrongly deciding that perhaps it wasn’t God’s timing. When they did, they faced another kind of trouble as well. They lost the Lord’s favor, and from then on no matter how hard they worked they weren’t successful. Each time they thought they were getting ahead, they discovered they were actually getting behind. Even their offerings weren’t pleasing to Him.

On the day they they turned back to the construction of the Lord’s house, this all stopped and He restored their blessings. What was the lesson? He wanted them to put His house first, especially in times of persecution.

Financial Disasters

The Lord’s depletion of their stored up goods is a model of today’s losses, first in the decline of the dollar and now in the decline of property values. The dollar has lost over 28 % of it’s value in the world markets, making the foreign made products we buy, or those made of imported materials, more expensive. (Try to find something on your shopping list that doesn’t fit into one or the other of those two categories.)

The average home in the US is now worth 25% less than it was a few months ago. Since most people didn’t have 25% equity in their homes to begin with, that means the average home owner now owes more on his or her property can it can be sold for. Estimated losses for the Real Estate market will exceed $1 trillion. About one third of that, $350 billion, has been reported so far, so we can expect much more bad news on that score. Officials are projecting that up to 110 retail banks could fail this year, but some estimates put the eventual total at well over 1,000 before this crisis is over.. If they’re right then one out of every eight banks is already in some kind of financial trouble. Retired Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan has called this situation a “once-in-a-century” financial disaster, and it’s impacting financial markets all over the world.

Natural Disasters

The blight, mildew, and hail of Haggai 2 are models of the natural disasters that are also afflicting us now. We’ve just entered the hurricane season and already the damages are in the billions. As it was with the Israelites, the fruits of our labors are disappearing, and our offerings are not pleasing to the Lord.

Things that were external and physical in the Old Testament often become internal and spiritual in the New. In the Old Testament the Temple was a building in Jerusalem, but in the New we are the Temple of God, and things aren’t national anymore, they’re personal. The good news is that as believers we’re not held captive to the fate of our nation like the Israelites were. In 2 Chron. 7:14 the Lord promised the Israelites,

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

This was a promise to the Jewish people that if as a nation they would return to their covenant relationship with God he would restore His blessings on the Promised Land. The application of this promise to the US is not appropriate. For us the applicable verses are Matt. 6:31-33.

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

This is a promise to each of us personally. We’re not to worry about how we’ll get by. We’re to seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given us as well. The Lord’s feeding of first 5000 and then 4000 was meant to teach us that He is able to provide when we’re willing to let Him. The feeding of 5,000 is the only one of His many pre-resurrection miracles that’s described in all four gospels, which means that except for the Resurrection it was His most important one.

Now that doesn’t mean we can sit back like baby birds with our mouths open crying, “Feed me”. Paul said that he who will not work shall not eat. (2 Thes. 3:10) But it does mean that we are to put our trust in Him to take care of us regardless of the circumstances, to do the work He gives us no matter what it is, and concentrate on coming closer to Him.

Let’s Get Personal

The time is coming soon when every Christian family in America will either have a personal experience of miraculous survival in the face of financial disaster or will know of one who has. In each case the story will be the same as it was for the Jews of Haggai’s day. As soon as they stopped worrying about their own lives and turned back to the business of building the Lord’s Temple, His blessings were restored. As soon as we stop worrying about how we’re going to survive the potentially difficult days ahead and focus our lives on Him we’ll experience the same result.

Please don’t misunderstand me here. I’m not talking about some external application of legalism. I’m not talking about mindless obedience to rules and commandments while our hearts are in rebellion . I’m talking about an inner reliance on the Lord, about restoring our faith in both His ability and His desire to provide for us.

There’s no prophecy we can point to for assurance that the Lord will save the United States. Applying Old Testament promises meant for Israel to the US is just another form of replacement theology. This is not a national issue. This is a personal one, and each one of us will determine the outcome for our own lives.

The very day that Israel decided to resume building the Lord’s House He restored their blessings. This is a part of the prophecy you can claim for yourself. The very day you determine in your heart to place your life in His hands He will begin blessing you.

That doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll all get to keep everything we now have. Some of our possessions are actually the cause of our problems, both because we’ve over spent to get them and because they’ve taken our focus off the Lord. Some of them have even enslaved us, and were much more fun in the getting than they are in the having. Many came with ongoing ownership costs like interest or other fees that eat away at our resources.

The Lord will show you what, if anything, has to go. And don’t worry about incurring losses. If He tells you to get rid of something and you obey, then over time He’ll restore your losses. How do I know this? Three reasons. One, He wants you to store up treasure in Heaven. (Matt. 6:19-21) Two, He’s promised that you’ll be made rich in every way so you can be generous on every occasion. (2 Cor. 9:11) You can’t do either of these if you’re taking huge losses. And Three He promised to repay you for the years the locusts have eaten. (Joel 2:25) That means when you turn back to Him He’ll give you joy in return for the misery you’ve caused yourself.

But don’t think He’ll restore your fortunes just so you can keep all your toys, or get them all back. That’s the failure of the so-called prosperity gospel. The Lord’s promise is that we’ll be made rich so we can be generous, not so we can be irresponsible or selfish. It’s in being generous that we store up treasure in Heaven, where no form of property or currency devaluation can do us harm. Generous people are also the happiest people. See how it works?

Some will say, “I’m so far in debt even if I started today it would take 10 years to get out.” I say, “How much debt will you have in 10 years if you don’t start today? The way I see things shaping up, you can either downsize voluntarily and do it the easy way, or you can wait till you’re forced to and do it the hard way.

Now I know better than anyone that the rapture could come any day now and spare us all these things. But if you’re part of the 90% of believers with a pagan world view, the longer He waits the more time you’ll have to finally start storing up treasure in Heaven, where it will benefit you forever. When you know you’re moving to a different city soon, you begin thinking about your new home and what your life will be like there. Take my word for it, you’re moving to a different city soon, so you’d better start thinking about it.

I used to pray for more money so I could pay the bills on my outrageous lifestyle. I didn’t get it. Now I live on less than 1/3 of what I used to spend and in every sense I’m wealthier than I was. Now I pray for more money so I can give more to His work, and He always sends it. You think maybe there’s a lesson in there somewhere? Selah 09-20-08

Table of contents for Saved From the Worst

1. Saved From The Worst But Kept From The Best?
2. Who Are The Overcomers?
3. Understanding The Olivet Discourse Parables
4. Understanding The Olivet Discourse Parables Part 2

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

In this study, we’re going to deal with a new definition that’s coming into the Christian lexicon. The word being re-defined is overcomer and the new definition is that an overcomer is someone who lives a Christ-like life, as opposed to just talking about it. They have died to self and now live a life that’s holy and blameless. Some who embrace this definition claim that only those who meet its requirements will be the Bride of Christ while all other believers will spend the millennium in the “outer darkness” learning the sanctification that they failed to learn on Earth, so they’ll be ready for eternity when the 1000 years are over.

The fact that the Bible never uses the word in this context doesn’t seem to be a problem for advocates of this new definition. It’s like the word repent, which is never used in the Bible to describe a change in behavior, only a change in attitude. Because they’ve never been taught that, its intended meaning has never entered most peoples’ minds. The common understanding of overcomer is facing the same future.

But to set the record straight, let’s see just how the Bible does define an overcomer. The word overcome first appears in connection with believers in John 16:33

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Even though this world isn’t a perfect place, we can have peace in our lives knowing that Jesus has overcome the world. No matter how bad life is for us here, in Christ we’re assured of a better one to come. Jesus is the overcomer, and He told us this to encourage us. (Imagine how you’d feel about this word of encouragement if you arrived in Heaven only to discover that you had to complete a 1000 year indoctrination program before you were deemed worthy for the Kingdom.)

Paul said that we should overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:21) But while he admonished us over and over again to go beyond salvation and achieve victory over the sin nature in order to win the crowns available to us for doing so, he never once said that our participation in the kingdom depends on it. This is the only time he ever used the word relative to our behavior.

Of all the New Testament writers, John used the word most often, saying that those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God are overcomers.

I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one. (1 John 2:14)

Every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (1 John 4:3-4)

Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. (1 John 5:4-5)

We’ve overcome the evil one, the spirit of anti-Christ, and the world, and how did we do that? Through faith, by believing that Jesus is the Son of God. As is always the case, it’s our faith that makes us appear holy and blameless not our behavior, which could never qualify us.

In Rev. 2-3 the word is used in each of the seven letters to churches to describe those who resist or reject the religious sin for which the church is being criticized and/or remain true to the gospel.

Overcomers In Ephesus

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. (Rev. 2:4-5,7)

By the end of the first century the Church had already become so busy doing religious works that they had forgotten that the work was done and our primary purpose is to worship the Lord and give Him thanks. The relationship He gave His life to have with us was already becoming another religion. Those who changed their attitude and overcame the human tendency to earn our position with God, and rested in the fact that Jesus did it all would meet Him at the Tree of life in paradise. The overcomer was the one who rested in faith and worshiped God.

Overcomers In Smyrna

Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death. (Rev. 2:10)

The ten days referred to here are the reign of 10 Caesars, which lasted for 250 years, through the third Century. During this time Christians were persecuted relentlessly. Many were called upon to give their lives for their faith. The Lord offered no escape from this except that which comes from death. But those who remained faithful in believing His promise of everlasting life, received it. The overcomer died in faith and received life.

Overcomers In Pergamum

Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality. Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it. (Rev. 2:14-17

)

In the 4th Century the church was married to the pagan Babylonian religion, and practices that were not only un-Biblical but detestable to the Lord became common. The Lord threatened to fight these practices with the sword of His Mouth, which is his Word. The overcomers were those who stayed true to the unadulterated Gospel and lived by faith in its promises. They received the Bread of Life, and a token that would commend them to the Father in the name of the Son.

Overcomers In Thyatira

Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets (I will not impose any other burden on you): Only hold on to what you have until I come. To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations. (Rev. 2:20-26)

The illicit marriage of the Church to Babylon produced four children, all alive on Earth today. Thyatira represents the Catholic Church, the first child. It became wealthy by confiscating property through false accusation, like Jezebel had, and also instituted the sale of indulgences that authorized licentious practices for a fee. But to those who hold Jesus in their hearts and reject the traditions that would add to what He accomplished on the cross, Jesus promises salvation. They haven’t learned Satan’s secrets of Jesus plus Mary, Grace plus works, Scripture plus sacraments, and have overcome, living by faith alone.

Overcomers In Sardis

Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you. Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. (Rev. 3:2-5)

The Protestant Church, represented by Sardis, carried out the Lord’s threat to judge the Church’s practices by the Sword of His Mouth. The call of the reformation was “Sola fides (only through faith), sola gratia (Only by grace), solus Christus (only with Christ), and sola Scriptura (Only His Word).” For the first time, the Bible was available to all who could read it. Great seminaries were founded to teach pastors the Word of God. But into these seminaries the devil crept, and the authority of God’s word was challenged. It was all in the name of intellectualism so it was thought to be good, but soon the Gospel had been robbed of its power, the light of faith had gone out, the Spirit was quenched, and the people had been lulled to sleep.

Many still are asleep, but there are a few who remember the Gospel and cling to it. They’ve repented of the Documentary Hypothesis, Modern Rationalism, and all the rest. They’ve overcome what Walter Martin called the Cult of Liberalism and have retained the power of the Gospel. They’ve been washed in the Blood of the Lamb and been given clean clothes. Their names have been written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and He will never blot them out.

Overcomers In Philadelphia

I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth. I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name. (Rev. 3:8,10-12)

“Hold on to what you have,” the Lord commands the Evangelical Church, “because I’m coming soon. And because you’ve waited patiently for me, I’ll keep you from the hour of trial that’s going to test the whole world.”

And what do we have to hold on to? We have His Word, His name, and His promise. He’s coming soon. There are 5 crowns mentioned in the New Testament, to which believers should aspire. But here the Lord mentioned only one. Which one? I think it’s the one described in 2 Tim. 4:8, the Crown of Righteousness, for those who’ve longed for His appearance. Who but the Bible believing, prophecy studying Evangelical Church can even qualify for this crown, and which one is more descriptive of the yearning in our hearts?

Overcomers In Laodicea

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne. (Rev. 3:15-16-20-21).

Here’s the fourth child, the End Times Apostate Church. Prosperous and in need of nothing. They like to call themselves followers of Christ, not just believers, and the focus is definitely on doing. Hardly anyone hears His knock on the door, which means He’s standing outside trying to get in. To those who overcome this mad rush to conquer a world beyond saving, in the name of a Jesus many of them don’t know, in the hope of accomplishing something He doesn’t want, to those who hear the knock and invite Him into their heart to kindle the fires of faith, He will give the right to sit with Him on his throne.

These seven letters give us seven examples to show that we overcome by faith alone. From the church in Ephesus we see that we overcome by worshiping the Lord and thanking Him for doing all the work of our salvation. From Smyrna we see that it’s by remaining faithful to the point of death that we overcome and receive life. The overcomers in Pergamum rejected the pagan rituals of Babylon that obscure and pervert the Gospel Story. Those in Thyatira refused to add to the simplicity of gospel, while in Sardis they refused to let its power be taken away. Overcomers in Philadelphia hold on to His Name, His Word and His Promise, and Laodicean overcomers are admonished to listen for His knock at the door, and open their hearts to him when they hear it.

While it’s God’s will that we be conformed to the image of Christ in our behavior, and that we go beyond salvation to achieve victory, it’s clear from Scripture that we overcome by clinging tenaciously to our child-like faith in the Lord’s completed work on the cross. The seven churches were just that, churches. Yet for the most part they introduced gospel obscuring, faith destroying doctrines that over the generations have kept untold millions off the path to eternal life. Only those who overcome by faith survive.

He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. (Rev. 21:6-7)

The Book of Revelation ends as it began, by telling us that eternal life is provided without cost to those who walk by faith in Him alone, believing that the work is done, that the Lord is the beginning and the end of their quest for eternity. These are the overcomers. Selah 08-09-08

Every time I post a study on the completed work of the Lord who took away all the sins of the world, and how all that’s left for us to do is believe, I get a number of questions from people. These questions are always about others who don’t seem to have been changed at all by their salvation experience. The writers ask me, “Where’s the evidence of a changed life?” or, “What about sacrifice, and repentance, and death to sin?” or “Are you saying that just because a person went forward and mouthed some prayer, and then never did anything else, that means they’re saved?”

If we look carefully we’ll find that the Lord anticipated questions like these, and answered them in advance. In this case the answer can be found in Matt. 13, so that’s where we’ll look.

Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear.” (Matt. 13:3-9)

As He explained later in the chapter, the farmer represents the Lord, the seed is His word, the soil is the world, and the birds represent the evil one. While the parables He gave us in Matt. 13 are often called the Kingdom Parables, it’s important to understand that this first one describes the whole world, not just His kingdom. In the world His word is met with four kinds of responses.

No Comprehension

The first kind is called the seed that falls on the path. It represents people who hear the word but fail to comprehend it. In Matt. 13:19 He said this is due to the fact that the evil one comes and snatches it away. Paul put it this way.

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Cor 4:3-4)

Because of their lifestyle choices some people have developed a heart so hard that the Gospel cannot penetrate its shell. The words lie there on the surface for the enemy to sweep away lest any should slip into a crack and take root. When you try to share the gospel with these people, they look at you like you’ve come from another planet. It’s foolishness to them, as Paul said it would be. (1 Cor. 2:14)

No Conversion

The Lord called the second response the seed that falls on the rocky places. This refers to people who hear the Gospel message and in the passion of the moment run forward for the altar call, but never really let the Lord into their hearts, so there’s no conversion. It all sounded so good at that crusade or revival meeting and they got all caught up in the excitement of the event. But they didn’t really open their hearts to the Lord so the first time someone laughs at or ridicules them for their beliefs they deny the Gospel and act like the altar call never happened.

Sadly this describes an overwhelming majority of those who come forward at public events. They don’t ever wander into a church afterward, or even crack open their Bible, so they were never really saved at all. Had they sincerely asked the Lord to forgive them, they could have been part of the small minority who really does get saved this way, but they didn’t give it a thought. They just jumped up and ran down front because it felt good at the time. Paul warned us against letting this happen to us.

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. (Col 2:6-7)

No Fruit

The seed among the thorns describes believers who are saved but are so distracted by the things of the world that they bear no fruit. Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) He wasn’t talking about our salvation there because salvation is not a fruit bearing event. Fruit has an effect on others where salvation is purely personal. In other words, fruit is not something that happens to the branch, it’s something that happens through the branch. And the branch does not make fruit grow by its own effort. It’s the vine that does the work.

Why are there so many believers who don’t bear fruit? It’s because of the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth. According to Matt. 13:22 they choke the Word and make it unfruitful. Preoccupation with the things of this world makes it impossible to hear the prompting of the Holy Spirit. This is probably the biggest group in all of Christianity, saved but not fruitful. This is the group some other believers look at and wonder, “Are those people really saved”? Odds are the answer is yes, but you’d never know by looking at them.

But before we go on, there’s something we should remember. Living a “sacrificial life” is not the same as being fruitful. To sacrifice is to give up something for nothing, like the lambs did on the altar. They received no benefit from it. The notion that Christians have to live sacrificial lives is man’s idea, not God’s. Jesus said that He came so that we could have an abundant life, not a sacrificial one. (John 10:10)

Christians aren’t asked to give up something for nothing. No one who is truly walking with the Lord thinks of it as a sacrifice, he thinks of it as a greater blessing than anything he could have otherwise received. People who take pride in living a sacrificial life are missing the point, and by denying themselves the things they secretly still want (it wouldn’t be a sacrifice if they didn’t), they not only aren’t producing any fruit, they may just be performing works of the flesh. You can tell because the result is not joy, it’s jealousy, envy or resentment toward others. These are not the fruit of the Spirit.

No Problem

The seed that lands in fertile ground produces a crop many times its size. This is the group that Paul wrote about in Galatians 5:22-26, where he also described the fruit we produce.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

This fruit grows when the gospel finds fertile soil. It impacts others, and draws them to the Lord. The peace and contentment we feel, and the love and kindness we express, causes others to want what we have. When they get it, they in turn draw still others, and without trying or even knowing, we’ll have produced a crop that will multiply us over and over.

So we take pity on those for whom there is no comprehension and pray that the Lord will soften their hearts. And likewise for those for whom there was no conversion. The Gospel was just a passing fancy for them, a rush of emotion that never became a commitment. Let them hear it again, Lord, and this time may they choose to invite you in. And especially for those who though saved, are so caught up in the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth, that they’re totally unfruitful. Help them gain the eternal perspective.

The best witness we can offer to the world lies not in doing what we think the Lord wants us to do, but in being what He wants us to be. So while we’re at it let’s pray that since we live by the Spirit, He’ll keep us in step with the Spirit, so we won’t become conceited, and begin provoking and envying each other. Amen. Selah 06-28-08

Several recent articles and answers to questions have created a flurry of responses, not all of them friendly. By far the biggest reaction came from my opinion about the Florida Healing Outpouring. While most of the respondents agreed with me, a few didn’t and let me know in no uncertain terms. They said, in effect, that if I don’t watch it God will squash me like a bug for criticizing a work of His.

I also got a lot of input from my article entitled “What Did God Do On The Eighth Day?” There I said that people who continue to work to earn or keep their salvation after accepting it as a gift are demonstrating that they haven’t entered their Sabbath Rest. It means that they don’t really believe that Jesus saved them completely, and that they have to finish the job that He said with His last breath was already finished. This means they believe that the ultimate responsibility for our salvation rests with us and not with the blood of Jesus, so we’re really saved by some combination of His Grace plus our works.

This troubled a number of people who grew up in churches where they were taught that we can lose our salvation by failing to live the right kind of life after being saved. While most of the ones who wrote in now believe in OSAS, they have friends who don’t and after reading my article wondered if I think their friends aren’t saved.

It turns out that support for my views on these two different issues can be found in one place in the Bible. It’s Matthew 7, so let’s go there and see what the Lord Himself had to say about it.

Ask, Seek, And Knock

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”

“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matt. 7:7-14)

This is a great and unconditional promise concerning the free gift of salvation and a satisfying life on Earth. If you ask to be saved, you’ll be saved. If you seek salvation you’ll find it. When you knock on the door of the Kingdom, it will be opened. This promise comes at the end of the Sermon on the Mount. In it, the Lord had explained the futility of trying to earn a place in the Kingdom, saying that it’s not just our outward behavior that would condemn us, but the motives that energize it. Anger equals murder, lust equals adultery, and so on. (Matt. 5:21-28) He also said not to worry about making it through life here. If we would first seek His Kingdom and His righteousness everything else would be given us as well. (Matt. 6:33) Now we’re told that all we have to do is ask to receive these things.

To underscore this, He called His promise a gift from our Father. When our children ask for good things we don’t give them bad things instead. And when we give gifts to our children, we don’t place a burden on them in the process. Neither does our Father do this to us.

Do you see His point? Salvation is a gift, free for the asking. Would He give us this gift and then impose a set of behavioral standards that if not met would result in revocation? Of course not.

The interpretation of the narrow gate in Matt. 7:13-14 as referring to a sacrificial life filled with have-to’s and don’ts is man’s idea, not God’s. It helps to understand that everyone on the road is seeking salvation. The broad road with its wide gate is filled with those who follow false religions or try to earn their own way to salvation. The narrow road with the small gate represents asking the Lord to save you and then relying on His completed work on your behalf. If it was living a sacrificial life then salvation would come through works, not grace. It would be like asking the Lord to free you from your burdens, only to discover that He’s laid a heavier burden upon you instead.

Jesus said, “Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28) He was talking about the labor of earning a place in His Kingdom and the burden imposed by the Law. The rest He offers is the life long Sabbath Rest that comes when by faith we accept His work on our behalf as sufficient to save us. (Hebr. 4:9) If you’re still working to earn or keep your salvation then you haven’t entered into His rest. You’re still trying to save yourself, and it can’t be done.

A Tree and Its Fruit

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.” (Matt. 7:15-20)

Throughout the history of the Church there have been false teachers and false prophets. Moses and Paul gave us the two standards by which to determine if a prophet or teacher is false. Concerning prophets the Lord had Moses say, “You may say to yourselves, ‘How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD ?’ If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously.” (Deut. 18:21-22)

As for teaching, it’s even easier. Paul commended the Bereans because they compared his teaching with Scriptures to see if he was telling the truth. (Acts 17:11)

Many popular teachers say things that simply aren’t in the Bible. I’m not talking about a case of differing interpretation. I’m talking about stuff the Bible not only doesn’t confirm but actually says the opposite. For example, many of those who teach of a great revival in the last days also adhere to the false doctrine of Dominion Theology which holds that through revival the Church will become very powerful and eventually convert the whole world.

But the Bible says no such thing. It teaches that before the end comes there will be a great falling away from the truth (2 Thes. 2:3) and that the one true Church will become weak and have little strength. (Rev. 3:8) It says that in the Latter Days some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons, (1 Tim. 4:1) and that people will no longer put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires they will gather teachers around them who say what their itching ears want to hear. (2 Tim. 4:3)

Regarding my article on the Florida revival, one person wrote saying that I should look beyond the teaching and focus on the miracles, but nowhere in Scripture are we told to judge by what we see. Instead we’re told that the day would come when counterfeit signs and miracles would look so real that even the elect would be deceived. (2 Thes. 2:9-10) I think that through so-called Christian TV the world is being prepared for that right now. But please remember this. It’s not preachers and evangelists who heal us. Supernatural healing happens every time the faith of the believer intersects the Promise of God. That can happen anywhere. Even in the midst of a circus that holds itself out to be a revival.

Some one else said that for every Scripture I could quote that showed some of these things to be wrong, he could quote 5 that prove they’re right. But the Bible is the Word of God and doesn’t say one thing in one place and something else in another. Either my interpretation is correct or else his is. We can’t both be right. I’m standing by mine.

Another said, “I know in my heart that these things are true.” But the Bible also says that the human heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. (Jeremiah 17:10) Some of the biggest cults in the world got that way by telling people to follow their hearts.

Still others have accused me of putting God in a box and of trying to limit His power. This is the least meritorious of all the arguments. First of all, people accused Isaiah, Jeremiah, and others of the same thing whenever they said things the people didn’t like. (I’m certainly not comparing myself to them, but I am in good company.)

But the truth is, Amos 3:7 says that God put Himself in a box. He promised that He would never do anything without first revealing it through His servants, the prophets. He wasn’t talking about the endless stream of people running around today with prophetic words for everyone. He was talking about those few that He had called to the office of Prophet. The last of these was the Lord Jesus. Since then everything has to conform to His teaching. If Jesus didn’t teach it, the the Gospel writers didn’t record it, and the Apostles didn’t practice it, then it’s not Biblical. Even the great Paul distinguished his opinion from the Lord’s word when he taught. (1 Cor. 7:12) You can’t excuse the shenanigans of these false teachers by saying that God is doing a new thing because God doesn’t do new things. If He did, we wouldn’t know who or what to believe.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matt. 7:21-23)

So here’s the bottom line. Regarding personal salvation, some people who think they’re saved will find out that they aren’t. Even those who’ve prophesied and performed miracles in the Lord’s name will discover that they failed to do the one thing the Lord requires of us and their work will be called evil, no matter how good it appears to us. Before it’s too late please make sure you’re safe. It’s an easy thing to do. You only have to ask yourself two questions. “What is the will of the father,” and “Am I doing it?” Turn to John 6 for the answer to both.

Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” (John 6:28-29)

God requires one thing of you, and that’s to believe in the one He has sent. Nothing more is necessary, and nothing less will do. Now here’s His will for you.

For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:38-40)

It’s the clearest statement anywhere in the Bible. God’s will is that if you believe that the death of His Son has paid the price in full for all of your sins, you’ll have eternal life. His will is that Jesus will never lose you no matter what. There’s nothing else you have to do, there’s nothing else you can do.

Anything you do to contribute to the advancement of the Kingdom after you’re saved has to be purely out of the gratitude of your heart for having been given the free gift of salvation. The minute you begin believing that you’re earning it or protecting it by doing good works you’re in grave danger because you’re revealing your true belief, that Jesus didn’t do it all and now it’s up to you to keep yourself saved.

And as for revival, one day soon the whole world will follow the anti-Christ because they’ll believe he’s God. (Rev. 13:3) They’ll be fooled because he’ll be a terrific guy, he’ll quote scripture, and he’ll perform the most amazing miraculous feats you could ever imagine.

At his side there’ll be another one like him. John said this second guy will have two horns like a lamb but will speak like a dragon. (Rev. 13:11) Horns are symbolic of power and the lamb symbolizes the Lord. This false prophet will appear to have the power of Jesus but his words will come straight from the devil. Together, these two will lead the greatest revival the world has ever seen and the whole world will be converted. (Now you know where Dominion Theology comes from.) The world will be fooled because God will have brought a famine of hearing the word of the Lord by removing His Church. (Amos 8:11) Truth will have been replaced by experience and feelings.

John wrote that the spirit of anti-Christ is already in the world. He was talking about false teachers who go out from the church but by their going out prove they they never belonged. He said it was one of the signs that we’re in the last hour. (1 John 2:18-19)

The Wise and Foolish Builders

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” (Matt. 7:24-27)

So this is your choice. Believe God’s word or go with your feelings. People who won’t accept the fact that Jesus did it all will go on trying in vain to save themselves. And like all the other ones before it, this revival will wind down and if there’s any follow up at all we’ll discover that once again, almost all the seed will have fallen on rocky soil and very little will have taken root. (Matt. 13:20-21) More and more people will leave the evangelical movement for places that aren’t so dogmatic and that feel more energetic and exciting, and the true church will become smaller and weaker. Once the name-only Christians are mostly gone the Rapture will come and the world will be left to fend for itself while we in the Church begin the adventure of the ages. We’ll realize at last that the Church was never intended to be compatible with this world. It’s meant for the next one. How do I know? The Bible tells me so. Selah 06-14-08