1st Corinthians 1:1-3—Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God…with all who in every place call on the name ofJesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father andthe Lord Jesus Christ.
1st Corinthians 1:4-10—I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him…so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation ofour Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son,Jesus Christ our Lord. Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name ofour Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
1st Corinthians 2:7-8—But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucifiedthe Lord of glory.
For a long time I struggled with the second chapter of the letter of James. I had great difficulty reconciling what James was saying with the rest of Scripture. I would listen intently to any preacher who was expositing this chapter of James for an explanation but their answers never seemed to satisfy me regarding the seemingly irreconcilable views James taught.
I know that I was not alone in this quandary as I’ve often heard the declaration that when it comes to the issue of justification, “James contradicts Paul.”
The most vocal proponents of James’ alleged doctrine that faith and works are required for justification are known as the works-righteousness crowd. (Think: Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and Roman Catholics.)
Whenever the subject of justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone comes up, these groups immediately run to James chapter two as their proof-text that you must do your part in conjunction with God’s part in order to bring about your redemption.
And granted, they do make a convincing argument, for it appears that’s precisely what James is saying. However, the opposing argument (faith alone through grace alone) can be made with equal tenacity based on a plethora of Paul’s teaching.
In relation to the totality of all of Scripture, this polemic goes beyond just Paul and James, but the gist of the debate can be summed up most succinctly by the following two verses:
James:
“You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.” – James 2:24
Paul:
“For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.” – Romans 3:28
These two axioms really only leave us with three possible options:
A). James is teaching that salvation is by faith and works (and conversely, so is Paul).
B). Paul is teaching salvation is by faith apart from works (and conversely, so is James).
C). The two men contradict one another and thus, the Bible contradicts itself.
If “C” is the answer to this dilemma, then the Bible is worthy of the trash heap and we should all get together to eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.
For those of us who understand that “C” is not a viable option, we’re only left with options “A” and “B.” So, to determine which is the correct interpretation we must resort to the old practice of letting Scripture interpret Scripture.
In this post I will attempt to prove—in eight points—that not only do James and Paul agree that salvation is by faith apart from works (i.e. alone), but that if James is actually teaching that your obedience to the law and/or your practicing of good works contributes to your salvation, then he would not only be contradicting Paul, but he would also be contradicting himself!
I blush today to think about the religious fodder that is now being handed out to children. There was a day when they sat around as the fire crackled in the hearth and listened to a serious but kindly old grandfather read Pilgrim’s Progress, and the young Canadian and the young American grew up knowing all about Mr. Facing-Both-Ways and all the rest of that gang. And now we read cheap junk that ought to be shoveled out and gotten rid of.
I have an old Methodist hymnal that rolled off the press 111 years ago and I found forty-nine hymns on the attributes of God in it. I have heard it said that we shouldn’t sing hymns with so much theology because people’s minds are different now. We think differently now. Did you know that those Methodist hymns were sung mostly by uneducated people? They were farmers and sheep herders and cattle ranchers, coal miners and blacksmiths, carpenters and cotton pickers—plain people all over this continent. They sang those songs. There are over 1,100 hymns in that hymnbook of mine and there isn’t a cheap one in the whole bunch.
Our fathers sang “O God, Our Help in Ages Past,” and we sing junk.
Romans 1:1-3—Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His SonJesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh.
Romans 1:7—To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father andthe Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 4:23-24—Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised upJesus our Lordfrom the dead.
Romans 5:1—Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God throughour Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:11—And not only that, but we also rejoice in God throughour Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
You will be shocked–SHOCKED!!–at who was one of the earliest promoters of “Lordship Salvation”. That is, the fact that if one is a Christian, they will grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, and their lives will be marked by repentance and good works. Not works leading to salvation, but rather works springing from salvation.
Faith, let us remember, is the root, and assurance is the flower. Doubtless you can never have the flower without the root; but it is no less certain you may have the root and not the flower.
Faith is that poor trembling woman who came behind Jesus in the press and touched His garment. (Mark 5:27) Assurance is Stephen standing calmly in the midst of his murderers, and saying, “I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:5-6)
Faith is the penitent thief, crying, “Lord, remember me.” (Luke 23:42) Assurance is Job, sitting in the dust, covered with sores, and saying, “I know that my Redeemer liveth.” (Job 19:25) “Though He slay me, yet I will trust in Him.” (Job 13:15)
Faith is Peter’s drowning cry as he began to sink, “Lord, save me.” (Matthew 14:30) Assurance is that same Peter declaring before the Council in after-times, “This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:11-12)
Faith is the anxious, trembling voice, “Lord, I believe: help Thou mine unbelief.” (Mark 9:24) Assurance is the confident challenge, “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? Who is he that condemeth?” (Romans 8:33-34)
Faith is Saul praying in the house of Judas at Damascus, sorrowful, blind, and alone. (Acts 9:11) Assurance is Paul, the aged prisoner, looking calmly into the grave, and saying, “I know whom I have believed. There is a crown laid up for me.” (2 Timothy 1:12, 4:8)
All the “Easy-Believers®” who want to toss men like John MacArthur and Paul Washer under the bus for teaching that the life of a true Christian will be radically different from a Non-Christian because the believer’s life will be marked by repentance from sin, obedience to Christ, and “fruits worthy of repentance”–these “Easy-Believers®” will also have to consign the great Puritan preacher Jonathan Edwards to the same fate.
Next in this series, we look through the Book of Acts to see that Jesus is declared to be “Lord” there. The clearest examples are placed first, here:
Acts 2:34-36—“For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: ‘The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”‘ Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus…both Lord and Christ.”
Acts 10:36-37—“The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ—He is Lord of all—that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached.”
————————————————————————————-
The apostles of Christ refer to Him as “Lord”
Acts 1:4-6—And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father,“which,”He said,“you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
Acts 15:25-26—“It seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Peter
Acts 1:21-22—“Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”
Acts 2:16, 20-21—“But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:…’The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved.'”
Acts 11:16-17—“Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?”
Acts 15:11—“But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.”
What’s one of the first things a Mormon or Jehovah’s Witness says when you point out the plethora of false prophecies uttered by their leaders?
“Well, Jonah was a false prophet!”
As if Jonah being a false prophet would somehow give their leaders license to make as many false prophecies as they desire.
But did Jonah prophesy falsely? Or is this just one more example of an attack on God’s word by those lacking even the basic understanding of proper biblical hermeneutics in an effort to drive your attention away from their respective men behind the curtains?
The following piece by Hank Hanegraaf (regardless how you feel about him) quickly, succinctly, and conclusively destroys the shallow argument that Jonah was a false prophet, and it sends those wishing to trample on Scripture (in their pursuit to justify their false leaders) back to the drawing board to search for better proof texts.
THE PROPHET JONAH- Introduction
You wouldn’t normally expect Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and skeptics to agree on much of anything. Yet all three share a similar opinion regarding, of all things, the Book of Jonah. Can you guess what it is? The CRI Perspective in a moment.
THE PROPHET JONAH- False Prophet?
Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and skeptics all agree that Jonah uttered a false prophecy when he proclaimed, “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown” (Jonah 3:4). But, of course, Nineveh repented and was therefore not overthrown. Skeptics often refer to this as a clear example of false prophecy in the Bible. Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons claim this unfulfilled prophecy provides biblical precedent for the unfulfilled predictions of their own religious leaders. These arguments, however, are seriously flawed. Let me tell you why.
THE PROPHET JONAH- First…
First of all, Jonah did not make a mistake; he said exactly what God told him to say (Jonah 3:1). The Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons, on the other hand, do not claim that their predictions were exactly what God wanted said. Even they agree that any error is the fault of men, and not God. Therefore, Jonah is irrelevant to their case. Yet they want their teachings to be regarded with the same authority as that of biblical prophets!
THE PROPHET JONAH- Second…
Second, Jonah’s prophecy was not in error, because implied in the prophecy was a condition under which the predicted judgment would not take place. The Ninevites clearly understood what Jonah meant — namely, that their city would be overthrown unless they repented (Jonah 3:5-9). Since God spared Nineveh, obviously He meant the prophecy to be understood that way (Jonah 3:10). Even Jonah understood it that way, since he admitted in prayer that he knew God wanted to show mercy to the Ninevites (Jonah 4:1-2). So all of the parties involved — God, Jonah, and the Ninevites — understood that the prophecy was conditional.
THE PROPHET JONAH- Finally…
The same cannot be said for the erroneous predictions made by the Jehovah’s Witnesses or by the Mormon prophets. Their predictions were never understood to be conditional at all. Thus, Jonah’s prophecy gives no comfort to the false prophets of today. Nor was it a false prediction, as the skeptics wrongly claim. In fact, I like what the Bible says: “No prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:21 NIV).
On Jonah’s prophecy, that’s the CRI Perspective. I’m Hank Hanegraaff.
Part 1 of a new series, going through the Scriptures and showing that Jesus is not waiting for us to call Him Lord–“HE ALREADY IS!!”
Over the last few years, a growing heresy has crept into the church. It is the belief that you can get saved today, call upon Jesus as your Savior, and then, when you feel up to it, sometime down the road, you can give Him the privilege of confessing Him as Lord. Or not—it doesn’t matter! Whatever you want—it’s all about you! You may hear, in many churches, an appeal for the people to “Make Jesus Lord today!” That is about as heretical a statement as you will ever hear.
The people who teach this atrocious doctrine accuse us of linking salvation with works—as if confessing Jesus as Lord is a “work.” Whenever I hear these accusations I often wonder—“Why would they want to deny Jesus His rightful glory as Lord? Do they not want people to think that He is Lord?” What I hope you will take away from this series is the fact that if you want to be saved, you MUST confess that Jesus is Lord.
The overarching Scripture for this series is Romans 10:9 (ESV)—IF you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. What is the opposite of this statement? That if you don’t confess that Jesus is Lord, you will not be saved. It’s really that simple. Remember, these are not my words—this is what is clear from the Scriptures (unless you don’t want to believe the Scriptures).
The best place to start is in the Gospels themselves. We’re going to see that in the gospels that Jesus is declared to be Lord. In fact, Jesus is called “Lord” 124 times in the gospels alone. Granted, many of these are simply repeated in more than one gospel. But since it is the Holy Spirit who spoke to the writers, don’t you think that maybe God thinks this is a wee bit important?
So let’s begin, and see who it is that calls Jesus “Lord.”
Matthew 12:8, Mark 2:28, Luke 6:5—“For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
Matthew 21:2-3, Mark 11:3, Luke 19:30-31—“Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her…And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them…”
John 13:13—“You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for I am.”
Grab pen and paper and take the following ten-question quiz (formulated by Dr. J. Ronald Blue of Dallas Theological Seminary). How you do will determine whether you’re a Roman Catholic or a Christian.
Choose the position which is most true:
1:
A). God gives a man right standing with Himself by mercifully accounting him righteous.
B). God gives a man right standing with Himself by actually making him into a righteous person.
2:
A). God gives a man right standing with Himself by placing Christ’s goodness and virtue to his credit.
B). God gives a man right standing with Himself by putting Christ’s goodness and virtue into his heart.
3:
A). God accepts the believer because of the moral excellence found in Christ.
B). God makes a believer acceptable by infusing Christ’s moral excellence into his life.
4:
A). If a man becomes born again, he will achieve right standing with God.
B). If a sinner receives right standing with God, he will then experience a transformation of character and life.
5:
A). We receive right standing with God through faith alone.
B). We receive right standing with God by faith and love.
6:
A). We achieve right standing with God by having Christ live out His life of obedience in us.
B). We achieve right standing with God by receiving the truth that he obeyed the Law of God perfectly for us.
7:
A). We achieve right standing with God by following Christ’s example by the help of enabling grace.
B). We follow Christ’s example because His life has given us right standing with God.
8:
A). God first declares us good, and then His Spirit begins making us good.
B). God sends His Spirit to make us good, and then He will declare that we are good.
9:
A). Christ’s finished work on the cross and intercession at God’s right hand gives us favor in God’s sight.
B). It is the indwelling Christ that gives us favor in God’s sight.
10:
A). Only by the imputation of Christ’s righteousness can we fully satisfy the claims of the Ten Commandments.
B). By the power of the Holy Spirit living in us we can fully satisfy the claims of the Ten Commandments.
Bonus Question 1:
You get to Heaven by works: True or False
Bonus Question 2:
Our faith is the ground of our salvation: True or False
In the whole debate over “Lordship Salvation”, John MacArthur has had a big red target painted on him, and those who teach “easy-believism” have strung him up and flung him into the depths of Hell because of one paragraph of one book he wrote 7 years ago (“Hard To Believe”). See, the “easy-believer®” doesn’t want to hear the fact that if a person is saved, they will show evidence of their salvation through good works (even though the Holy Writ is clear in many places, such as James 2:14-24 and Ephesians 2:10) that believers are saved in order to perform good works–not that those good works save them. They are so focused on painting Johnny Mac as a heretic, that–well, why bother letting the facts get in the way?
Now, let me ask you this: who would give you a better and more accurate picture of what I believe–someone who heard me say something seven years ago–or someone who hears me teach every week, who knows me personally, and has heard me explain my beliefs over the last several years?
The same question can be asked of those who continue to bash Dr. MacArthur. Who would give you a better and more accurate picture of what he believes–someone who read one paragraph of one book written seven years ago–or someone who knows him personally, works with him every day, and in fact is the editor of most of Dr. MacArthur’s books?
Phil Johnson is the editor of Dr. MacArthur’s books, and is closer–much closer–to Dr. MacArthur than those who continue to smear Dr. MacArthur’s name with accusations based on a statement that Dr. MacArthur never made to begin with. The statement in question is:
Salvation isn’t the result of an intellectual exercise. It comes from a life lived in obedience and service to Christ as revealed in the Scripture; it’s the fruit of actions, not intentions.
Now, it certainly sounds like Dr. MacArthur is teaching salvation by works. But, here’s the kicker–Dr. MacArthur never wrote those words! Here is the explanation from Phil Johnson, posted over at Paleoevangelical (Phil Johnson’s words are in green, Lou Martuneac’s words are in blue, text pertaining to the revision is in purple)–
Is it necessary, for a person who is saved, to confess Jesus Christ as Lord? Well, the answer to that question is, of course–YES!! I have put together a couple videos, based on Romans 10:9-10, to show that if one desires to be saved, then confessing Christ as Lord is a necessary requirement.
There is a movement that has been around for quite some time now. It is based on the absurd belief that a person can be saved, even if they do not confess Jesus Christ as Lord. It is not new by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, John MacArthur preached a message on this very subject back in 1988. Allow me to share a couple of quotes from that message:
This view is so popular that recently when I was doing a Bible conference at one of the major Christian institutions in America, a man spoke to the student body every day for the week, as I did as well, he said to them, “The point at which you really become a disciple, the point at which you really make Christ Lord of your life usually comes some time in your thirties.” And I was shocked, to put it mildly, that he had just basically told a group of young people to put their spiritual commitment on hold until they reached their thirties. He was holding to a view that it’s enough to accept Jesus as Savior, take your forgiveness, take your guarantee of heaven and then live any way you want until you come to some crisis point, hopefully sooner than later, when you make Christ Lord.
I’ve had parents say to me, “I know my…my son is a homosexual. He has chosen that life style. I know my daughter has absolutely no regard for the things of Christ. But I know they were saved. I remember the time they made their decision.” Parents cling to this. Spouses may cling to this for their partner. Friends may cling to this for someone they love deeply. It conveys the idea that salvation is some momentary transaction that secures forever but doesn’t necessarily transform your life and does not involve acknowledging Jesus as Lord of your life and submitting your life to Him. That kind of thing is behind most contemporary evangelism. You listen, when do you hear someone say, “Are you willing to commit your life to following Jesus?” When do you hear someone say, “Are you willing to repent of your sin and bow your knee in submission to the Lordship of Christ?” “Are you willing to allow Jesus Christ to take over as King and ruler of your life?” What you hear is, “Accept Christ…receive Christ…make a decision for Christ.”
I watched a film this afternoon for the second time, I watched it a day ago because the first time I watched it I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It was sent out to our church. It was sent to me because it was to be distributed all across this entire country to every church that had an AWANA program. It was a film designed to instruct people how to lead someone to Christ. The film used some graphics, posed some questions and then asked if they were true or false. Let me tell you what some of the questions were and what the answer was.
In presenting the gospel, the narrator of the film said, should you ever ask these questions? Here are the questions.
* Question number one: Should you say to someone, will you give your heart to Christ? Answer: False, you never want to say that to anyone. You never want to ask anyone to give anything to Christ. You don’t want to ask them to give their life to Christ, you just ask them to believe.
* Second question: Will you surrender your life to Christ? Answer: False, don’t ever ask anyone to surrender anything.
* Question number three: will you commit your life to Christ? Answer: False, don’t ever ask anyone to do that.
* Question number four: will you make Christ Lord of your life? Answer: Don’t ever ask anyone to acknowledge that He has to be Lord of their life.
* Question number five: will you repent of your sins? Answer: False, don’t ever ask anyone to repent of their sins.
* Question number six: are you willing to forsake your sins? Answer: False, don’t ask anyone to do that.
It is enough then, said the narrator, to ask them: do you believe that Jesus died for your sins? That is enough. That is enough? The devils believe and…what?…and tremble.
Another writer says, and I’m quoting, “It is possible, even probable, that when a believer out of fellowship falls for certain types of philosophy, if he is a logical thinker he will become an unbelieving believer. Believers who are agnostics are still saved. They are still born again.” Listen to this one. “You can even become an atheist. But if you once accept Christ as Savior, you cannot lose your salvation even though you deny God,” end quote.
He finishes up the message thus:
Jesus wanted the two things to come clear to that young man [The rich young ruler in Mark chapter 8–4*P]. When you want into the Kingdom, when you want eternal life, it is not as simple as just a decision, believing some facts. There must be an acknowledgment and turning from sin and there must be a willingness to submit to My authority even if I ask you to do the most difficult thing in your life…to give up that which you love the most. Let’s establish, number one, the depth of your sinfulness and, number two, the height of My sovereignty, that’s the issue. The man left.
So today we are starting a new series showing that whether or not you say Jesus is Lord, He still is! It is not US who make Jesus Lord–God has already made Him both Lord and Christ.
Romans 10:8-10 (NASB)—8 But what does it say? “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART”–that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
Wrapping up the series with Paul reinforcing Christ’s teachings to his young proteges in the “Pastoral Epistles.” Hopefully this has been a helpful series, and next time you hear someone claim that they deny Paul’s writings because he “never quoted Jesus” you can show them that they are clearly wrong.
1st Timothy 1:12-13—And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man.
Acts 26:14-18—“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads…I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.”
1st Timothy 1:15—This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
Luke 19:10—“The Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost.”
1st Timothy 2:5-6—For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all.
Matthew 20:28—“The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
1st Timothy 6:6-10—Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Matthew 6:24-25—“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?”
1st Thessalonians 1:9-10—For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
John 17:3—“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
1st Thessalonians 2:14-16—For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans, who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins; but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost.
Matthew 23:13-15—“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.”
Matthew 23:29-36—“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’ Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt. Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell? Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.”
Part 7, continuing the daunting task of correcting those who would rather live by their own righteousness than to admit that God is God.
Colossians 1:5—…because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit.
John 15:16—“You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.”
Colossians 1:13—He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.
Matthew 11:26-28—“Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
“If we are in Christ the whole basis of our goings is God, not conceptions of God, not ideas of God, but God Himself. We do not need any more ideas about God, the world is full of ideas about God, they are all worthless, because the ideas of God in anyone’s head are of no more use than our own ideas. What we need is a real God, not more ideas about Him.”
Making the light manifest to those who sit in darkness, denying the truth of God’s word by saying that because Paul did not use long quotes from our Lord in his epistles, that he was somehow starting some “new religion.” Uh…yeah…you bet.
Well, starting with the verse that started me on this path, here are some more cases of Paul elaborating on the principles laid down by the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philippians 4:13—I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. John 15:5—“Without Me you can do nothing.”
Philippians 1:19-20—For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.
Matthew 5:10-12—“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Matthew 10:17-23—“You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.”
Once again, showing the truth from God’s word to the unenlightened, the ungodly, the one who professes to be wise while they are still foolish.
Ephesians 1:7—In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.
Matthew 9:2; Mark 2:5; Luke 5:20—When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic,“Son, your sins are forgiven you.”
Ephesians 1:18—…that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe…
John 14:1-3—“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.”
Ephesians 1:19-21–...according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
Matthew 26:63-63—And the high priest answered and said to Him, “I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!” Jesus said to him,“It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
Ephesians 1:22—And He put all things under His feet…
Mark 12:35-36— Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple,“How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? For David himself said by the Holy Spirit: ‘The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”‘”
Ephesians 1:23—…and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Matthew 16:18—“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”
Christ Alone Wyoming 