Endless Possibilities - Luke 18:26

“And those who heard it said, ‘Who then can be saved?’” - Luke 18:26

How often I have heard unbelievers respond negatively to the outward call of God. It seems they object to the possibility of their own salvation on two fronts: (1) They don’t know “how” to achieve it, and (2) they simply cannot fathom the power of grace. In a word, most feel it would require some works related scenario for them to “find God.” This is perhaps one of the most perplexing issues facing us as evangelists - we have a group of unbelievers who can’t understand what must be done to be saved and when we tell them that it is by the grace of God through the atonement of Jesus Christ they look at us as though we had two heads! So how do we solve the conundrum? We could use some template for salvation similar to “the Graham Formula”: ( Sermon+Counseling+Follow Up = Decision = Born Again Decision), but that would be disingenuous and a lie. I believe that Dr. Sinclair Ferguson said best -  “The remedy for a culture that will not listen to the preaching of the word is to preach the word.” And it is in that preaching of the word that our audience will find the true road to salvation. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” - Ephesians 2:8-9.  God will open the hearts of those whom He has deemed to be saved, not because of anything they have done but because of His own pleasure. In their inability to understand the grace and love of God they need to be given God’s own words on the subject of “how” they can be saved - “But He said, ‘The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.’” - Luke 18:27
Think of someone who we wouldn’t necessarily consider “saved.” Is he or she any worse than we were before the grace of God overwhelmed us in our sin and regenerated our lives? When we think of salvation, wasn’t the thief on the cross next to Christ saved? “Then he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.’” - Luke 23: 42-43. And what of the likes of Saul of Tarsus, a persecutor of Christians. Through the grace of God he too was saved. As for myself I know if He saved me; he can save anyone. There is no one above the grace of God.

Putting God First - Matthew 6:33

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. - Matthew 6:33

Do we not all sometimes wonder and fret about fulfilling our needs? Will there be enough at the end of the month to carry us comfortably over into the next? In fact, how often are our anxieties more about our desires than our needs? However, if this is not the case and it is the pressures of meeting our financial responsibilities then perhaps we need revisit those “first works” we performed as fledgling believers.
Anxiety can eat at our faith like rust eats the hull of the strongest ship. It especially eats at our peace of mind. Whenever we worry we must remember the words of our Lord and Savior - “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” - Matthew 11:28-30.
In our title verse, exactly what “things” was Christ referring to? Those things are needs common to all men: what to eat, drink and clothe ourselves with; still the common concerns of all mankind. But Christ informed His disciples to first seek the kingdom and righteousness of God . . .and all these “things” would be added.
Charles Spurgeon once said, “The blessings of this life come . . . by Divine Promise.” God has never broken His promises to man. But it is incumbent upon us to put God first in our lives if we are to enjoy His promises to us. We all remember the fervency with which we first devoted ourselves to Him. Do our passions for Him still burn brightly in our hearts or have they faded along with our trust? “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.” - Revelation 2:5. Let us all remember the burning desire for Christ that filled our hearts when we first believed. Let us stop our worrying since worrying has never solved a single problem.  “And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?” -  Luke 12:25-26.
As we put God first in our lives He shall add all these other things to our lives. His word is truth.
“Oh, send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me; let them bring me to Your holy hill and to Your tabernacle.” - Psalm 43:3. Put God first!

The Cost Of The World - Matthew 16:26

 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? - Matthew 16:26

    The world we live in is a secular prison. We are expected to behave in a “politically correct” manner or we face the wrath of the world. One need only pick up a newspaper or turn on the news to see what has been happening to Christians around the world, not just here in America. In fact, in many foreign places Christians risk life and limb if they refuse to conform to the world.
    The Greek word for soul is psuchē. The definition mentions three very closely related words: spirit, soul, and vitality. Christ was teaching His disciples that there was no “profit,” i.e. benefit or advantage, if they were to gain the popularity of the world then in turn lose their spirit, vitality, or soul. Here Christ is equating spirit, vitality, or soul with spiritual life, something a great deal more valuable than the kudos of the world. Jesus is asking us the point blank question: if we sit well in the world at the expense of our spiritual life what have we gained? If it has cost us our spiritual life then we remain spiritually dead! And the spiritually dead will not be granted eternal salvation. “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’” - John 3:3.
    We must always remember that conforming to the world isn’t in our best interest,
spiritually. But the decision to conform remains solidly within our hearts. And we know from the words of holy Scripture that our hearts can only exist in one of two realms. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” - Matthew 6:21. Does our treasure consist of loving the world or does it consist of loving Christ? One way relies on human pride and  maintains mankind’s enmity with God; the other repents in humility and relies on God’s grace through the blood of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Did Christ Die For Everyone? - John 17:9

 “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours.” - John 17:9

My father was a generous man. They said of him that “he never met a stranger.” So it came as no surprise that when we had company over he would always insist to my siblings and myself, “Make sure everyone gets something to eat.” He wanted to make sure that “everyone” was fed, but did he actually and technically mean “everyone?” Everyone as in everyone on the planet? Well you can see that he meant everyone who was visiting our home. My point here is that semantics must be considered, especially when terms like “everyone” or “everybody” are used, especially in the Bible. Christ was very specific when He chose to be. No cryptic parables or unfathomable commands. Jesus could cut straight to the point, as the title verse shows. But there are still many evangelical Christians who believe that Christ died for all of humanity. When even He said He did not come to save everyone. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” - Matthew 7:21. There are countless times in the Bible when Christ refers to “His sheep” as opposed to all sheep. “I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.” - John 10:14. It is vitally important for us to understand that if “all the people” were ultimately going to heaven (Universalism) Christ need not have suffered and died for us in the first place. There would be no such place as hell! But we know there is such a place of eternal suffering because Jesus told there is. “But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!” - Luke 12:5. In fact, of all the prophets and apostles who are mentioned in our Holy Bible, it is Jesus who has more to say about hell than any other! But those of us who are truly Christ’s sheep need not fear the warnings of Jesus.  “The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 13: 41-42. No, Christ didn’t die for everyone but He is the Good Shepherd and for His sheep (the elect) who believe in Him eternal salvation awaits us by the grace of God through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

What Did Jesus Say About . . . John 1:1-5

 
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. - John 1:1-5

In the quaint commonness of a neighbor’s suggestion that someone who is not a believer is a “very nice person,” abounds one of the most profoundly Satanic lies ever perpetrated by the Adversary. Of course the unbelieving individual could be considered “nice” in the worldly view held by other unbelievers but never in the Biblical view - “As it is written: ‘There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one.’” - Romans 3:10-12. It’s me, it’s you. It’s he and she, they and them, it’s all of us - we are all SINNERS! And yes, that includes the nice old ladies next door. But what of the person who says that he or she is a believer? “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.’” - Matthew 7:21. Doing God’s will is requisite. We must all be about our Father’s business!
“Of course,” you say, “but no one practices their faith in God perfectly.” Sanctification is fraught with mistakes. True, but it is not an occasional stumble or fall from grace that condemns us; it is a constant and careless sinful life-style which does so! We all trip over our human weaknesses from time to time but we are not to make excuses for our foibles. But neither are we to throw ourselves at the mercy of the judgement of unbelievers. We admit our error; repent . . . and continue in our walk with Christ. The critical eye of the unbeliever will find something inherently wrong even when we walk the righteous walk. It is God’s judgement we must fear, not the neighbor’s.
So let us return to the question being considered. Indeed, what has Jesus said about certain sins? Need we find a soliloquy by Christ on the subject of robbery, murder, adultery, and every other specific sin to have a written document of Christ’s objections to those unlisted sins that we, by our worldly natures, would most like to consider “acceptable?” The answer is a resounding, “No!” The reason for this is that Christ, as a member of the Triune Godhead has spoken to us through the writers of the Bible. Their words are not their own but God’s. Therefore every word from “In the beginning . . .” (Genesis 1, First page) to “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.” (Revelation 22:21 Last page) are the words of God and because they are the words of God that includes Jesus Christ. Christ has spoken to us about everything. Every word of the Bible is Christ’s word to us. Let us defend the veracity of Christ’s words in season and out, regardless of what our very nice neighbor’s might think!

All Things New - Revelation 21:5

Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” - Revelation 21:5

A New Year has arrived and with it concerns, fears, and trepidations are sure to abound. After all, 2015 was a hot mess for Bible-believing Christians. I would recount all the terrible news we’ve had to deal with but it would only serve to depress most. Suffice to say that just when we thought (hoped and prayed) that it couldn’t get worse . . . it did and with a vengeance! So what can we expect in the coming year. There will be a Presidential election so perhaps and hopefully we get a real Christian for our new Commander-In-Chief. But that would still fall far short of the national revival this country so desperately needs. The answer is we continue to keep the faith; we hold on - “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” - Revelation 21:7-8.
Let’s face it. It may not be today or tomorrow; it may not even be in 2016 but be assured - He will return just as He said He would. Will we be ready? “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Matthew 24:42-44.
We must keep our faith in God alive and well during the driest season, during the monsoons, during the darkest days and during the brightest and salvation will be ours. No matter what we are forced to endure we must maintain our faith in His return. We will not be disappointed. The glory of heaven awaits us. And for those who remain stiff-necked in their unbelief? There is still time to repent, -“But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” - Revelation 21:27. Their time is indeed running out. But for those of us who believe, let us all look forward to Christ making all thing new. A very blessed New Year to all.

Joy Beyond Description - Matthew 25:21

“His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’” - Matthew 25:21

To hear our almighty God speak these words to us presents an indescribable glory reserved only for those whom God takes extreme pleasure in. On the day of His return are these the words we will hear? Were we to take the greatest pleasures of the world and aptly describe them in the most articulate way possible we would never even come close to what God has in store for us. “But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’” - 1 Corinthians 2:9. The joy of the Lord resides in our eternal salvation in heaven.
A joy beyond human description can only be a joy that we share with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Without Christ as the cornerstone of our faith we will never know such joy. This is what Jesus brought to the manger. This is what Jesus brought to Calvary. This is what Jesus raised from the grave on Easter Sunday, a joy beyond description. Let us all share in the joy and the glory that began in a humble manger on Christmas Day!
                                                       Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
                                                       Let earth receive her King;
                                                       Let every heart prepare Him room,
                                                      And heav’n and nature sing,
                                                      And heav’n and nature sing,
                                                      And heav’n, and heav’n, and nature sing.