Remnant

2 Corinthians 1:22 “And who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”

I know as a Christian of many years that the various theological differences in the Church. We can call them denominations. Tend to coalesce the opinions of believers strongly around certain positions. These positions can be moderate or they can be strongly held and extremely divisive.

This can cause Christians to become narrow, legalistic, judgemental, pious and patronising toward other Christians. It can drive people away from the Church and even quench people’s faith. Christians can even make pronouncements about the status of another's relationship with Christ Jesus. I mean here they will say that a certain person is not saved.

Bearing in mind here that in liberal Christianity there are positions that would bring the concept of a person’s salvation into question. For instance if you don’t believe in the virgin birth of Jesus; don’t believe that Jesus is the Messiah - the Son of God. Is there salvation in your faith.

When you believe that Christ Jesus bore your sins upon the Cross and confess those sins to Him as your Saviour, the only begotten Son of God. When you ask Him to come into your life then He puts His seal on you and His Spirit takes up residence in our hearts. Then you are saved.

Matthew 18:2-3 “And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

However when we get judgmental and preachy. When we make pronouncements about other people’s salvation. We need to be careful. The Christian life is not about theology. By this I mean theology is important but it can be dry and based outside of faith. The atheist will tell you that he will not believe what he cannot see. He has no interest in what cannot be proven.

Jesus said “unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Children will believe what their parents tell them. They will listen to adults and friends that they trust and wholeheartedly accept what they say. They will argue that something is right because someone they love said it. Even if it is demonstrably incorrect. They are naive and have simple faith.

That is the type of faith we as believers need to develop. We need to trust Christ Jesus and believe everything He said because He said it and He is the Lord our God. We need childlike faith. Theology as wonderful as it is can interfere in our childlike faith particularly if we are putting other Christians opinions ahead of the bible and what the Spirit is telling us through God’s word. We need to listen to yet small voice of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and apply God’s love in our lives.

Romans 11:5 “So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace.”

I truly believe that there is a remnant of saved Christians across the denominations. What am I saying here? Well I’m saying what Christ Jesus said really; Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”

So not all who say they are Christians are saved but conversely not all that we think are not saved are actually lost either. It’s very much about their relationship with Jesus Christ. People we doubt gravely because of the Church they belong too and its theology may actually be repentant and humble Christian folks doing God’s will.

My belief is that there is a remnant across the denominations and we need to reach out to each other as this time becomes more severe. It will not be just Presbyterians or Methodists; Baptists or Brethren; Anglican or SDA. The remnant of this time and will become more apparent as the persecution of the Church ramps up in the years to come. So we will be able to see clearly who the remnant are. Our job as the remnant will be to cultivate childlike faith and to sow the seeds of the gospel in search of the lost. God bless the remnant.

 

Disinformation - Doublespeak

Did you ever stop to think the same people who dis-inform the LEFT of the political spectrum could be the same people who dis-inform the RIGHT?



That the agency that tells the woman with two grandchildren that the Covid Vaccine will kill everyone that takes it. Is the same agency that tells the man who is double vaccinated that the unvaccinated person is a danger to society and to himself. 

Why would they do that you ask. Well it's simple really. It's covered by that old Roman adage "Divide and Conquer." How better to achieve that than by inundating people with huge amounts of conflicting information on the Internet and in the process scaring them out of their wits. 

In doing this it makes it much easier to manipulate the thinking of the majority and to alienate thinking that you wish to drive out of the dominant discourse. You could call it social engineering or generating social compliance. 

How ever you look at it Noam Chomsky has identified the process in our recent era and George Orwell wrote the play book in his infamous epic fiction novel, 1984. More below:

The Ministry of Truth, the Ministry of Peace, the Ministry of Love, and the Ministry of Plenty are the four ministries of the government of Oceania in the 1949 dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell

The Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war, the Ministry of Truth with lies, the Ministry of Love with torture and the Ministry of Plenty with starvation. These contradictions are not accidental, nor do they result from ordinary hypocrisy: they are deliberate exercises in doublethink.
Orwell's 1984 — Part II, Chapter IX - https://en.wikipedia.org/.../Ministries_of_Nineteen...

Why You Need Salvation in the Name of Jesus Christ

 

Acts 2:38 “And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

I don’t doubt that anyone who hasn’t heard much about Christianity has little idea of their need for salvation. The above scripture outlines that need in no uncertain terms. To receive forgiveness of your sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit you need to repent (turn back from sin), and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ.

In other words you have a debt of sin that is owing to the creator God, Yahweh Elohim and you need to repent of that sin and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for that debt to be paid in the account of Jesus Christ. An account opened when Christ Jesus bore the sins of all men, and women ,on the Cross at Calvary.

Your debt can only be paid through the account of Christ Jesus when you agree to repent asking forgiveness of your sins from Jesus while believing that He, your precious Saviour, bore your sins on the Cross paying your sin debt. When your acceptance of Jesus’s redemption is enacted the Holy Spirit comes into your heart and God makes His place in your life.

This is often done in conjunction with the action of baptism which symbolises death to sin in the death of Jesus and resurrection into the newness of life in His resurrection. In immersion baptism which is symbolic of ritual cleansing. As the person being baptised kneels forward under the water this is symbolic of death to the old self and as they are raised above the water this symbolises resurrection into the newness of life in Jesus Christ. A new being.

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Every member of mankind is born into sin. Sin permeates mankind and leads to unrighteousness which separates us from God. In many ways sin is like a virus and it is definitely the one item that God will not tolerate. Before God the consequence of our sin ought to be death. So, we as fallen persons are all due a guilty judgement and the penalty of death.

However, God has provided a way for us to evade the penalty of death through the sacrifice of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus took on Himself, as our sinless Saviour, the penalty of that sin for all men. He bore our sin unto death in his crucifixion and death and gave the gift of eternal life to all who believe on him (Jesus Christ), in His resurrection.

Romans 10:9 “Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

It comes back to you the sinner and your decision about the need to repent and turn from that sin. Will you believe on Jesus Christ? Will you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord. Will you believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead that you by believing the gospel will be resurrected also.

By believing on Him will you be saved? Will you take to yourself and your family the free gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ? Are you sure of your salvation? Have you realised that your sins separate you from God and the consequence will be the eternal death. The second death with the final outcome of eternal separation from God and effectively eternal death forever.

Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Will you not make Christ Jesus your Lord and Saviour? We speak of eternal life and the afterlife in the Kingdom of God. But what of the righteous life of the Christian who is saved and redeemed in the Saviour, the only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ?

Would you be the believer who has been crucified with Christ. As the apostle Paul said “It is no longer I the live, but Christ that lives in me.” So if Christ lives in you what will you do as a Christian. Who will you be as a Christian.

In 1 John 1 verse 9 the apostle John says “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” To be in Christ is to repent of all of our sins. It is to allow the Holy Spirit to live in out hearts on which He will write God’s Law and there reveal the nature of Christ in us.

The apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” So anyone in Christ even in this life is a new creation. The old unrighteous life is done away with and the newness of life is yours if you believe on the only begotten Son of God. Jesus Christ.

Will you repent of your sins in the name of Jesus Christ. Will you be baptised in His name. The name above all names. He is the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. All things were created for Him and by Him. He loved you so much that He died for you when you were yet a sinner. Will you not hear his call and turn from your sins? Will you not believe on Jesus Christ? Will you not receive eternal life?