2. God saves us FROM sin, not IN sin; But His Holy Spirit can only do that for us as our faith is exclusively in Christ & His Blood Sacrifice (ie: "THE CROSS") (Rom. 6:1-2;,14; 8:2; 1 Cor. 1:18,23-24; 2:2; Gal. 2:20-22; 5:1-4; 1 Jhn. 1:7-9).
3. Being a Christian, but refusing to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit... is like a man being pulled out of a slime pit and desperately needing a bath, but then only sticking his BIG TOE in a tub of hot water! (Gotta get in the whole way!). Then, faith exclusively in Christ Crucified allows the Holy Spirit to "take a wash cloth and scrub that dirt off".
"FAITH and YIELDEDNESS" are the keys that unlock the blessings of God in one's life. "UNBELIEF and STUBBORNNESS" keep them locked. One can either be "FREE AND CLEAN", or "BOUND AND DIRTY". First it takes faith and yieldedness to reach out and grab the outstretched Hand of the Master to pull you out of the slime-pit. Then it takes faith and yieldedness to jump in that tub. THEN it takes faith and yieldedness to allow the HOLY SPIRIT to scrub you while you are IN the tub! But what do most want to do?? Do all of the above.... THEMSELVES!!! (Law and works!). ... IT DON'T WORK!!!! God the Holy Ghost has a BLOW-TORCH. He is measuring HOW MUCH HEAT is necessary to melt a person's p-r-i-d-e. I know it took quite a lot for me (Took some near-death experiences); How 'bout for... you?
4. God the Father is "the Fountain of Living Waters". The Way to Him is JESUS; The way to Jesus is THE CROSS: The way to the Cross is a DENIAL OF SELF (See Jer. 2:13; Jn. 14:6: 3:16; Lk. 9:23-24). Friend, there is no other way to have "abundant Life", an on-going DAILY flow of God's "Spirit-Waters" to your soul! Nothing of this world can satisfy. You need a HEAVENLY Source, an eternal, never-ending SUPPLY!!! GLO-RY TO THE LAMB !!!!
5. Friend, it matters what God loves... and what He hates. He LOVES "faith, whole-heartedness, and humility"; He HATES "unbelief, lukewarmness, and pride". (Heb. 11:6; Jer. 29:13; Mt. 22:37; Lk. 14:25-35; Rev. 3:15-17; Jas. 4:6; Num. 14:11; Mk. 16:14; Heb. 3:12,19; Pr. 8:13; 11:2; 13:10; 21:4). Sad to say, the majority of "the church" now falls in the latter category, putting God AGAINST them, and not FOR them! He is now calling all men back to THE CROSS, which will place them in that first part right there!! All who refuse, will remain at enmity with God (And that is not good, when He Who has ALL POWER is against you!!).
6. "The Cross" greatly demonstrates the wisdom of God, in that... it keeps OUT of His Kingdom all of the proud, faithless, and rebellious... while allowing IN the humble, believing, and obedient (See 1 Cor. 1:18,23-31; Jas. 4:6). You see, to the proud, faithless, and rebellious, the Cross will either be a "stumblingblock" or "foolishness", so they will not embrace that! And since it is God's prerequisite for both salvation and sanctification, they will be left out. In essence, the Cross is like "the flaming sword" which barred entrance to the garden of eden and "the tree of Life" (see Gen. 3:24) for folks like this. But PRAISE GOD... ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS AND HIS BLOOD SACRIFICE OPENS THE DOOR W-I-D-E FOR ENTRANCE. HALLELUJAH !!!!!!
7. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." -(Jn.3:4). Notice, there is no "middle" zone there!
"He that is not WITH Me is AGAINST Me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth."
-(Lk.11:23)
"Suppose ye that I am come to bring PEACE on the earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather DIVISION." -(Lk. 12:51).... THAT "DIVISION"... IS "FLESH" (JUSTIFICATION FROM SIN BY "LAW", OR "A MIXTURE OF GRACE AND LAW") vs. "SPIRIT" (JUSTIFICATION FROM SIN BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST CRUCIFIED A-L-O-N-E!!). "LAW" and "GRACE" can mix no more that "FLESH" and "SPIRIT" can.... or than OIL and WATER can! JUDGMENT... has begun in the house of God, and GOD is doing the judging! He has had enough of those trying to have it both ways, who have been living in "spiritual adultery" on the side!! He sees and knows, and is now doing a swift work, whether it is among the BAPTISTS, the METHODISTS, the PENTECOSTAL, the... whoever! God has ONE "Spirit of Life", and it is "IN CHRIST JESUS" (Rom. 8:2), not in our efforts of law-keeping. ""Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are FALLEN FROM GRACE." -(Gal. 5:4). This "separation"/"division" will continue, until it has run its course. WHICH camp are you in" The "house of DAVID"? or The "house of SAUL"??? You must now CHOOSE. The days of "sitting on the fence" have passed; God is PUSHING YOU OFF of that fence!!!!
8. Who does the BIBLE classify as a true "child of God" ?
First of all, "...strait is the gate, and narrow is the Way, which leadeth unto Life, and few there be that find it." -(...Matt. 7:14). So that right there tells us that FEW in relation to the whole of the population of people are true Chri...stians in GOD'S Eyes. In John 3:3, Jesus tells Nicodemus that "... Except a man be 'born again' (from above, of the Holy SPirit and of the Word of God), he cannot see the kingdom of God." (Also see 1 Pet. 1:23). In Rev. 20:15, we read that "...whosoever was not found written in the book of Life is cast into the lake of fire.".
Let us look also at what the Holy Spirit through JOHN says, in John 1:12-13:
"But as many as received Him (Jesus), to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."
And again, in 2 Cor. 5:17: "Therefore if any man be 'in Christ', he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." And....
"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." -(Rom. 8:14). Plus...
"Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin (practice sin as a lifestyle); for his seed remainteth in him: and he cannot (practice) sin (as a lifestyle), because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother." -(1 Jhn. 3:9-10).
Finally, Jesus gives a parable of "the tares and the wheat" (Matt. 13:24-30,37-43), which lays out beautifully the answer to this question. In explaining to his disciples what the parable meant, this is what He had to say:
"... He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are THE CHILDREN OF THE KINGDOM; but the tares are THE CHILDREN OF THE WICKED ONE; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares (weeds) are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all ones who offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall 'THE RIGHTEOUS' shine forth as the sun in the kingodm of their Father..." -(Matt. 13:37
Notice, if you will, that last sentence right there: Where it says 'THE RIGHTEOUS' shall shine forth as the sun. THESE are the true children of God, and no one else. And what MAKES a person "righteous"? Faith exclusively in Christ and His Blood Sacrifice on the Cross!
So, to summarize... not everyone is a child of God. Only those who embrace God's Way (Jesus) and Means (the Cross) for their lives, which of course includes REPENTANCE OF SINS as a daily lifestyle. All others are UNrighteous, and "children of satan". Those who are the children of God, because of faith exclusively IN THE BLOOD for righteousness/ morality, will have 'their old man' 'crucified with Christ' (Rom. 6:4-7; Gal. 2:20), be led by the Spirit of God (Rom. 8:14), have "the Divine nature" (2 Pet. 1:4), and manifest "the fruit of the Spirit" (Gal. 5:22-23). They will love God supremely, and love their neighbor as themself (Mark 12:30-31), even loving their ENEMIES (Mt. 5:44). They will not hold any grudges or unforgiveness toward any man (Mt. 6:14-15). These are called "the righteous", "the just", "the godly", "the good seed", "the children of light", "the Saints", "in Christ", "dwelling in the secret Place", "under the shadow of the Almighty", in "the Hiding Place", "the Refuge". O HALLELUJAH, BEHOLD THE TRUE CHILDREN OF GOD. There are many within the organized church who POSE as children of God, but they really are NOT.
9. What is "ABUNDANT LIFE"? It is none other than... THE PRESENCE OF GOD! (SEE Psa. 16:11; 107:9), which is His HOLY SPIRIT (Jn.6:63; 2 Cor. 3:6), given to us "in Christ Jesus (Rom.8:2) through our faith in "the smitten Rock" (Ex. 17:5-6; Jn.7:37-36), CHRIST CRUCIFIED (1 Cor. 1:17-18,22-24; 2:2; Gal. 6:14).
10. Anyone can gather together a group of people who agree with him, but our main concern is that we agree with JESUS. What does His WORD (the Holy Bible) say, as revealed by His Spirit of TRUTH? I would rather have the latter. (Jhn. 16:13; Mt. 7:14). HITLER had a huge following, but did he speak Truth? From the early 30's until the mid 40's, he had 9 million Germans hanging on his every word! Certain men in the Bible, GREAT in the Eyes of God, spoke pure Truth, and had FEW followers. NOAH preached his guts out for years, and only his small family ended up heeding him; Likewise, JEREMIAH spoke exactly what God told him to, and his hearers hated him and threw him into a pit! A famous preacher from the 1700's, in Northampton, Mass- JONATHAN EDWARDS- was kicked out of his own church by his congregation, and relegated to preaching to the Indians. Goes to show... the most popular with man, are usually.... wrong. People tend to gravitate AWAY from Truth, because most cannot handle It. It would rock their world too much, and insist that they CHANGE. ...and some DO want to change, but in their OWN way, not GOD'S!
11. One can love God and be sincere, yet be sincerely.... wrong. For example, if a person sets out to travel by car to DALLAS, he can love God & be sincere about reaching Dallas, but if he TAKES THE WRONG ROAD, he just may end up in ATLANTA!
Friend, it matters what Pastor you are listening to, and what you are believin'. This is your ETERNAL SOUL that's at stake here; Don't worry about offending him. What about your SOUL! I mean, yeah,... is your eternal soul (and even your quality of life here while you are living) WORTH making sure certain people are not offended? Think about it! I believe the answer is obvious. The farther one travels down the wrong road, the farther away he will get from his DESIRED destination. Ever notice that? With time the distance ever increases! If you see you ARE going down the wrong road... STOP. Get out the map, and TAKE THE RIGHT ONE. Or at least HEAD for the right one!
Let us look also at what the Holy Spirit through JOHN says, in John 1:12-13:
"But as many as received Him (Jesus), to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."
And again, in 2 Cor. 5:17: "Therefore if any man be 'in Christ', he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." And....
"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." -(Rom. 8:14). Plus...
"Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin (practice sin as a lifestyle); for his seed remainteth in him: and he cannot (practice) sin (as a lifestyle), because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother." -(1 Jhn. 3:9-10).
Finally, Jesus gives a parable of "the tares and the wheat" (Matt. 13:24-30,37-43), which lays out beautifully the answer to this question. In explaining to his disciples what the parable meant, this is what He had to say:
"... He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are THE CHILDREN OF THE KINGDOM; but the tares are THE CHILDREN OF THE WICKED ONE; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares (weeds) are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all ones who offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall 'THE RIGHTEOUS' shine forth as the sun in the kingodm of their Father..." -(Matt. 13:37
Notice, if you will, that last sentence right there: Where it says 'THE RIGHTEOUS' shall shine forth as the sun. THESE are the true children of God, and no one else. And what MAKES a person "righteous"? Faith exclusively in Christ and His Blood Sacrifice on the Cross!
So, to summarize... not everyone is a child of God. Only those who embrace God's Way (Jesus) and Means (the Cross) for their lives, which of course includes REPENTANCE OF SINS as a daily lifestyle. All others are UNrighteous, and "children of satan". Those who are the children of God, because of faith exclusively IN THE BLOOD for righteousness/ morality, will have 'their old man' 'crucified with Christ' (Rom. 6:4-7; Gal. 2:20), be led by the Spirit of God (Rom. 8:14), have "the Divine nature" (2 Pet. 1:4), and manifest "the fruit of the Spirit" (Gal. 5:22-23). They will love God supremely, and love their neighbor as themself (Mark 12:30-31), even loving their ENEMIES (Mt. 5:44). They will not hold any grudges or unforgiveness toward any man (Mt. 6:14-15). These are called "the righteous", "the just", "the godly", "the good seed", "the children of light", "the Saints", "in Christ", "dwelling in the secret Place", "under the shadow of the Almighty", in "the Hiding Place", "the Refuge". O HALLELUJAH, BEHOLD THE TRUE CHILDREN OF GOD. There are many within the organized church who POSE as children of God, but they really are NOT.
9. What is "ABUNDANT LIFE"? It is none other than... THE PRESENCE OF GOD! (SEE Psa. 16:11; 107:9), which is His HOLY SPIRIT (Jn.6:63; 2 Cor. 3:6), given to us "in Christ Jesus (Rom.8:2) through our faith in "the smitten Rock" (Ex. 17:5-6; Jn.7:37-36), CHRIST CRUCIFIED (1 Cor. 1:17-18,22-24; 2:2; Gal. 6:14).
10. Anyone can gather together a group of people who agree with him, but our main concern is that we agree with JESUS. What does His WORD (the Holy Bible) say, as revealed by His Spirit of TRUTH? I would rather have the latter. (Jhn. 16:13; Mt. 7:14). HITLER had a huge following, but did he speak Truth? From the early 30's until the mid 40's, he had 9 million Germans hanging on his every word! Certain men in the Bible, GREAT in the Eyes of God, spoke pure Truth, and had FEW followers. NOAH preached his guts out for years, and only his small family ended up heeding him; Likewise, JEREMIAH spoke exactly what God told him to, and his hearers hated him and threw him into a pit! A famous preacher from the 1700's, in Northampton, Mass- JONATHAN EDWARDS- was kicked out of his own church by his congregation, and relegated to preaching to the Indians. Goes to show... the most popular with man, are usually.... wrong. People tend to gravitate AWAY from Truth, because most cannot handle It. It would rock their world too much, and insist that they CHANGE. ...and some DO want to change, but in their OWN way, not GOD'S!
11. One can love God and be sincere, yet be sincerely.... wrong. For example, if a person sets out to travel by car to DALLAS, he can love God & be sincere about reaching Dallas, but if he TAKES THE WRONG ROAD, he just may end up in ATLANTA!
Friend, it matters what Pastor you are listening to, and what you are believin'. This is your ETERNAL SOUL that's at stake here; Don't worry about offending him. What about your SOUL! I mean, yeah,... is your eternal soul (and even your quality of life here while you are living) WORTH making sure certain people are not offended? Think about it! I believe the answer is obvious. The farther one travels down the wrong road, the farther away he will get from his DESIRED destination. Ever notice that? With time the distance ever increases! If you see you ARE going down the wrong road... STOP. Get out the map, and TAKE THE RIGHT ONE. Or at least HEAD for the right one!
One way to know you are on the wrong road is this: Any preaching or teaching you have received that is not found in the Bible, but which is emphasized. This is called "EXTRA-Biblical" material which is held up on the same plane or higher t...han the scriptures themselves. In Jesus' time of ministry in Israel, the Scribes and Pharisees (the religious leaders of that day) had TONS of this sort of thing, to where God's Truth was diluted, cast aside, MADE OF NONE EFFECT! It had gotten to the point where they thought the sinless Son of God had a DEMON! This is what doing this damnable practice results in. Same in that generation, and the same today! If Jesus would be here now, and walk in the average church, He would in most cases be thought of as "in error"/ off-base/ off-track/ in heresy... and be REJECTED, just as He was by many in that time!!! ... Just think of that: JESUS, THE VERY GOD WHOM THEY CLAIM TO LOVE AND SERVE !!!!
12. Just as in the days when Jesus walked this earth, today... religious man has the terrible habit of taking "extra-Biblical" knowledge (that OTHER THAN SCRIPTURE, and giving it the same importance, if not MORE, than scripture itself! ... creating "laws" that Satan uses to bring men into bondage! (see Mark 7:6-9; Mat. 23:15,25; Col. 2:8; Deut. 4:2).
12. Just as in the days when Jesus walked this earth, today... religious man has the terrible habit of taking "extra-Biblical" knowledge (that OTHER THAN SCRIPTURE, and giving it the same importance, if not MORE, than scripture itself! ... creating "laws" that Satan uses to bring men into bondage! (see Mark 7:6-9; Mat. 23:15,25; Col. 2:8; Deut. 4:2).
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