The Importance of Works

Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

~ James 2:17

Our last memory verse illustrated one of the foremost tenets of Christian faith: the knowledge that we cannot save ourselves by our works, our deeds, our actions. Salvation is a gift from God and can only be gained through His grace, and only if we have faith in Christ.

This does not mean, however, that we can do whatever we want and expect to be forgiven for it. There was an early sect of Christianity that taught not simply freedom from the Law, but the complete abolition of morality, reasoning that if Christ would forgive all sin, there was no purpose in stopping sinful behavior. There were even extremists who encouraged total hedonism, using the logic that the more one sinned, the more one showed himself to trust in Christ’s forgiveness. How far astray human logic can lead us! (People usually refer to this doctrine as “antinomianism,” although the more accurate definition of antinomianism involves complex issues of theology.)

Let there be no doubt. A person who is saved by Christ will reflect their salvation by a sincere, lifelong commitment to following God’s laws. We strive to live without sin. We try our utmost to follow the laws God has given us in His Holy Bible.

But the importance of works to the Christian does, ultimately, give rise to a contradiction that logic cannot reconcile. We are told a number of times that Christians will stop sinning, or that those who love Christ will follow His commandments. Yet, nobody has really managed it. Paul himself lamented, “For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.” (Romans 7:15-20)

So, we will not try to make it all logical and tidy, but instead read and understand this passage: Faith without works is dead. Which is to say, if our deeds do not reflect our faith, our faith is worthless. It will not save us. If our faith is dead, we are dead, for it is a living faith that brings us the life of Christ’s forgiveness.

Looking at the Greek gives another dimension to the passage; it can properly be translated, “faith without works is dead by its own standards.” The implication that true and saving faith includes a change of behavior is implied by the very definition of faith. If one does not change one’s behavior, he does not have faith.

Does this mean we should anguish and feel guilty about our sins? Not necessarily. There is much to be said for feeling absolute certainty in our forgiveness. This is the “hope” in “Faith, Hope and Charity.” But it does mean that we must confess our sin and honestly resolve to avoid it. And as we have learned, if we resolve to avoid a sin, God will send a Spirit to strengthen us in fighting temptation.

Lord, let me seek to avoid sin, out of my love for you. Amen.

Birth Announcement

 

While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for her to have her baby. She gave birth to her first son…

~ Luke 2:6-7

Many years ago a baby was born. This was not just any baby, but was God in the flesh. The God who created the universe would come in a helpless form, totally dependent on the humans He created. Mary was the chosen one to be the mother. By all indications, she was a good mother, was obedient to the call of God, and carried a heavy weight on her shoulders from the inception to the crucifixion.

Jesus was His earthly name. He cried, needed nourishment, required sleep, played, laughed, learned to turn over, crawl, and walk, and had snuggling loves with His parents. His earthly father taught him carpentry. He came as a normal human with normal needs, yet He was God. He lived His life in Holy perfection. He was tempted, but He knew no sin. There was no evil in Him.

He humbled Himself to die a gruesome death on a cross of shame. He did this for the redemption of mankind. His unfathomable love would coat the world with His precious blood.

As we celebrate Christmas and His birth, we cannot do it without remembering His death, and we cannot remember His death without remembering His resurrection. It started with a plan and a birth. When we believe and come to Him in repentance, we will be born again, not through a womb, but by the spirit. He yearns for every heart to be released to Him, so that the filth of sin from this world could be cleansed, forgiven, and made new.

If you want a gift that lasts a lifetime and more, give yourself the gift of Christ. Let Him come in and fill you with His goodness. He will help you to live a life that is completely full, abundant, joyful, and peaceful. He will fill your mouth with laughter, your heart with a song, your belly with His word, and your soul with His quenching water. Be good to yourself and open yourself up to Him; His gift of grace is for eternity.

Dear Father and Lord, My words of gratitude are not nearly enough to convey the greatness of your gift to the world. Help me to show that gratitude by being all, doing all, and loving all in your name. Amen

The Tradition Of The Nativity Scene

 

“She (Mary) gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger...”

~Luke 2:7

The nativity provides inspiration to Christians around the world during the Christmas season because it represents the foundation of our religion. The nativity scene is also a time for followers of Christ to show the secular world the true meaning of Christmas which is the birth of Christ.

The displaying of a nativity is also known as a crèche, manager, or crib. It is a scene with figurines and sometimes live characters portraying the birth of Jesus, and are commonly displayed in churches, public squares, and shopping malls during the Christmas season.

The nativity scene usually exhibits the infant Jesus, his mother Mary, and his father Joseph. Often times it has shepherds, sheep, and angels displayed near the manger. A donkey and ox are also frequently used in the nativity scene. The display repeatedly includes the “wise men” along with the camels that belong to the “wise men”.

However, when did the tradition of the displaying of the nativity scene begin? According to Wikipedia, “Saint Francis of Assisi is credited with creating the first nativity scene in 1223 A.D. (a living one) intending thereby to cultivate the worship of Christ, having been inspired by his recent visit to the Holy Land where he had been shown Jesus's traditional birthplace. The scene's popularity inspired communities throughout Catholic countries to stage similar pantomimes.”

According to St. Bonaventure, in the biography of Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis was granted permission from Pope Honorius III to set up a live nativity scene with hay and two live animals - an ox and a donkey - in a cave near the Italian village of Greccio, Italy. He then invited the villagers to come to view the reenacted scene of the birth of Christ on Christmas Eve where he preached about “the babe in Bethlehem”. St. Bonaventure also wrote the following: “Within a hundred years every church in Italy was expected to have a nativity scene at Christmastime.”

Following the ritual of Saint Francis of Assisi other countries began to realize the importance of proclaiming the birth of Jesus, therefore other countries began their own tradition of nativity scenes. According to Wikipedia, an example of the different nativity is: Provence's are small terracotta nativity's “hand-painted santons (little saint)”.

During Christmas week as Christians all over the world observe the birth of Jesus Christ, many of us have an annual tradition of displaying a special nativity scene inside our home or possibly in our yard. The nativity may be very old, or new; the same message is conveyed to everyone who gazes upon it, and that is a reminder of the birth of Jesus.

As the secular world continues to try to take Christ out of Christmas, it is ever more important for a Christian to continue to announce to the world about the “babe in Bethlehem” just as Saint Francis Assisi did in 1223 A.D. to the villagers in Greccio, Italy.

Lord God, thank You for sending Your Son to us. Please help us during this Christmas season to reflect Him in all our ways. Amen.

Blessed.

 

We are truly blessed people. I read an interesting article the other day that points out that truth.

If you own just one Bible, you are abundantly blessed. One-third of the world does not have access to even one.

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million who will not survive the week.

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 500 million people around the world.

If you attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest or torture of death, you are more blessed than almost billion people in the world.

If you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world!

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy.

If your parents are still married and alive, you are very rare, even in the United States.

If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful, you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.

If you can hold someone’s hand, hug them or even touch them on the shoulder, you are blessed because you can offer God’s healing touch.

If you prayed yesterday and today, you are in the minority because you can offer God’s healing touch.

If you prayed yesterday and today, you are in the minority because you believe in God’s willingness to hear and answer prayer.

If you believe in Jesus as the Son of God, you are part of a very small minority in the world!

Reality of Hell

 Luke 16:19-31

 

As we read this teaching from Jesus, we tend to wonder why He taught on this topic of Hell so much. He taught it as a warning. Not an alarm to scare us into salvation, but instead, He did it out of love. We are assured with this, as we read what Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3, we read in verse 16, how much Father God loves us. He gave us Jesus so we can be saved. The greatest love story in history can be found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ who died for all people so that they would not have to die and go to Hell. Yet, many still die and go to Hell due to their defiant rejection of Christ's offer of salvation by grace. They love their life of unrepented sin, to a great Eternal fault.

REALITY OF LIFE AND DEATH

Life is short. That statement seems so obvious, doesn't it? Though it is evident, many people live as if they are immortal. They live by the motto, "you only live once", which in the general sense is true, but the meaning behind it means to do whatever you want since life is so short. But, while doing so they either ignore or reject Eternity. Life apart from Christ is meaningless, yet so many desire to live without Him while remaining lost. They either make excuses for why they remain lost or they make excuses for why they procrastinate to surrender their lives unto Him for salvation.

Death is imminent and can not be stopped. Death is coming and there is no hindering it. Dying is sad, when we see a loved one pass away, it is more heart-crushing when someone dies lost in their unrepented sin.

When we close our eyes for the final time in this lifetime, we will open them either in Heaven or in Hell. It depends on whether we are lost or saved on where we end up Eternally, and there are only two final destinations. When we die, and if we go to Heaven, we can assure that go from temporal life to Eternal Life. But, if we die lost, we go from temporal life unto Eternal death, where we are dead in this lifetime and forever Spiritually dead. We must embrace that Jesus is the Way, Truth, and Life.

REALITY OF UNREPENTED SIN and CHOICES

Unrepented sin can be traced back to the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve chose to live in sin, disregarding all that God has ordained and commanded. The result was horrific. They were forever separated from God, by choice. You see, unrepented sin actively lived out is a choice, that results in an Eternal separation from God. The wages of sin is death, but Eternal Life is found in Christ alone. Salvation is a result of receiving the grace of God by what Christ satisfied on Calvary. We are defined by our unrepented sin, those that have repented are saved by grace and therefore are forgiven. Those unrepented are unforgiven because God is just and since He is just, and will not forgive those that do not desire to be forgiven. The Holy Spirit attempts to convict unrepented souls to flee sin and embrace salvation by grace. When the lost reject Christ for unrepented sin, they embrace satan and become his workmanship. Some do not understand why God allows the lost to remain lost. We see in Romans 1 and 2, that God does not play. He has a limit to His grace. Those that arrogantly choose not to be saved, and choose to live life to their fullest extent on their own terms, and done in their own time, is given over to their unrepented sin, for there is no excuse why they reject Jesus and the salvation that He offers. God grants them the desire of their heart, even though that heart is spiritually diseased and dying. The unrepented soul needs Jesus even though they chose a lifestyle of sin. They chose to sin, therefore they choose Hell.

Illustration:

Hypothetically, what if you were settled into your home, comfortably in your routine and I come knocking on your door, warning you that your home is on fire and the flames are surrounding you and to survive, you must leave right now, otherwise you shall perish. What will you choose, leave and be saved, or take your chances to save yourself? The reality is this, right now [if you are lost], you are headed to Hell, and if you choose not to surrender and flee the comfort of your lifestyle of sin, unrepented, you shall perish in Hell for Eternity. Come to Jesus, for He paid the penalty of sin for us all. 

REALITY OF HELL

Hell, it is not a cuss word. It should never be spoken of in hoping someone should be sent there. Many preachers and teachers, and Christians altogether are afraid to speak or even teach on it, I myself tend to get uncomfortable on this subject, because it is so real, and so final. We are to teach and preach on it to rightly teach the whole counsel of God. Not just the rewards of Heaven, but the result of rejecting the Gospel. The reality of Hell is disturbing but true. Those that die lost go to Hell lost because they chose to remain unrepentant and remain in sin at death. God never desired for anyone to die in their sin, but sadly many choose to continue to live in sin, unrepented such as we see in today's Scripture with the Rich man, who lived a life separate from the Lord's offering of saving grace and the conviction of The Holy Spirit, choosing sin over salvation is choosing Hell and its consequences that result from it...Eternal separation from God and Spiritual death.

God does not condemn us to Hell, we condemn ourselves to Hell. The Rich man condemned himself, just as many sadly do today. Once a soul dies on earth, lost and unrepented they condemn themselves to Hell, with no second chance, no grace, no Holy Spirit conviction of their sins. It is final, with no turning back. Death is final, Hell is final, and your fate is forever sealed once and for all.

When in Hell you are Eternally separated from God, here is a short list of the tortures one will suffer...

A thirst for mercy and grace that goes unquenched.

No more peace, no comfort, no rest.

No more Holy Spirit conviction and guidance.

No more healing and joy.

Eternal suffering with every human sense enabled.

Eternal hopelessness and helplessness.

The ability to see all happenings in Heaven and on earth without interacting with them, since there is a great distance [chasm] and there can never be an interaction between all 3 realms.

Finally, the worst traumatic suffering those in Hell go through is the Eternal Spiritual separation from God, which alone should break your heart, though they deserve Hell, based on their arrogant choice, for there is no excuse not to be saved and to repent. Hell is a choice but can be persuaded this side of Heaven, by those of us who are saved to go out and witness.

Reality of Heaven

The reality of Heaven can be defined by this verse, [rephrased] 'There is no condemnation for those that are in Christ, in other words, if one is saved [Born-Again]. That is the key to Heaven, being saved by grace through faith in Christ. Apart from God's saving grace, coupled with our faith in Him, our Eternal fate is grim. As we look at today's Scripture, we see Lazarus' fate. He is found resting in the Bosom of Abraham. This tells us the beauty of Heaven, Eternal rest in The Lord's Holy Bosom. Let us look back at Psalm 23, in the aspect of today's Message and today's Scripture. "The Lord is the Shepherd I shall not want..." You see when in Heaven, every need we had here on earth is totally fulfilled in Heaven for all Eternity. In Hell, no need is fulfilled, and we are found in want. In Heaven, here is a list of just some of the things we are blessed with for all Eternity...

In Heaven, we are a new creation, and all things are made new. 

Perfection. We shall be perfect, perfectly under our Lord.

No more loneliness, heartache, heartbreak, tears, death, fear, worry, anxiety, and doubt.

No more pain, suffering, hopelessness, or helplessness.

We will be full of joy overwhelmingly for all Eternity.

In Heaven, we will be in a constant state of rest, peace, happiness, love, worship, and praise.

The greatest blessed reward of Heaven is this...

No more separation from God, for there will no longer be any sin. We shall be forever in the Presence of The One Who became sin and went to Calvary to die and rise again so we can be saved from Hell, and assure us and secure us for all Eternity. 

conclusion: TIME OF DECISION

Time is running out. Life is short. Death is coming. Tomorrow is not promised, today is the day of salvation. This sermon and this Scripture is not meant to scare us, for fear will never get us into Heaven. Heaven can only be rewarded through The One in Whom bled, died, and rose again on the 3rd day. There is only one Name under Heaven that someone can be saved, and that is Christ Jesus. I can spout of many verses from The Bible and that would assure and encourage all of us that are Born-Again. But this alone would not persuade the unrepented lost to come to Jesus we need to explain why any Scripture that would be delivered to bring souls to Jesus, because if we die in the next 5 minutes, where will end up for Eternity, Hell or Heaven? These are the only two options. When we close our eyes for the last time here on earth, we will open them for the first time in Eternity, where shall you go? Time is now to choose in Whom you will serve and surrender to, Jesus or satan? You must be Born-Again. First comes death, then comes Judgment. Will you be told at Judgment well done My good and faithful servant you have done well, or will you hear, be gone I never knew you. Listen and heed the conviction of The Holy Spirit to repent now, while we still have Him, for once we die, that is it, our Eternal fate is sealed.

I leave you with this...

Romans 10:9-13

New International Version

9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” 12 For there is no diffgerence between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Let us pray...

Holy Father, thank You for Your Message and we ask that You encourage us that are saved, and convict and bring those that are lost and bring them to repentance so that too can be saved, all for your glory in and through Christ our Lord and Savior, we pray, amen.

Worshipping God

Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

~ Psalm 95:6

One thing that is missing from so many churches today, and outside of churches in our individual lives, is a true sense of worshipping God. Our churches have become, by and large, great in so many ways. We have heat and air-conditioning, media presentations (or at least, easy printing), food and drink are easier to come by. Think about the churches with hard wooden benches with no backs; think about sitting in a church in Massachusetts in January, or in Texas in August, without heat or A.C.

But they had real spirit. They went to church to by-God worship; and when they went home, the family gathered around a great big heavy King James Bible, and read Scripture, and prayed.

In the last of the seven letters to churches from Christ, He tells the Church of Laodicea: “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,’” (Rev. 3:15-18)

Many people who read Revelation think, Is that the church today? And indeed, many people think that the seven letters are seven ages, and that we live in the last age, the one for which these words were intended as prophesy. Both as individuals and as church congregations, we need to insure that we make a genuine, full, concentrated offering of our time and our thought when we worship God.

There is an old prayer we use in the Daily Devotion on Sundays, sometimes, the heart of which is: “Deliver me, when I draw near to you, from coldness of heart and wanderings of mind, so that with steadfast thoughts and kindled affections, I may worship You in spirit and in truth.”

I have no intention of becoming part of a big religion machine where the Bible is only vaguely known, we say a few prayers half-heartedly, and the pastor or priest or preacher delivers a sermon filled with heartwarming stories from real life, concerned only with not hurting anybody's feelings, while the congregation looks at their watches and wonders about lunch or their tee time. Or the service goes through a routine where the words just go through us like greased gumballs.

When our time for worship arrives (hopefully often), we need to give God our time and our full attention, and we need to read and listen with an attitude of learning and changing to conform to God's word. It is the way we will grow in faith and become complete in Christ.

Lord, when I worship you, guard me against wandering of mind and the intrusion of mundane thought, so that I may be fully present with you, through the power of Your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Political Speech

 

You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.

~ Acts 23:5

So many Christians and so many churches love to ignore this very straightforward commandment. I’m not sure I have ever heard a sermon about it. Yet, it appears without any qualification in both the Old and New Testaments, and it could not be any clearer. God has commanded us not to say insulting things about the leadership of the country in which we happen to find ourselves.

This is a bitter pill for anyone who, while professing faith in Christ, seeks salvation in human politics. A person of strong political opinions will, roughly half the time, be heatedly opposed to the President, Prime Minister, King, Emperor, High Priest, or whatever other title is given to the paramount leader of his or her nation. Moreover, we have lesser officials to whom this stricture also seems to apply.

The broader principle is better known: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.” (Romans 13:1) The most powerful demonstration of this principle in the Bible, and perhaps all of history, was given to us by Christ. There are many dimensions, and more important ones, to the passion of Christ. But part of His story involves subjecting Himself to the authority of both Rome and the Sanhedrin, to the point of allowing them to execute Him, unfairly and contrary to their own laws.

To subject oneself to the secular state means simply this: They have no power over us. They can take our property, take our physical freedom, punish us and even kill us, but they cannot hurt us. If we “hate” the things of this world and love God, if we serve God and not Mammon, we demonstrate that our soul is more important than our body. (Matthew 6:24.) We show ourselves, and the world, that our treasure lies in heaven and that we have absolute confidence in our resurrection and redemption.

If we were not so thick-headed, these specific admonitions would be unnecessary, for the Bible tells us repeatedly to imitate Christ in our lives. E.g., 1 John 2:6: “Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” Most Christians know the great irony of Palm Sunday. The Jews expected a King on a great white horse who would take up the sword, sit on the throne of government, and impose the morality of the Law of Moses on his subjects. Instead, it got a King on a donkey, who hung on a cross and wore a crown of thorns, and who pointedly refused to participate in political rebellion against either Rome or the Jewish power structure. He subjected Himself to them, “even unto death.” When Jesus thought a crowd wanted to make Him a political king, he fled. (John 6:15)

With the resurrection and ascension of Christ, the temple of God became the body of Christ; and the body of Christ includes all people who confess His name. “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands.” (Acts 17:24) “Do you not know that you (plural) are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Cor. 3:16)

Our citizenship is in Heaven, not a nation of earth. (Phil. 3:20) You cannot serve two Masters. (Luke 16:13) Politics is a means by which we seek to compel others to do what we want. It bespeaks a love of the world and, thus, service to Mammon, no matter how praiseworthy we believe that the law we seek to compel others to follow might be.

There is no surer way to drive others away from Christ, than to mix Him together with a political party. “[W]hat fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14)

And so, the Bible commands us simply to live within the laws of whatever city and nation we live in, to pay whatever taxes they demand, and not to curse the government. Entangling ourselves in political controversy undermines our Great Commission, to bring Christ to all people and all nations.

If you are involved in politics, and especially if you think you or your church are doing a “Christian” act by supporting one political figure and opposing another, you are rationalizing an entirely anti-Biblical activity. And this goes double for all the anti-Trump and then anti-Biden invective we have heard come out of Christian churches. “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.” (Psalm 146:3)

One final word on this, from Richard Baxter: “Is it not enough that all the world is against us, but we must also be against one another? O happy days of persecution, which drove us together in love, whom the sunshine of liberty and prosperity crumbles into dust by our contentions!”

Lord, give me the wisdom to be at peace with an evil world, that I may serve you better. Amen.