FAT BOTTOM GIRLS N THE POPE-
. Ask Jesus into your heart?
. All traditions bad?
. More on the Pope
MY PAST TEACHING [verses at end]
THE BREAKING IN OF THE KINGDOM- BEHOLD THE LAMB
I taught yesterday in San Antonio- BEHOLD THE LAMB
http://wp.me/a4V5qQ-7X Radio show
Ok- I am going to try and segue into the fulfilment of the
promises that we have been covering for the last few months
The appearing of
Christ- what we call The Advent- which we celebrate at this time of the year
[December 25th].
Jesus comes into the world- thru a Virgin- Mary.
If you read the Prophetic Praise/prayer of Mary- found in
Luke- you see the Hope of Israel- for the coming of a deliverer who would save
the people of God from their oppressors [remember what I said- in the videos-
about Christ/Messiah- like the judges of the Old Testament- they came to
deliver the people from oppressive rule].
We call this prayer of Mary- ‘Mary’s Magnificat’ [Latin for
‘my soul magnifies the Lord’]- she is the chosen one- to have the promised
child.
The prophet Malachi spoke about a Forerunner- one who would
come before Christ-
The bible refers to him as Elijah- who would prepare the way
for Christ.
Jesus tells us that John the Baptist was the fulfillment of
this prophecy.
John makes the great declaration ‘Behold- the Lamb of God
who takes away the sins of the world’.
REPENT- AND BE BAPTIZED- ALL OF YOU
John’s ministry was- well- rough.
Jesus said ‘what did
you go out to see- some timid guy dressed in expensive clothes? No- but a
prophet- and more than a prophet- this is the one spoken about who would
prepare the way’ [these are my own paraphrases- I’m writing them ‘on the fly’-
when I do this I’ll try and copy the exact verse at the bottom].
It’s significant that John- In his first prophetic
announcement of Christ- ‘sees’ a LAMB.
Remember what I said when teaching the book of Revelation-
that the apostle John [not the same John] also saw a LAMB [They were both
functioning in a prophetic/apostolic role when they made these proclamations-
remember what I said in our videos? How the church is a spiritual temple- built
on the foundation of the apostles and prophets- meaning their teaching- the
things God revealed to them- so they SEE Jesus as the Lamb- because this
kingdom will be established on the Death and resurrection of Christ- note in
the scriptures I pasted at the bottom- How the Lamb is ‘the light’ of this
city- how the revelation [understanding] of Jesus as the final Lamb sacrifice
is indeed the foundation that the Apostles/Prophets built the church upon]
Luke 1:47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
Luke 1:48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
Luke 1:49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.
Luke 1:50 And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.
Luke 1:51 He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
Luke 1:52 He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.
Luke 1:53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away
[just a note here- this becomes one of the major themes in the ministry of Jesus- and the Apostles- especially James letter[ not the apostle- but the brother of Jesus- who was the main leader at the Jerusalem church- read about him in Acts 15]. The rich are often contrasted with the poor- and in a negative light. I could give many scriptures on this. The point being that in today’s Protestant world- there is a focus on wealth- the obtaining of it- yet- a careful reading of the New Testament does not follow this very popular line of thought- and we already see this in this prophetic proclamation of Mary].
Luke 1:54 He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;
Luke 1:55 As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.
5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: 6And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. Malachi 4:5-6
Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see ? A reed shaken with the wind? 8 But what went ye out for to see ? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold , they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. 9 But what went ye out for to see ? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. 10 For this is he, of whom it is written , Behold , I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence , and the violent take it by force . 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come . 15 He that hath ears to hear , let him hear Matthew 11
The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith , Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. John 1:29
And looking upon Jesus as he walked , he saith , Behold the Lamb of God! John 1:36
And I beheld , and, lo , in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain , having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. Revelation 5:6
And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying , Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints
And he saith unto me, Write , Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of theLamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. Rev 21:23
NOTE- The proclamation of John ‘Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world’- In Latin the term is Agnus Dei- as a boy we sung this hymn in Catholic church ‘Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world- have mercy on us’.
[Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata
mundi, miserere nobis.- this is the full phrase in the Latin – taken from
John’s declaration- where the Christian song/chant comes from]
(377) A
few entries back I spoke on not judging God or others based on our own
experiences. I have noticed over the years how a lot of believers who might
have had a Catholic background became very ‘anti catholic’ after being ‘born
again’. I do believe in the New Birth. I believe all who believe in Jesus
Christ are Born Again. In 1st John it does say ‘whoever believes that
Jesus is the Christ is born of God’. Some times we associate ‘being born again’
with our own evangelical experience. ‘Have you asked Jesus into your heart?’ If
not, then you’re not BORN AGAIN! This is what you would call ‘reductionism’
reducing everything to a simple ‘me and Jesus’ format. You know none of the
Apostles ‘asked Jesus into their heart’ [the original 12]. It would sure seem
like an awkward thing. ‘Jesus’ ‘yes Peter’ ‘would you come into my heart’ ‘I
have been with you from the start, you will soon believe in my death and
resurrection. You will be one of the key figures in the founding of my church’
‘I know all this Jesus, but if I don’t get saved I cant go to heaven’. The
point is simply, all the Apostles and every other believer since has had one
thing in common. They have all believed in the death and resurrection of Jesus
Christ. They believe ‘he is the Son of God’. Don’t use your own personal
experience to exclude others who might not have come to the Cross the same way.
We all come by faith, the peculiar aspects surrounding the event are not what
saved you, it was Jesus who saved you. Also it is a common hobby for the more
extreme fundamentalists to question whether or not ‘you are really saved’. They
often use verses like ‘you should know whether you are in the faith or not’
[Corinthians]. But they use them in a way that’s not really in context. Paul
uses these verses to question Christians who are doubting the physical
resurrection. He is not using these verses to ‘micro examine’ every little
detail of their conversion experience! God gave his son to save the world; it
would sure be strange to find out that the majority of people who believe in
Jesus didn’t make it because of some technicality! God wants to save people,
people need Jesus to be saved. Don’t make it harder than this! NOTE; Now that I
mentioned ‘reductionism’ let me say a few things. In the world of ‘theology’
reductionism refers to the ‘reducing’ of Gods greater corporate and societal
purposes [the Kingdom
of God ] to the simple act
of ‘getting saved’. There are whole churches and movements whose entire
‘thought life’ is centered on ‘am I saved? If so I will find a church that
tells me this every Sunday, and often these same churches will convince the
‘saved’ that they really didn’t get it the first time. And there you have it
‘they get saved for real this time’ and then the whole cycle repeats. The more
‘communal’ churches see salvation in a broader way. They often quote St. Augustine ’s famous
words ‘there is no salvation outside of the church’. Many good theologians hold
to this. I believe this is true to a degree. In Paul’s teachings ‘the church’
are all the communities of people who have come to Christ. Paul does teach a
form of ‘corporate salvation’. That is ‘if you’re in the church you are saved’.
It’s just there is a tendency [Augustine] to see ‘church’ in an evolving way
that restricts ‘church’ to the specific community that YOU personally relate
to. So in Augustine’s mind [as well as other great Catholic theologians] to be
‘church’ is to be Catholic. Now after Vatican 2 [1962-65; The year I was
born] the Catholic Church officially acknowledged the Protestants as ‘separated
brethren’. A big step for them to have made. Some more liberal Catholic
thinkers see ‘all religions’ [Muslims included] as being ‘saved’ thru the grace
that is resident in society thru the Catholic Church. Sort of like ‘Gods grace
to reveal God to people is activated by Gods Son. The only ‘true’ church that
is ‘transmitting this grace’ is the Catholic Church. The fact that all Muslims
are believers in God is a divine sacramental act that is taking place in
society thru the Catholic Church. Therefore the fact that Muslims [or any one
else] are truly in communion with God is a real work of grace that has been
generated thru the one true church’. Now I don’t hold to this. All Catholics
don’t either. This is to show you the broad range from ‘me and Jesus’ to that
which borders on ‘universalism’ [the doctrine that says eventually everyone
gets saved. Some very intelligent church fathers believed this. Origen was one
of them. Though Origen is not considered ‘Orthodox’. He was a very influential
teacher and figure in the early church. He actually taught that satan would
ultimately be saved. He was a real Universalist. Some Universalists don’t deny
the blood of Jesus, contrary to popular opinion. They actually believe the
blood is so powerful, that it will ultimately ‘save all people’. There are very
smart Christians who do believe this. I personally do not believe this. But I
find it interesting that modern evangelicals do not for the most part see
‘universalists’ as other Christians. There are different types of them, the
ones who believe in Jesus are Christians, even if they believe all people will
ultimately be saved. The other types who reject Jesus are not Christians] NOTE;
I remember hearing a story about one of these evangelists that preached one of
these ‘you think you are saved, I’ll show you you are not!’ type sermons. The
sermon was so ‘convicting’ at the end of the meeting he went down to the altar
and had the Pastor ‘lead him to the Lord’, that’s strange. If his own sermon
that he preached got him ‘saved’ then that means he ‘got saved’ from a lost
mans message. That would mean ‘he’s not really saved’ wouldn’t it? This stuff
gets ridiculous after a while.
I felt like the Lord wanted me to
share some things, I do not ‘feel’ like doing this at all. These last few days
have been real difficult for me. This is an example of ‘doing what God says
despite your feelings’. I want to speak on the Kingdom of God .
The Christian church has had various ways to ‘see’ the Kingdom of God .
For many centuries [19 of them to be exact!] the church for the most part
taught ‘amillennialism’ a type of view that saw the work of the Cross as the
significant event that ‘triggered’ Gods
Kingdom . In effect
believers saw the fact that Jesus died and was resurrected to be seated at Gods
right hand as Gods
Kingdom already being in
effect thru this event. The giving of the Spirit to the church was Gods
‘program’ of expanding the Kingdom in the earth thru the growth of Christianity
down thru the centuries. Some who held to this view
(820) ROMANS
6- Lets talk about baptism. To start off I believe that the baptism spoken
about in this chapter is primarily referring to ‘the baptism of the Spirit’,
that is the work of the Holy Spirit placing a believer in the Body of Christ.
The Catholic and Orthodox [and Reformed!] brothers believe that Paul is
speaking about water baptism. The MAJORITY VIEW of Christians today believe
this chapter is referring to water baptism. Why? First, the text itself does
not indicate either way. You could take this baptism and see it either way! You
are not a heretic if you believe in it referring to Spirit or water. You are not
a heretic if you believe in Paedo baptism [infant baptism]. ‘What are you
saying? Now you lost me.’ Infant baptism developed as a Christian rite over the
course of church history. The church struggled with how to ‘dedicate’ new
babies to Christ. Though the scriptures give no examples of infant baptism,
some felt that the reason was because the scriptures primarily show us the
conversion of the first century believers. There really aren’t a whole lot of
stories of ‘generations’ of believers passing on the faith to other
generations. So some felt that the idea of dedicating babies to the Lord
through infant baptism was all right. The examples they used were the
circumcision of babies in the Old Testament. Infants were circumcised [a rite
that placed you under the terms of the Old Covenant] though they weren’t old
enough to really understand what they were doing! This example was carried over
into the Christian church and applied to infant baptism. Now, I do not believe
in infant baptism. But I can certainly understand this line of reasoning. As
Christian theology developed thru the early centuries, particularly thru the
patristic period, you had very intellectual scholars grapple with many
different themes and ideas. Some that we just studied in chapter 5. Some
theologians came to see infant baptism as dealing with original sin. They
applied the concept of infant baptism as a rite that washes away original sin.
The church did not teach that this meant you did not have to later believe and
follow Christ. They simply developed a way of seeing baptism as ‘sanctifying’
the new members of Christian households. This basic belief made it all the way
to the Reformation. The Reformers themselves still practiced infant baptism. It
was the Anabaptists [re-baptizers] who saw the truth of adult baptism and
suffered for it, at the hands of the reformers! Ulrich Zwingli, the Swiss
reformer, would have them drowned for their belief. Some Protestants stuck with
the infant rite, while others [the Restorationists] would reject it. Today most
Evangelicals do not practice infant baptism, the majority of Christians world
wide do. Now, the reason I did a little history is because Evangelicals [of
which I am one] have a tendency to simply look at other believers who practice
this rite as ‘deceived’. Many are unaware of the history I just showed you. The
reasons the historic church developed this doctrine are not heretical! They
used scripture and tradition to pass it down to future generations. I do not
believe or practice infant baptism, many good believers do.
(821) ROMANS
6: 1-11 ‘shall we continue to sin, so grace may abound? God forbid! How shall
we, who are dead to sin, live any longer therein?’ Now begins the ‘actual part’
the result, if you will, of being ‘made righteous by faith’. One of the main
accusations against Paul, by the Jewish believers, was that he taught ‘sin a
lot, because you are no longer under the law’. Paul spends time defending
himself against this accusation thru out the New Testament. Here Paul teaches
that the believer has been joined unto Christ [baptized, immersed into him] and
this ‘joining’ identifies him with Christ’s death. So how can ‘we, who are dead
to sin, live any longer in sin’? Paul’s argument for righteous living comes
from the fact that we have died with Christ unto sin. ‘We have died with him,
and we have also been raised with him to new life’. In Ephesians chapter 2,
Paul says we who were dead in sins have been made alive in Christ. Now, we live
a new life, free from sin [practically speaking- not absolute sinless-ness!]
because we are identified with Jesus in his new life, we are ‘alive with and in
him’. ‘Since we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we
shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection’! Jesus died once, and now he
lives forever unto God ‘likewise count yourselves dead indeed unto sin, but
alive unto God thru Jesus Christ our Lord’. Paul’s basis for the transformed
life is Grace and being ‘in him’. Paul does not appeal to the law to try and
effect holiness in the believer, he appeals to Christ ‘in him you have died to
legalistic practices, trying to earn salvation and acceptance; and now because
of this new position [placement] you too have died to the old man [lifestyle]
and are alive unto God’. Paul obviously did not teach ‘sin hardily’ to the
contrary he taught ‘live unto God’.
(834)Romans 6:12-23 ‘Let not sin therefore rule in your mortal
body’ if we have died with Jesus, we are ‘dead with him to sin’. If we are
risen with Jesus ‘we are alive unto God thru him’ for this reason don’t sin!
Paul makes sure his readers understand him, he in no way was teaching a sinful
gospel. He encourages the believers to renew their minds to this truth. ‘For
sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law, but under
grace’ Paul clearly saw the dangers of legalism [living under strict ‘do this,
don’t do this’ guidelines] he saw that the law actually quickens the fleshly
nature and brings to the surface mans sin. Now, because we are under grace,
does this mean we get to keep on sinning? ‘God forbid!’ Paul launches into the
explanation of sin and bondage. Remember, sin was in the world before the law.
Men were dying ever since Adam sinned. So for Paul, this means even though we
are not under the restraints of law, yet the reality of sin, bondage and
punishment still exist. Paul says ‘if you yield to sin and allow it to rule
you, you will become its slave’. There will be a penalty and price to pay ‘the
wages of sin is death’. But because you are identified with Jesus ‘sin shall
not have dominion over you… you have been made free from sin’. Paul teaches the
victorious Christian life. He does not deny the struggle [next chapter!] but he
shows the reality of redemption. He obviously never taught the concept of ‘sin
more, so grace can abound’. He understood the dangers of preaching ‘we are not
under the law’ but he also understood the reality of ‘being under grace’ he
figured it was worth the risk of being misunderstood if he could truly imbed
the gospel into the believing community.
Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that
grace may abound?
Romans 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live
any longer therein?
Romans 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into
Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Romans 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death:
that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father,
even so we also should walk in newness of life.
[complete
Romans study is on my blog]
Now- I think Francis might become
my favorite in recent history.
Why?
Francis [the name he took- from
Francis of Assisi- also speaks about his character. St. Francis forsook family
wealth to work in Gods field- he believed God called him to help restore the
church to her original design].
So- Pope Francis lived the same
type of calling.
He’s the first Pope from America
[albeit Latin America].
He’s the first from the Jesuit
order to hold the office- the Jesuits are my favorite Catholic order.
If you remember my church history
section- I covered the Jesuits- and complimented them a lot.
The Jesuits are the intellectuals
of the church- now- the Catholic Church as a whole is of course very
intellectual.
But the Jesuits were very
influential in the development of the scientific method.
As a percentage- there were more
Jesuit leaders in science than any other group.
They also were missionary minded.
When I covered them in the past I
showed how after the 16th century Protestant Reformation the Jesuits
did a sort of Counter Reformation and evangelized Asia- an area where the
Protestants fell short.
So- as you can see- I’m a fan of
the Jesuits.
Francis- from Buenos Aires
Argentina- lived among the poor- he cooked his own meals and rejected the perks
that Cardinals/Arch Bishops get.
Yet- he was a ‘conservative’ in
doctrine.
Huh?
How could he be a sort of
Liberation theologian- and yet hold to conservative views?
Here’s where our modern news
shows mess stuff up.
As an avid news watcher- the last
few years one of the critiques I gave was the mistake of men like Glenn beck
and others- who associated Liberation Theology with heresy.
Now- Beck and others meant well-
they just made the mistake of demonizing people they don’t understand [remember
the rampage against Van Jones?]
But that’s why we need to get our
info from better informed folk.
Anyway- Liberation Theology is a
form of Christian teaching that associates the ministry of Jesus to the poor-
and seeks to impellent that- sometimes too far- with government programs.
So- in Latin America- you have
had Catholic champions of the poor and down trodden- who advocated for the
poor- and at the same time believed in the historic positions of the doctrines of
the church.
For instance- some ‘liberal’
scholars reject the resurrection of Jesus- and other key teachings of the
church.
These men [both Catholic and
Protestant] are referred to as Liberal scholars.
Francis is not one of them- he’s
‘conservative’ when it comes to the historic faith.
Yet- in his actions [Orthopraxy]
he is ‘liberal’ [that is if you think identifying with the poor is liberal].
So- Francis is a lot like me in
my belief [I too am conservative in doctrine] and practice- I have lived with
the poor and down and out for years.
So- he just might be my favorite.
Let’s wait and see.
Note- Do me a favor, those who
read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read
them on. Thanks- John. Don’t forget to scroll down on the timeline [Facebook] -
I have posted lots.
ROMANS 8-10
VIDEO- [I cover stuff on the
videos that are not in the post- here are a few]
.Council of Trent- what did the
Church say?
.Do we get the final say- at the
Judgment?
.What are the Catholic virtues-
did Paul teach them?
.Augustine, Calvin, Whitfield and
Wesley.
.Infusion or Imputation? How bout
both!
At the bottom I added some quotes
from the Catechism of the Catholic church- to show that the official teaching
of the church DOES NOT TEACH SALVATION BY THE LAW- BUT BY CHRIST.
. REMINDER- This is a commentary
I wrote years ago- the videos are new.
.CHAPTER 8- FEW POINTS;
1-
Did God choose us to believe- or did we choose
him?
2-
When Paul says ‘he makes our bodies alive’ is he
only speaking about resurrection?
3-
Does God use difficulty- or is it to be rebuked?
4-
Was Paul a ‘hyper- Calvinist’?
(839)ROMAN 8:1-4 ‘There is
therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not
after the flesh [sinful nature] but after the Spirit [new nature]’. Now, having
proved the reality of sin and guilt [chapter 7] Paul teaches that those who
‘are in Christ’ are free from condemnation. Why? Because they ‘walk according
to the Spirit’ the ‘righteousness of the law is being fulfilled in them’.
Having no condemnation isn’t simply a ‘legal function’ of declared
righteousness, and Paul didn’t teach it that way! Paul is saying ‘all those who
have believed in Jesus and have been legally justified [earlier arguments in
chapters 3-4] are now walking [actually acting out] this new nature. Therefore
[because you no longer walk according to the flesh] there is no condemnation’!
This argument helps bridge the gap between Catholic and Protestant theology,
part of the reason for the ongoing schism is over this understanding. After the
Reformation the Catholic Church had a Counter Reformation council, the council
of Trent. They dealt with a lot of the abuses of the Catholic Church, things
that many Catholic leaders were complaining about before the Reformation. They
did deal with some issues and reformed somewhat. To the dismay of the more
‘reform minded’ Catholics [with Protestant leanings] they still came down
strong on most pre reform doctrines. This made it next to impossible for the
schism to be healed. But one area of disagreement was over ‘legal’ versus
‘actual/experiential’ justification. The Catholic position was ‘God can’t
declare/say a person is justified until they actually are’ [experientially].
The Protestant side [Luther] said ‘God does justify [legal declaration] a
person by faith alone’. Like I taught before, both of these are true. The Catholic
view of ‘justification’ is looking ahead towards a future reality [The same way
James speaks of justification in a future sense- He uses the example from
Genesis 22, when Abraham does a righteous act] while the Protestant view is
focusing on the initial legal act of justification [Genesis 15]. Here Paul
agrees with both views, he says ‘those who walk after the Spirit [actually
living the changed life] have no condemnation’.
(840)ROMANS 8:5-13 Paul will teach
the impossibility of the ‘carnal minds’ ability to submit to Gods law. Those
who are ‘in the flesh’ [the unregenerate nature- not simply ‘in the body’. We
will get into these distinctions in a minute] can’t submit to God. Society
spends so much time and effort trying to get the ‘lost man’ to do what's right.
The prohibition movement [outlawing liquor], the increase in the severity of
punishment for crimes dealing with drugs. Making the child kidnappers crime
punishable by death. While all these laws are necessary and good [though some
debate the wisdom of the kidnapper one, they think the kidnapper might just go
ahead and kill the victim if the same punishment applies to both crimes] they
have little effect on getting ‘the carnal man to submit’. Paul also says ‘if
the Spirit of him who raised up Christ from the dead dwells in you, then he
that raised up Christ from the dead shall quicken [make alive] your mortal
bodies by his Spirit that dwells in you’. Let’s do a little teaching here. Most
commentators see this as speaking of the promise of the resurrection ‘your
mortal bodies’. I see this more in line with the context of chapter 7. The
discussion of ‘mortal bodies’ [your actual body, the flesh- which is different
than ‘the fleshly nature’ which refers to the sinful nature] speaks of your
actual life now ‘let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies’. Also in
verse 13 of this chapter the same theme is seen ‘if ye thru the Spirit mortify
the deeds of the body ye shall live’. I believe Paul is primarily saying ‘if
you are in the Spirit [born of God] the Spirit of life will make alive your
physical life in such a way that you will glorify God in your body and spirit,
which are Gods’ [Corinthians]. Chapter 12 says your bodies are living
sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God. Now later on in this chapter [8] we do
see the resurrection, which is called ‘the redemption of the body’ [verse 23]
so these two concepts work together. The fact that the believer is ‘training
his mortal body’ for God [thru obedience] is sort of a precursor to the
resurrection! Now, some believers confuse the resurrection of the body and the
work of regeneration in ‘making you alive’ [Ephesians 2]. The work of
regeneration brings your dead spirit back to life [born again] when you believe
[which is a Divine imputation of faith at the moment of conversion, a sovereign
act]. This ‘coming alive’ is purely spiritual. This qualifies you for the
future physical resurrection of the body [Ephesians calls this the ‘down
payment’, the ‘earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased
possession’. The word ‘earnest’ here is used in the same way as ‘earnest money’
in a real estate transaction. The fact that we have been ‘sealed’ with the Holy
Spirit is our ‘guarantee of future bodily resurrection’]. Bishop N.T. Wright,
the bishop of Durham [the church of England- Durham is the 3rd most
influential post in the Church of England. Canterbury is at the top] has
recently written on the truths of the resurrection of the body. He is an
excellent scholar, way way above my league. He has been instrumental in ‘re
introducing’ the reality of Christ’s resurrection as well as our future
resurrection as a very real Christian belief [and historic truth as well]. I
have read some of Wrights stuff and am a little surprised at some of the ideas
on ‘soul sleep’ and the immortality of the soul. Bishop Wright seems to side
with some of the ideas that certain restorationist groups [7th day
Adventists] espouse, that the Catholic Church kind of corrupted the ideas of
heaven and the soul by being overly influenced by Greek thought. While it is
possible for Bishop Wright to have come to his understanding entirely thru
scripture and history, yet I felt it a little strange to see him make these
arguments. For the most part I like brother Wright and totally agree with his
stance on the future ‘new heavens and new earth’ as the final place of rest [as
opposed to dying and going to heaven now, which is a temporary place] but there
is the biblical reality of a present ‘heaven’ and this doesn’t only come from
Greek thought. I have often used the Christian doctrine of the new heavens and
new earth while speaking with the Jehovah’s witnesses, I always agree on the
reality of a future kingdom on earth. I simply steer the conversation back to
‘who qualifies for it’ and get straight to the gospel. Well anyway we have a
promise of a future resurrection, and also a ‘quickening of the body now’ [God
actually using our physical life to glorify him]. These are both great truths!
(841)ROMANS 8: 14-18 ‘For as many
as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the Sons of God’. Many of us are
familiar with this verse [I hope!]. We often see it as saying ‘Gods direction
in our lives is proof that we are Christians’ true enough. But in context
‘being led by Gods Spirit’ means living the
VERSES ON VIDEO-
Malachi 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare
the way before me: and the LORD, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his
temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he
shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
Malachi 3:2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall
stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers'
soap:
Malachi 3:3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver:
and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that
they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.
Malachi 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the
coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
Malachi 4:6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the
children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite
the earth with a curse.
For I say unto you, That except your
righteousness shall exceedthe righteousness of the
scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no caseenter into the kingdom of
heaven. Matt. 5:20
Mark 7:1 Then came together unto him the
Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem.
Mark
7:2 And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to
say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault.Mark 7:3 For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.
Mark 7:4 And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables.
Mark 7:5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?
Mark 7:6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
Mark 7:7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Mark 7:8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.
Mark 7:9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
Mark 7:10 For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:
Mark 7:11 But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free.
Mark 7:12 And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother;
Mark 7:13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.
Revelation 10:9 And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give
me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall
make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
Revelation 10:10 And I took the little book out of the angel's
hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I
had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
Revelation
18:3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication,
and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the
merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
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: Eph.
2:2
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