If you truly DO value Him as priceless, you will care more about what HE says (His Word, the Holy Bible), than what your family, relatives, friends, pastor, and church folk think and say... if what THEY'RE saying does not line up with His Word!
The Word, from beginning to end, has this central Theme: REPENTANCE OF SIN and faith in JESUS CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED. ... and not just for SALVATION, but also in HOW TO LIVE FOR GOD. "How to live for God?... Huh?", you say, with a baffled look on your face? Yes, how to live for God. Exactly. MEANING... if you are struggling, with a BAD HABIT, A SIN, SPIRITUAL DRYNESS, FEELING DISTANT WITH GOD, OPPRESSION OF MIND, (get the idea?).... How to get, and KEEP, the Victory. INSTEAD of YOU "DOING SOMETHING...Instead... you simply "rest" in what CHRIST has done.. on CALVARY. You say... "That's too EASY!". Perhaps it SEEMS that way. But... THATS THE ONLY THING THAT WORKS. If what YOU did could solve these difficulties, then Christ would not have had to die on a Cross to GIVE you victory over sin and its curse! God's looking for your FAITH, not your PERFORMANCE.
2. Because of Jesus' Sacrificial Death on the Cross, we have access (the "Way") to the Life-giving Spirit of God... AS our faith remains in that Sacrifice. (Mt. 27:50-51; Heb. 10:19-20; Jhn. 14:6; Col. 1:21-23; 2:6; Rom. 8:2).
God supplies a continuous Flow of the Spirit, like "Rivers of Living Waters" into our life ...as we keep out faith in CHRIST'S Sacrifice, not our OWN. If our faith is in our own sacrifices, we SHUT that Way, "frustrating the grace of God" (Gal. 2:21), and running the risk of "FALLING from that grace" (Gal. 5:4)!! Don't plod in the mud of the "LAW-shore"; Jump into the "River of His GRACE"! HALLELUJAH !!!!!!!!! Also.. don't "dam up" His grace through unbelief in the all-Sufficiency of His Sacrifice. How do you do that? By resorting to your OWN WORKS of this and that to try to gain God's favor, more "spirituality", etc. By SELF-EFFORT of any kind (This is called"walking after the flesh"- Rom. 8:1,4-8).
3. "TRUTH" has never been popular with people (Mt. 7:13), but you know something? It WORKS, and that's what I want! How 'bout you? Jesus said "... If ye continue in my Word, then are ye my disciples indeed. And YE SHALL KNOW THE TRUTH, AND THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE." -(Jn. 8:31-32).
I don't care who it is... If any professing Christian is ignorant of, or just plain REJECTS, large amounts of scripture, all throughout the Bible, on a certain subject, then that person will not walk in the freedom and victory that God has ...intended for him to walk in. THE MESSAGE OF THE CROSS is found all throughout the Bible, from Genesis through Revelation- in type, shadow, form and substance; It is undeniable. If any person rejects this, he has a free will to do so, but will to his PERIL. I will scream this until my dying breath. And this is not just some side Doctrine. This is THE FOUNDATIONAL Doctrine of the whole Bible!!
The Cross... The Blood.... The Atonement.... Christ's "finished Work".... The Blood Sacrifice of Christ.... all of these terms mean the same thing. It MUST be applied not only to Salvation, but also to the Christian's WALK WITH GOD ON A DAILY BASIS.
4. BIBLES (versions, types, & so forth) AND COMMENTARIES:
The Cross... The Blood.... The Atonement.... Christ's "finished Work".... The Blood Sacrifice of Christ.... all of these terms mean the same thing. It MUST be applied not only to Salvation, but also to the Christian's WALK WITH GOD ON A DAILY BASIS.
4. BIBLES (versions, types, & so forth) AND COMMENTARIES:
Version: You want to use one that comes the closest to the original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts (These being inspired by God). The following ones come closest: KING JAMES version (KJV). .. and NEW AMERICAN STANDARD version. There may be a ...few others, but nit many. These I Just mentioned are not perfect, but are still excellent. BAD ones include NIV, NEW KING JAMES, AMPLIFIED, MESSAGE. and a whole slew of others. Why? Because they are "paraphrases", with man's opinions interjected and mixed with that is to be Divine (God-breathed).
Type: You aught to have a standard one with SCRIPTURE REFERENCES (center column or side margin), to get a lot of the Word into your spirit, from all throughout the Bible.
Secondly, you aught to have one you could hi-lite for devotions to an...d intimacy with God.
Thirdly, you aught to have one with a GOOD COMMENTARY built in, to understand the context of the passages in line with historical cultural customs and events in the times that the various Bible verses & passages were written
And lastly, you aught to be reading one that emphasizes THE FOUNDATIONAL DOCTRINE OF THE WHOLE BIBLE: "JESUS CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED"- both for salvation AND...for sanctification/ living for God
One Bible which fulfills all of these attributes is "THE EXPOSITOR'S STUDY BIBLE". It does lack in the amount of chain references I prefer, so I still use a small separate one for that purpose at times. I also use a little pocket Bible that I have hi-lited with my favorite devotional Scriptures. All of what I have just written was meant to HELP you; And by no means are these suggestions some "law" or requirement.
When I really want to "dig in" and STUDY the Bible, I without fail use my Expositor's. The chain reference does not get you deep enough if you want to understand the full meaning.
Of course, let it be understood that ultimately THE HOLY SP...IRIT is your Teacher of Truth (John 16:13; 1 John 2:27), but HE DOES usemen His servants to AID us, hence the Expositors Study Bible, and so forth! I realize, sadly, that many professing Christians today do not read the Holy Bible AT ALL! Or read it because they "HAVE TO", not because they "LOVE" TO". How tragic!
5. One "walking after the flesh" takes pride in what HE does; One "walking after the Spirit" takes humility in what JESUS HAS DONE. (Heb. 12:2; 1 Pet. 5:5c).
6. As much as God loves man (Jhn. 3:16), His wrath burns against SIN (Rom. 1:18; Eph. 6:5-6; Col. 3:5-6); He, unlike what many believe, is not begging and pleading to "win people" to Him. He comes with an ULTIMATUM: "Repent and believe, or perish" (Mark 16:16; Lk. 24:47; Acts 17:30). God has not commissioned "salesmen" or "motivational speakers". He has commissioned "ambassadors" for His Kingdom. And it is an "all-or-nothing" proposition (Rev. 3:15-17).
7. If God is convicting your heart, telling you to do something, you better do it... or there will be disastrous results down the road for you. Not trying to scare you; Just warnng you: This is the Truth. (see Jas. 4:17; 1 Sam. 15:22-23; 31:1-4; Prov. 16:18; Gal. 6:7-8a; Prov. 14:12; 16:25).
It is better to obey NOW, and possibly suffer temporarily at the hands of man; Than to disobey, and have SATAN beat you up! At least you can SEE ...the PEOPLE. You see, all God has to do is lift His Hand of protection, JUST A LITTLE... . and SATAN, whose job is to "steal, kill, and destroy" (John 10:10a)- (and he does his job verrrry well), will come to do his duty. ...WHY NOT JUST WALK IN REPENTANCE OF SINS AND FAITH EXCLUSIVELY IN CHRIST AND THE CROSS, AND YOU CAN AVOID ALL THAT NONSENSE, AND HAVE "ABUNDANT LIFE"?!
8. What caused the lamps of the tabernacle to go out in the time of Samuel as a boy, is causing the "lamps" of many in the church to go out presently. The HOLY SPIRIT is not being allowed to function (1 Sam. 3:3; Zech. 4:6; Matt. 25:1-13; Rom. 8:8).
He only functions in the believer's life as he is "in Christ" through faith exclusively in the Cross (Rom. 8:2). Otherwise, he is "in the flesh", "frustrating the grace of God" (Gal. 2:21) and QUENCHING the Spirit (1 Thes. 5:19). Their "lamp" shall grow dim! And if they continue in such a state, they will "FALL from the grace of God" (Gal. 5:4), and their lamp shall go OUT!
9. MAN ......is OVER-rated (Dan. 3:1-5; Psa. 39:4-5; Gen. 2:7; Eccl. 3:20; Jn. 5:43), while JESUS (GOD)........ is UNDER-rated (Psa. 2:2-3; Zech. 11:12-13; Matt. 26:14-15; 27:3-5; 28:18).
Funny how that is, huh? AND STILL... even though God was so underappreciated by His creation, He became a man and endured the Cross to SAVE him! O WHAT A SAVIOR !!!!! And then, even with THAT... most people STILL refuse Him! What knuckleheads !!
10. "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." -(Prov. 14:12; 16:25).
If that "way" of your's does not have "Christ and the Cross" at the forefront, it is NOT right, and the end WILL be death! ...... You know... a person can live a looooong time, insisting that his way of living is correct. While ALL ALONG,.. it has been horribly wrong. Take for example, a "caged animal", in a zoo. It was BORN in there, RAISED in there. It thinks it i...s NORMAL to live in captivity, in a cage. At a set time, unknownest to him, he is scheduled to be "put to sleep". THE WAY OF CAPTIVITY IN THE ZOO SEEMETH RIGHT to him......... UNTIL.... HE IS SET FREEEEEE!. Then a whole new world of liberty opens up to him, and he realizes the extreme folly of his FORMER life. Such is the case, of that one who surrenders ALL to follow the Master- JESUS- by EMBRACING THE MESSAGE OF THE CROSS FOR BOTH SALVATION AND SANCTIFICATION! For some of you.. that gate of your cage, and the zoo, WIDE OPEN, and yet you still PREFER your "way which seemeth right". "BUT WHAT WOULD THE OTHER ZOO ANIMALS THINK OF ME?!", you gasp. WHO CARRRRRES?! YOU CAN GO FREEEE! !!!!! Do you have the guts to walk out? Perhaps you are afraid of "the evil zoo warden". Ahhh, there's One GREATER than him, Who has OPENED THE GATE for you!... Perhaps you are afraid of "Life on the outside". But ahhhh you got a HELPER ! HALLELJAH !!!!
11. Do you love & serve Jesus for WHO HE IS? (Jn. 17:3; Phil. 3:8,10)... or for WHAT HE CAN DO FOR YOU? (Jhn. 6:26), and HOW HE CAN REWARD YOU FOR WHAT YOU DO? (Lk. 15:25-30). Unless it is that FIRST reason, you love and serve Him for NAUGHT!!
12. The "FIRST Adam" (Adam) YIELDED to temptation in a PARADISE (Gen. 2:8,15-17; 3:6); The "LAST Adam" OVERCAME temptation in a WILDERNESS (Mk. 1:12-13; Heb. 4:15); WE overcome temptation as we are "IN the Overcomer" through FAITH IN THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB (ie"THE CROSS") (Rom. 8:2; Rev. 12:10-11). HALLELUJAH !!!!
Temptation CANNOT be overcome by "serving punishment", "praying through", "fasting", "days of purpose", "praying more", "reading your Bible more", "wearing a prayer shawl", ... WHATEVERRRRRR ! Satan just CHUCKLES at all that stuff ! AND'LL KEEP YOU IN BONDAGE !!! WAKE UP CHURCH !!! RETURN TO "JESUS CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED" !!!! 1 Cor. 2:2. God said ... "When I see the BLOOD, I will pass over you, , and will not suffer 'the destroyer' to come in unto your houses to smite you." -(Ex. 12:13,23). THE BLOOD, THE BLOOD, THE BLOOOOOOOOD !!!!!!!!!!!! FAITH ... in the Blood (Rom. 3:23-25; Col. 1:20-23.).
Secondly, you aught to have one you could hi-lite for devotions to an...d intimacy with God.
Thirdly, you aught to have one with a GOOD COMMENTARY built in, to understand the context of the passages in line with historical cultural customs and events in the times that the various Bible verses & passages were written
And lastly, you aught to be reading one that emphasizes THE FOUNDATIONAL DOCTRINE OF THE WHOLE BIBLE: "JESUS CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED"- both for salvation AND...for sanctification/ living for God
One Bible which fulfills all of these attributes is "THE EXPOSITOR'S STUDY BIBLE". It does lack in the amount of chain references I prefer, so I still use a small separate one for that purpose at times. I also use a little pocket Bible that I have hi-lited with my favorite devotional Scriptures. All of what I have just written was meant to HELP you; And by no means are these suggestions some "law" or requirement.
When I really want to "dig in" and STUDY the Bible, I without fail use my Expositor's. The chain reference does not get you deep enough if you want to understand the full meaning.
Of course, let it be understood that ultimately THE HOLY SP...IRIT is your Teacher of Truth (John 16:13; 1 John 2:27), but HE DOES usemen His servants to AID us, hence the Expositors Study Bible, and so forth! I realize, sadly, that many professing Christians today do not read the Holy Bible AT ALL! Or read it because they "HAVE TO", not because they "LOVE" TO". How tragic!
5. One "walking after the flesh" takes pride in what HE does; One "walking after the Spirit" takes humility in what JESUS HAS DONE. (Heb. 12:2; 1 Pet. 5:5c).
6. As much as God loves man (Jhn. 3:16), His wrath burns against SIN (Rom. 1:18; Eph. 6:5-6; Col. 3:5-6); He, unlike what many believe, is not begging and pleading to "win people" to Him. He comes with an ULTIMATUM: "Repent and believe, or perish" (Mark 16:16; Lk. 24:47; Acts 17:30). God has not commissioned "salesmen" or "motivational speakers". He has commissioned "ambassadors" for His Kingdom. And it is an "all-or-nothing" proposition (Rev. 3:15-17).
7. If God is convicting your heart, telling you to do something, you better do it... or there will be disastrous results down the road for you. Not trying to scare you; Just warnng you: This is the Truth. (see Jas. 4:17; 1 Sam. 15:22-23; 31:1-4; Prov. 16:18; Gal. 6:7-8a; Prov. 14:12; 16:25).
It is better to obey NOW, and possibly suffer temporarily at the hands of man; Than to disobey, and have SATAN beat you up! At least you can SEE ...the PEOPLE. You see, all God has to do is lift His Hand of protection, JUST A LITTLE... . and SATAN, whose job is to "steal, kill, and destroy" (John 10:10a)- (and he does his job verrrry well), will come to do his duty. ...WHY NOT JUST WALK IN REPENTANCE OF SINS AND FAITH EXCLUSIVELY IN CHRIST AND THE CROSS, AND YOU CAN AVOID ALL THAT NONSENSE, AND HAVE "ABUNDANT LIFE"?!
8. What caused the lamps of the tabernacle to go out in the time of Samuel as a boy, is causing the "lamps" of many in the church to go out presently. The HOLY SPIRIT is not being allowed to function (1 Sam. 3:3; Zech. 4:6; Matt. 25:1-13; Rom. 8:8).
He only functions in the believer's life as he is "in Christ" through faith exclusively in the Cross (Rom. 8:2). Otherwise, he is "in the flesh", "frustrating the grace of God" (Gal. 2:21) and QUENCHING the Spirit (1 Thes. 5:19). Their "lamp" shall grow dim! And if they continue in such a state, they will "FALL from the grace of God" (Gal. 5:4), and their lamp shall go OUT!
9. MAN ......is OVER-rated (Dan. 3:1-5; Psa. 39:4-5; Gen. 2:7; Eccl. 3:20; Jn. 5:43), while JESUS (GOD)........ is UNDER-rated (Psa. 2:2-3; Zech. 11:12-13; Matt. 26:14-15; 27:3-5; 28:18).
Funny how that is, huh? AND STILL... even though God was so underappreciated by His creation, He became a man and endured the Cross to SAVE him! O WHAT A SAVIOR !!!!! And then, even with THAT... most people STILL refuse Him! What knuckleheads !!
10. "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." -(Prov. 14:12; 16:25).
If that "way" of your's does not have "Christ and the Cross" at the forefront, it is NOT right, and the end WILL be death! ...... You know... a person can live a looooong time, insisting that his way of living is correct. While ALL ALONG,.. it has been horribly wrong. Take for example, a "caged animal", in a zoo. It was BORN in there, RAISED in there. It thinks it i...s NORMAL to live in captivity, in a cage. At a set time, unknownest to him, he is scheduled to be "put to sleep". THE WAY OF CAPTIVITY IN THE ZOO SEEMETH RIGHT to him......... UNTIL.... HE IS SET FREEEEEE!. Then a whole new world of liberty opens up to him, and he realizes the extreme folly of his FORMER life. Such is the case, of that one who surrenders ALL to follow the Master- JESUS- by EMBRACING THE MESSAGE OF THE CROSS FOR BOTH SALVATION AND SANCTIFICATION! For some of you.. that gate of your cage, and the zoo, WIDE OPEN, and yet you still PREFER your "way which seemeth right". "BUT WHAT WOULD THE OTHER ZOO ANIMALS THINK OF ME?!", you gasp. WHO CARRRRRES?! YOU CAN GO FREEEE! !!!!! Do you have the guts to walk out? Perhaps you are afraid of "the evil zoo warden". Ahhh, there's One GREATER than him, Who has OPENED THE GATE for you!... Perhaps you are afraid of "Life on the outside". But ahhhh you got a HELPER ! HALLELJAH !!!!
11. Do you love & serve Jesus for WHO HE IS? (Jn. 17:3; Phil. 3:8,10)... or for WHAT HE CAN DO FOR YOU? (Jhn. 6:26), and HOW HE CAN REWARD YOU FOR WHAT YOU DO? (Lk. 15:25-30). Unless it is that FIRST reason, you love and serve Him for NAUGHT!!
12. The "FIRST Adam" (Adam) YIELDED to temptation in a PARADISE (Gen. 2:8,15-17; 3:6); The "LAST Adam" OVERCAME temptation in a WILDERNESS (Mk. 1:12-13; Heb. 4:15); WE overcome temptation as we are "IN the Overcomer" through FAITH IN THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB (ie"THE CROSS") (Rom. 8:2; Rev. 12:10-11). HALLELUJAH !!!!
Temptation CANNOT be overcome by "serving punishment", "praying through", "fasting", "days of purpose", "praying more", "reading your Bible more", "wearing a prayer shawl", ... WHATEVERRRRRR ! Satan just CHUCKLES at all that stuff ! AND'LL KEEP YOU IN BONDAGE !!! WAKE UP CHURCH !!! RETURN TO "JESUS CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED" !!!! 1 Cor. 2:2. God said ... "When I see the BLOOD, I will pass over you, , and will not suffer 'the destroyer' to come in unto your houses to smite you." -(Ex. 12:13,23). THE BLOOD, THE BLOOD, THE BLOOOOOOOOD !!!!!!!!!!!! FAITH ... in the Blood (Rom. 3:23-25; Col. 1:20-23.).
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