Men Gather to Correct

 Men Gather to Correct

A Word on Chastening. 

 

There are false teachings that I would like to correct.  This one is based upon a loss of Salvation.

Jesus said "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

² Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

³ Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

⁴ Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

⁵ I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

⁶ If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

⁷ If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

⁸ Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. (John 15:1-8)

People will often use this passage to teach a loss of salvation. But, it is not.

The Lord calls us and if we turn to Him we are saved. God tries to work through us. But, if we are not bearing fruit he prunes us.

We are clean (saved) because we heard His Word and believed. We abide in Him.

If we are not bearing fruit we get pruned and we will not bear fruit. (This is not referring to sin. We are washed and dead to sin. This is service, and the fruits of the Spirit.) We can do nothing without Him. If we are not bearing fruit, it means we are not abiding, and we get pruned or cut off.

Now, we assume this is a loss of salvation. But, notice that it says MEN gather and cast into fire and the withered branches are burned.

MEN do not throw people into Hell. So this is not talking about hell or the lake of fire.

This is talking about chastening. God uses people to correct us. It can be persecution, or trials and tribulations, it can be any number of things that we fall into. 

Understand that when we turn to Christ we are saved. We are a new creation. Demons, and humans who are slaves to demons know this, and hate the spirit in us. So, God lets us go our own way. And these entities treat us terribly. Paul said, that he delivered some blasphemers unto Satan. (1 Timothy 1:20)  SO THAT THEY MAY LEARN. 

In Proverbs it says,

¹¹ My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction:

¹² For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.---(Proverbs 3:11-12)

In Hebrews it says "

If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

⁸ But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

⁹ Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

¹⁰ For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.

¹¹ Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

¹² Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;

¹³ And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

Then, it goes on to say that those who do not get chastened or who do not grow in the Lord, were never saved.

Now, understand that God is with us when He chastens us. He separates us out (Prunes) and let's the fire of this life and those who hate our spirit consume us. God himself is a consuming fire.

Like a loving father who is right there as his child is corrected. God is with us in chastening

Look in Malachi.

".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:

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 3:2-3)

A refiner sits as the silver or gold is boiled and he scrapes off the impurities. It purifies the silver and makes it usable. He does not abandon it. He controls the heat and the purification process. He is right there.  And he is with us when we fall and get chastened.

When we turn to Christ, He does not cast us out. He saves us, and grows us and molds us and shapes us and breaks us and chastens us and builds us up again.

He is with us always, even till the end of the World. Turn to Him. He is there.

Remember this in the Last Days. When things get worse and worse, and the pre-tribulation rapture has not come. Remember, this when persecution comes and things get worse, and deceit is everywhere, and destruction and death is all around you. Remember this when the Anti-Christ rises up and you are still here on Earth. Remember that God is with you and will protect you like He did the Israelites during the Plagues of the Exodus. Remember, that He is refining His church. He is weeding out the chaff and the goats, and the virgins, without oil.

You cannot lose your salvation. But, you best make sure you have it.  Do you know Him?

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Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ His newest book is called "The Future is Coming" and is a collection of dystopian short stories.

Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/

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The Sins and Signs of Saul

 The Sins and Signs of Saul

A Word on Salvation

 

 

 According to Scripture, (1 Samuel 8:1- 1 Sam. 31:13) Saul’s sins were,
1. Not completely destroying everything in an evil city in Israel. He allowed the king and the livestock to live.
2. Not waiting on God’s Man, Samuel to come and do the sacrifice,
3.  And by going to a witch with a familiar spirit for guidance, instead of going to God.

        I have always felt sorry for Saul. It seems like he is judged harshly by God for his sins. He loses the kingship, and he is killed by his enemies along with his son and ultimately his family. (1 Sam. 31:1-13) I look at my own life, and I have done so many things, that it makes me feel as though I have done worse than Saul. So, if God treats Saul this way, how will He treat me?

      

     Now, over the years I have heard preachers use this story of Saul to preach a works based doctrine of salvation, saying that Saul was slain for disobedience, so you better obey too, or you’ll be slain or suffer. I have also heard this text being used to claim that a person can lose their salvation.

      

     But, as I studied Saul’s life, I believe the Lord showed me that this story is actually a picture of all of our salvation experiences, and that Saul never really accepted the Lord. This story is a picture of someone rejecting Christ. Yes, Saul disobeyed, but his disobedience was in specific areas that spell out something bigger. It is not that Saul sinned, we all sin. But, Saul sinned in such a way that it paints a picture, and God uses that picture to show us something.

    

      First, Saul is called by God to be king, not because of anything Saul has done. God Himself chose Saul, after the people called for a king. Likewise God calls us. He calls all humans to come to Him and to have an inheritance, and to rule with him as priest/kings. It’s not because of any good we have done, or any special thing about us. We can accept or we can hide and reject. It can be argued whether Saul really accepted or not. He became king. But, did He accept the Lord? Did he confess God as his King? (1 Sam. 8:1- 10:27)

     

      Second, Saul did not wait on God’s man Samuel to show up to do the sacrifice. He let the world around him dictate what he should do, instead of what he knew to do. So, he did the sacrifice himself. (1 Sam. 13:1-14)

      

     This is a picture of a person who seeks to save themselves instead of letting God’s man Jesus Christ save them. Jesus Christ is the sacrifice that washes away all sin, give it to Him. You cannot do the sacrifice. You cannot save yourself. The fact that you think you can save yourself or help God save you, or rid yourself of sin, is proof that you do not realize how wretched you and I are. Saul did not see the depth of the evil in the people who corrupted the land, and he did not see the reason why he could not do the sacrifice for himself. You do not want to stand before God, doing the sacrifice for yourself.

       

     Next we see that Saul went forth to battle; as king his main job was to remove the evil from the land, especially as it resided in the Canaanite people who lived there before. Their past associations, with demonic entities, and demonic bloodlines utterly corrupted them, and Saul was to totally destroy them, and everything about them. If he left anything it would become a thorn in the side of the people of God. But, Saul did not do it. (1 Sam. 15:1-34)

      

     Likewise, we are to be broken by our own past sin and wickedness in our “land” or lives. We are totally depraved and evil. We are in the camp of the Enemy, and associating with demons. We are to realize this about ourselves, as God reveals it to us. We are to desire to get rid of this within us, even though we do not know the entire depth of our evil. We are to want God to wipe it out and cleanse us. Just like cleansing out the evil in the land. We want all of it gone and killed off. If we try to keep our pet sins, those things will grow up as a thorn in our side, and plague us.

      

     Saul was not totally grieved and totally opposing the enemy in Israel. He did not see how corrupted the Canaanite people were, so he allowed evil to continue. We need to desire for God to cleanse us of all unrighteousness, and remove it all from us. Things we leave behind can get worse and make us worse.  Here is where preachers will preach works. Yes, you need to struggle with the things in your life that is not pleasing to God. He often leaves those things for us to struggle with and grow from, and to keep something worse from coming upon us. But, you must realize that you cannot get rid of Sin yourself. Only He can do that. Only he can kill it all. Give it to Him. Like Paul’s thorn in the side, His grace is sufficient for us. There are things we won’t get rid of, but we must still desire for it all to be gone.

     

      The fourth thing is that Saul went to seek help or instruction, or salvation from something other than God. He sought help from the enemy or demonic entities, not God. (1 Sam. 28:1-25)

     

      Likewise, we humans often seek salvation, help, wisdom, comfort, peace, or anything else from things other than God. If your help comes from anything other than God, then you have rejected Him, and embraced the enemy. I’m not saying that we cannot study many subjects, but it needs to be under God’s guidance, and be looked at through the lens of what He wants us to know to be true. We reject God in many ways in our lives. We sin. We have idols. But, that is not the same as totally rejecting God. Just turn back to Him, and tell Him about it, asking Him to forgive and save you.

     

      So, that’s the bottom line. Saul is a picture of a person who God has called, and even did miracles for, but he never really accepted God. The person never saw how wicked they are, or to have the evil removed from the ‘land” of their life.  He is a picture of someone who sought to solve the problem of sin for himself instead of trusting God, and letting God make the sacrifice through Jesus Christ.

      

     He is a picture of someone who sought salvation everywhere but with God, and found the Enemy and death instead. We must realize how utterly evil we are and throw ourselves on God’s mercy confessing Jesus is the Lord, and letting Him save us. Anything else would be like Saul. (Romans 10:9-10)

     

      I would like to add that Saul is an example of God using His Word to show us layers of truth. Because, while everything I said above is 100% true. It is also true that Saul is a picture of the Anti-Christ to come. It is a picture of what is coming upon the Earth, before the return of Jesus.

      

     First, like Israel in the story, the world will be lawless, and the people will reject God, and desire a King to rule over them. God will let them have their own way, and the King that they elect will be the Anti-Christ. He will be anointed as their savior in times of trouble. He will prophecy, and have a form of godliness, and spirituality, but not from God.

      

     Second, he will stop all efforts to remove evil from the land. He will oppose all that’s good, and make war with the saints, and overcome them. He will let the evil one have his way, and grow.

    

      Third, he will make the sacrifice himself, in the temple of God. He will claim to be God most high.

     

      Finally, he will open himself up to an evil Spirit, which will be Lucifer himself. And he will be destroyed in battle.

      

     These things are coming quickly. Be determined in your work to serve the Lord, and lead people to know Him. Get on fire, and step out. He will be with you.

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Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ His newest book is called "The Future is Coming" and is a collection of dystopian short stories.

Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/

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Support the work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=13514235&fan_landing=true&view_as=public

Photo by the Author. The Bald Knob Cross of Peace in Southern Illinois.

Abundant Life

 Abundant Life

A Word On God's Abundance.

“I am the door; by me if any man, enter in he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture.  The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” —John 10:9-10

I was studying this recently when it was revealed to me that there’s a deeper meaning for it in my own life. My past was pretty bad. I did all kinds of terrible things to those I love, and to those around me, and to myself.            

But, during all of that, I felt that I was living a normal life, and was trying to build something out of it. I worked and tried to save. I made plans. I chased the almighty Dollar, like everyone around me. The most important thing was to earn, earn, earn. That’s what everyone cares about. Did you take care of your stuff? Bills paid? Getting to work on time? Looking for more money?            

Nobody really cares if you’re a drunk, or addict so long as you keep taking care of business. But, when you start acting out, or failing in what society thinks you should be doing, everyone wants to stick their nose in your business. Once you are not a good slave anymore, you become a problem. But, all the while I thought I was fine.            

However, when life started to fall apart, there was nowhere else to turn but to God. And that’s a good thing, because He is the only one that can help. Others can put on a band aid, but only God can really heal.            

Jesus said “Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it” (Luke 17:33) When your life is garbage, and it’s falling apart, that is God calling you. You tried things your way, and now God is begging you to give Him a try before it’s too late. Get rid of that old life. Hate that old life and all that goes with it. If you keep clinging to that old life, and those old ways, it will drag you down. Turn to Him, and let Him work on you. He can’t do any worse than you have done. Just pray and ask God to save you. Pray that you want to make Jesus your Lord, and that He is the only Lord. Ask Him to help you and teach you. Ask Him to make you a new person and grow you.            

And that is what God does when you give yourself to Him. He starts to work, and things will start to change. It’s not immediate. Some things happen very quickly, but other things do not. That is patience being built in us. Spiritual healing, like natural healing is a growth process. It is not like man-made healing, where you pop a pill and feel better. But, it is REAL healing.            

When I look back at my life I now have an abundant life. Am I always happy? No. But, God has provided for my needs beyond anything I had before. He has moved in mighty ways to make me worth something. And most importantly He has shown me that He is real, and that He rewards those who seek Him. He, Himself is abundance. Having Him in your life creates abundance.            

You have to understand that I am not talking about great wealth. I do not have much, but He has made what I have plenty. He has made me content. Of course, this doesn’t mean I do not want to succeed more. But, I’m fine. He has me. Every time I have had need He has moved, and settled the issue in some way.            

You are not giving up anything when you turn to Him. You are gaining everything. The junk you lose is hurting you and others. He will cleanse you and re-mold you, and give you a purpose, and you will be with Him. This is life, and this is abundance.

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Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ His newest book is called "The Future is Coming" and is a collection of dystopian short stories.

Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/

Read His Spiritual Writings on Blogspot: https://chrisbunton.blogspot.com/

Buy a cup of Coffee

Support the work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=13514235&fan_landing=true&view_as=public