Previous Sabbath Thoughts
2021 2022 2023 2024The Seven Churches of Revelation, Part 8 – September 14, 2024
In reviewing the seven churches of Revelation, there are many lessons we can learn. 2 Corinthians 13:5a, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves.” We as individuals are not very good at this. How many Christians actually review what they believe compared to the Biblical scriptures? Not enough. 1 Thessalonians 5:21, “Test all things; hold fast what is good.” A deceived person doesn’t know they are deceived. Why did Jesus have the Apostle John record His words to these churches? To warn five of them that they were deceived about their spiritual health and that they needed to repent and change. There has never been a perfect person, therefore, there is no such thing as a perfect church—true even for the Smyrna and Philadelphian churches. While those churches received no reproof as a whole, it doesn’t mean every person in those churches was a righteous, true and faithful Christian. The opposite can also be true. While the other five churches had significant spiritual problems, it doesn’t mean that none of the individuals in those congregations had the spiritual character and courage to fight for the faith once delivered. Hence, the rewards promised to those who are righteous, true and faithful Christians. Prior to reviewing these seven churches, this blog had seven Sabbath Thoughts on “Forgotten Warning,” reviewing the many scriptures relative to false ministers and the destruction of the true doctrines of Jesus within the people of God. How many people will actually believe they may not be observing the commandments and teachings of God as written down in our Bibles? Jesus warned this before His Second Coming, Matthew 24:4-5, “And Jesus answered and said to them: ‘Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, “I am the Christ,” and will deceive many.’” A few verses latter, Jesus says, Matthew 24:11-13, “Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” The Bible also warns that false ministers will parade as true ministers. Matthew 7:15, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.” Acts 20:29-30, “For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.” 1 Corinthians 11:14-15, “And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.” 2 Peter 2:1, “1But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.” How many Christians will examine the Bible to see that the seventh day is the only true Sabbath? How many will search the scriptures to see that we should still be keeping the seven Holy Days? How many will study how the Bible counts days to arrive at the right day of the week for Pentecost? How many will examine their hearts to see if they truly love their neighbor and all their church brethren? God has set high expectations for His people. To all those who examine themselves, repent of their faults and dedicate themselves to follow in the foot steps of Jesus, Jesus offered all seven churches encouragement and a great reward in the Kingdom of God.
The Seven Churches of Revelation, Part 7 – September 7, 2024
We now come to the last church in Revelation. Revelation 3:17, “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:’” Jesus calls attention to His faithfulness and that He is always truthful—these are qualities the Laodiceans were losing. This church is a true church of God, but with major problems. Verse 17, “Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.” We can note three serious problems from this verse. One, they are not humble. Two, they are deceived about their spiritual condition. And three, they are relying on their own educated abilities instead of the power and revelation from God. This results in a spiritual lukewarm condition. Verses 15 and 16, “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.” This is a fourth serious problem. This church had the truth at one time, but they have watered it down, that is, diluted it and are no longer diligent in following the originally revealed doctrines. Their fate may be suffering through the Great Tribulation. Verse 18a, “I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire.” Jesus goes on to say He loves this church, therefore, He will rebuke and correct them. If they listen to Jesus and repent, Jesus says He will dine with them and grant them to sit with Him ruling over the earth in the Millennium. It is most difficult to define and categorize a church during the times one actually lives in, especially when it is the “end times” shortly before the Second Coming of Jesus. It should be obvious that this church exists in the “end times” along with at least two other Churches of God. Whether or not we as an individual are associated with a church that could be categorized as a Laodicean Church of God, indeed, no matter which church we may be attending, we should heed Jesus’ message to this church. To ignore the possibility, could lead to the spiritual condition we are trying to avoid. We should always be examining ourselves and proving all things to see if we are adhering to the spiritual truths of God or the philosophies and teachings of humans. Let us not overlook and disregard Jesus admonition to all of us. Revelation 3:22, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
The Seven Churches of Revelation, Part 6 – August 31, 2024
We now come to the sixth church in Revelation. Revelation 3:7, “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, ‘He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens:’” In presenting Himself to this church, Jesus portrays Himself as the One who is Holy and True in His relationship with this church. Jesus, in addition to these titles, also said He has the “key of David.” This can represent several significant meanings. Applied spiritually, Jesus is saying He has the keys to the spiritual City of David, the New Jerusalem of Revelation 21. Jesus will determine who is allowed to enter this city and who will remain outside. This also represents that Jesus determines who receives the keys of spiritual knowledge concerning God the Father’s Plan of Salvation and entrance into the Kingdom of God. Jesus acknowledges the spiritual battle between true Christians and false teachers and their followers—stating the outcome will be that false teachers and their followers will one day recognize and admit the true Christians were the ones who truly knew Jesus and were loved by Jesus. Jesus now states that the true Christians of the Philadelphian Church have to persevere in the truth while others are changing it and watering it down. Revelation 3:10, “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.” This church era obviously exists just prior to the Second Coming of Jesus and most understand this to mean they will be spared and protected from the Great Tribulation of the Fifth Seal. Next, Jesus warns, Revelation 3:11, “Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.” This implies that false teachers will try to deceive and take away the crown of reward these true Christians are promised. Finally, a very wonderful promise is made to those who remain faithful to the original doctrines of this church, to become part of the supporting structure of the spiritual temple of God in New Jerusalem. As far as we can tell, this church era began in the mid-1930s when a wife was introduced to the Seventh Day Sabbath by a neighbor and subsequently informed her husband this was the day they should be keeping. He didn’t believe it, but searched the scriptures for months and finally agreed that his wife was correct. Over the next couple of years, they reestablished observance of the Seven Feast and Holy Days of the Bible including a Monday Pentecost. Together they started a small ministry that continued to grow for 40 years. A small college was established to train a ministry and grew to three campuses. Modern communications including radio, television, magazines and booklets were used to spread the Gospel of Jesus around the world. Then, after 40 years, the so-called learned and scholars convinced church leaders to change Pentecost to the first day of the week, the day of the sun-god. Subsequently, over time, this church splintered into hundreds of different churches while all too many gave up their faithful obedience all together. Some would attribute this to the diminishing of the power of the Holy Spirit due to keeping Pentecost on the wrong day. Other doctrines were changed or “relaxed” by most of these splinter churches. The original church organization made the most changes to where they no longer resembled the original church, but were more akin to mainstream Protestant churches. One has to wonder if this church didn’t water down and morph into the final church era. As always, let all of us remember we are to learn lessons from ALL of the seven churches. Revelation 3:13, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
The Seven Churches of Revelation, Part 5 – August 24, 2024
“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, ‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.”’” Revelation 3:1. Jesus reminds the Sardis church that He has the oversight of all the churches and He examines each of them (Revelation 1:20). Very little good is said about this church. Revelation 3:2, “Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God.” Jesus also warns them to be watchful for His return, lest He come upon them as a thief. Church eras overlap, they diminish slowly as a new era begins. The way Jesus states this, it almost sounds like some belonging to this church era will still be alive at His Second Coming. After being told to repent, Jesus says there are only a few true Christians in this church still hanging onto the faith once delivered. Those who remain faithful, their reward is to walk in spiritual white garments with Jesus in the Kingdom of God. Jesus makes a small complement saying He will not remove their name from the Book of Life, but encouragingly says He will promote their name before God the Father. This church era had its beginning around 1500 AD. After the Protestant Reformation, some ministers in England were preaching that the world’s religious holiday came from paganism, that Sunday was not the Sabbath, that the seventh day Sabbath and Holy Days should be observed. While this resulted in many repenting and following these teachings, it also resulted in Protestant persecution. Many gave up the faith to avoid persecution while some remained steadfast. In the mid-1600s the true Church of God spread to America. While the Church of God grew in north America with help from the true church in England, as time elapsed, the converts took the truth for granted and started to adopt Protestant teachings like the pagan Trinity doctrine. However, some renewed their faith and the importance of keeping the seventh day Sabbath. There continued to be a debate as to whether the correct name for a church should be just the “Church of God” or something with “Seventh Day” as part of the name. This divided the Sabbath keeping followers and both groups slowly diminished in followers and spiritual strength. A new church era was about to begin in the early 1900s. A very important admonition for all Christians to remember is what Jesus said to all seven churches, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
The Seven Churches of Revelation, Part 4 – August 17, 2024
Thyatira is the fourth church addressed by Jesus in the book of Revelation. Revelation 2:18, “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, ‘These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass:’” This is the only time in this book that Jesus refers to Himself as “the Son of God,” all other references use “the Son of Man.” This is also the first time Jesus refers to Himself with a title, He usually gives an attribute of His Godly nature as it pertains to a specific church. Thyatira practiced worship of the sun god and how Jesus refers to Himself may be in reference that He is greater than any sun god. This also notes the piercing eyes of Jesus in examining this church, He sees all, He misses nothing. This is referenced later in this letter to this church, Revelation 2:23b, “… all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. …” Feet of brass may denote the strength, stability and support Jesus gives His people while suffering for His sake. This church is commended for its love, faith and patience. In addition, they served one another, more so as time went on. This church was likely started by the Apostle Paul and had many gentile converts. While they worshipped God the Father and the Son of God, some of them tolerated pagan teachers, specifically one referred to as Jezebel. Like the church at Pergamos, some in this church ate meat sacrificed to pagan gods along with sexual immorality. Jesus judgment on those who would not repent was severe. Revelation 2:22-23a, “Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. I will kill her children with death.” As in all churches, there are those who hold on to the faith once delivered while others make compromises. Jesus says to those who fight for the faith once delivered that He will place no other burdens or judgments upon them. Jesus emphasizes to them to hold fast to receive their great reward. Revelation 2:25-26, 28, “But hold fast what you have till I come. And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations. … and I will give him the morning star.” From the darkness of an evil world, Jesus promises the faithful in this church that they will have a close relationship with Him as He is the Morning Star (Revelation 22:16). In history, this church era existed from around 1000 AD until the fifteen hundreds and maybe sixteen hundreds. A good number of these Christians existed in southern France with ministers like Peter de Bruys, Arnold and Henry and eventually Peter Waldo. Other Christian religions persecuted these true Christians and thousands perished. They were noted for keeping the Seventh Day Sabbath along with all the other Old Testament teachings except animal sacrifices. Peter Waldo led a large revival and even opened a school for ministers to train them to preach the gospel of Jesus. But some compromised with Sunday keeping Christians and got involved with politics in hope of avoiding persecution. This was a vain effort and a crusade against them left the true church decimated. However, earlier, around 1315, one of Peter Waldo’s followers, Walter Lollard, carried the true Gospel of Jesus to England where it took deep root for a while until the Protestant Reformation and what would become the Sardis era of God’s church.
The Seven Churches of Revelation, Part 3 – August 10, 2024
This Sabbath we come to the church of Pergamos. Revelation 2:12, “And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write, ‘These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword:’” Note how Jesus introduces Himself to this church, that He has a sword which is generally an offensive weapon to inflict harm. This will also come into play in the call to repentance for this church. The Apostle Paul gives us the spiritual significance of this. Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” The purpose of Jesus’ sword is to perceive the true spiritual condition of this church. Pergamos was the capital of Asia, a Roman province in Asia Minor. Hence, it was the seat of the Roman government, which was a government of Satan. This church at the time of the Apostle John started out faithful to John’s preaching in the face of pressure from false ministers and pagan influences. Verse 13 also mentions Antipas. Nothing is factually known of him while some fanciful stories exist. It is more likely mean to represent any Christian who resist these irreligious teachings and suffers for it. This church era in history existed mostly in the eastern half of the Roman Empire from around 650 to 1000 AD. At the beginning of this period, God raised up a few true ministers and congregations numbering into the tens of thousands. They preached the gospel of Jesus, kept the Sabbath and Holy Days and practiced baptism by immersion with the laying on of hands. A couple of the first ministers were eventually stoned to death or burned as the stake. However, false teachers began to infiltrate these true churches, bringing in the teachings of Balaam and the Nicolaitans which taught that it was okay to eat meat sacrificed to pagan gods along with immoral sexual practices. They also started to celebrate pagan holidays including the rebirth of Nimrod, rebranding it as the birthday of Jesus. Some of the church leaders gained political power and made alliances with neighboring Arabs hoping for their protection instead of trusting in God. Jesus told this church to repent, Revelation 2:16, “Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.” But most did not and they were betrayed and 100,000 of them were slaughtered. The faithful few who escaped were driven into Europe, some as far as England. As with all the churches, all Christians are told to listen and more importantly, heed the message to each of the churches. Revelation 2:17, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.” Those true Christians who refused to indulge in the lusts of the flesh are promised spiritual food. Jesus is the true Bread of Life (John 6:35, 48, 57). The white stone was a pledge of reward as opposed to receiving a black stone of condemnation in local justice systems. This represented a spiritual reward specifically for those in this church who overcame, given to them by Jesus Himself.
The Seven Churches of Revelation, Part 2 – August 3, 2024
We come next to the Church at Smyrna. Notice how Jesus introduces Himself to this church, Revelation 2:8b, “These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life:” Jesus is saying this church would suffer more than most for their Christian beliefs just as Jesus suffered and died for them and all Christian churches. In history, this church era suffered thru the persecution from those who lead the movement to combine and compromise the beliefs of heretical Christians with Pagans from around 100 AD to the mid-600s AD. The true church had to flee and hide throughout Asia Minor and Europe. Jesus says He knows of their works, tribulation and poverty, but He says they are spiritually rich. Note the contrast between that statement and what Jesus says to the Laodicean Church who thinks they are rich. Jesus next discusses “and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.” (Revelation 2:9b). The Jews has an exemption from emperor worship from the Roman Empire. Christians wanted the same exemption, but the Jewish leaders convinced Roman that Christians were not true Jews. Polycarp was a leading bishop of the Smyrna church and lived from 69 AD until 155 AD. The Jews were most furious of all those demanding his condemnation. When Polycarp was condemned to be burnt alive at the stake, the Jews were the most zealous to gather fuel for the fire. Many of the Jews, those who persecuted Christians, were deemed by Jesus to be off the synagogue of Satan. Jesus prepares this church for persecution and death, but he promises them eternal life. Revelation 2:10, “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” There was intense persecution of Christians in a religious civil war with Pagans in the Roman Empire from 303 to 313 AD. Note that the Smyrna Church is one of only two churches that receives no chastisement from Jesus nor a call to repentance. As with all seven churches, this letter closes with an admonishment to all churches to listen to this letter. Revelation 2:11, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.” This faithful church, many who died in persecution is told they will not suffer the second death, meaning their names are written in the Book of Life.
The Seven Churches of Revelation, Part 1 – July 27, 2024
The past several Sabbaths, we have been reviewing the multitude of Bible warnings relative to departing from the “faith once delivered,” changing it or watering it down. This Sabbath let us begin to consider the messages Jesus Christ Himself gave directly to the seven churches of Asia Minor during the lifetime of the Apostle John. Of the seven Churches of God, how many got a completely good report with no admonitions to repent? ONLY TWO! Five of the seven churches were told to repent or Jesus would punish them! In addition to these messages being sent to seven literal churches in these seven cities, I personally believe along with others, that they were meant for seven church eras down through time beginning with the Apostle John and concluding with the end of this age. Others disagree with this, but I think this may be mainly because they do not want to consider the possibility they could part of a Laodicean Era just prior to the Second Coming of Jesus. I also believe the messages to the seven churches describe seven spiritual states any Christian or church could be in at any given time—we as individuals or as a church group could move from one spiritual state to another in our relationship with God our Father and Jesus our Savior. There are nine possible sections of each message: 1) Salutation, 2) Jesus’ Attributes, 3) Church’s Good Attributes, 4) Church’s Bad Attributes, 5) Jesus’ Call to Repentance, 6) Conditional Punishment, 7) Reprieve or Description of Coming Experiences, 8) Promised Reward, 9) Admonition to Listen. We first look at the Ephesus church. After the salutation, Jesus describes himself as the One who holds the seven stars in His right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands (Revelation 2:1). The attributes of Jesus as listed with each church conveys an important point relative to that church. For Ephesus, Jesus is emphasizing His involvement and oversight of all seven churches, He knows all. Revelation 1:20 tells us what these represent, “The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.” Note that Jesus says this is a mystery, something that is hidden, obscure, unknown—until disclosed by One who knows. The Greek word for “angels” is more literally “messengers.” This could mean an angel responsible for watching over each church and therefore was to convey a message to a specific church, probably to its pastor. Or, maybe a message directly to the overseer, bishop or pastor responsible for guiding his church. Jesus says the Ephesus church’s good attributes are good works, patience, perseverance, eluding evil people and forsaking false apostles (Revelation 2:2-3). However, Jesus calls them out for losing their zeal and fervor of their love for God and His Truth (Revelation 2:4). They are told to repent and return to their first works or else Jesus will remove their lampstand (Revelation 2:5). Jesus promises those who overcome that they will eat from the tree of life. As with all seven churches, they are told to listen to what He, Jesus, says to all seven churches (Revelation 2:7). Regardless of which church one may consider themselves to belong to, we are all told to heed and listen to the messages to all seven churches. We will continue our discussion of these seven churches next Sabbath.
Forgotten Warnings, Part 7 – July 20, 2024
The Apostle Peter also gives the same stern warnings about false ministers in his epistle. 2 Peter 2:1-3, “But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.” Please not that Peter says “many” will follow these false teachers. Peter goes on to wax eloquent on this topic. 2 Peter 2:15, 18-21, “They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; … For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.” Peter is not talking about those who have never known and accepted the truth, he is talking about those who had some spiritual understanding and then turned away from it. The Apostle John gives the same warning about false minister coming from within the church. 1 John 2:18-19, “Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.” John also warned the church brethren not to associate with those who preached a doctrine different than what he preached. 2 John 1:10-11, “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.” The whole book of Jude is a warning about the perversion of the truth within the Church of God. Let’s just read two verses. Jude 1:3-4, “Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.” A major issue with deception is that those who are deceived don’t know they are deceived. How can we avoid being deceived ourselves? Here are seven steps that can help. 1. Have a strong spiritual love for the truth. 2) Be humble. 3) Obey laws and commandments. 4) Listen to advice and correction of others who are strong spiritual Christians. 5) Don’t be a “friend” of the world or adhere to worldly wisdom or the ways of the world. 6) Admit make mistakes and repent. And most importantly, 7) Actually ask God in prayer to correct us and show us how me might be deceived.
Forgotten Warnings, Part 6 – July 13, 2024
There are so many warnings to the Christian church concerning a relaxing of adherence to the doctrines of God. While the study of individual Hebrew and Greek words can be insightful, such an approach can also be used to water down and even change the high-level teachings of the Bible. 2 Timothy 2:14-18, “Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some.” Hard to believe some ministers were preaching that the First Resurrection had already occurred and some in the Christian church were deceived by them into believing that was true. Paul again warns that in the end-time, spiritually difficult times will occur. 2 Timothy 3:1, 5, 7-8, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: … having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! … always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith.” 2 Timothy 3:13-14, “But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them.” We should remind ourselves of the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25. There are many lessons to learn from this parable. All ten slumbered and slept and were somewhat surprised at the timing of the return of the bridegroom. All ten virgins went out to meet the bridegroom. Five lacked enough oil to keep their lamps burning. This indicates there are different levels of the Holy Spirit one may have leading and guiding them. Sadly, Jesus says to those who allowed the Holy Spirit to diminish in their spiritual lives that He did not know them. Christians can be misled by false teachers and false ministers. Christians can lose a lot of the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives due to lack of prayer and Bible Study. We are to examine ourselves, not just at Passover, buy every day of every year of our lives. We are not only to examine ourselves looking for sins for which we need to repent and remove, but we are also to examine ourselves to see if we are still faithful to the originally revealed doctrines of Jesus and His apostles. 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.”
Forgotten Warnings, Part 5 – July 6, 2024
We continue our review of the many scriptures warning the Christian church about false doctrines, false teachers and false ministers infiltrating the church. The Apostle Paul was preparing the Evangelist Timothy to continue the true teachings of Jesus after his death. That included several warnings to beware of those departing from the true doctrines of Jesus. 1 Timothy 4:1, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.” Paul also begins this letter reminding Timothy that some minister had suffered spiritual shipwreck. 1 Timothy 1:19, “having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck.” Unfortunately, some want to use scholarship to argue over the simple teachings of Jesus and lead some astray. 1 Timothy 6:3-5, “If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself.” Paul also warned that the desire for monetary income can lead some away from the truth. 1 Timothy 6:9-10, “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.” Paul closes his first letter to Timothy with another warning about not letting the truth he had received be destroyed with false scholarship. 2 Timothy 6:20-21, “O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge—by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith.”
Forgotten Warnings, Part 4 – June 28, 2024
We began a discussion of this important topic back in February of this year. We also discussed this topic in a different light concerning the counting of Pentecost. Let us continue our review of the many warning about deception within the Christian Churches of God. The Apostle Paul implied others were handling the doctrines of God deceitfully, but he would not. 2 Corinthians 4:2, “But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.” Paul marveled that the Galatians were being turned away so quickly from what he had taught them, and only 20 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Galatians 1:6-7, “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.” Paul stated that the responsibility of a true ministry was to prevent false doctrines from entering the church. Ephesians 4:14, “that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.” Perverting the original doctrines of God results in a sinful life. Ephesians 5:6, “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.” Paul says to beware of intellectual double-talk, scholarship. Colossians 2:8, “Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.” Paul warned the Thessalonians not to be shaken by some ministers who were preaching that Jesus Second Coming had already occurred. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3, “Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition.” It is hard to believe, but true, that some ministers were preaching Jesus had already returned. He prophesied there would be a great falling away from the truth in the end time. One cannot fall away from the truth if they have never had it to begin with. Paul again testifies some were preaching that there is no resurrection. 1 Corinthians 15:12-18, “Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.” Hard to believe this was happening within the Churches of God that for which Paul was responsible. Brethren, let us examine our beliefs and see if we have accepted changes to what we believed from over 50 years ago.
Why Wasn’t God Clear on Which Day Is Pentecost? – June 22, 2024
We just kept Pentecost earlier this week. Why didn’t God definitively state which day is Pentecost? Why didn’t He say it is on Sivan 6? Or on the first day of the week after seven Sabbaths? Or on the second day of the week after counting a full 50 days? In my personal opinion, determining which day Pentecost falls on is a test commandment for His people who keep the Holy Days. There are several admonitions to adhere to the true doctrines first preached. Jude 1:3, “Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” There are no warnings in the Bible, none whatsoever, chastising God’s people for not accepting “new truths,” that is, saying you didn’t accept the changes to what you were originally taught. ALL THE WARNINGS IN THE BIBLE, TO OLD TESTAMENT ISRAEL, TO THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH, ARE ALL CONCERNING CHANGING THE TRUTH GOD ORIGINALLY GAVE TO THEM! There are literally hundreds of these warnings. For 40 years the Church of God kept a Monday Pentecost. Then the scholars said we should change it to a Sunday. When God revealed the Sabbath and the Holy Days at the beginning of this church era, did God reveal everything correctly except which day of the week Pentecost falls? Does God make mistakes or do men? Jesus told Peter, Matthew 16:17, “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.’” The Holy Spirit leads us into all truth, not human scholarship. John 16:13, “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” The Apostle Paul was very clear on how he learned the truth. Galatians 1:11-12, ”But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Let us review just two warnings against changing doctrine, we will continue this review with more scriptures next Sabbath. 2 Timothy 3:1, 5, 7, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: … having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! … always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Note Paul’s emphasis on people who are always studying but are never able to come to spiritual truth. We are told to study the Bible, that is very important in our Christian lives. But that must be led by the Holy Spirit or God’s truth remains a mystery. Consider the seven churches of Revelation? How many get a good report? Only two. Five of the seven churches have significant short comings and are told to repent. The Laodicean Church thinks it has great spiritual knowledge, but God says just the opposite is true. Revelation 3:17, “Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.” Will we heed the warnings of the Bible? Who are we going to put our faith in? Human scholarship or God’s revelation?
Counting Pentecost, by Revelation or Scholarship? – June 15, 2024
There are several different ways Christians and Jews count Pentecost. Most Jews count from the first holy day of the Days of Unleavened Bread. Those Christians who observe a Whit Sunday count from Easter. The Churches of God count from the Wave Sheaf offering associated with the Days of Unleavened Bread. There have been debates about how and when to begin the count. However, few Bible students contemplate how to end the count of 50 days. And almost no one concentrates on the fact that the Bible says to count 50 days before observing Pentecost. In understand how days were counted among the Jews, it is correct to begin the count counting inclusively, that is, you do include Wave Sheaf Sunday in the count. The Bible says to count 50 days. Leviticus 23:16, “Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord.” If one observes a Sunday Pentecost, that ends the count counting exclusively, not including the last Sunday in the count. Mixing starting the count inclusively and ending the count exclusively is incorrect counting, one must both begin and end the count of 50 days counting inclusively. When a Sunday Pentecost is started to be observed on our Saturday evening at sundown, only 49 days have been counted. Notice that Leviticus 23:16 clearly states the day after the weekly Sabbath ends the count. After you have counted 50 days, then Israel was to make a new grain offering to the Lord. Now consider Acts 2:1, “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.” The Jews did not count a day as part of a tally until the day was over. Consider Luke 24:21 where the two men on the road said Sunday was the third day since the Wednesday crucifixion of Jesus. Today, we would say it had been four days. The same principle is laid out in counting Jubilee. 49 years were to be counted, then the year of Jubilee was kept (Leviticus 25:8-11). For around 40 years, the Church of God many of us were associated with, kept a Monday Pentecost. Then some of the leaders and “more educated” in the church thought a Sunday Pentecost should be adopted. The reasons for this was that the counting of Pentecost had been technically incorrect according to the Hebrew words used to define the count. And they were right. However, they had a preference for a Sunday Pentecost and only considered correcting one of the three mistakes that had been made. None of them seems to have considered that while a man without an education in the Hebrew language, he was still led by God through the Holy Spirit to end up on the right day of the week for Pentecost. Spiritual truth is received and determined through a revelation from God by the power of His Holy Spirit, not a scholarly approach. Why should we as Christians go to the scholars to discern spiritual truth when they do not even believe in keeping the weekly Sabbath and the seven Holy Days. There are many scriptures, some of which we reviewed a few months ago, that state the wisdom of men is foolishness before God in determining spiritual truths. Malachi 2:12, “The Lord will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto the Lord of hosts.” There are several scriptures that state this will be especially true in the end times in which we now live. Unfortunately, this is even true concerning one of the true churches of God listed in the book of Revelation. This scripture is not talking about physical wealth, but perceived spiritual wealth. Revelation 3:17, “Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.” How should Christians come to perceive and understand the true doctrines of God? John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” The Apostle Paul said the spiritual understanding he had came through revelation. Galatians 1:11-12, “But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.” There is much more that should be discussed to show that Pentecost is always on a Monday, but space here does not allow for that. There are several articles on this topic plus past Pentecost sermons that delve deeper into the proofs for a Monday Pentecost. Please be encouraged to visit our church website at http://cogsr.org/.
Things God Cannot (Will Not) Do! Part 10 – June 8, 2024
Last Sabbath we reviewed the Old Testament scriptures that state God will never be unfaithful to His people. It is impossible for God to be unfaithful to His people. God is always loyal, trust worthy, truthful and faithful. We as humans often fall short of having faith in God, but not so with God. Romans 3:3-4 (NLT), “True, some of them were unfaithful; but just because they were unfaithful, does that mean God will be unfaithful? Of course not! Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true. As the Scriptures say about him, ‘You will be proved right in what you say, and you will win your case in court.’” The Father’s faithfulness is personified in that He sent His Son to be our Savior fulfilling all the promises He made in the Old Testament. John 1:17 (NLT), “For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.” As we wait for the Second Coming of Jesus, the Father will be faithful to His promise to keep Christians blameless. 1 Corinthians 1:8-9 (NLT), “He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” God promises to strengthen Christians as they wait for the Second Coming of Jesus, 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.” God promises to guard us from evil and the evil one. 2 Thessalonians 3:3, (NLT), “But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.” A very powerful scripture on this topic is 2 Timothy 2:11-13, “This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, We shall also live with Him. If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.” Because God is faithful, we should be faithful to His doctrines. Hebrews 10:23, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” God allows us to have tests and trials for a good reason. If we stay true to God in our tests and trials, God will be faithful to His promises of our salvation. 1 Peter 4:19, “Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.” When we admit we are sinners and repent, God is faithful to forgive us. 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The whole Bible is filled with promises and prophecies. It is impossible for God our Father and Jesus our Savior to be unfaithful in every word of truth they have recorded for our study. The Bible concludes with such a statement. Revelation 21:5, “Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ And He said to me, ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful.’”
Things God Cannot (Will Not) Do! Part 9 – June 1, 2024
Last Feast of Tabernacles we started a series of sermons on things God will not do and therefore, cannot do. This is a different way to review many of the holy characteristics of God our Father and Jesus our Savior. This Sabbath, let us review the topic of God’s faithfulness never fails. In other words, it is impossible for God to be an unfaithful God. When we consider faith, we usually think of the faith in God that Christian must have. However, the Bible says that God is a faithful God to us. And that is something God cannot and will not stop doing. God declared to Moses and Israel that He was a faithful God. Exodus 34:6-7a (NLT), “The LORD passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The LORD! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin.” When God says He is faithful, it means He is true to His word, He is loyal, we can depend upon Him. Deuteronomy 7:9, “The LORD passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The LORD! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin.” Deuteronomy 32:4 (NLT), “He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is!” Another way to say God is faithful to us is to say we can trust everything He does. Psalms 33:4 (NLT), “For the word of the LORD holds true, and we can trust everything he does.” Other translations say everything God does is done in truth, are trustworthy, are dependable, are done in faithfulness. David also tries to describe the magnitude and enormity of God’s love, mercy and faithfulness. Psalm 36:5, “Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.” The Message Bible paraphrases this verse as, “God’s love is meteoric, his loyalty astronomic.” There are many Psalms that talk about God’s faithfulness, loyalty and trustworthiness, more than we will review here. Let us site just two more. Psalm 117:2 (NLT), “For he loves us with unfailing love; the LORD’s faithfulness endures forever. Praise the LORD!” Psalm 119:90a, “ Your faithfulness endures to all generations;” Saying God is faithful is the same thing as saying God never lies, He keeps all His promises. Isaiah 25:1, “O Lord, You are my God. I will exalt You, I will praise Your name, For You have done wonderful things; Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.” What God says stands true forever. Isaiah 40:8, “The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.” God wants us to believe in Him, to believe in His promises of salvation. Isaiah 45:19 (NLT), “ I publicly proclaim bold promises. I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner. I would not have told the people of Israel to seek me if I could not be found. I, the LORD, speak only what is true and declare only what is right.” In a future Sabbath Thought we will review the New Testament scriptures on this topic.
Reasons Jesus became human, To Save Sinners – May 25, 2024
The inspired Bible uses many different terms and phrases to express what Jesus did for all humans in being our Savior. The last two Sabbaths we reviewed the scriptures that stated Jesus is our Savior. This Sabbath let us read those verses that say Jesus came to save us from our sins. This was the promise made to Joseph and Mary. Matthew 1:21, “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” John the Baptist understood what Jesus would accomplish. John 1:29, “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’” After a most famous verse where the Apostle John states whoever believes in Jesus would not perish but have eternal life, John goes on to state, John 3:17, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” Jesus stated several times that His purpose was to save us. Luke 9:56, “For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” John 10:9, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” John 12:47, “And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.” The Apostles preached that Jesus came to save sinners, starting with Peter on the Day of Pentecost. Acts 2:21, “And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved.” There is only one Savior for everyone. Acts 4:12, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” The Apostle Paul said to his jailer, Acts 16:31, “So they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.’” We do have to accept Jesus as our Savior and believe the Father raised Him from the dead. Romans 10:9, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Paul wrote to both Timothy and Titus that we are not saved by works, but by the grace and mercy of God. 2 Timothy 1:9, “who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.” Titus 3:5-6, “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior.” Salvation resides with God our Father and we must go through Jesus our intermediary in order to receive the gift of eternal life in the Kingdom of God. Hebrews 7:25, “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” Let us continually offer our thanks and praise to Jesus who became human to save us sinners.
Reasons Jesus became human, To Be Our Savior, Part 2 – May 18, 2024
This Sabbath we continue our review of the scriptures that state Jesus is the Savior of all mankind. The Apostle Paul in his letter to Titus states this several times. Titus 1:4, “To Titus, a true son in our common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.” Titus 2:14, “looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” Paul talks about what Jesus accomplish in bringing humans into the God family. Titus 3:4-7, “But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” The Apostle Peter in his second letter states Jesus is our Savior five times. 2 Peter 1:1, “Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.” Peter says through Jesus we have an admittance into the Kingdom of God. 2 Peter 1:11, “for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Peter warns Christians that once we accept Jesus as our Savior, but then slide back into the world of sin, that is worse than never having acknowledged Jesus as Savior. 2 Peter 2:20, “For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.” Peter then encourages Christians to remember the words spoken by Old Testament prophets and the New Testament apostles of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. 2 Peter 3:2, “that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior.” Peter closes his letter with the admonishment to continue to grow in grace and understanding of our Lord and Savior. 2 Peter 3:18, “but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.”
Reasons Jesus became human, To Be Our Savior, Part 1 – May 11, 2024
We are reviewing the many reasons why Jesus became flesh and blood. The main reason we always think of is to suffer and die for the forgiveness of our sins. The Bible states this single truth in many different ways, one of which is, Jesus came to be our Savior. 1 John 4:14, “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.” To the shepherds in the field, at Jesus birth, the angels proclaimed, Luke 2:11, “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” When questioned by the Jewish religious leaders, Peter and the apostles replied, Acts 5:30-31, “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.” The Apostle Paul preached to the Jews in their synagogue in Antioch concerning David and Jesus, Acts 13:23, “From this man’s seed, according to the promise, God raised up for Israel a Savior—Jesus.” Jesus not only came to be our Savior as individuals, but He is also the Savior of the Church of God as a whole body. Ephesians 5:23, “For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.” We wait for the Kingdom of God and the second appearing of our Savior. Philippians 3:20, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” While we must do our best to obey the laws of God, we do not earn salvation this way, it is a gift from God our Father through our Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Timothy 1:9-10, “who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” Let us always praise and give thanks to God our Father and Jesus our Savior for their merciful Plan of Salvation by which we can receive the gift of eternal life.
Reasons Jesus became human, To Reveal the Father – May 4, 2024
We are reviewing the many reasons why Jesus became flesh and blood. There are three overall reasons before we get to fundamental reason of Jesus came to be our Savior and shed His blood for the forgiveness of our sins. We’ve already discussed two of these reasons: one, to do the will of the Father and, two, to glorify the Father. The third top level encompassing reason is to reveal the Father. This was prophesied to happen in the Old Testament. Psalms 22:22, “I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.” The Apostle Paul quotes this verse in Hebrews 2:12. Jesus said this was one of His responsibilities. Matthew 11:27, “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.” John 1:18, “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” Jesus, as God in the flesh, said He was an example of what the Father was like. John 14:7-9, “’If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.’ Philip said to Him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” Jesus specifically revealed the Father to His disciples who would then later write down that message for all to read and understand. John 17:6, 26, “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. … And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” Jesus and the Father are one, they are at one with each other. As we sometimes say about a son or daughter, “they are the spitting image of their dad or mother,” meaning they are very similar in looks and mannerisms. The Bible says Jesus was the living image of God the Father. Hebrews 1:2-3, “has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through 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 at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Colossians 1:15, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” It is through Jesus, though His example, through His teachings, that we come to better understand God our Father. 1 John 5:20, “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.” In other words, we can live in fellowship with God our Father because we live in fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Savior.
Reasons Jesus became human, to Glorify the Father – April 27, 2024
We have started to list the many reasons why Jesus became God in the flesh during these seven Days of Unleavened Bread. The New Testament church kept all of the Biblical Holy Days for hundreds of years. We don’t have time to go into the history of how most churches stopped observing the Biblically commanded Feasts and Holy Days. The Apostle Paul admonished the Corinthian church to keep this feast. 1 Corinthians 5:7-8, “Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” Now let us return to another reason why Jesus became God in the flesh, to glorify His Father. Everything thing Jesus did and preached was to glorify His Father. His suffering and death by crucifixion was to glory the Father. John 12:27-28, “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.” In order for the Father’s Plan of Salvation to take place, the price of our sins had to be paid by Jesus our Savior so we don’t have to die the second death. Jesus also healed many people, all to the glory of the Father, even raising the dead as in the case of Lazarus. John 11:4, “When Jesus heard that, He said, ‘This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’” When we pray to the Father in Jesus’ Name, this glorifies the Father. John 14:13 (NLT), “You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.” Jesus was God in the flesh and He too deserves to be glorified for what He did to be our Savior. John 13:31-31, “So, when he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him immediately.’” Both Father and Son glorify each other. John 17: 1, 4, “Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, … And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” The Apostle Paul said everyone should praise and honor Jesus as Savior to the glory of our Father. Philippians 2:11, “and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Let us close by saying everything we do should be to the glory of Jesus and the Father. 1 Peter 4:11, “If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
Reasons Jesus became human, to do the will of the Father – April 20, 2024
Passover is just two nights away, this coming Sunday after sunset. We commemorate this most important event where Jesus, the Son of God and our Savior, suffered and died, shedding His blood for the forgiveness of our sins. This could correctly be said as the most important reason for Jesus becoming a flesh and blood human. We can also say that while this is true, it can also be said this most important reason falls under a higher, more comprehensive, overall eternal concept of the Father’s Plan of Salvation. All that Jesus did to become our Savior was to do the will of the Father in order to implement His Plan of Salvation. John 6:38-40, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” The Father gave Jesus a job to do and Jesus did it perfectly. John 4:34, “Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.’” Jesus could not do this with His human strength, He had to rely of the Spirit Power of His Father. John 5:19, “Then Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.’” John 8:28-29, “Then Jesus said to them, ‘When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.’” Everything that Jesus taught and preached was given to Him by the Father. John 12:49, “For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.” John 14:10, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.” When facing the horrors of being beaten and crucified, as a human, Jesus would have liked to avoid that—but as the Son of God, He was ready to carry out the will of the father. Matthew 26:39, 42, “He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.’ … Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.’” Romans 15:3, “For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, ‘The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.’” Jesus suffered and died for your sins and mine and for all humans who have ever lived. Let us give thanks and glory to both the Father and Jesus for what they have done so we can have eternal life with them.
Promises of God, Jesus makes us Blameless – April 13, 2024
God promises believers that through Jesus Christ, they can be made blameless at His Second Coming. 1 Corinthians 1:8(NLT), “He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns.” Through Jesus Christ our Savior, our sins can be forgiven and we can be reconciled to the Father as blameless. Colossians 1:21-22, “And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight.” When we live a good Christian life, compared to the rest of the world, we live a blameless life. Philippians 2:15, “that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.” When we love God and the brethren in the church, this makes us holy and blameless in the sight of God. 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13, “And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.” We are all sinners, but through Jesus Christ we can be upheld as blameless when Jesus returns. 1 Thessalonians 5:23, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” While only Jesus can make us blameless, we also have a responsibility to live as clean a life as possible. 1 Timothy 6:14, “you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing.” 2 Peter 3:14(NLT), “And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.” Only through the power of God’s Holy Spirit in us can we live a truly good Christian life and be counted as blameless. Jude 1:24, “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.” How wonderful that all our sins can be washed away, the record of our sins wiped clean, so that we can appear as blameless and receive the gift of eternal life at the first resurrection when Jesus Christ returns.
Promises of God, Washed Clean – April 6, 2024
Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread are a little over two weeks away. These Holy Feasts of God picture forgiveness and putting sin out of our lives. God’s inspired Bible expands on this in numerous ways, one of which is God washes us, cleanses us and purifies us from our sins by the shed blood of Jesus our Savior. This was first pictured by the Day of Atonement in the Old Testament. Leviticus 16:30, “For on that day the priest shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the Lord.” David asked God to do this after his sin with Bathsheba. Psalm 51:2, 7, 10, “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. … Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. … Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.” The apostles learned there was no difference between Jews and Gentiles when it came to God’s Salvation. Acts 15:9, “and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.” The Apostle Paul discusses this topic many times throughout his letters. 1 Corinthians 6:11, “And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” Titus 2:14, “who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.” Titus 3:5-6, “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior.” The washing away of our sins is most dramatically described in the book of Hebrews. Hebrews 1:2-3, “has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through 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 at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Hebrews 9:14, 22, “how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? … And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.” Hebrews 10:22, “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” The Apostle John confirms this in very simple language. 1 John 1:7, 9, “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. … If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” John also summarizes this at the beginning of the book of Revelation. Revelation 1:5, “and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood.” We have to be spiritually cleansed from our sins in order to receive the gift of eternal life. We cannot do that of ourselves. Only through the shed blood of Jesus can our sins be forgiven and washed away.
Jesus 63rd Command, Part 3 – March 30, 2024
Jesus’ 63rd command as we are counting them, is to love one another as He loved us (John 15:12-17). James relates this to the second great command. James 2:8, “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself, you do well.” Peter emphasizes this love has to be pure and fervent, a high standard to live up to. 1 Peter 1:22, “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart.” Loving one another involves sympathy, gentleness, unity, humility, etc. 1 Peter 3:8, “Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous.” The Apostle John also referred to this “new commandment,” new from Jesus with a new emphasis on this being a sign of true believers. 1 John 2:8-10, " Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him." 1 John 3:14, “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.” John goes on to say we can’t just say we love someone, we have to show that we do with actions. 1 John 3:17-18, “But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” John also says as Jesus died for us, we should be willing to die for a Christian brother or sister—this proves we really are Christians. 1 John 3:16, 19, “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.” John talks a lot about love, saying that if we can’t love the brethren, we don’t really know God. 1 John 4:7-8, 11, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ” 1 John 4:20-21, “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.” Loving God and loving the Christian brethren go together, we must do both. 1 John 5:1-2(NLT), “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too. We know we love God’s children if we love God and obey his commandments.”
Jesus 63rd Command, Part 2 – March 23, 2024
We are discussing Jesus’ command to love one another as He loved us as found in John 13:34-35. All of the apostles in their writings frequently state this command of Jesus in their own words as inspired by the Father. Romans 12:10, “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;” Part of loving others is putting their needs and happiness above our own. Philippians 2:3-4, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” As Jesus also said, loving the brethren was a sign of true Christians, the Apostle Paul complimented churches that put this into practice. Colossians 1:4, “since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints;” 2 Thessalonians 1:3, “We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other.” The love for each other binds us together in Jesus. Colossians 3:12-14(NLT), “Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.” Paul encouraged his churches to grow in love towards each other. 1 Thessalonians 3:12, “And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you.” 1 Thessalonians 4:9-10, “But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; and indeed, you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more;” Hebrews 13:1, “Let brotherly love continue.” When we stand before our Father and Jesus on the judgment day, our fate will not be based on how successful we were in this life in accumulating possessions—we will be judged on how well we loved. Next time we will review the scriptures on this topic in the General Epistles.
Jesus 63rd Command, Part 1 – March 16, 2024
John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” What is new about this command? Loving your neighbor is not a new command. Leviticus 19:18, “You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” There are two things that make this a “new” commandment, however it might be better to say Jesus put a new emphasis on this “old” command. The new emphasis is “as I have loved you!” Jesus’ love as God in the flesh for His disciples and all of His followers set a new standard on how we are to love one another. Another point that makes this a “new” command is that it came directly from Jesus, not a prophet of God like Moses. Jesus also went on to say that Christians loving Christians is an identifying sign of who His followers really are. We all should examine ourselves if we have this depth of love for our Christian brethren. And then ask why are there so many different denominations and divisions between Christians. There is definite room for improvement in this area by all of us. Jesus repeated this just a couple of chapters later. John 15:12, “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” He also went on to say in the next verse, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” This also is a new emphasis on this command that is not found in the Old Testament. Jesus laid down His life for all humanity from Adam and Eve to the end of time. As Jesus laid down His life for us, we also should be willing to save the life of a Christian brother or sister by giving up our own life. 1 John 3:16, “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” The Apostle Paul also said we should love one another as Jesus loved us. Ephesians 5:2, “And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.” We are to love our Christian brothers and sisters not just with words, but with deeds, helping those who need help. Galatians 5:13-14, “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” We will continue this topic next Sabbath.
Forgotten Warnings, Part 3 – March 9, 2024
Acts 20:29-30, “For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.” This is the Apostle Paul’s warning to the elders of the true Church of God. The Bible is full of warnings about departing from the true doctrines and commandments of God. There are no warnings about not accepting “new truths!” Why? Because we as humans become spiritually careless and get tired of the effort required to stay faithful to the true teachings and laws found in the Bible and understood through spiritual insight. We are not talking about non-Christians. Note that Paul says deception would come from within the church, verse 30, “Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.” We need to take heed as Christians to make sure we do not become lukewarm and deceived. Paul also warned against divisions within the church with the preaching of different doctrines. Romans 16:17-18, “Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.” Paul stated others were watering down the truth to make it more pleasing and palatable. 2 Corinthians 2:17(TMSG), “No—but at least we don’t take God’s Word, water it down, and then take it to the streets to sell it cheap. We stand in Christ’s presence when we speak; God looks us in the face. We get what we say straight from God and say it as honestly as we can.” Paul warned that other ministers would preach a gospel different than what Jesus taught. And worse, some in the church would tolerate it. 2 Corinthians 11:3-4, “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it!” Paul gives a very dire warning about false minister deceiving others into believing they are true ministers. 2 Corinthians 11:13-115, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.” We should not assume everything we have been taught in our Christian church is according to the Gospel of Jesus. As Paul stated, we all have an individual, personal responsibility to test and prove what we are hearing is based on the actual teachings found in our Christian Bible. 1 Thessalonians 5:21, “Test all things; hold fast what is good.” We will continue this topic later as we approach the spring Holy Days as they were given in the Bible.
Forgotten Warnings, Part 2 – March 2, 2024
Jesus warned against false teachers. Matthew 7:15, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.” “The Message” paraphrase has an interesting expansion on this verse, “Be wary of false preachers who smile a lot, dripping with practiced sincerity. Chances are they are out to rip you off some way or other. Don’t be impressed with charisma; look for character.” Jesus also warned His disciples that the major Jewish religious sects of their time were teaching false doctrines. Matthew 16:6, 12, “Then Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. … Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Most readers of the Bible just want to apply this to the historical Sadducees and Pharisees. That is a spiritually dangerous assumption. Jesus gave many warnings against the established religious groups of His time. In addition, Jesus gave strong and serious warnings for end-time Christians. Matthew 24:4-5, “And Jesus answered and said to them: ‘Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, “I am the Christ,” and will deceive many.’” Most want to believe Jesus meant false ministers would claim they themselves were the Christ. However, a better understanding would be that Jesus is saying many ministers would preach that Jesus was the Christ, but not teach what He taught, therefore deceiving many. Jesus went on to say, Matthew 24:11-12, “Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” Jesus said it would get even worse with false christs and false prophets. We will not concern ourselves with those warnings at this time, we need to concentrate on the warnings to Christians about misdirected teachers leading them away from the teachings of Jesus. We need to heed these warnings and apply them to our own religious interactions. Paul admonished Christians in 1 Thessalonians 5:21, “Test all things; hold fast what is good.” How many Christians actually do this? Not enough. There are no scriptures supporting a Sunday Sabbath observance, even the Catholic Church admits this. But the vast majority of Christians go to church on Sunday and then use that day as a day of recreation and work—not a full day of complete rest like the Bible commands. Few Christians keep the God-given Biblical Holy Days that Jesus and the early New Testament church kept. Unfortunately, many of the doctrines that Jesus preached have been watered down and changed in these the end times. The end times that we live in are perilous times for Christians. Let us be diligent to compare what we are hearing in the pulpits with what Jesus actually preached and propagated by His apostles. Next Sabbath we will begin to look in to the many similar warnings of the apostles to the New Testament church, especially at the end time just before Jesus’ Second Coming.
Forgotten Warnings, Part 1 – February 24, 2024
There are many Old Testament warnings to Israel not to abandoned a love for God and discard the laws that God had given them. God inspired Moses to warn Israel. Deuteronomy 8:11-14, “Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;” Israel rejected God as their ruler and wanted to be more like the pagan nations around them including having a king to rule over them. 1 Samuel 8:6-8, “But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, ‘Give us a king to judge us.’ So Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also.’” Israel soon split into two nations after King Solomon’s rule. Both had many kings, most of which did not follow God. Near the end of this line of kings, God sent a prophet with this warning. 2 Kings 17:13-15, “Yet the Lord testified against Israel and against Judah, by all of His prophets, every seer, saying, ‘Turn from your evil ways, and keep My commandments and My statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by My servants the prophets.’ Nevertheless they would not hear, but stiffened their necks, like the necks of their fathers, who did not believe in the Lord their God. And they rejected His statutes and His covenant that He had made with their fathers, and His testimonies which He had testified against them; they followed idols, became idolaters, and went after the nations who were all around them, concerning whom the Lord had charged them that they should not do like them.” Some of those warnings are in the major and minor prophets of the Old Testament. Let’s look at a couple. Isaiah 1:2-4, “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the Lord has spoken: ‘I have nourished and brought up children, And they have rebelled against Me; The ox knows its owner And the donkey its master’s crib; But Israel does not know, My people do not consider.’ Alas, sinful nation, A people laden with iniquity, A brood of evildoers, Children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the Lord, They have provoked to anger The Holy One of Israel, They have turned away backward.” One verse in Jeremiah, Jeremiah 2:5, “Thus says the Lord: ‘What injustice have your fathers found in Me, That they have gone far from Me, Have followed idols, And have become idolaters?’” Daniel 9:13-14, “As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth. Therefore the Lord has kept the disaster in mind, and brought it upon us; for the Lord our God is righteous in all the works which He does, though we have not obeyed His voice.” Those who study the whole Bible are usually well aware of God’s warnings to the Israelites and what would happen to them when, not if, they forsook Him and forgot His laws. Yet most forget the many similar warnings in the New Testament to Christians and the Christian churches. We will review those next Sabbath.
Jesus 62nd Command – February 17, 2024
John 3:3, 7, “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ … Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’” Jesus told Nicodemus one has to be born again in order to enter the Kingdom of God. Nicodemus understood this to be a literal birth and asked Jesus how this can happen. Jesus answered, John 3:5-6, “Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Some Christians may think and say they are “born again.” This is a good sediment meaning they have accepted Jesus as their Savior and changed their lives for the better. However, this is technically not correct. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, repent, are baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, we become the begotten children of our Father. But that is a topic for another time. How do we know we have not actually been born again? Jesus said, “that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” None of us are spirit beings yet, that happens at the Second Coming of Jesus and the First Resurrection. But what did Jesus mean when He said we must be born of water? Some might think this is baptism. This could be considered as the beginning of that process, but it is not specifically what Jesus meant. Jesus begins to answer this question in the next chapter. John 4:13-14, “Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.’” We get another hint from Jesus on this topic in John 15:3, “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.” We have to look at the writings of the apostles to further clarify what Jesus meant. The best answer is found in Ephesians 5:26-27, “that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.” In order to have a spiritual birth into the Kingdom of God, we have to be washed clean by the words that Jesus preached, the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. That means obeying what Jesus preached. 2 Corinthians 7:1, “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” Hebrews 10:22, “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” James also tells us what actions we much take in order to be born of the spirit. James 4:8, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” Peter gives a good summary and we will conclude with his inspired message. “The Message” translation gives a good rendition of 1 Peter 1:22-23(TMSG), “Now that you’ve cleaned up your lives by following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it. Your new life is not like your old life. Your old birth came from mortal sperm; your new birth comes from God’s living Word. Just think: a life conceived by God himself!”
Promises of God, Redemption – February 10, 2024
To redeem something means regaining or gaining possession of something in exchange for payment, or clearing a debt. In the Bible, redemption refers to Jesus purchasing us back from our sins so we belong to God our Father. In other words, Jesus ransoms us with the price of His own life, securing our deliverance from the bondage and condemnation of sin. Acts 20:28, “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.” 1 Corinthians 1:30, “But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption”. There are many scriptures that state we were bought with a price and belong to God, not sin. 1 Corinthians 7:23, “You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.” Other scriptures state Jesus died for our sins, that is, He redeemed us from our sins. Galatians 1:4, “who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,”. This frees us from the death penalty which we are all guilty of since we all have broken the laws of God. Galatians 4:4-5, “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” This is all because of the great love, mercy and grace of God our Father. Ephesians 1:7, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” We live in an evil and dark world, but Jesus frees us from all that. Colossians 1:13-14, “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” Being redeemed also cleanses us. Titus 2:14, “who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.” Jesus performed our redemption as our High Priest. Hebrews 9:12, “Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.” Jesus was our sacrificial lamb redeeming us from our sins. 1 Peter 1:18-19, “knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” Our sins separate us from the Father. Jesus redeemed us from the subsequent death penalty. This then results in Jesus also reconciling us to the Father as we discussed on the Sabbath of January 20, 2023. God our Father has done everything possible through His Son Jesus Christ, the Messiah, to bring us into His eternal family and to be at one with Him. Let us give thanks and glorify both the Father and the Son for their great love as evident in their Plan of Salvation.
Jesus 61st Command – February 3, 2024
Matthew 26:41, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” This is somewhat similar to Jesus’ command to watch and be alert for the Second Coming of Jesus in Matthew 24:42-44. However, here Jesus’ emphasis is to ask the Father to help us avoid temptations that lead to sin. Jesus said we should be alert to such temptations so we can guard our behavior against such actions. Luke 12:15(NLT), “Then he said, ‘Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.’” Giving in to temptations can take us away from the faith of our belief in God’s doctrines. Jesus said in the parable of the seeds, Luke 8:13, “But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.” The Apostle James expounded upon this topic in detail. James 1:12-15, “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” Peter made a similar statement. 2 Peter 2:9, “then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment,”. The Apostle Paul said the Father would not allow us to be tempted beyond our ability to resist. 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” There are many scriptures that state we should be alert and diligent in our obedience to God’s Way of Life. Here are just two. 1 Thessalonians 5:6-10, “Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.” Revelation 16:15, “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.” Let us close with one verse from the Lord Jesus’ outline prayer which we should make a part of our daily prayers. Matthew 6:13, “And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.”
Promises of God, To Be At One – January 27, 2024
Last Sabbath we covered the scriptures that Jesus’ death reconciles us to the Father. This is a critical part of the Father’s Plan of Salvation whereby we Christian humans can become “at one” with the Father and the Son in their spiritual family, the Kingdom of God. This process starts in part when someone is baptized and receives the seed of the Holy Spirit by which we begin a uniting process. 1 Corinthians 6:17, “But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” The spirit of “oneness” is prevalent in the Father’s message to us. Ephesians 4:4-6, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were 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.” Jesus and the Father are one. John 10:30, “I and My Father are one.” Just as Jesus and the Father are one, so they want us to be at one with them. John 14:20, “At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.” Jesus gave the parable of the vine and the branch to illustrate the importance of this principle. John 15:4, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” Jesus prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane emphasized His desire that His disciples become at one with the Father. John 17:11, “Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.” Jesus not only prayed for His disciples at that time, but for all His disciples down through the ages, that they too would be joined in oneness with Him and the Father. John 17:20-23, “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.” What a loving Father we have that He wants to share eternity in oneness with us in His Eternal Family. Therefore, let us continuously give thanks to God our Father and Jesus our Savior.
Promises of God, Reconciliation – January 20, 2024
Reconciliation involves a change in the relationship between God and man (or man and man). It assumes there has been a breakdown in the relationship, but now there has been a change from a state of enmity and fragmentation to one of harmony and fellowship. We need to be reconciled to God because our sins have separated us from Him. Isaiah 59:2, “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.” But, through the sacrifice of Jesus the Messiah, those sins can be forgiven and we can be reconciled to God our Father. Romans 5:10-11, “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.” All Christians know Jesus died for the forgiveness of our sins. However, how often do we ponder why we need our sins forgiven? There are several reasons, of which reconciliation is one. Reconciliation with God is a major theme of the Gospel of Jesus and His ministers. 2 Corinthians 5:18-21, "Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” What wonderful things Jesus accomplished by His death, doing away with the enmity between us and the Father. Colossians 1:19-22, “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight.” Through the process of reconciliation, we become “at one” with God our Father and Jesus our Savior. This is the message of the Day of Atonement. We will discuss becoming at one with the Father and Jesus in next week’s Sabbath Thought.
Jesus’ 60th Command – January 13, 2024
Keep the Passover. Matthew 26:26-28, “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.’ Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.’” Jesus commanded His disciples to partake of the New Testament Passover symbols. Passover was an annual festival ordained by God when He brought Israel out of Egypt. The New Testament church kept the Passover with the new symbols of the bread and the wine as commanded by Jesus for hundreds of years. Then, when Emperor Constantine wanted a united religion in the Roman Empire, the then somewhat secular church grown large, compromised with the Pagans and consolidated their beliefs by changing to the worship of Ishtar, or what is now called Easter. Ishtar was the goddess of love, sexuality and fertility, hence, the bunny rabbits and eggs associated with Easter. The very small church of the faithful few, however, continued to keep the annual Passover as instituted by Jesus, even down to this present time. The Apostle Paul emphasized to the Corinthian church the importance of the symbols of the bread and the wine. 1 Corinthians 10:16, “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?” Paul then explained the significance of the Passover and the importance of properly observing it. 1 Corinthians 11:23-32, “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.” The broken bread represents the beating Jesus suffered so our physical sins could be forgiven and we can be healed. 1 Peter 2:24, “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.” As we all know, Jesus’ sacrifice, shedding His blood, forgives us of our sins. Hebrews 9:14, 28, “how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? … so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.” Therefore, faithful Christians should honor and worship Jesus as our Savior by keeping the Passover with the symbols of the bread and wine after sunset this coming April 21.
Promises of God, We are His Holy People, Part 2 – January 6, 2024
It is always somewhat surprising that the Bible refers to Christians as God’s holy people when we all know we are sinners. But the Bible doesn’t mean we are holy like God is Holy. It means we are God’s chosen people, set apart and sanctified within His Plan of Salvation with the destiny of entering into the Kingdom of God at the Second Coming of Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 3:13, “so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.” 1 Timothy 1:9, “who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.” Hebrews 3:1, “Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus.” When God calls us to His Truth, He expects us to “come out of the world” and live a better life before Him. 1 Thessalonians 4:7, “God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.” Hebrews 12:14, “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:” 1 Peter 1:14-16(NLT), “So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, ‘You must be holy because I am holy.’” This world is soon coming to an end and there is a future day of judgement. Therefore, we need to live a good life. 2 Peter 3:11-12a, “Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, …” God gives a special promise to those who are in the First Resurrection. Revelation 20:6, “Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.” Let us close with a good summary statement from the Apostle Peter on this topic. 1 Peter 2:9-10, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.”