Paul Surrenders to the Lord Jesus

 The Enemy is Changed

Book of Acts Chapter 9

In the Bible, Paul is first known by the Greek equivalent of his Hebrew name which is Saul. Paul is best known by his Latin Roman name Paul.

Paul went from being the most hated persecutor of the Church to being the great Christian and Apostle to the Church that belongs to Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul was the most dominate missionary to the Gentiles.

To the Church Paul was a murderer and he was certainly a murderer. 

It was the Lord Jesus Christ Himself who came to Paul and brought salvation to him.

It is only the Lord Jesus Christ who can save anyone.

1Jn 1:7  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

It was the Lord Jesus Christ that cleansed Paul from his sin of persecuting and murdering the Church.

We can be sure Paul had other sin.

Paul hated the Church and wanted to destroy the Church. 

When we persecute the Church, we are actually persecuting the Lord Jesus Christ for He is the Head of the Church!

*****Act 9:1  And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, 

Act 9:2  And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. 

Paul burned with a flaming fury against the Church and all Christians.

It is Christians that make the Church. The Church is not a building!

Paul was consumed with fierce anger and that fierce anger was against Christ Jesus and His disciples.

Paul hunted down and slaughtered all the believers he could find, and we can be sure the world helped him.

The followers of Jesus Christ were called "the way" before the term Christianity was used.

Act 19:9  But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of "that way" before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus.

Act 19:23  And the same time there arose no small stir about "that way".

Act 22:4  And I persecuted "this way" unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.

Act 24:14  But this I confess unto thee, that after "the way" which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets: 

Act 24:22  And when Felix heard these things, having more perfect knowledge of "that way", he deferred them, and said, When Lysias the chief captain shall come down, I will know the uttermost of your matter. 

The teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ were not pictured as a religion and Christianity is not a religion!

The teachings of the Lord were not pictured as rules and regulations for they are simply the truth of God.

The teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ were seen as "the way of life' according to our Heavenly Father.

Not just that but also the "course of life", "the means of life", "a condition of life", and "an experience of life".

It is the Lord Jesus Christ who showed us "the way" of salvation!

Act 16:17  The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us "the way" of salvation. 

It was the Lord Jesus Christ who showed us the "way of the Lord".

Act 18:25  This man was instructed in "the way" of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. 

It is the Lord Jesus Christ who has shown us how to have peace in our lives!

Luk 1:79  To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into "the way" of peace. 

Rom 3:17  And "the way" of peace have they not known:

It was the Lord Jesus Christ who has shown us "the truth" of God's creation.

2Pe 2:2  And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom "the way of truth" shall be evil spoken of. 

This is what Paul was doing. He was speaking evil of the way of truth!

It is the Lord Jesus Christ who has shown us "the way of righteousness".

2Pe 2:21  For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 

Paul was about to see "the way" himself and what it means to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.

*****Act 9:3  And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: 

What is the truth of our Savior? God can save anybody, anywhere, at any time!

Saul was going to Damascus to slaughter Christians and wipe out Christianity.

Right in the middle of doing this evil, Paul was saved.

A light appeared suddenly, out of nowhere and unexpectedly. A light brighter than the noon day Sun!

Act 22:6  And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me. 

Act 26:13  At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me. 

Paul saw the Lord standing in the middle of this light.

1Co 9:1  Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord? 

1Co 15:8  And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. 

This light was the Glory of the Lord!

1Ti 6:15  Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; 

1Ti 6:16  Who only hath immortality, "dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto"; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.

Just the power of this Light struck Paul down to the ground.

Act 26:14  And when "we were all fallen to the earth", I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. 

The truth is, the Glory of God must shine in our hearts before we can be saved.

2Co 4:6  For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 

The Lord Jesus Christ is the Glory of God!

The Lord Jesus Christ is the Lord of Heaven!

The Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God Himself!

The Lord Jesus Christ is the Savior to all those who believe, there is no other Savior.

Isa 9:2  The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. 

Paul is converted from Judaism to Christianity.

By the way, to be a Christian is to do the best we can to be like the Lord Jesus Christ and we can only do this by being filled with God Holy Spirit!

*****Act 9:4  And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 

Act 9:5  And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. 

Paul had realized he had seen the Lord and now realized that He was hearing the Lord speak.

Paul was not alone but he was the only one who heard the Lord speak all the others heard was a mighty sound, but they could not distinguish the words spoken by Jesus.

What was Paul's sin?

Paul was opposing and persecuting the Lord Jesus Christ!

Joh_16:9  Of sin, because they believe not on me;

Paul was treading on dangerous ground and every soul upon this earth will get to meet our Savior.

Opposing Christ Jesus is serious, so serious it dooms a person to hell unless there is repentance.

This day was Paul's chance to miss hell and Paul had to make the right choice.

This may have been Paul's last day on earth had he remained rebellious.

Mat 25:40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Mat 25:45  Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 

Mat 25:46  And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. 

Paul knew these things happening around him were coming from Heaven.

When Paul asked "who art thou Lord", he knew it was the Lord of Heaven and earth who was speaking to him.

Paul knew this person was the Lord of Heaven, but he did not know the Lord as his Savior but they are One and the Same.

It takes a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved.

Until you meet Jesus and recognize His glory, you will never understand this.

When a person really sees he has been rebelling against the Lord of Glory, the Savior, he will come under conviction.

Paul understood that what he was doing was opposing God who he had great faith in.

In Judaism it is Jehovah who is worshipped and Jehovah and the Lord Jesus are the same Deity.

Paul began to understand that he was lost, separated from Jehovah God and doomed to Hell.

Heb 2:3  How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; 

Heb 2:4  God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will? 

It is hard to kick against your own conscience.

"To kick against the pricks" is a picture of a stubborn ox being goaded with a long stick that was sharp on its end. 

It was hard for the ox to kick against the goad for he would only feel more pain.

Paul was questioning himself over the truth.

Paul was fighting himself over the truth.

Paul was struggling within himself with the truth of the Scriptures which he knew very well.

When the Light of the Gospel finally breaks through our sinful darkness, we will begin to know the truth.

Everyone who chooses to go against the Lord Jesus has chosen a hard way of life!

They will never know if they have chosen right, and it will affect everything they try to accomplish.

This something each Christian understands!

Psa 51:2  Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 

Psa 51:3  For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 

Psa 51:4  Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. 

Psa 51:5  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. 

Psa 51:6  Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. 

There was only one thing Paul could do, he had to obey the Lord.

*****Act 9:6  And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. 

Paul had to surrender to the truth that he was the greatest of all sinners.

Gal_1:13  For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it:

Paul was hardly able to bear up under the weight of his sin! 

We all get this way when we realize we are just dirty rotten sinners.

These things became part of Paul's testimony.

Paul became a shattered man, and it would take some time in prayer and meditation to clear his mind so he could learn the truth.

Paul needed the companionship of another believer who had been through similar things.

Paul had been converted and a radical change was taking place within him. 

It would take proof of his conversion for the Christian community to receive him.

There were some who witnessed this event that happened to Paul.

*****Act 9:7  And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.

There were some witnesses, but they did not know what was really happening.

In typology, we would say they were a type of the world we live in.

The world listens to false science and lies and reject the truth so the world cannot know the truth.

The world is aware of the miracle of conversion, but the world refuses to open their eyes to the truth but cling to the lies of false science.

We have to open our hearts to see the Light of the Lord Jesus.

We have to silence ourselves and our thoughts to hear the voice of God.

We have to make ourselves available to confront the Lord.

We have to be prepared to surrender if we call upon the Lord.

Act 28:27  For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. 

Act 28:28  Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it. 

2Co 4:3  But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 

2Co 4:4  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. 

2Co 4:5  For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. 

Paul could only do as the Lord instructed him. It is called obedience!

*****Act 9:8  And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. 

Act 9:9  And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink. 

Paul was blind and he did not know if it was temporary or forever.

Paul was helpless and had to be led by others.

Paul could do nothing else but to think about what had happened to him.

Paul became ashamed for what he had been doing.

Paul needed some help from a Christian!

Paul thought his purpose was to eliminate Christianity, but Paul now had no purpose in his life.

Paul wondered why the Lord Jesus had chosen him.

Paul wondered what the Lord Jesus wanted with him, and he wondered what the Lord Jesus was going to tell him to do.

Paul was unable to eat or drink for three days and Paul became exhausted with no strength at all.

We must understand that once the Lord Jesus has forgiven us, He no more remembers our sin and it is best we forget that old sin.

God sent Paul a brother in Christ named Ananias.

*****Act 9:17  And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. 

Act 9:18  And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized. 

What Paul needed most was the need to experience the help and ministry of a fellow Christian.

As Christians we all know we are only sinners saved by the "Grace" of God!

Paul needed to see the faith of a brother in Christ.

Paul needed to know that he was also a brother in Christ.

Paul needed to feel the power of God and a glorious healing.

Paul needed to feel the power of the Holy Spirit.

Many ask, just when was Paul saved?

Was Paul saved on the Damascus Road or when he was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Paul knew that awesome Light was from Heaven.

Paul knew that voice he heard was from Heaven.

Paul knew who ever was speaking to him was of Heaven.

Paul called this Heavenly being "Lord".

Paul was surrendering to the Lord when Paul asked Him "What will you have me do"?

Paul did not have a personal relationship, but he knew it was the Lord God of Heaven.

Paul called Him Lord a second time.

Paul realized his only help was to obey the Lord God of Heaven as he surrendered to the Lord.

Paul prayed and the Lord Jesus heard him.

Act 9:11  And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, "he prayeth", 

Act 9:12  And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight. 

It is evident that Paul surrendered to the Lord Jesus on the Damascus Road.

Does not sound a whole lot different from many of us who prayed the sinners pray and many pray and never give themselves to the Lord Jesus.

We now have Paul's history of how he served the Lord in the New Testament.

Paul could now eat because he was settled in his faith.

*****Act 9:19  And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus. 

Paul was a changed man because he had been "Born Again"!

We see that a Church had been established in Damascus and now Paul was identified with other believers.

Paul was a true believer; his old man had surely died!

Paul became a follower of "The Way".

Paul became a true follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.

*****Act 9:20  And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. 

Paul preached Christ, the Messiah.

Paul no longer preached religion, or tradition, or ceremony or ritual.

There is a great significant difference between the two!

Paul also did not preach his firsthand experiences, his visions, his praying.

Paul preached Christ. It takes a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ to know the truth!

2Co 4:5  For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. 

Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 

Col 1:28  Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: 

Col 1:29  Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily

Paul preached Christ the Son of God:

Col 2:8  Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 

Col 2:9  For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 

Col 2:10  And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: 

The people were amazed at the change in Paul. We could say Paul made a 180 degree turn rom his old life.

*****Act 9:21  But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests? 

Paul stood as a testimony to the change that comes about when the Holy Spirit moves in and we are "Born Again".

The people in the synagogues and in the public were amazed at what they saw in the new Paul.

They were expecting all the things they had heard about in Jerusalem to take place.

They had known about the mission of Paul and how he treated men and women Christians.

Paul now identified as a Christian himself.

Paul would later declare to the Romans that he was not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Rom 1:16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 

Rom 1:17  For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

And to the Christians at Corinth:

1Co 9:16  For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel! 

1Co 9:17  For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me. 

Paul became steadfast and faithful to the cause of Christ  and his old friends became his enemies.

*****Act 9:22  But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ. 

Act 9:23  And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him: 

Paul continued to grow in his faith and his zeal was now for the truth of Jehovah who is the Messiah who came to our world to save us.

Paul grew Spiritually. We can have no strength that can compare to "Spiritual Strength".

The Bible we have today is rich in the work of the Holy Spirit.

We should never forget the Holy Spirit is one third of the Triune God.

The Holy Spirit is not the influence of God, the Holy Spirit is God with His own work in our lives to accomplish and the power of the Holy Spirit showed mightily in the Apostle Paul.

The more Paul grew in the Lord the more he was able to confuse those who opposed the "Gospel."

Paul could take the Scriptures and prove that the Lord Jesus was the true Messiah!

Paul grew in strength because his "faith" grew greatly every day.

Paul had been studying the Old Testament since he was a child, but he now knew the truth of the Messiah.

What is the truth of the Bible?

Heb 4:12  For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 

So the same ones who had encouraged Paul to persecute Christians now plotted to kill Paul.

God was not about to allow this to happen.

*****Act 9:24  But their laying await was known of Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him. 

Act 9:25  Then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket. 

We would wonder why they would hate Paul with such a vengeance.

They then considered Paul to be a traitor to Judaism.

When Paul escaped, this is probably the time when Paul went to spend some time with the Lord.

Gal 1:15  But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, 

Gal 1:16  To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: 

Gal 1:17  Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. 

Where did Paul get his message?

Paul says not from man.

Paul did not immediately go back to Jerusalem to learn from the Apostles.

Paul went to Arabia where he stayed about three years. The same amount of time the other Apostles spent with Jesus.

It is after this he returned to Damascus.

Many times we just need to get alone with God and just talk to Him.

He is always ready to hear from us!

It is probably on his return to Damascus that verse twenty-three kicks in and this passage we are on now.

There are different theories about Paul's time in Arabia.

The point being Paul spent some quality time with the Lord Jesus and became a much more mature Christian and it was time for the Lord to use Paul in a mighty way.

Even after returning from Arabia it was still 12 years before Paul went to the missionary field.

Paul fled from assassination all the remaining days of his life.

Paul was run out of Jerusalem and did not get to go home very much.

Paul went to his childhood home in Tarsus until he was called to the mission field.

The message of the "Gospel" convicted and threatened the followers of Judaism, and it still does today.

Christianity is not a growth from Judaism but in fact all those in Judaism will have to convert to Christianity which will take place after the "Rapture of the Church.

The Apostle Paul is an example for us all of the change that takes place after we are saved and the work that we need to be doing as disciples.

Paul was not some fanatic no more than a Christian is today, witnessing for our Lord and Savior.

God will always make a way to escape when we are true witnesses for the Lord.

God will deliver us from difficulty when we true witnesses.

God will carry us through to His presence when death comes.

2Ti 4:18  And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. 

You see this is the truth of the Scriptures!

Set Apart For God Sanctification

 The Gospel of Grace and Sanctification

Book of Romans Chapter 6

What is sanctification and what does it really mean? 

Sanctification means to be set apart for God's use. 

Sanctification is the act of being made holy.

The Almighty Living God is separate from His creation because He is the Creator!

God has always existed, but this world we see around us is only a few thousand years old. 

Probably at least six thousand years and no more than ten thousand years old. 

Do not fear what the evolutionists say. When they say millions and billions of years, they try to trick us into believing that if enough time passes anything can happen and this is just not the truth!

All miracles come by the hand of Jehovah!

Since God is separate from His creation, then to sanctified is to separate ourselves for the purpose of serving Him.

Sanctification is a lifelong process, at least from the time the Holy Spirit moves into our heart until our death.

Since Jehovah exist in holiness, then all that love Him must come into this same holiness!

Being Christian is being like the Lord Jesus Christ the true Messiah (God With Us)!

This is the act of sanctification being more like Christ every day.

We should be growing in the Lord Jesus Christ every day of our lives, until we are finally sanctified and have reached perfection becoming glorified when we meet Jesus.

We do not need a group to vote to see if we are Saints. We become Saints when the Holy Spirit moves into our heart.

We always ask what is the will of God for our lives? It is the will of God that we be sanctified!

1Th 4:3  For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: 

1Th 4:4  That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; 

2Th 2:14  Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

We can only begin our sanctification by receiving the Holy Spirit!

1Pe 1:2  Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. 

If we continue in sin after our salvation, we can never be sanctified, and we should question our salvation. Was it real?

We must consider ourselves dead to sin!

We must consider ourselves alive to Jesus Christ, who had no sin!

*****Rom 6:11  Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Rom 6:12  Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 

Rom 6:13  Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 

Rom 6:14  For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

What is the truth of the Christian?

We know we are still sinners only saved by the "Grace" of God!

We are alive today and forever through the Lord Jesus Christ!

We do not allow sin to rule our lives anymore! The Holy Spirit gives us this power!

We do not allow any part of our body from our head to our toes to be used as instrument to commit sin!

We allow the will of God to be our will!

We allow the ways of God to be our ways.

We can do these things because we have the Holy Spirit living within us and all other strength comes by the Lord Jesus Christ.

We wear the seal of God!

Rom 6:2  God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? 

Rom 6:7  For he that is dead is freed from sin. 

Rom 6:8  Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: 

Rom 6:9  Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.

We are dead to sin, but alive to our Heavenly Father!

We no longer serve the Devil; we are servants to our Holy God!

Sin offends God and in reality, is as a disease that if left untreated, will lead to our eternal death.

Being saved does not destroy this sin nature, but gives us the power to not allow it to rule in our life.

Our bodies are not the source of our sin, but are the instruments used by the Devil to promote his sin.

We cannot allow sin to rule us!

We had no power to do that until the Holy Spirit came to live within us!

We must be constantly on guard against allowing any part of our body to be used for sin, this includes our mind. 

What comes from the heart will enter into the mind so we must keep our hearts pure.

Because of God's "Grace" sin cannot rule us!

If we were under the Law, then we would spend our lifetime struggling to keep that Law which is impossible.

The Law only brings disappointment and discouragement, it can never bring salvation!

When we fail the Law, it brings us shame and we feel unacceptable to God!

We feel unworthy, but remember, we will never be worthy of God's "Grace".

Our Heavenly Father is not this great Judge waiting to pounce all over us when we fail.

Our Heavenly Father is this Merciful God who offers His "Grace" because we have identified ourselves with His Son Jesus!

Our Heavenly Father loves His Son so much, that He accepts all those who love His Son, who is our substitute for the keeping of the Law.

Our Heavenly Father has claimed each and every believer as His own child!

God is a gracious and loving Father who cares for and suffers with His children and provides forgiveness, when His children come to Him and willing to forgive His children when they fail Him.

1Jn 1:6  If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 

1Jn 1:7  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 

1Jn 1:8  If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 

1Jn 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

1Jn 1:10  If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 

Since all this is true, the question is often asked; is the child of God allowed to continue in sin?

God is really quick to answer this question.

*****Rom 6:15  What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. 

As a true child of God, we will never feel comfortable if we deliberately try to hurt or disappoint our Heavenly Father.

So, we must strive to avoid sin!

We should question the salvation of those who remain in sin, but still claim to be a child of God.

Tit_1:16  They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

If sin dominates your life and you feel you have no power over that sin, then get back on your knees and ask our Heavenly Father to forgive you by Jesus Christ.

Any power we have is multiplied by the strength of our Lord Jesus!

Php 4:13  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

In fact the Lord Jesus says we can do nothing without Him and I believe Him!

Joh 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Our Heavenly Father is a loving Father, willing to teach us all these things and will discipline us when we need it.

Heb 12:5  And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 

Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 

God shows His love when He disciplines not His hatred, "He has already judged us and justified us" and this is eternal!

Rom 8:1  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Our Heavenly Father can easily see if we have become His servants!

*****Rom 6:16  Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? 

When we yield to sin, we are on the road to death just as God explained to Adam before Adam became the first human with a sin nature.

Joh 8:34  Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. 

Joh 8:35  And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. 

Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. 

Not the death of this flesh which comes to everyone, but a complete separation from a Holy God throughout eternity.

Heb 9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

It is that "judgment" we had better concentrate on while we are still living!

Our Lord Jesus has made us free from the penalties of sin!

If we yield to the truth of God, He will become a part of us now and remain with us throughout eternity.

Eternity is that place where my Heavenly Father lives and He has allowed me to live with Him!

We had better understand for whom we serve determines our eternal destiny!

1Co 10:21  Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils. 

One man wrote: "We must walk as an open confession to the Lord our God"!

God is a forgiving God if we pray to Him with a sincere heart!

*****Rom 6:17  But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 

Rom 6:18  Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. 

We should always keep in mind that we have made a choice when we chose to follow the Lord Jesus Christ.

We chose righteousness! 

We had no righteousness until we chose Jesus!

I was once a servant of sin!

Now that I have chosen the Lord Jesus Christ, I am still a sinner though I try not to be and ask for forgiveness constantly and I walk in His righteousness because I have none myself.

Now I try to obey the Doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is the "Gospel" of "justification" and the method of sanctification.

I have been justified in the eyes of our Holy God!

I obey God's commandments!

I believe upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ!

1Jn 3:23  And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. 

1Jn 3:24  And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us. 

I am now freed from that sin debt I owed and freed from the consequences of that sin!

I can never be charged with that sin ever again!

2Co 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 

2Co 5:21  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. 

I now give myself to my Heavenly Father through His Son to do with me as He pleases according to His Word!

*****Rom 6:19  I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. 

Rom 6:20  For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.

Where will righteousness lead us? Righteousness will lead us to holiness.

My members are all the parts of my body that I once gave to sin. 

My eyes, my ears, my mouth, my hands, my feet, my heart, my thoughts, and any other thing that I gave to sin including, lust, fornication, adultery and anything else.

I became a slave to sin, and sin has no ending! Sin multiplies until it has destroyed me!

If I gave so much to sin, then I need to be just as giving to righteousness and the Lord Jesus Christ!

I once served uncleanness willingly, let me now serve righteousness just as willingly.

The power of sin cannot be overcome, but by the Lord Jesus Christ!

God knew all these things and sent His Son Jesus to solve the sin problem for every human being, but it takes "faith" in the work of Christ Jesus to break the power of sin!

Rom 7:5  For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. 

When we allow "faith" to replace the power of sin and righteousness to work to our sanctification, we will see sanctification work till our holiness.

My goal and our goal must be to be more like the Lord Jesus Christ!

Rom 13:12  The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. 

Rom 13:13  Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 

Rom 13:14  But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. 

We must become slaves to righteousness as we were once slaves to sin.

This is what true repentance is all about!

A complete change of direction and a complete change of mind, toward the things of God!

Sin has only one goal and it is the destruction of our soul!

*****Rom 6:21  What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 

Rom 6:22  But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 

Once we realize the power that sin held over us, then we will become ashamed that we left our Creator to become a part of that sin!

What gain can we have from sin? There is only one gain from sin, and it is death, so there is no gain from sin!

The fruit of sin is death of the soul!

There can be nothing good come from sin!

It is only by the work of the Lord Jesus Christ that we can be made free from the penalty of sin!

Sin corrupts.

Sin destroys.

Sin dooms all those who seek its fruits because no good thing comes from sin!

Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 

Notice that word make.

We must be made free and not set free, there is a significant difference

Many a person have been set free from prison only to find their way back into prison.

We are "Born Again" into the family of God and "made" free from sin and the penalty of sin!

These are the precious promises of a Holy God!

2Co 7:1  Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 

It is from these promises where we have our hope!

Joh 5:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. 

The gifts of God bring eternal life!

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

Sin deserves death because sin is rebellion against the ways of God who is life.

Life and death are two extreme opposites!

Sin goes against the nature of our Holy God!

God is pure and morally pure in all His ways!

God is holy and full of glory!

God is a God of justice and righteousness!

And most important God is full of love and grace from which comes His mercy!

This death is:

To be cast far away from God.

To have no part of God.

To be banished from God's sight.

To be separated from God's presence forever.

To be condemned and punished for rejecting God's plan of salvation.

Sin will receive these wages of this death, a complete separation from our Holy God!

Jas 1:15  Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. 

Eze 18:20  The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. 

Sin demands the wages of sin.

Righteousness receives the free gifts of God!

Not such a hard choice, but a choice we all must make.

To not choose at all, is still this death!

Amen

The Gospel of Grace for the Jews

 The Gospel of Grace for the Jews

Book of Romans Chapter 2

If we as Christians have noticed anything since our salvation, we have noticed that it is easier to judge than it is to forgive, but God did not call us to "Judge".

We must examine ourselves and see that we are just as desperately in need of God's "Grace" as anyone else.

In fact, if there is a difference between a Christian and those who are lost it is only the fact of God's "Grace"!

We must be keenly aware that we cannot hold anyone to standards we refuse to keep ourselves!

We become hypocrites and the Lord has said that there will be no hypocrites in Heaven!

We as Christians have no authority over those who are lost!

We are bound to tell them the story of the Lord Jesus Christ and what He has done for us, He can do for them!

There is nothing worse than to see, so-called Christians acting like the world!

Isa 52:5  Now therefore, what have I here, saith the LORD, that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl, saith the LORD; and my name continually every day is blasphemed.

It is only by the "Gospel" of Jesus Christ that we can be saved, and this salvation is made available to every man, woman, and child, until they reject it individually.

It is the "Gospel Message" that can change our hearts, but only by receiving the regeneration of the Holy Spirit, which is being "Born Again"!

Everyone that will make to Heaven must go through this process!

Joh 3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 

It is the Jews who were given the Laws of God yet, they themselves could not keep those laws.

So how do we describe religionists?

*****Rom 2:16  In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. 

Rom 2:17  Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God, 

Rom 2:18  And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law; 

Rom 2:19  And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, 

Rom 2:20  An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law. 

In the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we continuously see the Pharisee, the Sadducees, the Scribes, and a few others and without a doubt the majority of these men were religionists!

These are those who profess religion enough to believe in the eternal security of that religion.

Whether he be Jew, Moslem, or Buddhist, he believes it will lead him to eternal salvation.

Yes, there are also the Christian religionists!

Verse seventeen describes to us the religionists.

They have the Word of their God with them.

They sometimes read it.

They carry it to their places of worship.

They honor it as the confirmed Word of God to all people.

Every so-called religion does this!

It is these things that lead them to believe they are at peace with God, but God requires something they do not possess.

They profess with their mouths, but they are not obedient to the Word of God.

They are not ashamed of their beliefs nor their religious affiliation.

They boast and brag about their god, but God does not accept them just because they boast of the Word of God!

The mistake they make is, that God is not interested in just these things.

Jas 1:19  Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: 

Jas 1:20  For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. 

Jas 1:21  Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. 

Jas 1:22  But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 

Jas 1:23  For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 

Jas 1:24  For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 

Jas 1:25  But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

We must never forget what our Lord Jesus has said!

Joh 3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Joh 3:7  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

As far as the Jews are concerned, they will never get to Heaven if all they believe is being obedient to those old Laws of Moses, that is called the Law in the New Testament!

The only profession that our Holy God wants to hear is that profession of "Faith" in the work that the Lord Jesus Christ has done to provide that eternal salvation!

Without this "faith" our profession is meaningless to God!

Remember, it is the Holy Ghost who provided this knowledge to the Apostle Paul and all the other Apostles, which became known as the Apostles Doctrine, which is the doctrine of the true Church, the

"Good news" of the Lord Jesus Christ.

You see, just knowing God's will is not enough, we must be in God's will. 

God's will began with our salvation and if we cannot take this first step of "faith" in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, then we will never get close to our Heavenly Father!

Heb 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. 

God said we just become blind guides leading the world to further blindness and instructors of the foolish!

God had already warned the Jews!

Eze 33:31  And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. 

Eze 33:32  And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not. 

Eze 33:33  And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.

The Jews killed most all the prophets including God's only Begotten Son and still reject Him today as does all religionists!

There is only one truth!

Joh 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 

Joh 14:7  If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. 

Religion does not answer all the questions of the truth, only "faith" has those answers!

It takes more than a profession, it requires true "faith"!

It takes more than "Baptism". Baptism is meaningless unless it is done in resemblance of the work of Jesus Christ.

It takes more than being a Church member. You can be a Church member without being in the family of God which requires the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit!

*****Rom 2:21  Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? 

Rom 2:22  Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?

Rom 2:23  Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?

 We can read and study the Word of God every day of our lives, but if we refuse to apply it to our own lives, what good has it done?

In a sense, we are all teachers because no matter who you are there is someone looking at you!

We all claim to know how to live in a righteous way and we are proud parents who teach our own children how we feel, but when we refuse to listen to the truth of God and teach the truth of God, we have led them down a path of destruction.

What right do we have to tell others how to live, if we reject the truth of God on how we are all to live?

Its best we tell them nothing at all, if we are insuring their death without the truth.

God remembers all these things and we will be "Judged" for what we have done, but also for what we have not done!

Jas 4:17  Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

This kind of changes our perspective when we think about!

Do we steal? 

Did we steal as a toddler?

Did we steal in school?

Did we steal on our job?

Did we steal while shopping even by accident?

Most all of us would have to say yes to most of these things.

So we cannot teach how we feel, we must teach the Word of God and then become doers of the Word of God! It is called obedience.

Eph 4:28  Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. 

What does the Lord say about adultery?

Mat 5:27  Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 

Mat 5:28  But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. 

You see if we have not been "Born Again", regenerated by the Holy Ghost, then how should we ever believe we could teach anyone, even our own children?

Tit 1:16  They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate. 

Last week we saw that word "reprobate" and here it is again.

Reprobates then reject the truth of God for themselves but still willing to "judge" others.

We dishonor God when we do these things while still insisting, we are in a good relationship with Him. We fool our own selves!

*****Rom 2:24  For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written. 

Sacrilege is when we violate our commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ!

This is the same as robbing from God!

This means we are treating many things as more important than our relationship with the Lord!

Every time we say some truth about the Word of God and then not do that truth ourselves, we are blaspheming Jehovah God!

We are dishonoring God before men!

When we claim to be Christian, yet violate the Word of God openly or in secret, we cause the Lord's name to be blasphemed!

Many people doom themselves because they mock God and make light of the Lord!

All these things we are reading about were taking place by these religionists during the time of our Savior.

They are still taking place today and even taking place in the House of God, the Church.

All these things are written in the Old Testament as our examples to learn from and not to ignore!

*****Rom 2:25  For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. 

Rom 2:26  Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? 

Rom 2:27  And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law? 

Moses established circumcision as a national ordinance for the Children of Israel.

Circumcision was another of those physical signs that have a Spiritual meaning!

Rom 15:8  Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: 

Rom 15:9  And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. 

The complete truth is, that there is no ritual that can get us one step closer to salvation.

Rituals cannot bring God's praise!

Rituals cannot bring God's approval!

You can take that word circumcision and substitute any ritual that is said to bring salvation and we can see the falsehood of all rituals!

Circumcision cannot save you!

Baptism cannot save you!

Church membership cannot save you!

Communion cannot save you!

Living in a so-called Christian nation cannot save you!

Speaking in tongues is not a sign of salvation!

You cannot be saved by any ritual nor is any ritual to be included in any way toward our salvation!

We are acceptable to God by being obedient to His Word as it deals with the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ!

1Jn 3:23  And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. 

1Jn 3:24  And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us. 

When you make yourself all about keeping those old laws or even new laws that are added in many of today's Church, we have become "a Judge" who determines another person's salvation when the Lord has taught us that all we need is our "faith" in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, the true Lamb of God!

Not one ritual or group of rituals can save any man, any woman, or any child!

The key to a close relationship with our Heavenly Father is obedience!

Rom 5:19  For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. 

The disobedience of Adam made us all sinners!

The obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ will make every believer righteous!

The keeping of rituals cannot save us.

The lack of keeping of those rituals cannot cause us to be lost.

It is obedience or disobedience to the Word of God that is the answer to these things!

In the New Testament we see the title Jew given to those who are not Gentiles.

The title Hebrews is used to distinguish them in regard to language and education versus the Hellenists who were Jews who spoke the Greek language.

The title Israelite is used as respects to their sacred privileges as the chosen people of God.

It is these people who preserved the Word of God that we have today!

What did Jesus say to the Samaritan woman?

Joh 4:21  Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. 

Joh 4:22  Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 

Joh 4:23  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 

Joh 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. 

Here in this passage the Apostle Paul uses the title Jew meaning the chosen people of God while speaking to these Christian Jews.

This is the way the Apostle is using the title Jew here.

Not as the Jews of Judah, but the Jew as the chosen people of God!

Now who are the true Chosen People of God?

Listen to Paul.

A true Christian is righteous inwardly because of the Holy Spirit who abides with the believer!

We have no righteousness within ourselves!

Rom 3:10  As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 

Rom 3:11  There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 

Rom 3:20  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. 

Rom 3:21  But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 

Rom 3:22  Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 

Rom 3:23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 

Rom 3:24  Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 

With all that this great people have done by preserving the Word of God, they have chosen to abide by rituals and laws which are meaningless when it comes to salvation and eternal life with our Heavenly Father.

*****Rom 2:28  For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: 

Rom 2:29  But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. 

There has been no one except the Lord Jesus Christ who has been able to keep all 613 of those Jewish Laws.

So, as of today the Jews who stick to the laws and rituals of Moses, are not acceptable to a Holy God!

Being acceptable to Jehovah comes from the heart of those who are "Born Again" into the family of God.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not a works doctrine, it is a "Grace" Doctrine!

You see, salvation is not what man can do, but salvation is what God has done through His Son and it is God who is to be praised and not man!

The true people of God are all those who are obedient to all the Word of God as it deals with the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ!

It is the Holy Spirit who converts each sinner!

Tit 3:5  Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

By our own works we can never reach the throne room of God!

What does God see today?

Jer 6:10  To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it. 

Some things just do not ever change!

We already know that all those who reject the Word of God, God has allowed to remain in that position, giving them over to a reprobate mind!

God's true people are those who have been circumcised in the heart.

God's true people are all those who have had that flesh disease cut out of their heart.

God's true people are all those who have been converted by the Holy Spirit!

These who call themselves Jews must take that ultimate step:

Lev 26:41  And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity: 

Lev 26:42  Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land. 

Amen

Born Again To A New Life

The Blessing of Salvation

Book of Ephesians 2:1-10

What is a blessing?

The average person equates blessings to this physical world as material gain. Nothing is wrong with these blessings if they are obtained legally and according to the Word of God.

In truth the greatest blessings are not physical but spiritual!

The greatest blessing of all is to become a citizen of Heaven!

There are so many today who threaten to forsake their USA citizenship and move to another nation when they need to be forsaking sin and gaining a citizenship in Heaven.

The child of God is a stranger visiting this world, just a pilgrim passing through.

1Pe_2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;

There is no greater blessing than salvation!

*****Eph 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

The first thing we should notice is that Paul is speaking to the Church.

The Church consists of those "Born Again" Christians saved by the same almighty power whereby God raised Christ Jesus from the dead!

We, who were dead, "void of all spiritual life", now have life and life eternal by the same power that raised the Lord Jesus Christ from His physical death!

How can there be a blessing as great as this one?

**We were dead because of sin.

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

**We were in the family of Satan.

Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

**We walked according to the course of this world.

1Jn_2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

**We did not know our true enemy.

Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

**We did not understand just how cruel the Devil truly is!

Job 1:7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

Job 1:16 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

God did not cause this but, Satan did.

Job 1:19 And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

Satan holds not only his "limited" power of the air but also a "limited" power of the airwaves. What are your children listening to and watching?

1Pe_5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Just as we did not know all these things, "those who are lost are unaware of all these things today", just as they were in the day of the Apostle Paul.

**There can be no doubt that we all will face death!

Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

There is also "Spiritual Death". A separation from God's presence forever!

The Scriptures call this the "second death". The eternal state of being dead to God!

But we can defeat this spiritual death by the salvation that comes by "Faith" in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

**To be saved is to repent, bringing a complete change in the whole human character!

The lost do not realize that everything that occupies their time, is sin!

Mar_10:18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good "but one", that is, God.

Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Spiritual death is the separation of any human being from God while they are still living and walking upon this earth and then after a physical death, forever!

The truth:

**A person who walks in life without God and rejecting Jesus Christ, this person is already dead in the eyes of God!

**A person may walk in this life as a religious person, worshipping his own god, of his own thoughts, or his own notions and rejecting Jesus Christ and this person is also dead in the eyes of God!

1Ti 5:6 But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.

**All persons who reject the Lord Jesus Christ and the work He has done for salvation, are dead in the eyes of God!

1Jn 5:12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

1Jn 2:22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.

1Jn 2:23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.

**Remember Satan is the father of all liars even if this is your pastor or your teacher!

*****Eph 2:3 "Among whom" also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, "even as others".

What is the real truth? All humans by nature are just alike! We all have a sin nature! Even as babies we are sinners!

It is only by the "Grace" of God that the Christian differs from those who reject Christ!

As Christians we must never be ashamed to confess ourselves to be sinners with the worst!

This is the first step toward salvation, knowing we are sinners by nature.

We are not sinners because we sin.

We sin because we are sinners. (We are born separated from God)

There is no one upon the face of this earth that does not have a sin nature! Everyone lives to fulfill the desires of the flesh!

Psa 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Does anyone teach the baby to lie?

Psa 58:3 The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.

Jesus Christ is the only perfect One to walk upon this earth and it is because He was God in the flesh and not born into sin!

It is only Jesus Christ who can restore us to be in harmony with God!

Before our conversion, (our salvation), we lived a life with those who are the disobedient of this world. (among whom)

Isa 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

The "children of disobedience" are all those who have rejected the Word of God and the works of His Son, Jesus Christ. (Jesus the Messiah)

We live in world that is self-centered and not God-centered!

1Jn_2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

Before our conversion we all lived under the wrath of God!

And as sinners we will reap what we have sown!

Joh 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

As sinners, we will die the second death unless we receive a pardon from God.

There is absolutely no fellowship with God without this pardon!

1Jn 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

1Jn 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

1Jn 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1Jn 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Death to the sinner means God requires his soul for the second death!

Luk 12:20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

We can spend all our lives providing for the flesh but, if we do not take the time to provide for the soul, we will certainly see the wrath of God!

Thank goodness for the God who is so full of mercy and love.

*****Eph 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

Eph 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

We are born so full of sin that it spews out of our mouths even when we are babes, but God is so full of mercy because of His great love that He is willing to forgive us of our sin.

To doubt God's mercy is to dishonor Him!

If we have received the mercy of God, then we are to show God's mercy to all others. God is no respecter of persons and neither are we to be!

When we understand God's love for all that is good, we will then understand God's hatred of all that is bad including all immorality!

The Love of our Father is for His Son Jesus Christ!

Jesus Christ has purchased and redeemed us by His death!

Every soul is a dear property to God and if we have not considered our soul and it is lost due to our rejection of Christ, God has lost something that is very dear to Him.

Be sure to remember, this is our choice and not God's choice!

God will save all that come to Him in faith!

The mercy of God is our greatest need as sinners!

It is by the mercy of God we have an opportunity to know the "goodness" of God! In fact, the name God is derived from the word "good"!

It is instilled in us to long for power.

It is instilled in us to long for fame.

It is instilled in us to long for immortality.

It is instilled in us to long for riches.

It is instilled in us to long for glory, but we can get none of these things without the mercy and the love of God!

Php 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

We might ask, just what does it take to get God to love us? Well this is really simple for God has always loved us!

1Jn_4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.

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

Even when we were dead in sins, God loved us enough to send us all a means to get back in harmony with Him.

Jesus Christ died to save His enemies!

Notice that we were already dead in sin before the Lord Jesus Christ came to this earth. Had He not come, all the world would end up in the Burning Lake that was created for Lucifer and those angels that followed him.

The word Quicken means to make alive. To revive from that death!

How does God make this happen?

Rom 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

It is by the "grace" of God through "faith"!

**The cause of salvation is God's amazing "Grace".

We all know a dead body cannot walk but, nor can a dead soul move of its own free will.

**The means of salvation is by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Each sinner, by the "Grace" of God, transferring all their sin to the Lord Jesus Christ just before His death.

By faith, the sinner can transfer all his guilt, all his misery, and his curse, to Jesus Christ and therefore each sinner becomes "a use to be", receiving all the riches of God by the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

**The effects of salvation. God has raised all believers up together and made us to sit in heavenly places with the Lord Jesus Christ!

Every believer becomes a child of God!

*****Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

It is because of God's mercy that we will sit together with Jesus Christ!

It was the power of God that raised up Jesus Christ from the dead and that same power will raise every believer up sit with Him!

God raised up Jesus Christ for many reasons:

**Jesus Christ led a sin free life upon this earth.

Mankind had already sinned from birth. Righteousness and perfection had already been lost from the time of Adam.

It is only those who are perfect who can stand before God!

**Jesus Christ secured righteousness for us all!

Gal 3:6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.

Gal 3:7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.

Since by the Lord Jesus Christ we are righteous, then even though we are still upon this earth, if we have the faith of Abraham, we have a place reserved for us in the heavenlies!

**The Lord Jesus Christ has already died and been raised from the dead, so God sees all believers as already been raised from the dead, exalted to live with Him forever in Jesus Christ.

When we do get to Heaven, we will not be a stranger who just got home, we will be as a son or a daughter who just left heaven to visit earth and are returning home!

*****Eph 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

Some say God was just talking to these Ephesians, but the truth is God is talking to all His Church!

We were all born without a purpose but after our salvation God extends His purpose to all His children.

God intends to show the true church the riches of His "Grace" toward through Jesus Christ!

God's riches can only flow through the Lord Jesus Christ!

We could say that God will do so much for us by His Son Jesus, that it will take an eternity to see and live it all! Amen.

The Lord God is truly King of all Ages!

1Ti 1:17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Psa 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

Many of us can sometimes think worldly about the wonders of Heaven and it is true that it will be lovely, but we sometimes forget the riches of God's "Grace" He has given us and will continue to give us by and through the Lord Jesus Christ!

Without God's amazing "Grace" we could never know the salvation plan of God!

*****Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

This may be one of the most quoted Scriptures in all the Bible.

The one thing that stands out in this Scripture is that, "salvation comes by faith"!

By definition the meaning of faith is: the settling of the mind to the truth.

So those who are lost have faith in a lie and do not know God's truth!

What is God's unchanging truth?

2Th 2:13 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:

2Th 2:14 Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

What is the truth?

1) Only Jehovah God can save and He alone!

It is the gift of God!

2) Faith in the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ, is necessary for God to be willing to save!

Rom 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

Rom 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;

Rom 3:26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

3) All who have faith will be saved. But remember, faith is not a mere assent to or a profession of the truth; but such a belief as purifies the heart and governs the life.

Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Faith is firmly setting the mind on the truth of God!

For those who refuse to believe, God says this: Rom 3:3 For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?

Rom 3:4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

There is no amount of works we can do before salvation by which we can be saved!

There is no amount of works after salvation that can keep us saved!

But after salvation we will be known by our works because we will begin to look more and more like Jesus Christ, becoming Christians, becoming the Saints of God.

1Pe_2:12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

Jas_2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Our salvation flows by the ""grace" of God!

Our salvation is obtained by faith and by faith only!

Our salvation is a very precious "gift" from God!

2Ti 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

2Ti 1:10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:

This thing is so simple that many just cannot fathom such a great gift of God to be so simple.

This salvation means we are saved from the coming wrath of God.

So how can these things be so true?

*****Eph 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.

To be saved means we were first born of our parents but we are now born of God. We are God's workmanship, not our parents workmanship!

We had a natural birth but salvation is by a spiritual birth.

Our own spirit which was once dead to God, has been quickened (made alive by God the Holy Spirit) and made alive to God!

Remember verse 1:

Eph 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

We have been "born again" to new life!

Jesus said:

Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

We have been made a totally new creation in the eyes of God! (let that sink in)

The saving of the soul is a creation event!

In fact the only new creations since the time of Genesis are those newly born children of the God of creation!

2Co 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

God has made each Christian to be new, by the Holy Spirit!

Tit 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

Tit 3:6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;

Tit 3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

**Our new creation could not come about by works or any goodness.

**Our new creation could not be sustained by any works or goodness.

**Our new creation was created to be known by our good works after being made new.

These good works are an evidence of our salvation not a reason for our salvation!

God builds a masterpiece with every "Born Again" child of God but, this is a continuous work till the day He takes us home to be with Him!

Tit 3:8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.

The strength to fulfill the purpose God has for His church, must come from Him and not from the world!

1Jn 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

Amen