17 Ephraim is joined to idols; Let him alone. Hosea 4:17 (LSB) 

Idolatry is the natural state of man. Left to themselves, people will worship or idolize someone or something. On the top of the list of those things we place on pedestals of idolatry is self. Professing Christians are not immune. They idolize Christian leaders, their churches, their doctrine, their liberty, their self-righteousness, their denomination, their particular translation of the Bible, and anything else they can view as something that gives them a sense of religious identity. Tragically, most see nothing wrong with this…. Continue reading →

2 I decided to not know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 1 Corinthians 2:2 (translated from the NA28 Greek text)

When I started this writing ministry I had completely different goals (i.e. motives) than what I have now. I was doing this as a career move. I approached it from that perspective, but it did not take very long at all for God to force the issue and take away all of that as most in what we know of as the ‘visible church’ would consider what we do here as borderline reprehensible. However, I find it interesting that many of these same people do not hesitate to come to us for prayer and counsel when they hit rock bottom and God leaves them without an escape from the fiery trial that has come upon them. Continue reading →

1 Therefore I exhort you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice—living, holy, and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may approve what the will of God is, that which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:1-2 (LSB) 

One of the markers of Christian genuineness is separation from the World. This isn’t a physical removal from planet Earth or a disintegration of the body of a Christian. A genuine Christian’s character should be in a continual upgrade unto Christlikeness. That means that as he or she cooperates with God in their sanctification, working out their salvation with fear and trembling, their character will take on more and more of Christ’s character. They will love what He loves and hate what he hates. God is love, but He hates a certain type of love. Continue reading →

28 “Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.” Mark 3:28-30 (LSB) 

I am sure most of those reading this have at one time or another become concerned to some degree that they had committed the unpardonable sin. Several people who I have witnessed to have told me that they couldn’t be saved because they had blasphemed against the Holy Spirit. What is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? Let’s look at the passage from the book of Matthew that parallels the one I placed at the top of this post. Continue reading →

13 Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. 14 Do not neglect the gift within you, which was given to you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the council of elders. 15 Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. 16 Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. 1 Timothy 4:13-16 (LSB) 

The way the gospel is presented in our time is backward. It is focused incorrectly. Instead of focusing on what God has done for us who have nothing in and of ourselves to warrant it; the way the gospel is given ever since I can remember is to attempt to make it appealing as if people should decide to try Jesus for 30 or 60 days to see if He makes a difference…. Continue reading →

17 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “I will also do this thing of which you have spoken; for you have found favor in My sight, and I have known you by name.” 18 Then Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your glory!” 19 And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of Yahweh before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.” 20 But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!” Exodus 33:17-23 (LSB) Read verses 21-23 on the site.

The passage above takes place after Israel’s idolatry with the golden calf (Exodus 32). Moses is seeking assurance from God that He would not utterly destroy Israel but would go with the people and remain with them to continue to make them a set apart people from other nations (Exodus 33:12-16)…. Continue reading →

Before God opened my Heart to the truth about the doctrines of grace, I always assumed that I was saved because I decided to commit myself to Christ and accept Him as Lord and savior. Along with that, I also assumed that God rewarded that decision by saving me by the new birth. In other words, I was Born Again because I chose to believe. I mean, after all, don’t we have to choose to be saved? Don’t we preach that sinners must take that first step? If we take the first step then the savior will take the rest, etc. I believed that was how Christians became Christians for most of my life.

About 40 years ago, I was teaching a Sunday school class made up of 9th and 10th grade boys. I cannot remember what the lesson was about, but for some reason we were discussing salvation…. Continue reading →

18 And when Jesus saw great multitudes of people about him, he commanded them to go over the water. 19 Then came there a certain Scribe, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. 20 But Jesus said unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven have nests, but the Son of man hath not whereon to rest his head. 21 ¶ And another of his disciples said unto him, Master, suffer me first to go, and bury my father. 22 But Jesus said unto him, Follow me, and let the dead bury the dead. Matthew 8:18-22 (1599 Geneva Bible)

For the Christian, this life is a test as well as a proving ground in which God grows and matures those who belong to Him through pruning and removing what is not of Him in order that the believer will be humbled and, therefore, enter deeper into the process of becoming more Christlike…. Continue reading →

1 Awake, awake, Clothe yourself in your strength, O Zion; Clothe yourself in your glorious garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; For the uncircumcised and the unclean Will no longer come into you. 2 Shake yourself from the dust, rise up, O captive Jerusalem; Loose yourself from the chains around your neck, O captive daughter of Zion. 3 For thus says Yahweh, “You were sold for nothing, and you will be redeemed without money.” Isaiah 52:1-3 (LSB) 

The way many look at our salvation it is as if they believe that it is a work of some kind. The cry to put on strength and beautiful garments is seen as a new believer putting on something they already have. However, in Isaiah 52:1-3 we see that those being saved were in bonds. They were in a captivity into which they were not sold, but they were redeemed without money. From where does their strength and beautiful garments come? Continue reading →

The Church in the “West” appears to have lost its way. Around the middle of the 20th Century the method used to “do church” in the United States changed. Prior to this, most churches held two “services” each Sunday. One would be primarily devoted to evangelism while the other would be used to exhort and encourage the body. Along with the evangelical service there would a associated prayer meetings. The “message” preached during this service would start with God and end with God. Those in attendance would hear about God’s Holiness, Righteousness, Justice and Wrath against all sin. They would hear about God’s requirements for eternal life. Only after these realities were on the table would the good news be preached. Continue reading →

15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Matthew 7:15 (1599 Geneva Bible) 

With the ever increasing move away from Orthodox Christianity into various forms of Experiential religion that we are witnesses of here and now, it seems that the bottom is falling out of Christianity. It’s bad enough that we have all of these “wolves in sheep’s clothing” drawing the unaware into false religions while pretending to be Christian, but there are seemingly endless numbers of our “Christian” leaders falling all over themselves embracing these heretics…. Continue reading →

17 Think not that I am come to destroy the Law, or the Prophets. I am not come to destroy them, but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I say unto you, Till heaven and earth perish, one jot or one tittle of the Law shall not escape, till all things be fulfilled. 19 ,Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall observe and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say unto you, except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:17-20 (1599 Geneva Bible) 

I had a friend tell me several days ago that her father had made the comment that most believers nowadays have never experienced real Christianity. I agree with that statement. Why? Most professing Christians are not regenerate. They are in the Religion of Do. They practice the same righteousness that the scribes and Pharisees practiced in Jesus’ day. Continue reading →

13 Jesus answered, and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water, shall thirst again: 14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall never be more athirst: but the water that I shall give him, shall be in him a well of water, springing up into everlasting life. John 4:13-14 (1599 Geneva Bible) 

Efficacious adj. producing the desired effect – from The Oxford New Desk Dictionary and Thesaurus Third Edition.

Christian faith has appeared to many an easy thing; nay, not a few even reckon it among the social virtues, as it were; and this they do because they have not made proof of it experimentally, and have never tasted of what efficacy it is. For it is not possible for any man to write well about it, or to understand well what is rightly written, who has not at some time tasted of its spirit, under the pressure of tribulation; while he who has tasted of it, even to a very small extent, can never write, speak, think, or hear about it sufficiently. For it is a living fountain, springing up into eternal life, as Christ calls it in John iv.¹ Continue reading →

3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, his disciples came unto him apart, saying, Tell us when these things shall be, and what sign shall be of thy coming, and of the end of the world. 4 And Jesus answered, and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5 For many shall come in my Name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many. 6 And ye shall hear of wars, and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.7 For nation shall rise against nation, and realm against realm, and there shall be famine, and pestilence, and earthquakes in divers places.8 All these are but the beginning of sorrows. Matthew 24:3-14 (1599 Geneva Bible) Read verses 9-14 on the site.

When I was a youth back in the 1960’s I remember hearing many sermons in our church about how the signs of the end of the age were upon us and that it would only be a short time until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. In 1970 Hal Lindsey published his book The Late Great Planet Earth…. Continue reading →

15 For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the full knowledge of Him, 18 so that you—the eyes of your heart having been enlightened—will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints…  Ephesians 1:15-23 (LSB) Read verses 19-23 on the site.

Many years ago, when I was in my twenties, eschatology books were being pumped out by every “evangelist” under heaven. They were dazzling with their complicated charts with arrows for Christ’s multiple returns to get His church then later to bring His kingdom into fulfillment. Continue reading →

1 And it happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.” 2 And He said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.’” Luke 11:1-4 (LSB) 

Prayer is a vital part of our Christian walk before the face of God. I have never met a mature Christian who was at peace with the consistency or depth of his or her praying. Sacred Scripture says that God commands His people to pray…. Continue reading →

15 “If you love Me, you will keep my commandments;” (John 14:15 translated from the NA28 Greek text)

In this post we will look at John 14:15-31, which is last part of the dialogue between our Lord and His disciples in the upper room after the Passover Feast just prior to His arrest in the garden on the other side of the Kidron Valley from Jerusalem (John 18). Never forget my brethren, our Lord did not come to bring all people together. His message was one of division. That was what He said. Also, His ministry was to reveal the Father (John 1:14, 18), to bring glory to Him. In this post we will see that our Lord even further defines who it is who are truly His. Continue reading →

12 There is a way that seemeth right to a man: but the issues thereof are the ways of death. Proverbs 14:12 (1599 Geneva Bible) 

I have yet to encounter a person who has a problem with the gospel, the sovereignty of God, election, the exclusivity of genuine discipleship, et cetera who does not also force a man-centered perspective on God’s Word in one form or another. These same people lean towards a form of Christianity that is almost all experiential. Since their view of how the gospel works and how God works with Man is wrongly focused and the Word of God contains clear teachings about the sovereignty of God, these people conceive of their entire “Christian” paradigm from a philosophical and existential base rather than on the authority of Sacred Scripture. Continue reading →

5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you, 6 namely, if any man is beyond reproach, the husband of one wife, having faithful children, who are not accused of dissipation, or rebellious. 7 For the overseer must be beyond reproach as God’s steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of dishonest gain, 8 but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, righteous, holy, self-controlled, 9 holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to reprove those who contradict. Titus 1:5-9 (LSB) 

It doesn’t take very long for me to discern whether the person I am dealing with is truly God’s man or woman or is a pretender. That personal interaction is necessary for me to see the true nature and focus of the person…. Continue reading →

9 Wherewith shall a young man redress his way? in taking heed thereto according to thy word. 10 With my whole heart have I sought thee: let me not wander from thy commandments. 11 I have hid thy promise in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. 12 Blessed art thou, O Lord: teach me thy statutes. 13 With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth. 14 I have had as great delight in the way of thy testimonies, as in all riches. 15 I will meditate in thy precepts, and consider thy ways. 16 I will delight in thy statutes, and I will not forget thy word. Psalms 119:8-16 (1599 Geneva Bible)

It is vital for Christians to know God’s Word, to love its precepts so much that they hide it in their hearts so they will never forget it. Why? This is the foundation of discernment. God gives the gift of discernment to His people. Some have more than others of course, but we all must learn to develop it and it begins by knowing and understanding God’s Word. Why?… Continue reading →

3 Afterward Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the Laws: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the things which the Lord hath said, will we do. 4 And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord and rose up early, and set up an altar under the mountain, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings of beeves, and sacrificed peace offerings unto the Lord. 6 Then Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins, and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. Exodus 24:3-8 (1599 Geneva Bible) Read verses 7-8 on the site.

With the demise of the Biblical/Christian Worldview those of us who belong to the Lamb of God must stop assuming that our culture, our environment, knows or grasps what we mean when we talk about sin and God being Holy, Righteous, and Just…. Continue reading →

14 Of these things put them in remembrance, and protest before the Lord, that they strive not about words, which is to no profit, but to the perverting of the hearers. 15 Study to show thyself approved unto God a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, dividing the word of truth aright. 2 Timothy 2:14-15 (1599 Geneva Bible) 

In our post What Does It Mean to Walk In The Light, we looked at what true worship is and what is isn’t. Sadly, the prevalence of false worship and “churchianity” has taken over the “visible church” in our time. However, God has not abandoned the True Church and there are those God is calling to take up the slack left by “Christian” leaders who have left their proper calling of genuine ministry and “Rightly Handling the Word of Truth” to pursue a form of “Church” that is more of a business venture than a genuine Church…. Continue reading →

1 Behold, ,what love the Father hath given to us, that we should be called the sons of God: For this cause this world knoweth you not, because it knoweth not him. 2 Dearly beloved, now are we the sons of God, but yet it is not made manifest what we shall be: and we know that when he shall be made manifest: we shall be like him: for we shall see him as he is. 3 And every man that hath this hope in him purgeth himself, even as he is pure. 1 John 3:1-3 (1599 Geneva Bible) 

The Church, the True Church, has always taken the stance that God’s truth is knowable. However, in these “post-modern” times this “stance” has come under considerable attack causing many to question it’s veracity. Also, His truth is as His attributes and character…. Continue reading →