A John 3:16 Christian

 

How getting saved works for me.

 

 So, attending a Calvinist Church I have struggled for a while to accept the idea that God elects each Christian and through Grace Alone. That the whole process takes place automatically. No personal input required. As you can imagine this created a backlash back in the day. It created and entire counter movement called Arminianism which completely opposes Calvinism. Instead of Grace doing it all, Grace enables YOU to do it all. Prevenient Grace enables you to accept or reject the gospel and then it enables you to accept or reject the sanctifying acts of the Holy Spirit on a piece by piece basis.

 

Honestly, my opinion of all of this is that Calvinism has some of it right. We are elected from the foundation of the world and we are totally depraved. We are justified by our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus. We are entirely sanctified by the Holy Spirit over the course of our lives and presented to the Almighty God perfect in the resurrection.

The Arminians also have some of it right that we are elected by being foreseen rather than predestined. We are drawn to Christ through the hearing of the gospel under the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Through grace we have the choice to believe on Christ Jesus or to reject Him as our Savior. As to whether we are sanctified on choice by choice basis. I don't believe so personally. As I mentioned before I believe the Holy Spirit sanctifies us during the course of our lives. We don't inherently have that ability as fallen men ourselves

 

However, other than justification in Christ Jesus and sanctification by the Holy Spirit. I don't really think the contentions of the Calvinists and the Arminians matter all that much. Some people get very agitated over it all and I have to confess to being profoundly caught up in the controversy about election and double predestination myself but it is just a storm in a tea cup compared to the real battle for the hearts and minds of men and women, between God and Satan.

 

Hence the great commission of Matthew 28 verses 19-20 "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

 

From <https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/mat/28/1/s_957001>

 

So, in the end I'm just a John 3:16 Christian, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." I believe in the redemptive work of Christ Jesus on the Cross and I shall not perish but inherit eternal life. My sins are washed away by His blood, the blood of the Lamb of God shed on that Cross at Calvary.

 

From <https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/jhn/3/16/p0/t_bibles_1000016>

 

It's a simple gospel and a simple faith both of which are gifts of God. You should try it.

Matthew Chapter Seven Study

 

Judging Others

1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

6 “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.

 

Jesus warns us here not to judge others because as we pronounce judgement on another, so the same standards that we employ to judge them will be the very ones that God uses to judge us in turn. If we measure the achievements of another then in the same way God will measure our achievements. It belies that we should instead be merciful to our brother, or sister, that God might in turn be merciful to us.

 

How often do we see the faults in our brother, or sister, and become furious with them. How can they do this or that which upsets us. How can they so casually break the law of God and injure those we love? Yet their wrongdoing is a mere speak in their eye compared to the beam in our own eye which we don't even seem to know is there.

 

The judgement that we are giving to them is in its own way a large part of our wrong doing, a part of the beam in our own eye. H

 

ow many other sins do we commit that are just as bad as those we see in others, or maybe much worse. What are we doing in our lives. Are withholding tithes or committing some infraction of the law of God that is far worse than our brother, or sister, are doing. So we need to look into our own hearts and do some housekeeping of a cleansing and repentant nature so that we can see with clear eyes to assist our brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ.

 

There are times to share your faith but there are times when your audience will not be worthy of the pearls of knowledge that the Holy Spirit has revealed to you. Times when the wisdom of God would be so rejected as to be metaphorically trampled underfoot.

 

Ask, and It Will Be Given

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

 

Here Jesus tells us to pray earnestly and to spend time in prayer. Ask God specifically for your needs and tell Him what you seek and He will see that you find it. Knock and He will open the wisdom of heaven to you. Be determined, be diligent to pursue the things you need from God. For God is our heavenly Father and just as we know how to give good gifts to our children and will not give bad or dangerous gifts neither will God give us bad gifts. In fact, God will give us much more wonderful gifts and things that will help us in every aspect of our Christian life and walk.

 

The Golden Rule

12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

 

Jesus starts this short passage with the commandment "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" This commandment fits with another well-known scripture "Love your neighbor as you love yourself. This is the Law of the Prophets and Jesus came to fulfill the Law.

 

There are two gates in the this world in which we live. One is wide and the path to it is wide and easy and those who make their way to perdition are many. Just follow your fallen nature and listen to the lies of the devil and the path of least resistance will carry you straight through the wide gate on the road to hell.

 

Narrow is the second gate and the road that leads to it is steep, rough, difficult and sometimes near impossible to negotiate.  Few find it and those who do are the children of God. You have to really love God and follow Him closely to enter by the narrow gate. It means fighting the fallen nature. It means believing on Jesus Christ unto eternal life and being baptized into His death and coming out of the waters into His resurrection and to the newness of life. It means being sanctified by Holy Spirit and finally being resurrected perfect, and holy, into the Kingdom of God.

 

A Tree and Its Fruit

15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

 

In this passage Jesus warns of false prophets who come to deceive you. Usually, they come seeming  to be shepherds of the flock. Pastors of the children of God. False prophets though have false teachings and lead the flock away from God and from the word of God. In our time there have been cult leaders who have led their flocks even to death and many who have established Churches based on false teaching just as in earlier church periods entire libraries of false doctrine have included into the wisdom of the Church which impact us to this day.

 

Jesus says here that we can recognize these false prophets by their fruit. If they seem to be focused on wealth rather than the betterment of the Church for God's will. If they have the wrong attitudes to those who question their motives or if they tend to accumulate beautiful things and to gather beautiful women around themselves. If they don't stand when their witness and testimony are compared to the word of God. Anything that counts as fruit can be assessed to see whether it is from God and of the Holy Spirit, or is it from the world and the devil.

 

Jesus tells us that those trees which don't bare good fruit will be cut down and burned. Thus they can be recognised by their fruit.

 

I Never Knew You

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. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

 

Jesus warns here that to enter the Kingdom of Heaven requires obedience to the will of God. It requires that you believe on Christ Jesus for the forgiveness of sins and genuine repentance as the Holy Spirit sanctifies your heart. Some people will attempt a form of token worship and not commit to the narrow way. You cannot continue in your sins as you walk with the Savior. Repentance is a prerequisite.

 

On the last day if you are not genuinely converted then Jesus will tell you "I never knew you; depart from me you workers of lawlessness."

 

Build Your House on the Rock

24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

 

A wise man ensures that the house he is about to build is built on the rock whereas the foolish man builds his house upon the sand. When the rains come and there are floods the house built on the rock stands fast whereas the house built on the sand is undermined and swept away in a great catastrophe. Thus, those who build their house upon the rock are those who listen to the wise council of Jesus in the word of God and who listen to the Holy Spirit in their hearts. They have eternal life. Those who build their houses on the sand are those who turn their backs on God and refuse to listen to His wise council from the bible. They lose everything including their souls and the second death is theirs for eternity.

 

The Authority of Jesus

28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

 

The people who came to listen to Jesus began to realize that they were in the presence of a Prophet of God and started to see that Jesus of Nazareth was the promised Messiah, the Son of God and their deliverer.

 

From <https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/mat/7/1/s_936001>

 

 

 The Gospel in a Nutshell

Acts 2 verse 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.

This one bible verse represents everything you need to do to get yourself saved and into the Kingdom of God. Repent, meaning to change direction from sin toward the righteousness of God. Be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for this is the only name under heaven by which you must be saved (Acts 4:12).

 In the act of baptism you are cleansed of your sin in the waters of baptism and join in the death of Jesus Christ as you go under the waters and into the His resurrection and to walk in the newness of life as you rise from the waters of baptism (Romans 6:4). In this process of baptism the Holy Spirit becomes one with you, as He begins to reveal the nature of Jesus Christ in you as you are sanctified during your lifetime.

Why do you hesitate? Salvation unto eternal life is available to you the instant you believe on Jesus Christ the only begotten Son of God (John 3:16). Don't you desire to live forever in paradise with the Father and His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ? Make your decision now before it is too late!

Matthew Chapter Six Study

 

Giving to the Needy

1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

In Jesus time, the Pharisees and rulers loved to practice acts of righteousness in public so as to be seen by others but Jesus warns us that if we make our deeds public then we will have received an Earthly reward and there will be no reward in heaven.

So, don't make a public display when you make a gift to the needy rather, keep your giving secret so that only your Father in Heaven will know and you will receive your reward from him.

 

The Lord’s Prayer

5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Pray then like this:

 

“Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name.

10 Your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread,

12 and forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

 

14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

 

Likewise when you pray don't pray in public so that you may be seen because those who do already have their reward. Rather, go into your room, shut the door and pray in secret to your Father in heaven for he will reward you in secret. Neither use many words or heap up empty phrases in the hope that God will listen for your long and wordy prayers, for God already knows what you need.

 

So pray  the Lord's prayer above, hallowing the name of God, hoping for the kingdom to be established here on Earth. Trusting God to meet your needs, seeking His mercy and being merciful to others, receiving  His protection from temptation and evil. Forgiving the trespasses of others that God may forgive your trespasses.

 

Fasting

16 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

 

When you fast, anoint your head and wash your face. Don’t draw attention to yourself to receive a reward from others who see you here on Earth, rather ensure that only your Father in heaven knows that you fast so that you may receive your reward from Him.

 

Lay Up Treasures in Heaven

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

 

Don't gather wealth here on Earth where it can be lost and thieves can steal it. Make the things of God your riches and store up heavenly wealth which is eternal. Be aware that where your treasure is so there will be your heart.

 

Remember, that the eye is the lens to your heart. If your heart is full of the strife of this world then your eye will be filled with darkness. No one can serve two masters, no one can try to be obedient to God and continue to seek worldly rewards. If you have two masters you will either love one and hate the other or be devoted to one and despise the other.

 

Do Not Be Anxious

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

 

You don't need to be anxious about your life or about your food, drink, clothing or anything else you might need in your daily existence. God looks after all of the animals and all of the plants in this world and are you who are made in His image are worth far more to Him than them. So, God will give you everything you need for you are worth far more than anything in the natural world. Your Heavenly Father knows all of your needs. So, seek the Kingdom of God and to be righteous before God and He will take care of all the you require.

 

From <https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/mat/6/1/s_935001>