Many of us today are worried about someone stealing our identity. Whether it is through online purchases, insurance, or some other manner in which someone would want to use your information to obtain something illegally. There are companies who promise to secure your identity because we are too busy to take care of things ourselves. However, there are many today who are stealing the identity of a group of people and they are doing it to obtain something illegally as well, yet they do not know they are doing so.
The Church, the Body of Christ, is a particular group of people who have decided that they are lost and in need of a savior. They have chosen to accept the cross work of Christ as the payment of the penalty of their sins by grace through faith alone. This is a small group of people throughout the world. There are many "Christians" today who claim to saved but they are not because they have stolen the identity of the Nation of Israel. They have decided to claim things that were only promised to the Nation of Israel, claiming to be "spiritual Israel" which is never a doctrine taught in scripture.
The truth remains, we are NOT Spiritual Israel. Replacement Theology is false.
God is interested in us preaching about His grace that He put on display in the form of the death of Christ on the cross. Today, God is forming the Church, the Body of Christ, to rule and reign in the heavenlies with Christ. We are not to live on the earth but we are part of His plan to subdue the places of governmental authority in the heavenly places with Christ. We are a completely different group of people. God is not finished with Israel, they are part of His plan to subdue the places of governmental authority in the earthly places. God's overall plan is to be the Most High God, the possessor of heaven and earth. He is going to use two different groups of people to accomplish this.
Grace and Peace
Greg Resor
Complete in Him
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Live Forgiven
Everyone wants to know what God has planned for their lives, yet He has told us everything we need to do and how we should act in every situation. The biggest thing we need to understand is that we HAVE BEEN forgiven by grace through faith. Have been means it has already happened, it is already accomplished. In other words, IT IS FINISHED! What we need to do then is to walk or live under that truth. We must live as though you have been forgiven of all sins, because you have.
We all know that Ephesians 2:8,9 says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."
How have we been saved? By grace through faith, plus NOTHING.
What does verse 10 say? Ephesians 2:10, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." How do we do we walk in good works? God has chosen before the foundation of the world that we should live correctly not to be forgiven, but because we have been forgiven. We have another verse to explain how we are to walk in good works.
Colossians 2:6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
How did we receive Christ? By grace through faith. In other words, we trusted what He said in His book and we believed it through faith. We should live the same way. We should read what the Bible says and apply it in our lives, but be careful. The Bible says to build an ark, should we do that? No! So, there are some things that do not apply to you and I today. Okay, how do we figure this out? I am glad you asked that question.
We must follow God's divine method of Bible study. He told us in II Timothy 2:15, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
There must be a right way to divide the Bible and there must be a wrong way to divide the Bible. In order to figure out which one we need to follow, it seems we should ask the person God chose to write that verse down for us to study. Who was that person? The Apostle Paul. We know of verses in Ephesians 2:11-13, 7, "Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.", "That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus."
These tell us that there is a difference between Jews and Gentiles in time past, but now there is no difference, and that in the ages to come, God would show forth exceeding riches of His grace through Jesus Christ.
That means, if the Bible makes a difference between Jew and Gentiles, then you are in times past. If there is no difference, then you are in but now. The ages to come just signifies time after the catching away of the Body of Christ through eternity future.
In order for us to live unforgiven, we must first know we are forgiven. The only part of scripture that speaks to us about the fact that we have been forgiven of all trespasses without works, by grace through faith, is found in Romans through Philemon. Which coincidentally are written by the Apostle Paul. He is God's spokesman for the Church, the Body of Christ. He is our apostle. Quit reading verses that are written to the Nation of Israel and applying them to your life. They were not told that they have been forgiven of all trespasses. They were not told that they were to live by grace through faith. You will be spiritually anemic when it comes to serving God in the manner He suggests.
Therefore, begin in Romans read through Philemon. Begin to understand all that we have in Christ, and live it.
Grace and Peace
Greg Resor
Complete in Him
We all know that Ephesians 2:8,9 says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."
How have we been saved? By grace through faith, plus NOTHING.
What does verse 10 say? Ephesians 2:10, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." How do we do we walk in good works? God has chosen before the foundation of the world that we should live correctly not to be forgiven, but because we have been forgiven. We have another verse to explain how we are to walk in good works.
Colossians 2:6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
How did we receive Christ? By grace through faith. In other words, we trusted what He said in His book and we believed it through faith. We should live the same way. We should read what the Bible says and apply it in our lives, but be careful. The Bible says to build an ark, should we do that? No! So, there are some things that do not apply to you and I today. Okay, how do we figure this out? I am glad you asked that question.
We must follow God's divine method of Bible study. He told us in II Timothy 2:15, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
There must be a right way to divide the Bible and there must be a wrong way to divide the Bible. In order to figure out which one we need to follow, it seems we should ask the person God chose to write that verse down for us to study. Who was that person? The Apostle Paul. We know of verses in Ephesians 2:11-13, 7, "Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.", "That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus."
These tell us that there is a difference between Jews and Gentiles in time past, but now there is no difference, and that in the ages to come, God would show forth exceeding riches of His grace through Jesus Christ.
That means, if the Bible makes a difference between Jew and Gentiles, then you are in times past. If there is no difference, then you are in but now. The ages to come just signifies time after the catching away of the Body of Christ through eternity future.
In order for us to live unforgiven, we must first know we are forgiven. The only part of scripture that speaks to us about the fact that we have been forgiven of all trespasses without works, by grace through faith, is found in Romans through Philemon. Which coincidentally are written by the Apostle Paul. He is God's spokesman for the Church, the Body of Christ. He is our apostle. Quit reading verses that are written to the Nation of Israel and applying them to your life. They were not told that they have been forgiven of all trespasses. They were not told that they were to live by grace through faith. You will be spiritually anemic when it comes to serving God in the manner He suggests.
Therefore, begin in Romans read through Philemon. Begin to understand all that we have in Christ, and live it.
Grace and Peace
Greg Resor
Complete in Him
Friday, November 16, 2012
HEY!! We have a secret! Tell everyone.
Ephesians 3:2-6, 2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: 3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, 4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) 5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; 6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel.
Have you heard of the dispensation of the grace of God?
Why not?
God thought it very important to talk about, so much so, He wrote it down on paper through the pen of the Apostle Paul. The dispensation of the grace of God consists of a mystery, which was never made known to anyone in the history of the world, until God revealed it to Paul.
What is the mystery?
Have you heard of the dispensation of the grace of God?
Why not?
God thought it very important to talk about, so much so, He wrote it down on paper through the pen of the Apostle Paul. The dispensation of the grace of God consists of a mystery, which was never made known to anyone in the history of the world, until God revealed it to Paul.
What is the mystery?
It is not as simple as that, but in a nutshell it is that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel. Still, not that simple. God has changed the way he deals with humankind in a way which was never seen nor heard of in the history of the world. Many pastors simply choose not to teach Ephesians 3, because they do not want to change the religious, denominational led, doctrinal statements. Why? They must each answer to that question themselves.
However, God has changed the manner in which He is dealing with mankind today, and He has given us everything we need to learn about it and live it in our lives. According to Ephesians chapter 3 the dispensation of the grace of God was only revealed to Paul. This verse, along with other verses, shows how God used Paul to promote a new doctrine and it was only by revelation from the risen Lord, that this information was disseminated.
Peter did not know about this before Paul. Neither did he preach it.
The twelve did not know about this before Paul. Neither did they preach it.
Christ did not peach this while He was on the earth.
To be continued,
Greg Resor
Complete in Him
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Unity In The Church Introduction
Ephesians 4:3-7 (KJV)
Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Many today search for unity within the walls of their church but to no avail. Why? If you do not try to make sure the members of your congregation are all on the same page, doctrinally speaking, then you will have no hope to gain, much less maintain unity. The most basic issue is the bible version issue. If everyone does not read from the same version then you are already off to a bad start. You can not have unity in your church if their "textbook" is different. I use this analogy quite often. In a mathematics class, I could assign homework from page 37, but if the student has a different textbook, their page 37 may not have problems on it, but rather different information about a completely different subject. That student would then be confused about the homework but would still be held responsible for learning the material for the test. Is that fair? Yes. That student has the same access to the same textbook but chose to get the wrong textbook. They will not have the proper knowledge and would invariably fail the test. Is it their fault our the textbook provider? It is their fault of course. Therefore, that is one reason why I want to make sure everyone knows they need to read and study from the King James Bible. If we all have the same version, then we all know the same information. This is step one to unity.
We are going to look at each of the seven "ones" in Ephesians 4. Of course this will come from the KJV. If you do not have one, get one. Or you can just read the verses I post throughout the study.
Grace and Peace
Greg Resor
Complete in Him
Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Many today search for unity within the walls of their church but to no avail. Why? If you do not try to make sure the members of your congregation are all on the same page, doctrinally speaking, then you will have no hope to gain, much less maintain unity. The most basic issue is the bible version issue. If everyone does not read from the same version then you are already off to a bad start. You can not have unity in your church if their "textbook" is different. I use this analogy quite often. In a mathematics class, I could assign homework from page 37, but if the student has a different textbook, their page 37 may not have problems on it, but rather different information about a completely different subject. That student would then be confused about the homework but would still be held responsible for learning the material for the test. Is that fair? Yes. That student has the same access to the same textbook but chose to get the wrong textbook. They will not have the proper knowledge and would invariably fail the test. Is it their fault our the textbook provider? It is their fault of course. Therefore, that is one reason why I want to make sure everyone knows they need to read and study from the King James Bible. If we all have the same version, then we all know the same information. This is step one to unity.
We are going to look at each of the seven "ones" in Ephesians 4. Of course this will come from the KJV. If you do not have one, get one. Or you can just read the verses I post throughout the study.
Grace and Peace
Greg Resor
Complete in Him
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
What Part of Mystery Do You Not Understand?
I have recently been watching a video on YouTube where a guy claims to have had a vision or dream about the Tribulation period. One of the things this guy claims is that there is no just thing as the catching away of the Church, the Body of Christ.
Really?!?!
Most proponents of this misguided attempt to place you under the law and judgement held only for the Nation of Israel try to explain away this truth by saying that Jesus Christ never promised us escape from the tribulation, but would help us through it. He did teach the Nation of Israel that they would go through the tribulation, which has been prophesied throughout scripture. The problem with that is, Jesus Christ did promise us that we would be taken out of the way and not go through the wrath of the tribulation period. However, it is not shown in red letters so many do not think that Christ spoke again, except to them in dreams.
In Matthew 24, we read of the two who are working in the field and the two women will be at the wheel grinding. As far as the men and the women grinding, one will be taken to judgement and the other will be left to go into the Kingdom on earth. How do we know this? The context tells us. In Noah's day, there were eight people who were left on the earth, and there were untold thousands who were taken to judgement. That passage is clearly talking about people living through the tribulation period and being found faithful to the end. This passage is not talking about the taking away as many teach today. The twelve disciples never heard of nor imagined a rapture of a group of people, WHY? They were never taught it. How do I know? Paul says, "Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead in Christ shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." I Corinthians 15:51-52. If Paul says he will show us a mystery, then no one ever knew it before. That is why Christ and the twelve never taught it. It was not revealed to anyone until Christ revealed it to Paul. Paul gives us more information on how this is to happen in I Thessalonians 4:13-18. Not only that, Christ also tells us through Paul that we are already delivered from the wrath to come. I Thessalonians 1:10, "And to wait for His Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come." The word delivered is past tense. It has already taken place in God's mind. He has already declared it to be so, and He can do that.
More proof? I Thessalonians 2:14-16, "For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews: Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men: Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved to fill up their sins slways: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost." What is the purpose of the wrath? It is judgement for the denial and death of the prophets and Jesus Christ.
Christ came down from Heavens glory, which was unprophesied that He would do, to save a man on the road to Damascus, where He never touched the ground, and gave to that man a new message that had been kept secret, Mystery, since the world began. No one could preach about the catching away of the Body of Christ, because it was something kept secret, a mystery, hid in God, from before the foundation of the world.
Grace and Peace
Greg Resor
Complete in Him
Really?!?!
Most proponents of this misguided attempt to place you under the law and judgement held only for the Nation of Israel try to explain away this truth by saying that Jesus Christ never promised us escape from the tribulation, but would help us through it. He did teach the Nation of Israel that they would go through the tribulation, which has been prophesied throughout scripture. The problem with that is, Jesus Christ did promise us that we would be taken out of the way and not go through the wrath of the tribulation period. However, it is not shown in red letters so many do not think that Christ spoke again, except to them in dreams.
In Matthew 24, we read of the two who are working in the field and the two women will be at the wheel grinding. As far as the men and the women grinding, one will be taken to judgement and the other will be left to go into the Kingdom on earth. How do we know this? The context tells us. In Noah's day, there were eight people who were left on the earth, and there were untold thousands who were taken to judgement. That passage is clearly talking about people living through the tribulation period and being found faithful to the end. This passage is not talking about the taking away as many teach today. The twelve disciples never heard of nor imagined a rapture of a group of people, WHY? They were never taught it. How do I know? Paul says, "Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead in Christ shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." I Corinthians 15:51-52. If Paul says he will show us a mystery, then no one ever knew it before. That is why Christ and the twelve never taught it. It was not revealed to anyone until Christ revealed it to Paul. Paul gives us more information on how this is to happen in I Thessalonians 4:13-18. Not only that, Christ also tells us through Paul that we are already delivered from the wrath to come. I Thessalonians 1:10, "And to wait for His Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come." The word delivered is past tense. It has already taken place in God's mind. He has already declared it to be so, and He can do that.
More proof? I Thessalonians 2:14-16, "For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews: Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men: Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved to fill up their sins slways: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost." What is the purpose of the wrath? It is judgement for the denial and death of the prophets and Jesus Christ.
Christ came down from Heavens glory, which was unprophesied that He would do, to save a man on the road to Damascus, where He never touched the ground, and gave to that man a new message that had been kept secret, Mystery, since the world began. No one could preach about the catching away of the Body of Christ, because it was something kept secret, a mystery, hid in God, from before the foundation of the world.
Grace and Peace
Greg Resor
Complete in Him
Thursday, August 16, 2012
How Much Money Should We Give? Part 3
Living in the age of grace presents us with some amazing truths that we should adhere to and advance. However, with that there is responsibility that we should not missuse the liberty we have because of grace. Just because we are free from the law and ordinances does not mean that we are able to live however we want. The old saying, "With great power comes great responsibility." gives us a tremendous opportunity to live the grace of God in our lives properly. One aspect that we can allow God's grace to live in our lives is through our giving.
The Liberality That Grace Produces
Many grace believers today often try to hide behind grace, but we need to study God's word to better understand what it means to live the grace life. We are given many examples of what grace living will look like. God gives us the church at Macedonia, and the church at Thessalonica to see how a group of people, not just one person, can work together while allowing God's grace to work in their life. The church at Macedonia allows us to see what it should look like when we give. II Corinthians 8:1-5, Paul draws the attention of the Corinthian church to the grace of God which was bestowed on the churches of Macedonia because of their offering and their attitude toward giving. Liberty allows us to make as big a donation as we want without feeling that we have to give a certain amount; however, liberty does not mean we do not give at all.
Grace not only motivates salvation, but it also motivates our walk and our service. We as Grace believers should live a life of giving and not taking because we have the mind of Christ and we should live life based upon that thought process. Christ gave everything for you and I so that we could have eternal life and live in a relationship with Him. The believers at Macedonia encapsulated this lifestyle as we can read in II Corinthians 8:7-9.
We should have the same mindset as Paul as well. He chose to spend and be spent for the churches he started so that he would not be chargeable to any man, I Thessalonians 2:8-9. This is why I chose to have another job and will not take a salary for being a pastor of any church. As we start a bible study which will become a church, I do not want to be a burden on anyone. The only thing collections will be used for would be the perpetuation of the gospel of the grace of God.
Grace should make us be willing to do more to go the extra mile as we work together to build the Church, the Body of Christ. Philemon 21
What did we do, or what can we do to deserve everything we have been given in Christ? Nothing.
We must come to the point when we will set our affections on things above and not be so earthly minded.
Grace and Peace
Greg Resor
Complete in Him
The Liberality That Grace Produces
Many grace believers today often try to hide behind grace, but we need to study God's word to better understand what it means to live the grace life. We are given many examples of what grace living will look like. God gives us the church at Macedonia, and the church at Thessalonica to see how a group of people, not just one person, can work together while allowing God's grace to work in their life. The church at Macedonia allows us to see what it should look like when we give. II Corinthians 8:1-5, Paul draws the attention of the Corinthian church to the grace of God which was bestowed on the churches of Macedonia because of their offering and their attitude toward giving. Liberty allows us to make as big a donation as we want without feeling that we have to give a certain amount; however, liberty does not mean we do not give at all.
Grace not only motivates salvation, but it also motivates our walk and our service. We as Grace believers should live a life of giving and not taking because we have the mind of Christ and we should live life based upon that thought process. Christ gave everything for you and I so that we could have eternal life and live in a relationship with Him. The believers at Macedonia encapsulated this lifestyle as we can read in II Corinthians 8:7-9.
We should have the same mindset as Paul as well. He chose to spend and be spent for the churches he started so that he would not be chargeable to any man, I Thessalonians 2:8-9. This is why I chose to have another job and will not take a salary for being a pastor of any church. As we start a bible study which will become a church, I do not want to be a burden on anyone. The only thing collections will be used for would be the perpetuation of the gospel of the grace of God.
Grace should make us be willing to do more to go the extra mile as we work together to build the Church, the Body of Christ. Philemon 21
What did we do, or what can we do to deserve everything we have been given in Christ? Nothing.
We must come to the point when we will set our affections on things above and not be so earthly minded.
Grace and Peace
Greg Resor
Complete in Him
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
How Much Money Should We Give? Part 2
In our last blog we started to look at how much money should we give. The main aspect we want to discuss is the motivation behind our giving and then the amount will take of itself. We looked at giving during the Old Testament and how the motivation then was fear. Fear of judgment through chastisement. Now we would like to look at the motivation during the earthly ministry of Christ.
During the earthly ministry of Christ we can see that the motivation of giving was not being blessed. They were to give or they would not receive blessings. In Matthew 19:21-22 Christ tells the rich young ruler to sell all of his possessions. Not to see where his heart lies, but rather because the tribulation period was supposed to take place at any time. The Kingdom of Heaven was at hand, and the only thing that was to take place before the Kingdom of Heaven could be revealed was the 7-year tribulation period. We also see this in Luke 12:32-33, the nation of Israel was told to "sell that ye have" and in Matthew 19:27-29 they are told that those who forsake all shall receive 100-fold back. In Acts 2:44-45 we see that this message of selling everything you have was still the norm and it is corroborated by the way they were living in Acts 4:34-35. They were living just as they were told to live. They were to sell everything they had and give to the poor, so they all would have all things common. Therefore, the giving during the earthly ministry of Christ and the early Acts period was 100% of everything. Why do preachers not preach that today? They like the blessings, they like the 100-fold, but they would be ran out of the church if they preached it the way Christ, and the twelve preached it. They were to give to receive. That was their motivation.
Contrariwise, our motivation today is the love and grace which was shown to us in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. II Corinthians 5:14 we see that the love of Christ is to be our motivator for EVERYTHING we do. We do not have to give to receive, because according to Ephesians 1:3, we have already been blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. There is nothing else for us to get. We are complete in Christ. We do not have to give a certain percent now, but we should give as we have been blessed. Once we get the full understanding of what Christ did for us on the cross, then our giving should resemble that sacrifice. II Corinthians 9:6-7, we see that we should carefully and prayerfully consider the amount we should give. We should not be so focused on what we are doing on this earth. Colossians 3:1-2 is something we should keep in our thought process, because there are too many in the church today that have their roots so deep here on earth that they can not be bothered with our heavenly blessings, and heavenly hope. It is by grace that we should consider our giving. We read in II Corinthians 8:1-5 that Paul wants the church at Corinth to see the manner in which the church of Macedonia was giving and the grace that was bestowed upon them.
The true liberality we have today is a key feature which is missing in the pulpits today.
Grace and Peace
Greg Resor
Complete in Him
During the earthly ministry of Christ we can see that the motivation of giving was not being blessed. They were to give or they would not receive blessings. In Matthew 19:21-22 Christ tells the rich young ruler to sell all of his possessions. Not to see where his heart lies, but rather because the tribulation period was supposed to take place at any time. The Kingdom of Heaven was at hand, and the only thing that was to take place before the Kingdom of Heaven could be revealed was the 7-year tribulation period. We also see this in Luke 12:32-33, the nation of Israel was told to "sell that ye have" and in Matthew 19:27-29 they are told that those who forsake all shall receive 100-fold back. In Acts 2:44-45 we see that this message of selling everything you have was still the norm and it is corroborated by the way they were living in Acts 4:34-35. They were living just as they were told to live. They were to sell everything they had and give to the poor, so they all would have all things common. Therefore, the giving during the earthly ministry of Christ and the early Acts period was 100% of everything. Why do preachers not preach that today? They like the blessings, they like the 100-fold, but they would be ran out of the church if they preached it the way Christ, and the twelve preached it. They were to give to receive. That was their motivation.
Contrariwise, our motivation today is the love and grace which was shown to us in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. II Corinthians 5:14 we see that the love of Christ is to be our motivator for EVERYTHING we do. We do not have to give to receive, because according to Ephesians 1:3, we have already been blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. There is nothing else for us to get. We are complete in Christ. We do not have to give a certain percent now, but we should give as we have been blessed. Once we get the full understanding of what Christ did for us on the cross, then our giving should resemble that sacrifice. II Corinthians 9:6-7, we see that we should carefully and prayerfully consider the amount we should give. We should not be so focused on what we are doing on this earth. Colossians 3:1-2 is something we should keep in our thought process, because there are too many in the church today that have their roots so deep here on earth that they can not be bothered with our heavenly blessings, and heavenly hope. It is by grace that we should consider our giving. We read in II Corinthians 8:1-5 that Paul wants the church at Corinth to see the manner in which the church of Macedonia was giving and the grace that was bestowed upon them.
The true liberality we have today is a key feature which is missing in the pulpits today.
Grace and Peace
Greg Resor
Complete in Him
Saturday, August 11, 2012
How Much Money Should We Give? Part 1
The motivation for us to give today is not fear of punishment from God, but rather the love of Christ constrains us to give as we have been blessed. (II Corinthians 5:14)
How have we been blessed?
We have been blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. (Ephesians 1:3) We have been given eternal life simply by trusting in the work of Jesus Christ, we have been given everything we need to live our lives to glorify God, and we have been made complete in Christ.
How shall we not give a small portion of our money to the ministry of reconciliation?
So the question remains, how much should we give?
Many say, "You must tithe! That means you must give God 10% of your income." Then they go on to quote verses in Deuteronomy and Leviticus, among others. However, there are many things in those same passages they do not force their congregation to uphold. Why is one verse to be followed, but the one before it is not to be followed? I find it curious.
To tithe means to give a tenth. However, there are many tithes to be found in the Old Testament scriptures. There are actually three tithes. In fact, a member of the Nation of Israel was to give a total of 23 1/3 percent of the increase of their income, livestock, and the fruits of their fields. This included everything, not just money. Why do these "preachers" not ask for 23 1/3 % of everything? I find this curious.
Enough talk about what we are not supposed to do, let us spend our time looking at what we are allowed to do, now that we are set free from the bondage of the law and the commandments therein.
We have spoken of our motivation, now let us look at what we should do.
Let us look at how Paul uses a church as a model of giving to teach the fleshly living, childish Corinthians.
II Corinthians 8:1-5 Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.
We can read here the brethren in Macadonia were going through much affliction and were living in deep poverty, but were abundant in joy and grace. Yet they were willing to give to Paul and Titus and to take upon themselves the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. They were willing to give out of their poverty, because they knew they were rich in grace and in their liberality because of the gospel. They knew of this grace and liberality and wanted others to know about it as well, that is why they chose to give. They knew the motivation was one of love, not fear. It was one of grace, not commandment. The brethren in Macedonia knew of their spiritual blessings and wanted to help spread the word about the liberty Christ gives.
To be continued ...
Grace and Peace
Greg Resor
Complete in Him
How have we been blessed?
We have been blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. (Ephesians 1:3) We have been given eternal life simply by trusting in the work of Jesus Christ, we have been given everything we need to live our lives to glorify God, and we have been made complete in Christ.
How shall we not give a small portion of our money to the ministry of reconciliation?
So the question remains, how much should we give?
Many say, "You must tithe! That means you must give God 10% of your income." Then they go on to quote verses in Deuteronomy and Leviticus, among others. However, there are many things in those same passages they do not force their congregation to uphold. Why is one verse to be followed, but the one before it is not to be followed? I find it curious.
To tithe means to give a tenth. However, there are many tithes to be found in the Old Testament scriptures. There are actually three tithes. In fact, a member of the Nation of Israel was to give a total of 23 1/3 percent of the increase of their income, livestock, and the fruits of their fields. This included everything, not just money. Why do these "preachers" not ask for 23 1/3 % of everything? I find this curious.
Enough talk about what we are not supposed to do, let us spend our time looking at what we are allowed to do, now that we are set free from the bondage of the law and the commandments therein.
We have spoken of our motivation, now let us look at what we should do.
Let us look at how Paul uses a church as a model of giving to teach the fleshly living, childish Corinthians.
II Corinthians 8:1-5 Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.
We can read here the brethren in Macadonia were going through much affliction and were living in deep poverty, but were abundant in joy and grace. Yet they were willing to give to Paul and Titus and to take upon themselves the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. They were willing to give out of their poverty, because they knew they were rich in grace and in their liberality because of the gospel. They knew of this grace and liberality and wanted others to know about it as well, that is why they chose to give. They knew the motivation was one of love, not fear. It was one of grace, not commandment. The brethren in Macedonia knew of their spiritual blessings and wanted to help spread the word about the liberty Christ gives.
To be continued ...
Grace and Peace
Greg Resor
Complete in Him
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
How To Deal With Sin ... Rest!
Many today struggle with sin in their lives because of bad doctrine which has made its way into pulpits and into messages. How much should we remember the "true" history of the church, Body of Christ. Recently, I have become extremely interested in the history of the church, not the false, institutionalized version, but rather the true version. The true version is hid by those who perpetrate the institutionalized verson. One of the great pioneers of the pure doctrine of how sin has been dealt with is C. H. Mackintosh.
In an article he had written, "The All-Sufficiency of Christ", he was able to put into words what Christ was able to accomplish on the cross of calvary the way I read and have taught for years. He uses more elequent wording than I can and yet he explains things clearly and concisely, so much so, that any novice reader will be able to come to a fuller understanding and appreciation for the cross work. Not only will the understanding be clear, but the application of the truth will revolutionize the readers life. I have some excerpts which I find fascinating and quite refreshing.
"If God has satisfied Himself about my sins, I may well be satisfied also."
WOW! How many denominations would no longer exist if we all could rest in this truth? If God has settled the sin issue in His way, then who are we to say that we still need to deal with sin in our lives? God has declared us righteous and we are no longer under the power of sin, nor the penalty of sin. How wonderful the Grace of God?
"We cannot possibly behold by faith the Man who was nailed to the tree, now crowned on the throne, and not have peace with God. The Lord Jesus Christ, having taken upon Himself our sins, and the judgment due to them, He could not be where He now is if a single one of those sins remained unatoned for. To see the sin-bearer crowned with glory is to see our sins gone for ever from the divine presence. Where are our sins? They are all obliterated. How do we know this? The One who took them all upon Himself has passed through the heavens to the very highest pinnacle of glory. Eternal justice has wreathed His blessed brow with a diadem of glory, as the Accomplisher of our redemption — the Bearer of our sins; thus proving, beyond all question, or possibility of a question, that our sins are all put away out of God's sight for ever. A crowned Christ, and a clear conscience, are, in the blessed economy of grace, inseparably linked together. Wondrous fact! Well may we chant with all our ransomed powers the praises of redeeming love."
There really is nothing I can add to this passage. How elegantly does Mackintosh relay the wonderful message of our sins forgiven through the cross work of Christ and the resurrection afterward?
"But we have farther testimony on this grand fundamental truth. In Hebrews 1 we read such soul-stirring words as these: "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners [or in divers measures and modes] spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by [His] Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." Our Lord Christ, blessed be His name, would not take His seat on the throne of God, until he had, by the offering of Himself on the cross, purged our sins. Hence a risen Christ at God's right hand is the glorious and unanswerable proof that our sins are all gone, for He could not be where He now is if a single one of those sins remained. God raised from the dead the selfsame Man on whom He Himself had laid the full weight of our sins. Thus all is settled — divinely, eternally settled. It is as impossible that a single sin can be found on the very weakest believer in Jesus, as on Jesus Himself. This is a wonderful thing to be able to say, but it is the solid truth of God, established in manifold places in holy scripture; and the soul that believes it must possess a peace which the world can neither give nor take away."
Once again, not much I can add.
"This is the proper breathing of a Christian. "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." This is Christianity. The old "I "crucified, and Christ living in me. The Christian is a new creation. Old things are passed away. The death of Christ has closed for ever the history of the old "I;" and hence, though sin dwells in the believer, its power is broken and gone for ever. Not only is its guilt cancelled, but its terrible dominion completely overthrown.
This is the glorious doctrine of Romans 6-8. The thoughtful student of this most magnificent epistle will observe that, from Rom. 3: 21 to Rom. 5: 11, we have the work of Christ applied to the question of sins. And, from chapter 5: 12 to the end of chapter 8. we have another aspect of that work, namely, its application to the question of sin — "our old man" — "the body of sin" — "sin in the flesh." There is no such thing in scripture as the forgiveness of sin. God has condemned sin, not forgiven it — an immensely important distinction. God has set forth His eternal abhorrence of sin, in the cross of Christ. He has expressed and executed His judgment upon it; and now the believer can see himself as linked and identified with the One who died on the cross, and is raised from the dead. He has passed out of the sphere of sin's dominion into that new and blessed sphere where grace reigns through righteousness. "God be thanked," says the apostle, "that ye were [once, but now no longer are to be] the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that type of doctrine to which ye were delivered. (Margin.) Being then made free from sin [not merely sins forgiven], ye became the servants of righteousness. I speak after the manner of men, because of the infirmity of your flesh; for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness, unto holiness. For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life." Romans 6: 17-22.
Here lies the precious secret of holy living. We are dead to sin; alive to God. The reign of sin is over. What has sin to do with a dead man? Nothing. Well, then, the believer has died with Christ; he was buried with Christ; he is risen with Christ, to walk in newness of life. He lives under the precious reign of grace, and he has his fruit unto holiness. The man who draws a plea from the abundance of divine grace to live in sin, denies the very foundation of Christianity. "How shall we that have died to sin, live any longer therein?" Impossible. It would be a denial of the whole Christian standing. To imagine the Christian as one who is to go on, from day to day, week to week, month to month, and year to year, sinning and repenting, sinning and repenting, is to degrade Christianity and falsify the whole Christian position. To say that a Christian must go on sinning because he has the flesh in him is to ignore the death of Christ in one of its grand aspects, and to give the lie to the whole of the apostle's teaching in Romans 6-8. Thank God, there is no necessity whatever why the believer should commit sin. "My little children, these things write I unto you that ye sin not." We should not justify ourselves in a single sinful thought. It is our sweet privilege to walk in the light, as God is in the light; and, most surely, when we are walking in the light, we are not committing sin. Alas! we get out of the light and commit sin; but the normal, the true, the divine idea of a Christian is, walking in the light, and not committing sin. A sinful thought is foreign to the true genius of Christianity. We have sin in us, and shall have it so long as we are in the body: but if we walk in the Spirit, the sin in our nature will not show itself in the life. To say that we need not sin, is to state a Christian privilege; to say that we cannot sin is a deceit and a delusion."
This man was able to put into words what many before him, many after him, and very few now understand from Scripture what it means to live the Christian life. If you would like to read the article in its entirety, you may follow this link. "The All-Sufficiency of Christ"
Greg Resor
Complete in Him
In an article he had written, "The All-Sufficiency of Christ", he was able to put into words what Christ was able to accomplish on the cross of calvary the way I read and have taught for years. He uses more elequent wording than I can and yet he explains things clearly and concisely, so much so, that any novice reader will be able to come to a fuller understanding and appreciation for the cross work. Not only will the understanding be clear, but the application of the truth will revolutionize the readers life. I have some excerpts which I find fascinating and quite refreshing.
"If God has satisfied Himself about my sins, I may well be satisfied also."
WOW! How many denominations would no longer exist if we all could rest in this truth? If God has settled the sin issue in His way, then who are we to say that we still need to deal with sin in our lives? God has declared us righteous and we are no longer under the power of sin, nor the penalty of sin. How wonderful the Grace of God?
"We cannot possibly behold by faith the Man who was nailed to the tree, now crowned on the throne, and not have peace with God. The Lord Jesus Christ, having taken upon Himself our sins, and the judgment due to them, He could not be where He now is if a single one of those sins remained unatoned for. To see the sin-bearer crowned with glory is to see our sins gone for ever from the divine presence. Where are our sins? They are all obliterated. How do we know this? The One who took them all upon Himself has passed through the heavens to the very highest pinnacle of glory. Eternal justice has wreathed His blessed brow with a diadem of glory, as the Accomplisher of our redemption — the Bearer of our sins; thus proving, beyond all question, or possibility of a question, that our sins are all put away out of God's sight for ever. A crowned Christ, and a clear conscience, are, in the blessed economy of grace, inseparably linked together. Wondrous fact! Well may we chant with all our ransomed powers the praises of redeeming love."
There really is nothing I can add to this passage. How elegantly does Mackintosh relay the wonderful message of our sins forgiven through the cross work of Christ and the resurrection afterward?
"But we have farther testimony on this grand fundamental truth. In Hebrews 1 we read such soul-stirring words as these: "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners [or in divers measures and modes] spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by [His] Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." Our Lord Christ, blessed be His name, would not take His seat on the throne of God, until he had, by the offering of Himself on the cross, purged our sins. Hence a risen Christ at God's right hand is the glorious and unanswerable proof that our sins are all gone, for He could not be where He now is if a single one of those sins remained. God raised from the dead the selfsame Man on whom He Himself had laid the full weight of our sins. Thus all is settled — divinely, eternally settled. It is as impossible that a single sin can be found on the very weakest believer in Jesus, as on Jesus Himself. This is a wonderful thing to be able to say, but it is the solid truth of God, established in manifold places in holy scripture; and the soul that believes it must possess a peace which the world can neither give nor take away."
Once again, not much I can add.
"This is the proper breathing of a Christian. "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." This is Christianity. The old "I "crucified, and Christ living in me. The Christian is a new creation. Old things are passed away. The death of Christ has closed for ever the history of the old "I;" and hence, though sin dwells in the believer, its power is broken and gone for ever. Not only is its guilt cancelled, but its terrible dominion completely overthrown.
This is the glorious doctrine of Romans 6-8. The thoughtful student of this most magnificent epistle will observe that, from Rom. 3: 21 to Rom. 5: 11, we have the work of Christ applied to the question of sins. And, from chapter 5: 12 to the end of chapter 8. we have another aspect of that work, namely, its application to the question of sin — "our old man" — "the body of sin" — "sin in the flesh." There is no such thing in scripture as the forgiveness of sin. God has condemned sin, not forgiven it — an immensely important distinction. God has set forth His eternal abhorrence of sin, in the cross of Christ. He has expressed and executed His judgment upon it; and now the believer can see himself as linked and identified with the One who died on the cross, and is raised from the dead. He has passed out of the sphere of sin's dominion into that new and blessed sphere where grace reigns through righteousness. "God be thanked," says the apostle, "that ye were [once, but now no longer are to be] the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that type of doctrine to which ye were delivered. (Margin.) Being then made free from sin [not merely sins forgiven], ye became the servants of righteousness. I speak after the manner of men, because of the infirmity of your flesh; for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness, unto holiness. For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life." Romans 6: 17-22.
Here lies the precious secret of holy living. We are dead to sin; alive to God. The reign of sin is over. What has sin to do with a dead man? Nothing. Well, then, the believer has died with Christ; he was buried with Christ; he is risen with Christ, to walk in newness of life. He lives under the precious reign of grace, and he has his fruit unto holiness. The man who draws a plea from the abundance of divine grace to live in sin, denies the very foundation of Christianity. "How shall we that have died to sin, live any longer therein?" Impossible. It would be a denial of the whole Christian standing. To imagine the Christian as one who is to go on, from day to day, week to week, month to month, and year to year, sinning and repenting, sinning and repenting, is to degrade Christianity and falsify the whole Christian position. To say that a Christian must go on sinning because he has the flesh in him is to ignore the death of Christ in one of its grand aspects, and to give the lie to the whole of the apostle's teaching in Romans 6-8. Thank God, there is no necessity whatever why the believer should commit sin. "My little children, these things write I unto you that ye sin not." We should not justify ourselves in a single sinful thought. It is our sweet privilege to walk in the light, as God is in the light; and, most surely, when we are walking in the light, we are not committing sin. Alas! we get out of the light and commit sin; but the normal, the true, the divine idea of a Christian is, walking in the light, and not committing sin. A sinful thought is foreign to the true genius of Christianity. We have sin in us, and shall have it so long as we are in the body: but if we walk in the Spirit, the sin in our nature will not show itself in the life. To say that we need not sin, is to state a Christian privilege; to say that we cannot sin is a deceit and a delusion."
This man was able to put into words what many before him, many after him, and very few now understand from Scripture what it means to live the Christian life. If you would like to read the article in its entirety, you may follow this link. "The All-Sufficiency of Christ"
Greg Resor
Complete in Him
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Looking For That Blessed Hope
As we sit here today, seeing all of the things going on around us, we should take note of the truth that this is not all we have to look forward to. Many times we get caught up in the things of this world all too easily. Whether it is something as small as a dent in our car door, or as large as the death of a loved one, we should be able to comfort one another with verses of scripture like the one found in Titus 2.
Titus 2:13, "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;"
We have something in our future that is not worthy to be compared with the things of this world, as Paul tells us in Romans chapter 8. We must be constantly looking toward that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of Jesus Christ. Notice the underlined word in the previous statement, and. Did you realize that the blessed hope is something different than the glorious appearing of Jesus Christ? The glorious appearing is something added to the blessed hope. The blessed hope we are looking for is that of eternal life. How are we able to look for it? We know that we have eternal life as a present possession, as a positional truth. However, the actual transaction of the putting on of our eternal bodies at the catching away of the church does coincide with the glorious appearing. In a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, we shall all be changed. We shall put on incorruption and immortality. We shall then go to the judgment seat of Christ and then on to our places of governmental authority.
What a day that will be, when my Jesus I shall see.
When I look upon His face, the One who saved me by His grace.
When He takes me by the hand, and leads me to my home in Heav'n
What a day, glorious day, that will be.
The appearing of Jesus Christ on that day will be a glory unlike anything ever witnessed before, except for the unprophesied return of Christ in the air to speak to Saul of Tarsus. The Dispensation of the Grace of God will end in the same fashion as it began. An unprophesied return of Christ in the air, where only those with which He has to do will notice. There are many today who have the physical return of Christ to the earth and the return of Christ in the air to catch up the Body of Christ to be the exact same event, when they are not. Christ will return twice. The first, He will stop in the air to catch away the Church, the Body of Christ. The second, He will set His feet on the Mount of Olives to bring the Tribulation period to a close. The return of Christ for the Body of Christ will not be the spectacular event that most of Christendom expects it to be. There will not be millions of people disappearing on that day. There will be a much smaller number as there are many who have not trusted the correct Gospel for their salvation. Asking Jesus to take away your sins and live in your heart does not save anyone; yesterday, today, or ever. There is only one Gospel that you can trust in to know you have sins forgiven and life eternal. That Gospel is found in I Corinthians 15:1-4.
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
It is simply by placing your faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. That is all you have to do. You do not have to walk an aisle, pray a prayer, or twiddle your thumbs. Simply rest in what Christ accomplished for you.
Greg Resor
Complete in Him
Titus 2:13, "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;"
We have something in our future that is not worthy to be compared with the things of this world, as Paul tells us in Romans chapter 8. We must be constantly looking toward that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of Jesus Christ. Notice the underlined word in the previous statement, and. Did you realize that the blessed hope is something different than the glorious appearing of Jesus Christ? The glorious appearing is something added to the blessed hope. The blessed hope we are looking for is that of eternal life. How are we able to look for it? We know that we have eternal life as a present possession, as a positional truth. However, the actual transaction of the putting on of our eternal bodies at the catching away of the church does coincide with the glorious appearing. In a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, we shall all be changed. We shall put on incorruption and immortality. We shall then go to the judgment seat of Christ and then on to our places of governmental authority.
What a day that will be, when my Jesus I shall see.
When I look upon His face, the One who saved me by His grace.
When He takes me by the hand, and leads me to my home in Heav'n
What a day, glorious day, that will be.
The appearing of Jesus Christ on that day will be a glory unlike anything ever witnessed before, except for the unprophesied return of Christ in the air to speak to Saul of Tarsus. The Dispensation of the Grace of God will end in the same fashion as it began. An unprophesied return of Christ in the air, where only those with which He has to do will notice. There are many today who have the physical return of Christ to the earth and the return of Christ in the air to catch up the Body of Christ to be the exact same event, when they are not. Christ will return twice. The first, He will stop in the air to catch away the Church, the Body of Christ. The second, He will set His feet on the Mount of Olives to bring the Tribulation period to a close. The return of Christ for the Body of Christ will not be the spectacular event that most of Christendom expects it to be. There will not be millions of people disappearing on that day. There will be a much smaller number as there are many who have not trusted the correct Gospel for their salvation. Asking Jesus to take away your sins and live in your heart does not save anyone; yesterday, today, or ever. There is only one Gospel that you can trust in to know you have sins forgiven and life eternal. That Gospel is found in I Corinthians 15:1-4.
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
It is simply by placing your faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. That is all you have to do. You do not have to walk an aisle, pray a prayer, or twiddle your thumbs. Simply rest in what Christ accomplished for you.
Greg Resor
Complete in Him
Monday, July 2, 2012
Earthly Minded Much?
Recently, I have received a large number of updates from many of my Facebook "friends" suggesting that America is no longer a "Christian" country. Many have become noticeably upset to the point of posting many things on their Facebook page that I find questionable and saddening. They use language that I abhor and they are constantly worried about what this means for the country and the world. I am not a proponent of speaking about government issues from pulpits because religion and government should be kept separate. The only governmental authority we should be concerned with is that of the heavenly government we will rule and reign in with Christ in the future.
You have heard of the saying, "You are so heavenly minded that you are of no earthly good." Amen, praise God. That is how we should be. However, there are many today who are so earthly minded, they are of no heavenly good.
I know where this comes from for many of "Christendom", but grace believers should know better. The reason most "Christians" are so upset with the recent Supreme Court ruling is because they have been taught that they will reign on earth with the Twelve Apostles in New Jerusalem, which is not so. Grace believers know this and should not be so flustered when fallen men make fallen decisions.
Rather, we should look at this, shake our heads and move on. God has a plan and in that plan He is using the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ to reconcile the universe unto Himself. That does not mean everyone, including Satan, will be saved. No! That means God planned before the foundation of the world, that He would gather all things together in Christ, things above, and things below, things in heaven and things on earth, things invisible and things visible. God has a plan and many today are so earthly minded, that they will be of no heavenly good.
Greg Resor
Complete in Him
You have heard of the saying, "You are so heavenly minded that you are of no earthly good." Amen, praise God. That is how we should be. However, there are many today who are so earthly minded, they are of no heavenly good.
I know where this comes from for many of "Christendom", but grace believers should know better. The reason most "Christians" are so upset with the recent Supreme Court ruling is because they have been taught that they will reign on earth with the Twelve Apostles in New Jerusalem, which is not so. Grace believers know this and should not be so flustered when fallen men make fallen decisions.
Rather, we should look at this, shake our heads and move on. God has a plan and in that plan He is using the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ to reconcile the universe unto Himself. That does not mean everyone, including Satan, will be saved. No! That means God planned before the foundation of the world, that He would gather all things together in Christ, things above, and things below, things in heaven and things on earth, things invisible and things visible. God has a plan and many today are so earthly minded, that they will be of no heavenly good.
Greg Resor
Complete in Him
Monday, June 18, 2012
Not by Works of Righteousness or Unrighteousness
You have probably been one of the many who have recently heard about, read about, or saw the story of the "Zombie" attack in Florida. This type of thing only leads to certain questions. One of which I was faced with just days after this horrific event. That question being, "Since the guy was not in his right frame of mind, because of drugs, would he still go to Hell when he died that day?" The short answer is ... maybe.
Why, maybe? Without knowing this man personally it is hard to say whether he went to Heaven or Hell. God has already dealt with our sins, even that one, on the cross of Calvary and therefore the actual act of cannibalism is not the deciding factor of his eternal placement in Heaven or Hell. It all hinges on the fact of whether he accepted the work of Jesus Christ on the Cross. Did he at any time in his life place his trust in I Corinthians 15:1-4? That is the basis of salvation, that is the basis of our eternal placement. If he did not place his trust in that work and that work alone, then he is anguishing in Hell right now.
Many may disagree with my statement above, but that is fine. They can be wrong if they choose to.
Many may say that I preach easy believism, which is not even a word. That is fine. What part of Jesus Christ suffering on the cross for your sins and mine was easy? What part of His rejection and separation from His father was easy? The answer to both questions is, none. God is showing forth all longsuffering and mercy today through the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.
Many may say that if they believed like I do, then they would go kill, steal, and destroy. My answer to that is simply, if you believe the way I do, then you would study your Bible (rightly divided of course), apply God's Word to your everyday life, and live the way you are supposed to. You would be a Bible believer who applies God word properly. One who is resting in the finished work of Christ. If you believed as I do, then you choose not to sin at all, but rather live appropriately in the Dispensation of Grace.
We are not saved by our works of righteousness nor are we condemned by our works of unrighteousness. We are already condemned to live in Hell for eternity. Our eternal home is dependent upon where we place our faith; in ourselves to work continually, or in Christ's finished work. If you place your faith in working to get out of Hell, you will never get out; contrariwise, if you place your faith in the finished work of Christ, then you are automatically placed in Christ and you have a place in Heaven for sure. At the moment of trusting in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, you are placed into Christ by the baptism by the Spirit, you are blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places and many other tremendously wonderful things.
You can know FOR SURE where you will spend eternity.
Do not leave this world without having these questions answered.
If you died right now, where would you go?
Upon what, would you base your answer?
Place your faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ today.
Why, maybe? Without knowing this man personally it is hard to say whether he went to Heaven or Hell. God has already dealt with our sins, even that one, on the cross of Calvary and therefore the actual act of cannibalism is not the deciding factor of his eternal placement in Heaven or Hell. It all hinges on the fact of whether he accepted the work of Jesus Christ on the Cross. Did he at any time in his life place his trust in I Corinthians 15:1-4? That is the basis of salvation, that is the basis of our eternal placement. If he did not place his trust in that work and that work alone, then he is anguishing in Hell right now.
Many may disagree with my statement above, but that is fine. They can be wrong if they choose to.
Many may say that I preach easy believism, which is not even a word. That is fine. What part of Jesus Christ suffering on the cross for your sins and mine was easy? What part of His rejection and separation from His father was easy? The answer to both questions is, none. God is showing forth all longsuffering and mercy today through the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.
Many may say that if they believed like I do, then they would go kill, steal, and destroy. My answer to that is simply, if you believe the way I do, then you would study your Bible (rightly divided of course), apply God's Word to your everyday life, and live the way you are supposed to. You would be a Bible believer who applies God word properly. One who is resting in the finished work of Christ. If you believed as I do, then you choose not to sin at all, but rather live appropriately in the Dispensation of Grace.
We are not saved by our works of righteousness nor are we condemned by our works of unrighteousness. We are already condemned to live in Hell for eternity. Our eternal home is dependent upon where we place our faith; in ourselves to work continually, or in Christ's finished work. If you place your faith in working to get out of Hell, you will never get out; contrariwise, if you place your faith in the finished work of Christ, then you are automatically placed in Christ and you have a place in Heaven for sure. At the moment of trusting in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, you are placed into Christ by the baptism by the Spirit, you are blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places and many other tremendously wonderful things.
You can know FOR SURE where you will spend eternity.
Do not leave this world without having these questions answered.
If you died right now, where would you go?
Upon what, would you base your answer?
Place your faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ today.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)