Since I was a child, I was taught that we are "saved by grace alone". Not only that, but once I
prayed the "sinner's prayer" - I was forever saved. There was nothing I could ever do that
would take that salvation from me. Then I learned that the Bible - God's Word - says the demons also believe and know that Jesus is the Son of God. Since knowing and believing on the Lord Jesus Christ hasn't given them salvation, what are we missing here? And, why is this so important to discuss?
Let me tell you a story from my teenage years that is a really good analogy. When I was a teenager, I had tried to swim - with some of my friends - out to a raft in the middle of a lake.
I only made it halfway there when due to exhaustion -I couldn't swim any further. I was in water over my head, so the only thing I could do was to yell for help! A friend swam to me, but made the mistake of grabbing on to me. A battle started with me pushing her under the water in order to get my head out of the water. Eventually, she broke free from me and I started gulping down water as fast as I could swallow.
I was about to pass out when I heard a calm voice saying over and over again - "Roll over on your back. Roll over on your back." As soon as I obeyed the voice by rolling over on to my back, I felt the strong arms of a lifeguard grab hold of me. By placing my life into his hands and obeying everything he told me to do, he soon had me back to the safety of land.
From experience, I can tell you that "grace alone" did not save me that day! First of all, I had put my trust in the wrong thing when I let my friend try to save me. She proved to be a "false lifeguard" and was going to cause us both to drown. 2ndly, I recognized "the voice" of the lifeguard as the real thing in which to put my trust. But just believing that he was the lifeguard - still did not give me salvation! I had to "obey his voice", submit to him by putting my life into his hands, and then do what he commanded me to do. At any point if I had been foolish enough to choose to go against what he was telling me to do, I would have lost my salvation and drowned.
When we pray "the sinner's prayer", we need to acknowledge that we have sinned because we have broken God's law - the 10 Commandments. Because of our disobedience to His holy commands - we have been given the "death penalty" and on the Day of Judgment, we will be sentenced to Hell. However, God saw our need for a "Lifeguard", took on flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, and "jumped" into our world of humanity so we could be saved. Our part is to hear His voice, believe He is who He says He is, and accept His offer of salvation through His death on the cross to pay the penalty for our "lawlessness". Choosing to submit to Him and to obey His Word for the rest our lives until we reach Heaven's shore is what will guarantee our salvation.
What is missing in most of the "sinner's prayers" you may read or hear from our pulpits today is the need for us to be obedient. The sinner needs to say in their prayer, "I choose to obey You and Your Word for the rest of my life." Why is this so important? Because as in my story above, grace and obedience must work together. Jesus cannot be your Saviour, if you have not given Him complete control of your heart and life. In the Bible, giving Christ control of your life is called making Him your Lord and Master. The demons may believe in Jesus as the Son of God, but they will not OBEY Him - and that is the key.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
The Sabbath Day: Moses' Law or God's Law?
This subject is one that really excites me because it's something God revealed to me one day as I was reading through the book of Deuteronomy. It excites me whenever I find doctrine in the Bible that our churches have never taught us.
This is what I found in Deuteronomy 31:24-26: "So it was, when Moses had completed writing the words of this law in a book, when they were finished, that Moses commanded the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying: 'Take this Book of the Law and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there as a witness against you;"
The phrase "the ark of the covenant" is possessive. So we could re-word it to say, "The Covenant's ark". What was "The Covenant" that was inside the ark? It was the Ten Commandments permanently written on stone tablets.
The "ark of the covenant" or "the covenant's ark" was a wooden chest in which God commanded Moses to place the Ten Commandments (God's Covenant/Law) which were written on the stone tablets by the finger of God. This was the second set written by God because the first set got broken when Moses' threw them on the ground when he saw Israel's idolatry. (This should tell us just how important these Ten Commandments are to God - and how permanent.) The lid to this ark was "the Mercy Seat" where God's presence dwelt - a very holy place! In fact, if anyone touched this ark, except for the Levites (priests), God killed them instantly!! (see 2 Samuel 6:6,7).
So this raises a question: How could God's people read or meditate on God's law "day and night" as quoted in Joshua 1:8 - if they couldn't get near it? During the 40 days and nights that Moses was on Mt. Sinai - he (Moses) was busy writing not only The Ten Commandments (God's Covenant/Law) in a book, but also all the levitical and ceremonial laws with their curses and blessings. This book is called "The Book of the Law" or "Moses' Law". Basically, it contained the first five books of the Bible - the Pentateuch. Deuteronomy 29:21 says "And the Lord would separate him from all the tribes of Israel for adversity, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in the Book of the Law." Deut. 30:10 says "...If you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law..." Notice this "Book of the Law" contains BOTH the Ten Commandments and God's statutes.
One of the reasons this Book of the Law had to be on the outside of the ark was to make it readable and so others could copy from it. Deut. 17:18-20 says, "Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord His God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes. That his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel." Now we can understand how we can meditate on it "day and night" according to Joshua 1:8!
I need to mention that the verse that many churches use to try to "do away with" God's law (when it comes to the Sabbath Day) is found in Colossians 2:14. It says, "...having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross." There are two problems with this verse: 1) With the Covenant sealed inside the ark, it was impossible to "nail it to the cross"; 2) The Ten Commandments didn't have any requirements/penalties attached to them. They were just 10 Commandments of God's Law. All the requirements of that Law, with it's blessings and punishments, were written in Moses' handwriting and placed in a book outside of the ark.
The analogy my husband and I came up with is that of our U.S. Constitution. It is sealed inside a bulletproof display case in Washington, D.C. However, the Amendments to the Constitution are outside of that case and they are what define the penalties if the laws of the Constitution are violated. Another analogy: Suppose we break the law of going 70 mph in a 40 mph speed zone - and we now have to go to court. The judge declares our fine/penalty. However, some nice person steps forward and pays that penalty for us. Did that "do away" with the speeding law of 40 mph? When we step outside the courtroom and get in our car, the first thing we see is a sign that says 40 mph! Now are we going to obey it or say that because someone paid our fine - it no longer applies to me?
The apostasy of today says "we are no longer under law, but under grace" - meaning God's law doesn't apply to us - especially the Fourth Commandment (the Sabbath Day). Under Moses' law, the soul that sinned had to die or sacrifice a lamb in his place. Today, a person doesn't have to die because of breaking His Law - IF we accept that God, in Christ, died in our place on the cross, and then we choose to obey His laws and follow Him. The good news is that Jesus (God in the flesh) took the curses of the ceremonial and levitical laws to the cross for us - so we no longer need to offer the blood of sheep and goats for the forgiveness of our sins. The other good news is that God's Law as contained in the Ten Commandments still applies to us today - and yes, that includes the Sabbath Day.
This is what I found in Deuteronomy 31:24-26: "So it was, when Moses had completed writing the words of this law in a book, when they were finished, that Moses commanded the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying: 'Take this Book of the Law and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there as a witness against you;"
The phrase "the ark of the covenant" is possessive. So we could re-word it to say, "The Covenant's ark". What was "The Covenant" that was inside the ark? It was the Ten Commandments permanently written on stone tablets.
The "ark of the covenant" or "the covenant's ark" was a wooden chest in which God commanded Moses to place the Ten Commandments (God's Covenant/Law) which were written on the stone tablets by the finger of God. This was the second set written by God because the first set got broken when Moses' threw them on the ground when he saw Israel's idolatry. (This should tell us just how important these Ten Commandments are to God - and how permanent.) The lid to this ark was "the Mercy Seat" where God's presence dwelt - a very holy place! In fact, if anyone touched this ark, except for the Levites (priests), God killed them instantly!! (see 2 Samuel 6:6,7).
So this raises a question: How could God's people read or meditate on God's law "day and night" as quoted in Joshua 1:8 - if they couldn't get near it? During the 40 days and nights that Moses was on Mt. Sinai - he (Moses) was busy writing not only The Ten Commandments (God's Covenant/Law) in a book, but also all the levitical and ceremonial laws with their curses and blessings. This book is called "The Book of the Law" or "Moses' Law". Basically, it contained the first five books of the Bible - the Pentateuch. Deuteronomy 29:21 says "And the Lord would separate him from all the tribes of Israel for adversity, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in the Book of the Law." Deut. 30:10 says "...If you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law..." Notice this "Book of the Law" contains BOTH the Ten Commandments and God's statutes.
One of the reasons this Book of the Law had to be on the outside of the ark was to make it readable and so others could copy from it. Deut. 17:18-20 says, "Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord His God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes. That his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel." Now we can understand how we can meditate on it "day and night" according to Joshua 1:8!
I need to mention that the verse that many churches use to try to "do away with" God's law (when it comes to the Sabbath Day) is found in Colossians 2:14. It says, "...having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross." There are two problems with this verse: 1) With the Covenant sealed inside the ark, it was impossible to "nail it to the cross"; 2) The Ten Commandments didn't have any requirements/penalties attached to them. They were just 10 Commandments of God's Law. All the requirements of that Law, with it's blessings and punishments, were written in Moses' handwriting and placed in a book outside of the ark.
The analogy my husband and I came up with is that of our U.S. Constitution. It is sealed inside a bulletproof display case in Washington, D.C. However, the Amendments to the Constitution are outside of that case and they are what define the penalties if the laws of the Constitution are violated. Another analogy: Suppose we break the law of going 70 mph in a 40 mph speed zone - and we now have to go to court. The judge declares our fine/penalty. However, some nice person steps forward and pays that penalty for us. Did that "do away" with the speeding law of 40 mph? When we step outside the courtroom and get in our car, the first thing we see is a sign that says 40 mph! Now are we going to obey it or say that because someone paid our fine - it no longer applies to me?
The apostasy of today says "we are no longer under law, but under grace" - meaning God's law doesn't apply to us - especially the Fourth Commandment (the Sabbath Day). Under Moses' law, the soul that sinned had to die or sacrifice a lamb in his place. Today, a person doesn't have to die because of breaking His Law - IF we accept that God, in Christ, died in our place on the cross, and then we choose to obey His laws and follow Him. The good news is that Jesus (God in the flesh) took the curses of the ceremonial and levitical laws to the cross for us - so we no longer need to offer the blood of sheep and goats for the forgiveness of our sins. The other good news is that God's Law as contained in the Ten Commandments still applies to us today - and yes, that includes the Sabbath Day.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
The God of Lawlessness or The God of Law?
Recently, my son got married and he requested a new red-letter edition Bible. As a wedding gift from me and my husband, both he and his wife are receiving matching Bibles, with Jesus' words written in red in the New Testament. This made me wonder if Christians today REALLY understand who Jesus truly is? Why would His words be in red in the New Testament, but not be in red in the Old Testament?
A few weeks ago I wrote a post "Apostasy and the Worship of Two Gods". Here is just another example of the apostasy and false teaching in many of our churches regarding the "God of the Old Testament" and the "God of the New Testament". Obviously for many in our churches, the "God of the New Testament" speaks in red letters, and the "God of the Old Testament" speaks in black letters. The "God of the Old Testament" is a "God of Law", and the "God of the New Testament" is a "God of Love", Who has "done away with" the Law. In other words, we are being taught that the "God of the New Testament" is a "God of lawlessness". I don't know about you, but I definitely would call that heresy!
As I've been reading in Ezekiel this past week, over and over again, I've read: "And the word of the Lord came to him..." Or, "Tell the people, 'Thus says the Lord'". Genesis 1:3 says "Then God said,..." Isaiah 48:17 says, "Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer." John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:14 says, " And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." Who are these verses talking about, but Jesus! In John 14:9 Jesus says, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father."
Why then are these "Thus says the Lord" phrases in the Old Testament not in red? Because of the false teaching that Jesus is not the God of the Old Testament. Of course, Christians know that if they accept the belief that Jesus is the God of the Old Testament as well as the God of the New Testament - they then would be held accountable for not keeping all ten of God's commandments. Exodus 20:1 says, "And God spoke all these words..." and then proceeded to give the Ten Commandments to His people. The Ten Commandments were first SPOKEN to Moses and then they were WRITTEN down. So, either way, they are God's Word. And, God's Word in the flesh is Jesus Christ!
So, I think I'm going to buy myself a new red-letter edition Bible. However, as I read through the Old Testament and see phrases about "the word of the Lord", "Thus says the Lord", "the voice of the Lord", etc. - I'll be keeping a red pen in hand to circle these as they come across the page. By the time I'm done with the Old Testament, I will have a better understanding WHY at the Name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Mighty God, Wonderful, Counselor, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace. Jesus is not the "God of Lawlessness", but the God of Love AND the God of Law - worthy of our love and obedience forever and ever. Amen!
A few weeks ago I wrote a post "Apostasy and the Worship of Two Gods". Here is just another example of the apostasy and false teaching in many of our churches regarding the "God of the Old Testament" and the "God of the New Testament". Obviously for many in our churches, the "God of the New Testament" speaks in red letters, and the "God of the Old Testament" speaks in black letters. The "God of the Old Testament" is a "God of Law", and the "God of the New Testament" is a "God of Love", Who has "done away with" the Law. In other words, we are being taught that the "God of the New Testament" is a "God of lawlessness". I don't know about you, but I definitely would call that heresy!
As I've been reading in Ezekiel this past week, over and over again, I've read: "And the word of the Lord came to him..." Or, "Tell the people, 'Thus says the Lord'". Genesis 1:3 says "Then God said,..." Isaiah 48:17 says, "Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer." John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:14 says, " And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." Who are these verses talking about, but Jesus! In John 14:9 Jesus says, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father."
Why then are these "Thus says the Lord" phrases in the Old Testament not in red? Because of the false teaching that Jesus is not the God of the Old Testament. Of course, Christians know that if they accept the belief that Jesus is the God of the Old Testament as well as the God of the New Testament - they then would be held accountable for not keeping all ten of God's commandments. Exodus 20:1 says, "And God spoke all these words..." and then proceeded to give the Ten Commandments to His people. The Ten Commandments were first SPOKEN to Moses and then they were WRITTEN down. So, either way, they are God's Word. And, God's Word in the flesh is Jesus Christ!
So, I think I'm going to buy myself a new red-letter edition Bible. However, as I read through the Old Testament and see phrases about "the word of the Lord", "Thus says the Lord", "the voice of the Lord", etc. - I'll be keeping a red pen in hand to circle these as they come across the page. By the time I'm done with the Old Testament, I will have a better understanding WHY at the Name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Mighty God, Wonderful, Counselor, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace. Jesus is not the "God of Lawlessness", but the God of Love AND the God of Law - worthy of our love and obedience forever and ever. Amen!
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Apostasy and Lawless Freedom
Tomorrow is Independence Day here in the U.S., so I decided to take a look at the Declaration of Independence . It surprised me how many times the words "law" or "laws" were mentioned in it, and that they were mentioned in the context of the King of England obstructing and abolishing them. Let me list a few for you:
1. ..."refused to assent laws..."
2. ..."has forbidden governors to pass laws..."
3. ..."refused to pass other laws..."
4. ..."obstructed the laws..."
5. ..."abolishing our most valuable laws..."
The first sentence of the Declaration of Independence reads:
"When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."
Our Founding Fathers recognized the danger of having no laws and decided to separate themselves where they would have the freedom to have laws - especially God's laws! So many today, especially Christians, equate freedom with no laws. It's really a puzzlement to me how they have twisted the Gospel of Grace to mean that God's law has been "done away with". Why would we want to do that? It is God's law which gives us true freedom (James 1:25). If we do away with law - especially God's law - we lose our freedom and put ourselves under anarchy. Not only that, but God says in I John 3:4 that "lawlessness is sin". At that point, everyone starts doing what is right in their own eyes (Judges 21:25). Man's opinions begin to have higher authority than God's commandments! This is the "Falling Away" or "The Apostasy" of the last days.
Our Founding Fathers also recognized one other thing: Following God's laws would require a separation from the world around them. Have we let God's laws and commandments separate us from the worldly customs surrounding us? Romans 12:2 (NIV) states, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Looking around at the Church today, I see the Apostasy where Christians are being taught not only has God's law "been done away with", but that we also need to be as much like the world as possible in order to win as many as possible. This is totally contrary to what the Word of God says.
As Christians, our freedom came the day that the Lord our God brought us "out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." (Exodus 20:2) That was God's Grace. Through the blood of Jesus Christ we are set free from the bondage and slavery of sin. However, we forget that Christ bought us and we don't belong to ourselves any longer. I Corinthians 6:19 & 20 says, "Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." We've been set free from our slavery to sin, but now we are slaves to God and His righteousness and holiness. We are not set free to be our own boss and to do whatever our heart desires!
Once He set us free from our slavery to sin - He gave us His 10 Commandments (Exodus 20:3-17) for us to obey as His servants and to set us apart from the world around us. Only through obedience to Him and His commandments will we, as Christians, experience true freedom. So tomorrow, let's remember our Founding Fathers who were willing to die so they could be free to serve God and His laws in this great country of the United States of America.
1. ..."refused to assent laws..."
2. ..."has forbidden governors to pass laws..."
3. ..."refused to pass other laws..."
4. ..."obstructed the laws..."
5. ..."abolishing our most valuable laws..."
The first sentence of the Declaration of Independence reads:
"When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."
Our Founding Fathers recognized the danger of having no laws and decided to separate themselves where they would have the freedom to have laws - especially God's laws! So many today, especially Christians, equate freedom with no laws. It's really a puzzlement to me how they have twisted the Gospel of Grace to mean that God's law has been "done away with". Why would we want to do that? It is God's law which gives us true freedom (James 1:25). If we do away with law - especially God's law - we lose our freedom and put ourselves under anarchy. Not only that, but God says in I John 3:4 that "lawlessness is sin". At that point, everyone starts doing what is right in their own eyes (Judges 21:25). Man's opinions begin to have higher authority than God's commandments! This is the "Falling Away" or "The Apostasy" of the last days.
Our Founding Fathers also recognized one other thing: Following God's laws would require a separation from the world around them. Have we let God's laws and commandments separate us from the worldly customs surrounding us? Romans 12:2 (NIV) states, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Looking around at the Church today, I see the Apostasy where Christians are being taught not only has God's law "been done away with", but that we also need to be as much like the world as possible in order to win as many as possible. This is totally contrary to what the Word of God says.
As Christians, our freedom came the day that the Lord our God brought us "out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." (Exodus 20:2) That was God's Grace. Through the blood of Jesus Christ we are set free from the bondage and slavery of sin. However, we forget that Christ bought us and we don't belong to ourselves any longer. I Corinthians 6:19 & 20 says, "Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." We've been set free from our slavery to sin, but now we are slaves to God and His righteousness and holiness. We are not set free to be our own boss and to do whatever our heart desires!
Once He set us free from our slavery to sin - He gave us His 10 Commandments (Exodus 20:3-17) for us to obey as His servants and to set us apart from the world around us. Only through obedience to Him and His commandments will we, as Christians, experience true freedom. So tomorrow, let's remember our Founding Fathers who were willing to die so they could be free to serve God and His laws in this great country of the United States of America.
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