The Simple and Serious Gospel of Salvation part 1

The Simple and Serious Gospel of Salvation - Part 1
(this article was originally posted by yours truly in The TRUTH Under FIRE in 4 parts; its re-posted here in two parts)


The Gospel in the modern, materialistic world has been at best misunderstood, and at worst, perverted into a “happy” gospel that seems to have more to do with successful living than with the salvation of a life.

During the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s we’ve watched televangelists declare that if “you have enough faith, you can acquire health and wealth, fat bank accounts, a big house, an expensive car and be blessed with all the amenities of a real “King’s kid.”

The poor, the sick, and the needy, these were the weak in faith that were despised by the so-called spiritually mature which looked down on them with disdainful disapproval.

In our current environment, Christianity has sunk even deeper into an apostate, carnal belief system as an increasing number of pastors, leaders, bible teachers, and lay people endorse an “emergent” philosophy that denies the Gospel by declaring it unnecessary (Note to reader: review the excellent article on TNT by A.M. Kisly regarding the Emergent Church Movement- “Invasion of the ‘Body’ Snatchers” and my own article on FROM the MIND of FIRE, “Triumphant But Tragic Trojan”)!

Yet because of all these deviations we’ve never had a time in which the pure, unadulterated Gospel was needed more than in this world succumbing to increasing darkness.

While strenuous endeavors to ‘un-gospelize’ the church by emergent influences continue (and thereby accommodating it to a universal religion comprised of an amalgam of the major belief systems represented in Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, etc.), those of us who are called by the Name of Jesus Christ our LORD must stand firmly in our convictions based solely on the very Word of God, the exclusive source of spiritual Truth, to combat these falsehoods.

No one needs to define the Gospel, nor is the Gospel open to interpretation by theologians, pastors and Bible teachers (particularly of the liberal sort). Further, there is only one Gospel of Salvation, and the apostle Paul expressly stated that Christians are to accept NO SUBSTITUTES (See 2 Corinthians 11:4)! The Bible itself states quite plainly and succinctly what the Gospel is, in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4:

1 Corinthians 15:1-4

"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures."

Dr. Schofield comments in his study Bible on 1 Corinthians 15:1-8:

“In vs. 1-8 the apostle outlines the Gospel of God’s grace. (1) It concerns a Person – the Christ of the Scriptures and history. (2) It concerns His death – “for our sins according to the Scriptures.” His burial is asserted as the evidence of His death; and that He was seen alive is declared as the proof of His resurrection. This is the Gospel that Paul preached; that the early Church accepted; and by which men are saved (vs. 1-2)”

The very word “Gospel” means “glad tidings” or good news, and it’s intertwined irrevocably with the term “saved”.

In today’s preaching, even among evangelical churches, the issue and reality of hell is seldom mentioned; when an offer of receiving Christ Jesus and His salvation is made, it's associated with a better life, an improved marriage, the means to solve problems, lift burdens, break bondage, brighten gloomy, down-trodden souls and other benefits.

Certainly such things as listed above may result as a by-product of salvation, yet the primary purposes of the Gospel are the forgiveness of sin, without which the unrepentant sinner will perish and spend eternity in hell (in regards to that horrible, deplorable situation, I’ve often said, “There are no exit signs in hell”); as well as this, the redemption of a lost soul via the spiritual birth in Christ Jesus and the new life that this brings to the believer.

We must wonder, where are the on-fire preachers of days gone by, full of zealous love for God, and for sinners? Where are the holy heralders of the Truth, who refuse to compromise or soft-pedal God’s Word? Where are the thundering pulpits that boldly declare the desperately wicked condition of fallen, sinful man and proclaim warnings of an interminable torment in the flames of hell-fire?

How can a people acknowledge their need of salvation, if they don’t know what they’re being saved from?

Since the fall of Adam, our human father and the progenitor of our race, sin has been passed on to all of us and no amount of religious devotion, no substantial weight of prayer (ritualistic or otherwise); no sacrifice or religious duties fulfilled can ever erase the deadly reality of sin in our lives. Only the Gospel of Jesus Christ and “believing faith” in such can redeem us from sin, and from its inevitable penalty, hell.

I’ve been given this opportunity and privilege to share the Gospel, and I pray that the LORD is honored by it, and that all who read this are blessed, particularly those who do not yet know Jesus as their LORD and Savior.

We shall examine the doctrine of salvation by biblical ‘exposition’ (that is, what does the Bible mean?) to determine what the Gospel actually is. We will ask, and prayerfully answer, why salvation is necessary, as well as why Christ alone sacrificed on our behalf is sufficient as payment for the sins of the world, including yours and mine.

Further, we shall delve even deeper into this study and examine the component ‘parts’ of salvation and see how they relate to the newly born and saved in Christ, and the maturing saint, as well as the saint who has passed from this life into the next.

You may prefer to read the scriptural references in your own version. I will be posting verses here in the King James Version, but please feel free to grab your own Bible and look them up in your own version.

We will now uncover together "A divine Diagnosis".

A Divine Diagnosis

Just as with any visit to the doctor’s office, before the necessity of treatment can be ascertained, there must be a proper diagnosis to determine what is wrong. Likewise before one perceives the need for salvation, there must first be evidenced the deficiency of righteousness and holiness, both of which God requires of all of us:

Matthew 5:48 "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."

1 Peter 1:16 "Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy."

The Ten Commandments (found in Exodus, chapter 20), as well as the Law in general, found throughout the Old Testament, is God’s righteous standard, a yard stick so to speak, to see how we all measure up. Even a superficial overview of the Ten Commandments will snag every one of us, yours truly included, in at least one point.Failure to obey God’s command is generally known as ‘sin’.

One may endeavor in all sincerity to obey God’s law, but never quite obtain a perfect performance. We “fall short of the mark” much like a contestant at a carnival, who, with hammer in hand, tries to strike the bell high above, but as he strikes, the iron ball rises, only to fall back down, without sounding the bell. He has fallen short of the mark, he has failed.

A different kind of offense is one in which a person knowingly disregards the Law of God, and in a spirit of rebellion, disobeys His Holy command. This is known as ‘transgression’. For such an example in our every day world: 55 m.p.h. Enough said!

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, any sin committed by a living soul will reap the judgment of God and due punishment:

Ezekiel 18:4 "Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die."

The justice of God is inescapable and we will all one day come Face to face with our Maker! We are all diagnosed with sin. If we look into the Law of God - - this Law (i.e., as in the Word of God) is very much like a mirror:

“But be ye doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the Word, and not a doer, he is like a man beholding his natural face in a glass [mirror]; for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and immediately forgetteth what manner of man he was.” James 1:22-24

It reveals our sinful condition and our need for a remedy. Even the most religious and ceremonious leaders in Jesus’ day, the Pharisees, were convicted of their own imperfections and sins:

John 8:3-5 "And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?"

John 8:7, 9 "So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst."

Jesus shocked His hearers when He declared this, in regards to the ‘professional law-keepers’ and ‘religious leaders’:

Matthew 5:20 "For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven."

The Pharisees deluded themselves into thinking they were pleasing God, that they were in obedience to the LORD; they in fact believed they could be saved by the Law; yet the LORD Jesus rebuked them for their outward religious show, and formalism (a superficial observance and adherence to a religious belief system w/o having any inward effect on spiritual purity and moral integrity, known also as “legalism”) as in Matthew 23: 25-33.

The LORD raised the standard regarding the intent of the Law, in his preaching of the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:21-22, 27-28, 43-44), thus rightly using the Law for its Divinely appointed purpose – to reveal what’s in our hearts:

Matthew 15:18, 19

"But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:"

It is our hearts, much more than our actions that God will judge! This leads to a verse found in the book of James that many have misunderstood and think that this passage is terribly unfair:

James 2:10 "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all."

Why would God find someone guilty of breaking all the Law, if in fact they kept it all, but failed in one point? When one commits a sin, this reveals a spiritual truth – that this person is a sinner. Without the sin nature one would not be compelled to commit sins, yet this nature so drives the human race!

You can’t expect a dog not to bark, or a fish not to swim, or a bird not to fly, or for a sinner to not sin. Each will act according to their nature; to do otherwise would be unnatural.Thus, having a sinful nature, all one requires is time and availability to have such lusts manifested in one’s heart which God will judge; it’s the nature of a sinful heart, more than sinful actions committed that is being addressed here by James. Right now, you could be thinking, “If that’s the case, then God is asking for the impossible! I can’t be expected to live such a holy, sinless life!”

Exactly right! Romans 3:20 makes it quite clear:

"Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin."

What hope then do any of us have to obtain God’s favor and acceptance, and to earn the right of passage into heaven? Excellent questions we will address in the second article entitled "The Salvation Solution" where we will find hope, forgiveness, mercy and grace.

Praying For The Persecuted-Part I of II

You will all notice that I have a new web link under "LINKS TO LIVE BY" which is 'VOM' or Voice of the Martyrs.



Please visit this site often, and remember to pray for the persecuted saints the globe over.



Being isolated as we are here in America, we Christians aren't fully aware most of the time, of how our brethren across the globe are suffering terribly at the hands of their persecutors.



What we must appreciate is that MOST of the church, in MOST of the nations of the world, during MOST of the history of the church has suffered terrible persecution!

From the Sanhedrin during the days of the apostles, using Saul of Tarsus (Paul the apostle before his conversion [when the LORD was ascended into heaven]), to the time of the ten Caesars that cruelly afflicted the saints, most especially under Nero, to the various Inquisitions and Persecutions by various Popes who utilized the Jesuits to rein in the wayward who left the Roman Catholic church by the scores, to the days in which Communist regimes, and Islamic states caused and still causing untold suffering and persecution to the body of Christ.



Persecution is rampant in today's world, and yet how many of us (myself included) are aware of what's happening to our brethren in other nations, and the cities that are under assault there?



Look at this article posted by The Berean Call (from Frontpagemag):

http://www.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=35941



Being informed of such conditions that the church is suffering elsewhere is the first step in providing much needed aid to these saints; I am referring to intercessory prayer.



Prayer that they will stand fast in the faith for Christ Jesus; that the LORD God will provide grace for them in their suffering. That the LORD would make a way to deliver them from such, in His time.



The LORD may even motivate some of us to write letters petitioning various governments to show leniency and mercy towards our family in Christ.



Persecution has never been an enemy of the church, whereas materialism and affluence usually has. Prosperity breeds complacency, and as these enters our lives, we become introspective and self-interested. We tend to lose our sharp focus on seeking "first the kingdom of God and His righteousness."



Persecution has a way of separating the tares from the wheat, the sheep from the goats, or as its said often in the world, "the men from the boys". It has a purifying effect on the church as we suddenly lose interest in worldly matters; and Christ Jesus, the Head of the church, gains our undivided attention.



By God's grace and His Spirit the persecuted find themselves endowed with Holy boldness to proclaim even to the threat of death, the life giving power of the Gospel.



Did you know that the greek word from which we get the word 'martyr' from is 'martos'? What does 'martos' mean? It means "witness"! Think about this: in the days of the early church, to be a faithful witness, to become a Christian and a genuine follower of Christ meant pain, suffering, isolation, imprisonment, blood, and often death.



There were no saw dust trails where people came forward at a revival meeting; there were no calls for "every eye closed and every head bowed" while those who were beckoned to come to Christ could do so without too much notice.



In those days, as well as the present days of (Communist) Russia, Communist China, and North Korea, and most Muslim nations today, those who are Christian are imperiled as much as the early church was.



I have an album called Hymns Triumphant, and one such hymn has grave lyrics that are very powerful; one line goes something like this:

"By the light of burning martyrs, Christ, Thy bleeding feet we track."



Christian, the question I ask of you, is one that I ask myself: are we prepared to offer up our entire lives in total surrender to the will of God? Even if it means hardships? Pain? Suffering? Ridicule, mockery and abuse?



You might say, "But we live here in America! What chance is there that we will experience such things here?"



Given the present climate of our nation, and the direction of the trends that are observable to those who are watching, such experiences and events may be sooner than we would care to admit.



In the meanwhile, may I encourage you all to visit the Voice of the Martyrs web site, to subscribe to their magazine, even make a financial contribution if the LORD lays it on your heart, which will go towards the ministering of our hurting, suffering brothers and sisters in CHRIST the world over. MOST of all, let us remember to pray for them!

MORE on this issue of persecution in part two of this article.

Matt 5:11
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

Matt 5:44
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

John 15:20
Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept My saying, they will keep yours also.

A Different Sermon On Another 'Mount'

This is an article very much in the spirit of exhortation of a previous one entitled Faith Over Fear; I hope and pray that this will exhort and encourage you as it has me.

[UPDATE (June 18, '12): Please be sure to listen to this inspirational, encouraging rendition of "He'll Raise Me Up" by an astounding Lithuanian 14 yr old boy; I can guarantee you have never heard it sung like this before! Link to this song can be found at the bottom of this article; you can also watch this under "LINKS to LIVE By" Side bar column: look for "He'll Raise Me Up"]

We all know the Sermon on the Mount; we've heard teachings on it ever since we became Christians and even before then.

Here we have a different sermon on the 'mount' and very few words were actually spoken by our LORD in this particular teaching. Am I referring to some 'lost gospel' of Jesus, and of writings only recently discovered by biblical archaeologists?

Rest assured, I am not. We have all read this account before, and as you can guess by the picture I chose for this article, we will be looking at the crossings of the Sea of Galilee.

First of all, let's get a reading of this incredible event:

CAN I GET A N O T H E R WITNESS? Part Two

There are some, I'm sure who would think that going on and on about one's life is a bit narcissistic, and while this may be true in certain cases, my goal here is not to exalt myself, or build myself up in any way.

THE LORD has done marvelous things in all our lives, and we would all do well to encourage one another by reminding each other of all the glorious things God has achieved in and through us.

So, in effect, my desire is to exalt and glorify the LORD for all He has done, and is doing, in our lives.

Since God is no respecter of persons, He can do as He wills, and what He is willing to do with any one of us, He is willing to do (in His time and in His own way) with any that comprise His body, the church.

The LORD, as a Master Artist, is working in each of us a work of art; it says as much in Ephesians

EPHESIANS 2:10
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

That word 'workmanship' is from the Greek word "poema" and as you can readily guess, its the word from which we get 'poem'. What's comprised in any good poem is a sense of balance, rhyme, rhythm, metre, etc.

The LORD is elegantly, and skillfully crafting all of these elements into the lives of every saint, willing to yield to the Master's touch, and be shaped and molded as the Potter does the clay.

CAN I GET A N O T H E R WITNESS? Part One

For those of you who have not read my testimony, go to the search engine called
"Scoping Out This MIND" and type in "witness", then look at the top of the page; there you should see "Can I Get A Witness". In order to keep all of this in context, it would be good to read that first before you proceed to read this, a sequel of sorts to that first entry.

To reiterate one point, when I recall having understood that Jesus, the pure and holy Son of God, the WORD of God (God Himself) made flesh took upon Himself the sins of the entire human race, all several billions of us, including mine, I was so taken aback by this revelation, so nearly shocked and offended, that I had to ask: Why would You do such a thing?

O. A. S. I. S.

In a world of deceitful, empty mirages, amidst the barren bleak deserts of parched souls, there is an O.A.S.I.S!

PSALM 92:12-15
The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; To shew that the LORD is upright: He is my Rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

ISAIAH 58:11
And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

UPDATE: 09-18-09

In the spirit of O.A.S.I.S. may I offer you the following newsletter from Audio Adrenaline's ministry HANDS and FEET Project

This is the essence of the Gospel of the LORD Jesus Christ, His supreme goal and objective in coming to this spiritual wasteland, this Rebel Region, this Planet of Perdition. To die for the sins of the world, and to grant eternal life to all who come to Him!

As our LORD Himself expressed to the Samaritan woman:

JOHN 4:10, 13-14
. . . If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

Whosoever drinketh of this water [referring to the well water] shall thirst again:
But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

Is this not so with all things of this world? They may provide satisfaction for a while, but eventually we discover that there is an emptiness within ourselves that no amount of money, clothes, houses, cars, family; fame, fortune, and power; even charity work and noble causes, or even church and church activities (!) can satisfy.

The emptiness within, this "vanity" is a result of our spiritual separation from God, our Creator (Who created us for His good pleasure) when our father Adam fell into sin.

ISAIAH 59:2
But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

ROMANS 8:20
For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

PHILIPPIANS  2:13
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

2 THESSALONIANS 1:11
Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power:

REVELATION 4:11
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

For this cause was the LORD Jesus made of the virgin, made under the Law, a body prepared for Him to become our propitiation (a satisfactory sacrifice), and in dying for our sins, took the penalty of all of them, from all of us, delivering us from the wages of sin, that is, death.

ROMANS 6:23
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

GALATIANS 4:4
But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

HEBREWS 10:5, 10
Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: . . . By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

ROMANS 3:25
Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 

1 JOHN 2:2
And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

1 JOHN 4:10
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

And for those of us who have received this life eternal, we are indeed satisfied: that gaping spiritual black-hole that drove us to pursue, even to the point of desperation, that mysterious 'something' is now filled to overflowing with the grace, and peace, love and joy of the LORD Jesus Christ.

It's our desire to share this OASIS with those who are yet chasing after these empty mirages with which the minions of the enemy taunt and tantalize the slaves of this fallen world. Remember how when our LORD walked this Earth, and He looked upon the multitudes, what was it that He felt?

Compassion! So much of it that it moved Him to action! He stretched out His hand and healed them, He opened His mouth and gave them manna from heaven, spiritual Truth that would set them free from the heavy burdens of sin and slavery.

Today, His body is reaching out to this lost world, and time is running short. Our LORD's return is ever drawing nearer, especially when you consider the current events and trends in our nation, and around the world.

Yet our precious, tender-hearted LORD Jesus is not eager to judge the lost; He tarries because He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked (EZEK. 33:11), but in mercy; He is not willing that ANY SHOULD PERISH.

This is why its so very vital that we as the church, have a heart of the missionary in our day to day lives. The Great Commission was NOT for our pastors alone, NOR for our evangelists, NOR for our elders and deacons, NOR for those whom we send out as 'career' missionaries.

He gave this commission to ALL of His disciples. Are you His disciple? I am! He gave this mandate to you, and to me! And what have we done with this commission, this holy command?

Understand, its not my intention to lay any guilt trips here; but I want to express a very pointed question: are we guilty? Have we refrained the gospel to the lost all around us? I know I HAVE BEEN! And I am tired of keeping my mouth shut, when we have the greatest opportunity, and the greatest treasure in this universe!

Now there are some who cannot go out to different countries and so they may support missionaries financially; yet there are some who are even unable to make donations because of their fixed incomes, and perhaps you already are making monthly donations to other worthy causes that save lives in physical provisions, as well as bringing eternal life through the spiritual provision of the Gospel and God's Almighty Grace.

Yet you can still have greater impact by your prayers! However sometimes we can feel uncertain as to what to pray, and would like clear information on missionaries, various missionary fields and nations that are in dire need for the Gospel.

Are there sources out there that can help a would-be intercessor for missionaries and the lands they minister to?

YOU BET! Check this out -

Operation World - The Official Web Site

Operation World, the new global missions prayer guide by Patrick Johnstone and Jason Mandryk.

Pray Today
Resources
Web Sites
Calendar
Prayer Publications
Future Resources
OW Team
Contact Us

Also, please remember to keep the nation of Turkey (a nation that has been on my heart for years) in prayer as there are multitudes that are open to the Gospel now than ever before; yet this is a nation that receives very little attention (but is steadily growing!) in the work of the Gospel. Please visit this site:

http://www.two-fot.org/

And if you would like to purchase an OPERATION WORLD handbook you could use for your daily intercessions on behalf of missionaries across the globe, you can check out the following web site:
OPERATION WORLD

Another missions-oriented ministry, not too far off our own shores is being used of God in reaching the people of Haiti, particularly orphaned children. It's Audio Adrenaline (one of my most favorite bands!) with their Hands And Feet Project.

Please visit their web site and check out what they're doing to be the Hands and Feet of our LORD Jesus to a hurting, tiny nation.

Our Mission | Hands and Feet Project

Remember that any intercessory prayers you offer up on behalf of those who are actually out in the field, preaching the Gospel and sharing the love of Jesus with the lost are accounted by God as a viable contribution to this vital ministry.

The same with any monetary donations: any such contributions of prayer and finances means that the contributor (that's you!) receives an equal blessing to the missionaries actually out there doing the work! If they didn't receive the financial help, and the prayers, they would be unable to accomplish their task.

God looks upon our partnership and is BLESSED in the depths of His Eternal heart to see His children cooperating together for the cause of reaching the lost. Once you start to seek the LORD and engage in such ministries, it starts spreading throughout your life, and you find yourself catching this "missionary heart" for your neighbors, friends, co-workers, etc!

I myself am loading up on gospel tracts, having my Bible handy, and praying for open doors for the LORD to have me share!

These are exciting days, as well as perilous times in which we live, and I believe the opportunity to share with those who don't yet know the LORD is going to become more and more common, as they will be seeking answers in such uncertain and trialsome days.

It behooves us as saints to prepare prayerfully for the times ahead, to have our Bibles in our hands, and His Word in our hearts, ready to answer with meekness any who would ask us, the hope of our calling!

1 PETER 3:15
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

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

May the LORD Jesus Christ continue to bless you all, WAY TOO MUCH!
Yours in the battle,

NIKAO AIONIOS AVRAS!

brother James

HEARKEN WARRIORS TO WISDOM!

Here are two exhortational devotions from Charles Spurgeon's own "Morning and Evening" devotional

that I wanted to share with all of you. They are entirely fitting for such days as these in which we live, and encourages in a way that few like Spurgeon can convey.

If you don't have this devotional, but would like to benefit from its daily readings, you can do so online from the Blue Letter Bible:

SPURGEON's MORNING and EVENING Devotional 

Recently we had a teaching at church in ROMANS ch. 8 and as this is an incredible source of encouragement, so I would like to post that here for us to meditate upon before we venture into these two passages from Spurgeon (one from 1 CHRON 5:22; the other from PROV 1: 33.

ROMANS 8:1-39

"There fell down many slain, because the war was of God." — 1 CHRON 5:22
Warrior, fighting under the banner of the Lord Jesus, observe this verse with holy joy, for as it was in the days of old so is it now, if the war be of God the victory is sure.

The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh could barely muster five and forty thousand fighting men, and yet in their war with the Hagarites, they slew "men, an hundred thousand," "for they cried to God in the battle, and He was entreated of them, because they put their trust in Him."

The Lord saveth not by many nor by few; it is ours to go forth in Jehovah's name if we be but a handful of men, for the Lord of Hosts is with us for our Captain. They did not neglect buckler, and sword, and bow, neither did they place their trust in these weapons; we must use all fitting means, but our confidence must rest in the Lord alone, for He is the sword and the shield of His people.

The great reason of their extraordinary success lay in the fact that "the war was of God." Beloved, in fighting with sin without and within, with error doctrinal or practical, with spiritual wickedness in high places or low places, with devils and the devil's allies, you are waging Jehovah's war, and unless He himself can be worsted, you need not fear defeat.

Quail not before superior numbers, shrink not from difficulties or impossibilities, flinch not at wounds or death, smite with the two-edged sword of the Spirit, and the slain shall lie in heaps. The battle is the Lord's and He will deliver His enemies into our hands.

With steadfast foot, strong hand, dauntless heart, and flaming zeal, rush to the conflict, and the hosts of evil shall fly like chaff before the gale.

Stand up! stand up for Jesus!

To him that overcometh,

The strife will not be long;

A crown of life shall be;

This day the noise of battle,

He with the King of glory

The next the victor's song:

Shall reign eternally.

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"Whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil." — PROV 1:33

Divine love is rendered conspicuous when it shines in the midst of judgments. Fair is that lone star which smiles through the rifts of the thunder clouds; bright is the oasis which blooms in the wilderness of sand; so fair and so bright is love in the midst of wrath.

When the Israelites provoked the Most High by their continued idolatry, He punished them by withholding both dew and rain, so that their land was visited by a sore famine; but while He did this, He took care that His own chosen ones should be secure.

If all other brooks are dry, yet shall there be one reserved for Elijah; and when that fails, God shall still preserve for him a place of sustenance; nay, not only so, the Lord had not simply one "Elijah," but He had a remnant according to the election of grace, who were hidden by fifties in a cave, and though the whole land was subject to famine, yet these fifties in the cave were fed, and fed from Ahab's table too by His faithful, God-fearing steward, Obadiah.

Let us from this draw the inference, that come what may, God's people are safe. Let convulsions shake the solid earth, let the skies themselves be rent in twain, yet amid the wreck of worlds the believer shall be as secure as in the calmest hour of rest.

If God cannot save His people under heaven, He will save them in heaven. If the world becomes too hot to hold them, then heaven shall be the place of their reception and their safety. Be ye then confident, when ye hear of wars, and rumours of wars.

Let no agitation distress you, but be quiet from fear of evil. Whatsoever cometh upon the earth, you, beneath the broad wings of Jehovah, shall be secure. Stay yourself upon His promise; rest in His faithfulness, and bid defiance to the blackest future, for there is nothing in it direful for you.

Your sole concern should be to show forth to the world the blessedness of hearkening to the voice of wisdom.

yours in the battle,

NIKAO AIONIOS A.V.R.A.S.!

James Fire

Look forward to an indepth study on: The Spiritual Warfare of the Believer and Armor Suitable for the Challenge!