Transformed!

 Transformed!

 God works in our lives to change us.

 

 

We often forget that it is God who calls us to Himself.

All humans are utterly depraved. We are so wicked that we cannot even see how wicked we are. (Romans 3:10-18)

We were created good by God. We are flesh covered spiritual beings created to last forever. But, we are fallen. There is something wrong with us. Our minds, souls and spirits became corrupt. We fell in the Garden and Satan took over.

“ There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.”

No one seeks God. Therefore, if you are having thoughts of God. If you are feeling led to go to church or learn of spiritual things. If a sermon or the Gospel message of Christ is speaking to your heart. If you are reading this…

That is God calling you.

No one comes to Jesus to be saved unless God calls them. (John 6:44)

This is part of His Grace and part of why He saves us, not by our own efforts, but by His.

When we hear this call we turn to the Lord and ask Him to save us. That is what repentance is. It means “to turn”

Since God is the only way to be saved we obviously turn to Him. Then, He washes us in the blood of Jesus and cleanses us of all sin. We do not need to understand it. We just turn to Him and ask.

We confess Jesus is the Lord and make Him our Lord, believing He rose from the dead. (Romans 10:9-10)

Then the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us and work in our lives to help transform us and help us to serve God in building the Kingdom. (John 14:26)

When we first get saved, there are things God will remove from our lives. People will notice we are different. When we give ourselves to Jesus we are free from sin and the the things that hold us down. He has taken all of it upon His shoulders, and when we believe this, we are changed. We are transformed. We are a new creature.

This is believing God’s Word.

God’s Word tells us that He will save us and change us. It tells us He will take our sin and cast them away from us and wash us. When we believe this, we put our faith in Him and it works to change us.

We are saved by grace through faith not by works lest any man should boast. (Eph. 2:8-9)

God calls us. We hear His word, and believe Him. Then, we turn to Him to be saved.

God Himself came to Earth to die for us, to set us free from Sin and Satan, who took dominion when Adam fell. We are slaves to the enemy and the power of our own flesh. Our spirits are dead and our souls are trapped as we go through life being led by Satan and our worldly ways.

But, when we hear God call and turn to Him for salvation we are set free and we begin to transform.

The Holy Spirit comes into us and begins to change us and teach us. We study God’s Word and learn of His promises and His ways.

When we have thoughts that are contrary to God’s Word, the Holy Spirit reveals it to us and we take those thoughts captive and tell Satan to be gone in Jesus name, then we choose to believe and follow God’s Word instead. This is the battle between the flesh and spirit. As we wage this battle we are transformed over time. (2 Cor. 10:5, Gal.5:17)

This is not salvation. We are already saved; if we confessed Him as Lord. But, we can prove our salvation to ourselves by the fact that we struggle with the enemy. Unsaved people do not struggle. This struggle is our sanctification. It is God working on us through His Holy Spirit to help change us and to help us in our lives.

We confess our sins and thoughts to the Lord, and He forgives us and starts working to transform us. (1John 1:8-10)

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”—Rom. 12:1-2

When we read this we might think that we are condemned because we fail and cannot do it. We might think we are such utter failures, and the preacher keeps beating us.

That is the Holy Spirit speaking to you. It is conviction.

The answer is to turn to God, and confess it to Him. Pray to Him about it and let Him get to work. Our salvation and sanctification is God’s work, not ours.

The fact that you desire to change and feel convicted is proof of your salvation. The Holy Spirit in you is calling you to work with God in your sanctification. This is the relationship we have.

We see changes in our lives and in our spirit, as we are renewed in our minds. Our spirit is alive in Him and we are transformed.

We are not perfect. We sin. We fail. But, we are perfect in Him. He holds our salvation in His hand.

When we think wicked thoughts of hate or revenge or fear or doubt or pride, we capture them and rebuke them in Jesus name. Because thoughts work to become actions. The more we do this the stronger we become.

We quote the Word out loud to ourselves, and it builds our faith and drives the demon out.

Because that is what is behind those thoughts. Demons whispering through the hedge of protection trying to get us to open the door. If we fail and listen to those thoughts. If we follow through with sin, we start working to open the door a little at a time. Eventually, the demons can come into our mind and life as often as they want. We have fallen back into bondage. But, through the Lord we can stand up and resist. We can shake them off. We confess it to Him and let Him cleanse us and work to change us.

We can struggle with these things in our flesh but it does nothing to our spirit until God Himself does it. This is why obeying rules does nothing spiritual. This is why no one is saved by the works of God’s Law.

It must be God making the changes and transforming us. Flesh cannot transform spirit. Only spirit can do that. God is a spirit, and those who worship Him must worship him in spirit and in truth. The truth is Jesus Christ. The truth is God’s Word, and Jesus is the living Word. (John 1, John 4:24)

We are transformed when we are saved. Then, we live lives of transformation as we continually turn to Him and abide in Him.

Going to church and obeying rule won’t do it.

It’s a relationship with Him.

It’s a spiritual battle with the enemy who attacks our mind, and life.

No matter what. Always turn to God. Do not let the enemy get you to think that you can’t trust God. Or you failed too much. Or that God is out to get you. Take those thoughts captive and say “begone Satan in Jesus name, God will never leave me nor forsake me. He is my helper.”

Draw closer to God. Praise Him. Read His Word and let the Holy Spirit teach you.

And watch Him transform you.

(cover image by pexels)

---

Read these great books at Charisma House.

Checkout Bait of Satan

Checkout Health Zone

Checkout The Heart That Sees God

Confessing Our Sins, Changes Our Life

 Confessing Our Sins, Changes Our Life

Walk in the Spirit 

 

In the book of Genesis, we get an indication that God enjoyed walking with Adam in the coolness of the day. They talked and had a relationship.

We see the same thing with Enoch. He walked with God. (Gen. 5:18-24)

Walking with God, is an indication of spending time with God. Knowing God and being friends with God. It is walking in the Spirit.

Like Paul said about Abraham. He was called a friend of God. Why? Because Abraham believed God. He trusted God. He believed God at His Word. And God declared him righteous. (Gen. 15:6, Rom. 4:3)

These saints trusted God. They believed His Word. They walked with Him and spent time with Him and built a relationship with Him, and God built one with them.

I say this, to get you to see that you can trust God. That building the relationship is important in our salvation and growth in Him.

Confessing our sins to Him is part of that.

It says in First John chapter one, to confess our sins and He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

So what does this mean? 

It means don’t hide anything from God. You sin. It’s a fact. We all sin. ” If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1 John 1:10)

So, if you cannot admit that you sin, then you do not know Christ. Jesus is the Word.

If we say we do not sin, we make God a liar. Because He says that we do. It’s not just about the ten commandments. Its about not loving people as well. It’s about the sinful thoughts we have. Humans are so utterly depraved we desperately need Jesus.

Advertisement

If you honestly cannot think of any sins, then ask God to show you. But, you better hang on. Because God will let you see how bad you really are. (Not like Satan does. But, to show you so you can confess.)

Confess it all to him. Tell him about your addictions, your adultery, your lust, your hate, your violence. Tell him about all your filth. Your pride, your unkindness, your false beliefs, your rebellion. Sins of commission and sins of omission. Remember that homeless guy God wanted you to help, but you were too busy?

Don’t justify your sin.

Surrender to God and confess it.

Because He will forgive you.

But…think about it.

He already forgave us and washed us in His blood when we were saved. If you know God, and turned to Him asking Him to save you, and confessed Jesus as your Lord. You were forgiven of ALL sin at that moment. You were born again and saved.

God declared you righteous and washed you clean in the Blood of the Lamb. All your sins were forgiven and forgotten. Never to be brought up by God again.

That’s our salvation.

Do we need further washing?

Of course not. He is not referring to that.

He is telling us He will forgive us, because the devil is telling us He won’t. 

The enemy whispers into our mind that we have fallen too far. Or that we are not worth it. or that we should be ashamed or fear God. Those are lies.

God loves us and is on our side. The enemy wants us to think we have disappointed God, in order to get us to turn away and run from God. Then, the enemy can attack us easier.

Confessing sins to God in prayer helps us to be washed and grow in Him. It protects us from the attacks of the enemy when we believe God forgives us. When we trust His Word.

Not only that, but God is telling us that He will wash our feet and make us whole; despite the lies the enemy tells us. (John 13:6-10)

But not only that..God will clean up our whole life. The verse in First John says “All unrighteousness” Meaning that as we keep confessing, and praying. He is working to help us overcome these sins that keep us down.

He is helping us to overcome them, as we give them to him to defeat. He doesn’t just forgive the sin, He starts working to change us and change the situation that helps grow the sin.

But, if we are unwilling to confess our sins to Him, or claim we do not sin, can He work?

Keep confessing your sins to God in prayer. He is working to change you and everything about it. This is part of the relationship. This is part of Walking in the Spirit. This is how the Holy Spirit develops fruit in our lives. This is part of the renewing of our mind. (Rom. 12:2, Gal. 5:16-25)

There are things I have prayed over and confessed to Him for years. And I have seen Him molding me, and changing me. My life has changed and the things I once struggled with, have been removed and I no longer desire them.

 Praise Jesus

Trust God. Confessing sins and letting Him grow us takes time. But, this builds patience and trust in Him. It builds faith as we walk with Him.

He does not leave us. He is with us and works in our lives, as we walk in the Spirit, confessing to Him.

It’s about our relationship with Him. It builds our faith as we see Him move. It fills our lamps with oil, and we can shine His light as we tell everyone the great things God has done for us.

——

Cover photo by pexels/Rodolfo Clix

Be Ye Holy

 Be Ye Holy

What is real holiness?

 

 

God tells us in His Word “Be Ye Holy for I am Holy” (1 Peter 1:16, Lev. 11:45)

So, let’s rightly divide this verse so that we are interpreting it correctly, Because often times we get told that this verse is about our behavior or not sinning. So, we fight and struggle to try to please God. We fail and fail, then finally give up. Because let’s be real. What human can be as holy as God is?

What human, born with a corrupted nature, surrounded by sin and full of sinfulness can even understand what holiness is, let alone do it?

We can’t. And that’s why God commands us to be Holy. To get us to turn to Him. To get us to see that we need more of Him. We need more of Jesus. We need the Holy Spirit to do it.

Holiness means to be set apart. In the Temple there were tools made of gold. They were set apart for the Temple use. That’s all they were for. But, they were just tools. Their holiness came from God and the dedication for their use.

So, how does that apply to us?

To be holy we must first be saved, by turning to God (repent) and asking Him to save us and Confessing Jesus as our Lord. (Romans 10:9-10, Acts 2:38, Mark 16:16)

Holiness means to maintain the relationship with the Lord and abide in Him. It means that when the devil attacks us or life gets hard, we don’t just throw God away and go our own way. This implies that we never knew Him. Build that relationship with God.

People sin. But when we sin we run back to God. Not run away from Him.

We wash our feet  by confessing our sins to Him. ( 1 John 1:8-10) This is part of Walking in the Spirit. (Gal. 5:22-25)

We grow in Him. We listen to Him as He grows us.

We are totally devoted to His work. This doesn’t mean all of us are in the ministry professionally. But, in our lives we respond when God leads us to do something. In our jobs, in our families we always seek to do what God wants and acknowledge Him  in all our ways.

 Holiness does not mean being a perfect goody two shoes. We are perfect in Him, not ourselves. We are holy in Him. We are set apart for Him. We are golden, because He is refining us. Holiness like God is peace. It’s not worry about whether you are obeying the rules. 

Be ye Holy as I am Holy means that we turn to Him. Because he is the only one who can clean us and teach us. And make us holy.

It is only through His Holy Spirit that we can be Holy.

It is only through the Blood of Jesus and being set apart that we are holy.

Not by works, lest any man should boast.

All Things Work Together

 All Things Work Together

 He is with us in all of it.

 

 

I got “saved” when I was young.

I had no idea what that actually meant. But, God did. And that’s all that matters. I turned to Him and He came running.

No one who gets saved, knows the Bible. They do not know anything. We cannot say “I won’t sin anymore”, because we do not even know what that is.

We just hear His call and turn to Him.

That’s it, and that’s all that’s needed. If we really heard and turned.

It’s all on Him. He takes care of it.

According to some people, when you get saved you instantly become this person who never sins. That was not my experience.

I turned into a violent drunk who destroyed everyone and everything.

But, God was with me. I know He was.

And as I sowed evil into my life and into the world, all of it worked together to break me.

Because God and His promises are not based upon my ability but on His.

I’m a failure. He is not.

When we read in Deuteronomy Chapter 28, we see the blessings that come when we obey God, and the curses that come when we don’t.

This is not about eternal salvation. That’s settled when you turn to Christ.

This is about reaping what we sow in this world. It’s is about being blessed or corrected. It is about being broken.

God designed His creation to respond to reaping and sowing and harvest. Whether physically or spiritually. (Galatians 6:7-9)

He created it this way when we were still in the Garden, before the Fall. So, we were not doing evil. We were not corrupted. We sowed and reaped goodness. But, when we fell, evil came and now we sow and reap evil.

 So as I lived my evil life. The harvest of my evil actions was growing, and God was merciful. He gave me grace and protected me. But, eventually that harvest came upon me.

I was cursed and destroyed in every way. I lost everything.

Just like it says in Deuteronomy Chapter 28. That is “Rock Bottom”. That is reaping what we sow.

Now, I had a choice. I could have gotten mad at God and rejected Him. I could have become bitter. And I would continued to face “Rock Bottom” and correction, in various ways.

Or I could let it break me, and turn to Him, and learn from Him and grow in Him.

I chose Him, because He chose me. (1 John 4:19)

People forget brokenness as a spiritual discipline. The act of utter destruction in order to be rebuilt by God.

So many churches are built on a false belief of perfect obedience, because they have never been broken. They have never experienced God destroying their life, in order to rebuild it. They grew up in church and never left. They have never been corrected, because they have never really known Him. They just obey the rules.

But, ALL things work together for our good, when He calls us, and we love Him. (Romans 8:28)

I can look back at my life and see His movements and know that He was with me in my destruction. His hand was on the temperature gauge of my burning. And it’s ok. I trust Him. I trust Him because He has brought me through.

This is my testimony. It is between Him and me. By our testimony we shall over come the enemy. Because we can see and say the great things God has done for us. (Rev. 12:11, Luke 8:39)

I no longer care about peoples religion or their dead beliefs. I know the Lord. I have a relationship with Him.

It came because of my failure and my brokenness. All things work together. His grace is sufficient for me.

When we sin we turn to Him, and confess to Him and He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we pretend like we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and Jesus is not in us. When we say we don’t sin, we make God out to be a liar. Because He came to die for our sins, not our failures. Not our mistakes. Not our misunderstandings. But, for our sin. (1 John 1)

All things in this life work together for our goodness when we are with Him. Good or bad. If we do good we get blessed. We reap goodness because we sow goodness.

And when we sow evil we reap correction into our lives. We reap destruction and brokenness into our lives. And it works to grow us. It changes us, if we turn to Him. The trouble and brokenness works as fertilizer for growth.

And as we confess our sin and turn to Him, and grow. As we are broken and corrected through our life. As we face tribulation, and sin and failure, and turn to Him over and over and over again.

We change. We grow. We bear fruit.

I have changed.

My mind has been renewed to what God created it to be before it was ruined by my corrupted nature and my own sinful deeds. (Romans 12:2)

Not by my works or efforts but by Him, breaking me and saving me.

That is how the Holy Spirit develops the Fruit in us. Patience comes by a life time of trusting and waiting upon the Lord, as He molds you and shapes you. Love comes by facing the unlovable. Peace comes by facing chaos. Joy comes by misery. Self-control comes through correction and brokenness. That is meekness. All of it comes by constantly turning to Him, confessing, praying, and letting Him work.

 That is the relationship.

I no longer struggle to obey God.

I just obey, or get corrected and both are fine. Because I trust Him.

He fixes it. He changes me.

I find myself, sinning less.

I’m not perfect in myself. In my flesh.

But, I am perfect in Him. He no longer sees my sin. According to Him, I am in Christ and do not sin at all. (1 John)

I am washed in the Blood. I am clean. I am white as snow. My sins are as far from me as the East is from the West. They are in the deepest sea, and I am hid in the cleft of the Rock of Christ. I am on the Ark. I might be a termite on the Ark. But, I’m there because of what Jesus did, not what I do.

When you hear Him call and turn to Him. His Holy Spirit comes into you and teaches you to love Him and know Him. And you realize that God is with you and will never leave you, nor forsake you. (Heb. 13:5)

And you will see that ALL things work together for your good.

Because of Him and His promises. Not you and your obedience or failure.

He does it because of who He is, not because of who you are, or what you do.

Turn to Him and trust Him.

 (Cover photo by pexels/Gary Barnes)

He Is With Me

 He Is With Me

Do You Know Him? 

 

“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”— Heb. 13:5-6

When you turn to the Lord, He saves you and is with you always. His Holy Spirit is in you.

“Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”— 1 John 4:4

We do not need to be concerned with living to gather riches, or desiring to what others have or to be as they are. That is our flesh talking. That is demons whispering.

We can be happy with the things the Lord has provided us, because He is with us and will take care of us. There is nothing anyone can do to us. God will find a way. He will make a way where none exists.

God’s way is perfect, and He has perfect timing. Trust Him.

It’s not about looking good for mankind, with the silly notions of what is valuable.

The streets of Paradise are paved with gold. The true wealth are those things of the spirit. The people you lead to the Lord. The love you show. The people you help. The Kingdom you build, and the time spent with the Lord, learning of His ways.

The rest is chaff, useless waste, burned up in the fire.

God is with us. we have a relationship with Him and have no need to fear. Just “ask, and it shall be given unto you. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock and it shall be opened unto you.”— Matt. 7:7-11

James said “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”

God is with us and will never forsake us. He will not help us destroy ourselves. But, we can trust that He hears and will help us with whatever we need.

I have seen God answer so many prayers. He has taken care of me. When I remember the great things He has done in the past it reminds me that He is with me and will take care of me again. It builds faith.

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”— Phil.4:6-7

We thank God in our prayers because our faith leads us to believe He is with us and hears us and is moving. We trust His Word.

He is with me. We have a relationship.

And I am with Him.

I died with Him, and was buried to self, and the flesh, and this world. To be raised into new life with Him. Born again. (Rom. 6:4, John 3)

And I walk with Him in the Spirit, which is the relationship.

To hear on that last day, “Well done thy good and faithful servant.”— Matt. 25

---

Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois.

Cover photo by pexels/Pixabay

Can We Lose Our Salvation?

 Can We Lose Our Salvation?

It's an important lesson. 

 

The answer is No. You either have it or you don’t. And You can always turn to God and ask to be saved. That is His grace.

But, there are folks who think you can lose it. This is written for them.

Hebrews 6:4 KJV

“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.”

A lot of people use this verse to claim that a person can lose their salvation.

That is not true. I will explain why.

First, if you read the entire chapter context of the verse starting in verse 6:1 and going to verse 6:10 you will see the writer says that as we mature as believers we move away from doctrines regarding salvation, baptisms, etc. Because we rest in the fact that we are saved and can grow in Christ. We know that God’s grace and Christ’s Blood washes us of all sin, so we do not need to keep going around and around bickering on these subjects.

It doesn’t help us to grow and serve in Christ. As mentioned in previous Chapter 5, It’s milk not meat. We should be past these things, and be teachers who understand.

Next in verses, 4-6 he explains what happens to a person who “falls away”.

The first thing to notice is the word “impossible”. That should send up a red flag. Because Jesus said “with God ALL things are possible.” (Matt. 19:26)

This is a direct contradiction. Or is it? If you know your stuff, then you know God’s Word doesn’t contradict itself. Any apparent contradiction is an invitation to pray, listen to the Holy Spirit and dive deeper.

 Remember this because it’s important. We will come back to it.

Next, the writer tells us a list of things that God gives us freely or allows us to experience.

“…who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come“

If you think you experienced these things and then fell away unto a loss of salvation. Then, you probably never really experienced the full measure of these things from God. You experienced something else. You were just going to church.

Once you really know Christ, you cannot speak ill of Him or turn from Him. (1 Cor. 12:3)

I am not talking about committing sin. We are dead to sin. It does not impact our salvation. God holds our salvation.

Like Jesus said, “All that the father gives me shall come to me; and him that comes to me I will in no wise cast out.” —John 6:37

The person described in this verse in Hebrews is someone who has been exposed to Christ and still rejects or tries to climb up some other way. This person was never saved. They never really turned to Him. They had every chance but rejected. They even saw the truth. But rejected. That’s what the verse is saying. (These people will most likely join the Apostate Church of the last days, persecuting the Saints. They tasted spirituality but never really accepted Christ.)

Next the verse says to “restore them to repentance”.

Understand that “Repent” means to turn. It means to turn to God for salvation. It does not mean “to turn from sin”. That belief is false. They can’t be restored to repentance because they never had it. They never knew Him. They were never in a relationship with Christ, or they are heading to chastisement. God chastens His children. He does not cast them aside. (Heb. 12:6)

I want you to consider what Jesus said in Matthew 12:43-45

That when a man is clean. The demon goes to desert places, then returns with 7 others and the last State of this man was worse than the first.

This verse says the same thing as the Hebrews verse. If Jesus sets you free, and you turn back to the world, you will be worse off than before. The enemy will have more access to you and will work on you.

But neither verse says Jesus casts you aside and rejects you. Neither verse says you are condemned. If you think you walk a perfect life after salvation, then you really need to talk with God. If you think you have no sin, you deceive yourself and the truth (Jesus) is not in you. (1 John 1:8)

If you are saved and “Fall Away”, you basically open the doors for demonic activity to harass you. Consider a drug addict who is set free from drugs. But starts using again. The addiction is worse and the person believes they are a failure and everyone else tells them they are a failure. It becomes “impossible” to get back to that state of feeling free in Christ. It’s harder to quit the drugs or sinful behavior next time. It’s talking about a battle with Satan, not a loss of salvation.

BUT…keep reading and remember, we are not saved by works.

Notice it speaks of putting Christ to shame. This person the verse is speaking of never knew Jesus. They were never saved. When God shows you the heavenly gifts, and the truth of the Word, and the Holy Spirit convicts you and draws you. If you then reject Him. You are not saved and you put Christ to an open shame. That’s what the verse is saying, in context. You or this person was never saved. They did not lose it. The thorns and thistles choked out the Word.

Next the writer speaks of God pouring out blessings as rain.  Jesus said “He let’s the rain fall on the just and unjust. ”  That means that God let’s the unsaved see and feel His blessings because He hopes they will turn to Him. But if not, then they reject Christ and put Him to open shame. When God calls us, He let’s us see the Truth. We can choose to reject. And that’s what Hebrews is saying. God revealed truth, and a person rejected. (Matt 5:45)

The verse in Hebrews seems to be referring to a great Saint in Christ, but it’s not. It’s referring to someone who is not saved or has let the enemy back into their life. It’s not a loss of salvation.

Next the writer speaks of the water and says this rain from God waters the ground and brings forth good fruits or thorns and thistles. Is the Holy Spirit working in their life? Are they developing the fruits of the Spirit? If not, then they were never saved. They don’t lose it.

This matches what Jesus said in the parable of the sower. (Matthew Chapter 13)

God sows His truth into the world, and some lands on good soil, While others do not. Some soil receives the word but thorns and thistles grow up choking it out. Again, it never says they lost salvation. We are not saved by works, nor do we maintain our salvation. A person who hears the Word, and let’s thorns and thistles choke out the Word. Never actually got saved. They might have obeyed some rules and went to church for a while but they never knew Him. They turn from Christ, because they never knew Him. A saved person, will cling to Jesus, even in the midst of terrible sin and failure. They will stay with Jesus, because He is their only hope. They become broken and grow in Him.

This again refers to a struggle with this world, the flesh and the demons who fight us.

The bottom line is real simple. A person is either saved or not. They either saw the blessings of God and rejected. Or they saw the blessings of God, received Christ and are saved, but have fallen away, and are having a tough time. They are walking in the flesh, not the Spirit.

Either way the answer is to turn to God. With God all things are possible. Turn to Him. If a person “loses salvation” they were never really saved. They experienced the Word, and saw the kingdom but rejected Christ anyway. Whether unsaved, or a fallen saint or faithful saint, the answer is always to turn to God. (Repent) We confess him as Lord. We confess our sins and He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. Confessing our sins is Walking in the Spirit.

At the end of our earthly life, Jesus will say either “well done thy good and faithful servant” or “depart from me I NEVER knew you.”

Because you were NEVER saved. You never had a relationship with Him, because if you had you would not reject Him.  I’m not talking about sin. We all sin. We are dead to sin. Our sins are cast from us. We confess our sins and are cleansed.

I’m saying you NEVER confessed Him as Lord and trusted Him to save you. You try to save yourself and try to obey rules, that is not salvation.

As the writer of Hebrews says in verse 10. “God knows what you’ve done.” But your salvation has nothing to do with that. Jesus said I NEVER knew you. A person cannot lose salvation. They NEVER had it.

It’s all about Christ. Turn to Him. Nothing is impossible with God. We are not saved by works. If we are fallen away or trapped by Satan, God will break us and correct us. He does not cast us out. If we walk away, we never really knew Him.

Just always turn to God. Confess to Him. Pray to Him. Know Him. That is Walking in the Spirit. Letting the Holy Spirit work on you and through you.

---

Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger.

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

Follow Him on Free Life Blog: https://myfreelifeblog.com/

Subscribe on Substack: https://substack.com/@chrisbunton

Read His Bible Studies on Blogger: https://chrisbunton.blogspot.com/

Support the work for the cost of a Coffee

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

Photo by the author, Bald Knob Cross

Fear Not

 Fear Not

God is with us 

 

“Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” –Luke 12:32

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”— 2 Tim. 1:7

“So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”— Heb. 13:6

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”— 1 John 4:18

“Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”— Rev. 2:10

When we read these verses we can see that we are not supposed to fear anything. God is with us.

If we believe that God is right beside us, and even in us through His Holy Spirit, then why do we have fear? Our God is bigger than anything in this world, and anything the devil can throw at us.

These verses above indicate that there is a spirit of fear. A demonic entity which harasses us. It says in First John that we are tormented by fear.

Therefore battling fear is Spiritual Warfare. It’s something we can overcome.

The first thing needs to be faith and trust in God, His goodness and His Word.

Nothing else matters.

I harp on this idea of a relationship with God. When we know Him, we know where to turn. We can trust Him. Even when everything around us is terrible and we are in our darkest days we can trust Him. Even though the devil tries to get us to turn from God, and curse God, and doubt Him. We can trust Him. And that is power. For in our weakness we are strong when we turn to Him.

 God is not against us. It is His good pleasure to give us the Kingdom. He is for us.

Say it out loud. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.

“God is with me! He wants to give me the kingdom, He is not out to get me. He is my helper, I will not fear.”

Believe it.

We can overcome fear in His Power, His Love and His Wisdom.

We can pray and know He hears. He promises that if we ask anything in His name He will do it. —John 14:14

No doubts. Trust Him. He hears and is moving.

Fear be gone! God is with me!

Love casts out fear. Confront the fear in love.

Do the loving thing.

When faced with fear, love others. Do unto others as you would have done to you. Loving others takes your mind off of self, and onto other people. Use the fear to fuel love. Overcome evil with good.

Remember that God loves you. If we are saved, then we are perfect in God’s Love. Remember this. He loves through us. Let Him love you and love others through you.

The devil threw some of them into prison. They were told to fear not. So, what did they do? How did they overcome fear?

They loved. They prayed for the guards and other inmates. They preached the Gospel and spoke faith to the other prisoners. They comforted the sick in prison. They helped each other. They loved, in the midst of fear and hate, and temptations for anger. They turned prison into purpose. That is how you cast out fear.

Love casts out fear.

Praise God. Loving Him and praising Him casts out fear. You cannot hold fear in your mind, while praising God at the same time.

We also overcome fear through a sound mind. We have a sound mind by knowing God’s Word. By seeking Him for wisdom and understanding and truth. By having faith in His Word. By prayer and His guidance.

We can look at how God has brought us through things in the past, and trust that He will again. We can go and seek out the truth. Study, ask, learn, seek answers. Fear thrives in the unknown.

We can ask ourselves, “What is the worst case scenario? Has God let the worst things happen to me? What if He does? He will be with me through it.”

Overcome and drive out fear through Power, Love and a Sound mind. We can drive it out through Him, and His Word, and Faith in Him and His Word. We trust that He is good and He is with us.

 Spirit of Fear be gone in Jesus name.

Say it out loud. Cast the spirit out.

Remember times when God was with you and saw you through. Trust Him.

Dark times are coming, according to prophecy.

We need to be able to wage spiritual warfare and cast out fear.

Remember during Covid, when the virus was everywhere and fear was running with it? Remember when the vaccine came out and they were forcing people to take it or lose their jobs?

That was a picture of what is coming.

They will say, take the Mark of the Beast or lose your job.

When you see saints being rounded up, and your own pastors turning you in for refusing to bow to the Anti-Christ.

Fear not.

Love not your life unto death. —Rev. 12:11

Fear keeps us down, and keeps us from acting in faith.

Drive out the fear, in Jesus name.

---

Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger

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

Follow Him on Free Life Blog: https://myfreelifeblog.com/

Subscribe on Substack: https://substack.com/@chrisbunton

Read His Bible Studies on Blogger: https://chrisbunton.blogspot.com/

Support the work for the cost of a Coffee

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

Cover photo pexels/Мария Кашина

False Teachers In The Last Days

 False Teachers In The Last Days

How can we know them? 

 

As we move further into these last days we need to make sure we are not following after false doctrines. We want our faith to be grounded in Jesus Christ and Him alone for salvation. We want to have a relationship with the Lord through the Holy Spirit. We want to be taught by the Spirit and Walk in the Spirit. Not led into deception.

Peter tells us.

“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not” —2 Peter 2

Paul also tells us that there will be false teachers in these last days. (1 Tim. 1: 1-15, 2 Tim 4:2-4, 2 Timothy 3:1-9)

Jesus says the deception will be so bad that even the elect (Saved) would be deceived if it was possible. (Matt. 24:24)

So, it’s important for us to have tools in our pocket to help us.

1. The Holy Spirit will teach us and lead us into all truth. If you are saved and listen to the Holy Spirit. He will impress upon you that something isn’t right. (John 16:13)

This doesn’t mean the teacher who speaks false things is not saved. A person can be saved and be in error on a subject. Just because we are saved doesn’t mean we have it all straight in our minds. 

Pray and ask the Lord to show us what’s up. (1 John 2:27, James 1:5) We want to judge rightly and respond rightly. We want to be Spirit led, but we need to learn what that means. It takes time and a relationship with God to hear His voice. “My sheep know my voice” Do you know Him? (John 10:1-19)

 Make sure your belief is right. Sometimes we get bent out of shape because of a teaching, but it’s our flesh not the Holy Spirit. If you cannot prove your point from the Word, using two or three verses of clear scripture, then you might be wrong.

Remember that not everything is a salvation issue. Some disagreements are not that important.

But, there are many things that do matter. You must learn to listen to the Holy Spirit, and know the Word. We do not know what we will face. But, when we know the truth, we can see the lie.

2. What does the teacher do with Jesus? We are talking about spiritual teachers here. Not the guy teaching you math.

The scriptures give us an easy way to determine false teachers.

They will not say that Jesus is THE Lord. They might admit he is God, but not confess Him as Lord.

It says that “No one  can say Jesus is the Lord without the Holy Spirit and no believer will say anything bad about Jesus. (1 Cor 12:3)

If they do not have the Holy Spirit, then they are not saved.

It also says to test the spirits to see if they are of God. The test is whether they claim that Jesus came in the flesh. Basically, do they teach that Jesus is God, became human and died to save us, and rose from the dead. (1 John 4:1-6)

If they can’t say that Jesus is the Lord, they probably aren’t saved. If they do not know or accept that Jesus is God in the Flesh they are false.

So, you should pray to the Lord to lead you to a teacher He wants you to hear from.

Realize that the demons of hell know who Jesus is. But, they will not confess Him as Lord. They are in rebellion.

Realize that there are false teachers who aren’t saved, and false teachings or doctrines that can come from saved people.

They might teach 90% truth. But in this one area. They are a little off. Is it a salvation issue?

Rejecting Jesus as Lord is major. Believing in infant baptism, or a pre-trib rapture or some other doctrines is not. Understand the difference between salvation issues, and doctrinal differences. Rejecting Christ, is a salvation issue. Going trick or treating is not.

3. A works based doctrine.

Every religion on earth teaches some kind of works based doctrine. That humans need to do this or that in order to reach God and be saved.

But, in Christianity God Himself came down and did it all for us. It is finished.  All we have to do is accept Him, then have a relationship with the Him; which He also does through sanctification and His Spirit.

Paul fought the works based doctrine his whole ministry. People want to add some work to salvation. To either obtain it or maintain it. This is false. Either Christ does it all or He has done none of it. It’s either totally grace or it’s not grace at all.

The demons of hell will gladly keep us struggling with worrying about our sin. Trying to do better while attacking others who disobey. They love nothing more than a bunch of pharisees who burn people at the stake of judgment.

You are saved by grace through faith. Let the Holy Spirit guide and work on you. Give others love, grace and mercy as well. 

We are not saved by Works. (Eph. 2:8-10)

Our sin is forgiven, if we are saved. The works we do are for Kingdom building.

4.  No tough times.

This one is difficult. Jesus said that in this world we will have tribulation. We will have times of trouble. 

He promises to be with us through it. And there are things we can do to make those times better like prayer, faith, spiritual warfare, praise, thanks, abiding, dying to self, giving and serving.

 There are things we can do to make it worse, like running from God, turning to fleshly remedies like booze, drugs and sex, turning to false beliefs, bitterness and anger, among other things.

In Jeremiah, God told Jeremiah that He was going to judge Israel His people.

Now let’s not focus on what they did. Let’s focus on the fact that God let tribulation fall on His people, and that it worked to cleanse the body and drive out those who did not know God.

Jeremiah taught that God was going to let the King of Babylon take over Israel. And if the people trusted Him, God would be with them.

The false teachers taught that God would not let them suffer tribulation. They taught that they were not going to face wrath. That God would deliver them, OUT OF TROUBLE. They stood in the pulpit and taught that God would deliver them from Great Tribulation.

Now, understand that this is a picture of the Last days. The king of Babylon is the Anti-Christ and Satan who will make war with the saints and overcome them. (Rev. 13:7, Daniel 7:25)

This is done to weed out the saved and unsaved. To cleanse the temple or body. He allows tribulation to come on His people. Even if it’s great tribulation, to weed out the tares. Remember Lot’s Wife.

Realize, that yes God delivers us from trouble. But, sometimes He allows trouble for a higher purpose.

Our response to both, is the same. Realize He is with us, trust Him, and draw closer to Him.

Realize that tribulation, even great tribulation is not God’s Wrath.  God’s wrath is Hell and the Lake of Fire. God’s wrath is poured out in one day.

Understand that I am not saying that God kills babies or gives us cancer to teach us a lesson. Those things exist because of death, the fall, a corrupted world, and Satan. The enemy wants us to blame God for these things. That gets us to be angry at God and turn away from Him. It keeps us from praying and drawing close to God if we think he did it to us. That is Satan’s plan. To keep us away from God.

The solution is always the same, turn to God and draw closer to Him. We will learn from the trouble, and we can use it to help others.

5. Not building the kingdom.

Satan won’t build God’s Kingdom. A teacher of the Lord, should be teaching, preparing and sending the saints out to preach the Gospel, serve others and God, building the Kingdom. That’s our purpose as believers. To build the kingdom.

False teachers, will keep you in your pew singing pretty songs and scratching your itching ears with some new teaching.  For what? 

A true teacher teaches what the Holy Spirit leads them to teach. He readies the saints for the battle and growing the kingdom. We all have our part, in different ways, but we will be led to go and build the kingdom.

A church sitting in pews doing nothing is not a threat to the enemy.

In Matthew chapter 25, the Lord gives three parables on what it will look like when He returns. He doesn’t ask about their sins. He asks if they helped others. He asks if they used the talents He gave them. Christians are saved and forgiven, and are supposed to be kingdom building. If they are really saved.

Pray the Lord will help you to escape this deadness in your church. And show you what to do and where to go.

A teacher should confess Jesus is the Lord. They should teach the Gospel; that Jesus came in the Flesh. They should teach that salvation is through Christ alone, not works. They should also teach and lead the saints to build the Kingdom.

 Always, turn to the Lord and He will direct you. When you notice a problem ask Him and be willing to step out in faith, to make changes or do things He calls us to do.

With technology we are surrounded by false teachings and teachers. It can travel the world. Fake pictures and videos edited. Media services telling us propaganda. Governments lying, corporations lying, preachers lying, and its everywhere.

Turn to God, and listen to Him. He is Truth. He is the way. Trust Him no matter what our flesh says. The enemy is everywhere, going about seeking whom he may devour.

---

Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger.

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

Follow Him on Free Life Blog: https://myfreelifeblog.com/

Subscribe on Substack: https://substack.com/@chrisbunton

Read His Bible Studies on Blogger: https://chrisbunton.blogspot.com/

Support the work for the cost of a Coffee

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

Photo by Pexels

Church Charity

 Church Charity

Is it real love? 

 

 

The scriptures tell us to love.

It uses the word charity, which can be described as love in action. (1 Cor. chapter 13)

But there is a charity, that is condescending. A charity that places one party in a position of superiority over another. This is not real charity or love.

Love does not think evil of someone. We take those thoughts captive and bring them under control and force ourselves to love.(1 Cor. 13:5, 2 Cor. 10:5)

This is not easy. It’s part of our battle between flesh and spirit. We fail, and we confess, and we move on. Praying for help and trying to do better next time.

But, what if we do not even realize we are doing wrong? 

We give and we love, but we don’t see that we act like we are better than other people.

Do we think, “I’m able to help you because I obey the rules and you don’t. That’s why you’re in a sorry state.” when we help someone? Do we think they are poor or needy because God is punishing them? But, we are wealthy because we are good?

I can tell you from experience, that when I joined a church, I was given charity. People helped me and I felt that they loved me. I appreciate the help.

But, it quickly dissolved into the charity I described above. I was not a well churched person. I had a lot of faults.

“Well churched” is a term used for people who have gone to church enough to know all the little rules that the Bible says nothing about.”  Things like manners, and etiquette and all of that.

I wasn’t knowledgeable of the little intricacies of church decorum. I was rough. I laughed at inappropriate things. I talked about inappropriate things. And the word spread that I was not a good enough Christian because of some sin I knew nothing about. 

I had a background that was not Christian. I was not forgiven for it, by many.

So, people who had shone me charity and love started to back off. The people who always ran to shake my hand and pretend to be my friend quit.

You can tell when you no longer get invited to anything. When you become a second class citizen. When you’re not part of the “in” crowd and you’re never asked or nominated to serve or be a part of anything.

You’re not really one of them. And you have to wonder if you ever really was.

I’m not talking about Salvation. God calls us and accepts us and loves us and works on us and with us. He calls us friend.

But, sometimes his servants do not. They shake your hand, then betray you. They ask you about your views, then twist them and use them to destroy you later. Because being superior to you is more important to them, than actually loving you.

James speaks of this when he says ” My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?”—(Jas. 2:1-4)

How many people have been driven away from God, because of this fake charity in church? How many people have been treated like they don’t belong when they got saved and joined a church?

I know it has impacted my life.

To hear sermons on love, and then be treated like an outsider.

And there’s always excuses as to why it happens, or blame is laid on all kinds of things. But when this treatment happens over and over again, and not only to you, but to lots of other people. It becomes obvious that they do not really love you. You are not imagining it. They have placed you under their footstool to serve them. They have made you to be another number on Sunday morning, so they can think they are growing.

As believers, we are called to “judge ourselves lest we be judged with the world.” Not make excuses for feeling superior to other sinners. We are just saved. Not better. 

So, what’s our answer to this?

Our answer is to overcome evil with good. Sometimes things happen to us so we can do better and change things. We see fake Christians so we can understand what it looks like and avoid becoming one.

That sort of condescending charity is not from Jesus. It’s not from the Spirit. It’s fleshly. It’s man-made works. Anyone can do it.

If you decide to be a friend, then be a friend, or don’t even start. We are not required to be friends with everyone. But we ARE called to love them. If you choose to be friends, then don’t be backstabbing once you see the ugly in a person. Because YOU, have ugly too, and Jesus died for you anyway. God calls you friend despite your sin, if you really know Him.

These last days are moving along, and judgement is coming. Turn to God. Ask Him to show you your sin so you can confess it, and work on it. Do not find yourself as a virgin, without oil in their lamp because they never really knew Christ, and did not grow in faith with Him.

---

Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger

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

Follow Him on Free Life Blog: https://myfreelifeblog.com/

Subscribe on Substack: https://substack.com/@chrisbunton

Read His Bible Studies on Blogger: https://chrisbunton.blogspot.com/

 Support the work for the cost of a Coffee

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

Cover Photo by pexels

Do You Really Know Him?

 Do You Really Know Him?

 Are you relying on your works?

 

“And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”—Luke 18:9-14

This is an important subject. The Lord calls us to examine ourselves, so that we are not lost. We are to judge ourselves so that we are not judged with the world. We turn to Him and confess Jesus as our Lord. We humble ourselves and stop relying on ourselves. We give it to Him. (1 Corinthians 11:31-32, Rom. 10:9-10, Rom. 14:11)

But, if we live under a deception of self-righteousness, like the pharisee in the parable, it makes it hard to see that we have never really known Him. We are not saved.

We are called by Him. And if we are willing, we turn to Him and confess Jesus as our Lord. We are saved forever, we are a new creation, and the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us and mold us into the likeness of Christ.

But, the scriptures are clear that there will be tons of church going people who think they are saved, and are not. They never knew Him. They went to church every Sunday. They wore the pretty clothes. They gave tithes. They sang songs. They obeyed all the rules. They feared that God might get them. But, they never really knew Him. They were never broken.

Churches full of people who have never read the Word. They listen to the pastor and everything he says, and go to Sunday school, but do not know Christ. They believe in Churchianity, not Christianity.

 They are taught that they are the bride of Christ and that they will be raptured out before anything bad happens.

But, when you read about the churches in Revelation it is clear that God judges His churches. He removes the lamp stand. Especially if they never really knew Him. (Rev. Chapters 1-3)

We see the Elder Brother in the parable of the prodigal son. He spews hate, because the Father (God) gives grace and love to his brother who has fallen.

“And he (the elder brother) answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.”— Luke 15;29-32

Notice, the elder son relies on his works.

But, he did not know the father’s heart. He thought it was about obedience, not love and grace. He was bitter.

In Matthew Chapter 25 we have three descriptions of what will happen when the Lord returns.

In all of these parables, it is obvious that the Lord is speaking to “Servants” who thought they knew the Lord.

In the first one, 10 virgins have lamps, and wicks in the lamps. But, when the Lord returns 5 of the virgins have no oil (faith) in their lamps. They heard the Gospel, as in the parable of the sower, but did not really confess Him as Lord. the seed fell on stony ground, or was choked out by thorns. They never grew in Him, and had no oil or faith for their light to shine. They buried it under a bushel. (Matthew 5, Matt. 13)

In the second one, the Lord goes away and leaves talents with His servants. But, when He returns, He finds one servant who buried His talents in the ground. The servant believes the Lord is a hard man and doesn’t want to upset Him. So, he did nothing. Again, this servant clearly does not know the Lord or trust Him. It’s not about works, it’s about knowing the master. The servant did not know the master because he did not care about the things the master cared about. If he had, he would have tried to do something to grow the Kingdom.

In the third, the Lord divides the nations into goats and sheep.

“Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

³⁵ For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

³⁶ Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

³⁷ Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

³⁸ When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

³⁹ Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

⁴⁰ And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

⁴¹ Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

⁴² For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

⁴³ I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

⁴⁴ Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

⁴⁵ Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

⁴⁶ And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”

There is not one mention of going to church. He doesn’t talk about porn, or fornication. He says nothing about homosexuality or abortion. He never mentions drug use or addiction. 

 Why?

Because if you know Him, your sins are forgiven. Never to be brought back up, and thrown in your face. BUT… if you know Him you would care about the things He cares about. He forgave all their debt. But, they still did not forgive others and cared nothing about helping those in need. (Matt. 18:23-35)

Again, we see the Lord say,

“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”—(Matt. 7:21-23)

Again, notice that when they stand in judgement, they rely on the works they have done, not in the fact that they know Him. They were never saved. They never accepted the Grace of God. They never confessed Jesus as Lord. They have relied on being an obedient servant instead of relying on the finished work of Christ, and having a relationship with Him. They took the broad road of works, and not the narrow path of faith in Christ alone.

The worst thing to be is a religious self-righteous person. They think they are saved, because they do all the churchy things, and believe all the churchy rules. They never miss a sermon. They’ve got their favorite pew, and their favorite Bible. They don’t cuss. They don’t watch bad movies, unless it’s approved.

But, they wouldn’t go sit with the stinky homeless. They wouldn’t write letters to inmates. They think the stranger in the church might be a felon or a molester or publican. When they see a family with no clothes they judge that the dad won’t work three jobs, or it’s a single mother with no husband. They don’t help them. They might be sinners. They might be trying to con the good church people in order to get a tank of gas, or get a bill paid.

Who cares if they con us? It’s about love and grace not merit. Jesus died for us, and we are not worthy. We take advantage of his grace, whether we want to admit it or not. We are conning Him. Truth be told.

The worst thing, would be to go to church your whole life, obeying the rules; thinking you’re saved, only to discover that you never really knew Him.

Do not be like the virgins with no oil, when He comes.

Turn to Him and know Him. Taste and see that He is good.

It’s about a relationship, not religion.

---

Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger.

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

Follow Him on Free Life Blog: https://myfreelifeblog.com/

Subscribe on Substack: https://substack.com/@chrisbunton

Read His Bible Studies on Blogger: https://chrisbunton.blogspot.com/

Support the work for the cost of a Coffee

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

Cover photo from pexels