Last week we introduced the current Mayday Series titled “Perilous Times” and showed with absolute certainty that the passage of 2 Timothy 3 is referring to the state of the CHURCH in the last days.

We showed how todays “Fairweather Christians”, whose desire is to ONLY hear things palatable to their tender ears, are precipitating those days.

We did not go into all the evident madness of Charismatic Chaos, and how that moved so quickly to the spiritual insanity of Pentecostal Pandemonium. We did not speak of the state of contemporary churches that have abandoned the word of God and chosen to entertain the goats rather than feed the sheep, nor did we speak of the social gospel of the Emergent Church that naturally develops when the Bibles is cast behind their backs

We did not talk about Roman Catholicism, the Eastern orthodox Churches, The Reformed Churches, and nothing about about the shift to the ecumenical religious system that will usher in the Global Religion of the last days;

NO, we spoke about how Christians, even in Fundamentalist Baptist Churches, are helping to precipitate the very PERILOUS TIMES Paul warned of to Timothy, because THEY WILL NOT READ THEIR BIBLES nor spend time with the Lord in Prayer;

My charge against the brethren of the Lord, yes those who are wonderfully saved by the blood of Christ, true and genuine Christians, was that, “IF YOU ARE NOT READING YOUR BIBLES, NOR SPENDING TIME EACH DAY IN PRAYER, you are adding to a facilitating the perilous times to come”

TWO of the Seven Churches ‘TYPES’ identified in Revelation 2-3 remain before the Lords coming, one is Philadelphia, the other Laodicea  Which will you be a part of?

We will take a look at those Churches next time.

“This KNOW also….” Was the title of the Sermon

We demonstrated JUST A TASTE of the warnings found in 26 of the 27 books of the New Testament encouraging us to KNOW a description of the state and nature of the people who will represent the bulk of the Churches in the last of the Last Days.

And we beloved, have witnessed just a taste of it in our own congregation ten weeks ago!

Last time we introduced the Perilous Times as that which we ought to KNOW identifies the soon coming of Christ for his church, “THIS KNOW ALSO…” wrote the apostle to Timothy…

Today we will consider the sampling Paul gives of the character of the MEN who shall fill the churches of the Last Days.

The Title of the Sermon therefore is simply;

“FOR MEN SHALL BE…“

Lets take a quick look again at the passage, as you read I desire that you may gain for yourself the ability to IDENTIFY such people when they present themselves.

2 Timothy 3:1–9

1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. 9 But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.

Pray

2 Timothy 3:1–2

1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 

The specific phrase “The Last Days” appears no less and no more than 7 times in the scriptures. The first who desired to speak of that which will befall his people in “The Last Days” was Jacob as he addressed his sons before he died in Genesis 49 speaking of the events respecting Israel in those days;

Genesis 49:1

1 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.

There has always been a time in history that would culminate with the END OF HISTORY, a time of the end, a time of The Last Days.

Isiah wrote of it in Isaiah 2 describing the house of the Lord during the Millennium, Micahwrote of the same time in the fourth chapter; three occurrences of the phrase in the Old Testament, but four in the New. 

The first was spoken by Peter as he described that which was written of by Joel in his 2ndchapter (Joel 2:28) respecting that which will occur AFTER the coming of Messiah, then Paul in the passage before as he describes the state of the Church as it nears the end. 

James testifies AGAINST the people IN HIS CHURCH as they have their focus on the accumulation of wealth in PREPARATION for the last days;

Turn there;

James 5:1–3

1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. 3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

Then lastly we have Peters epistle as he too warns of corrupt men in the Church who come to deny the Lord is returning anytime soon;

2 Peter 3:3–4

3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

Now, here in this passage in 2 Timothy 3, the first description that we have of the character of men in the last days is that they “shall be lovers of their own selves“;

The balance of the passage gives the natural consequence of such self-affection and aggrandisement, consider it in the scope of SELF LOVE and ask if such characteristics follow in the nature of those who “esteem others better than themselves” (Phil 2:3)

2 Timothy 3:2–4

2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

This kind of SELF-LOVE seems distinct from the assumed self love that is to “love thy neighbour AS thyself” (Mt 19:19)

What we might consider of the “self-love” of 2 Timothy 3:2 is an EXCLUSIVE self love, a love of SELF that is to the EXCLUSION of everyone else. If it were not distinct from that self love assumed by Christ, it would not be written of here as for a time yet future;

“This know also, for in the last days perilous times shall come, for men SHALL BE lovers of their own selves…“

How does such EXCLUSIVE self love develop?

In their seminal book The Coddling of The American Mind, authors Greg Lukianoff and Johnathan Haidt; One, a Constitutional Lawyer, and the other an American Physiologist, discovered that the level of protection, or rather, “wrapping children in cotton wool“, so evident both in many parenting techniques today and almost every school in the western world, is creating a generation of adults so weak in their ability to handle adversity, that they strike back against any person who does not think of them as high as they like to think of themselves.

““By the standards of our great-grandparents, nearly all of us are coddled. Each generation tends to see the one after it as weak, whiny, and lacking in resilience. Those older generations may have a point….”

In 2013 the Time Magazine had as its cover page an image of an older teenager laying on her front holding her iPhone far enough from her face to take Self Image. Suddenly a new word entered the English Language, the Selfie (Interestingly, An Australian slang word that won the International Word of the Year in 2013 by Oxford Dictionaries)[1] . 

The Title of the 2013 Time Magazine was simply, 

“The ME ME ME Generation” Subtitled “Millennials are lazy, entitled narcissists who still live with their parents“

In the article the Author Joel Stein wrote;

“Here’s the cold, hard data: The incidence of narcissistic personality disorder is nearly three times as high for people in their 20s as for the generation that’s now 65 or older, according to the National Institutes of Health”

He goes on to say;

“Millennials got so many participation trophies growing up that a recent study showed that 40% believe they should be promoted every two years, regardless of performance. 

They are fame-obsessed: three times as many middle school girls want to grow up to be a personal assistant to a famous person as want to be a Senator, according to a 2007 survey; four times as many would pick the assistant job over CEO of a major corporation. 

They’re so convinced of their own greatness that the National Study of Youth and Religion found the guiding morality of 60% of millennials in any situation is that they’ll just be able to ‘feel’ what’s right.”[2]

You will note that this article is ten years old, those 20 something Millennials are in their mid thirties today, and if they have grown up believing that “feeling hurt” equates to “being hurt“. They will also become individuals who will justify ANYTHING that might come close to proving their feelings justified.

When the best JUDGEMENT that an individual can employ to JUDGE something is their emotional response, no relationship will EVER survive in the long term.

The entirety of the description given in 2 Timothy 3:2, is perfectly represented by a generation of young people, now up to their mid thirties, who need “trigger warnings” so they can move to a “safe Space” and here nice things about themselves. That is TODAYS GENERATION OF Millennials and upcoming final generation (Sorry, referring to GEN Z).

In his book “Antifragile”, Author Nassim Nicholas Taleb, a Lebanese born Statistitian, stock trader and Polymath and current professor of Risk Engineering at New York University, wrote of how we are weakening a generation of people by not permitting the trials that strengthen them to endure. He says;

“Just as spending a month in bed . . . leads to muscle atrophy, complex systems are weakened, even killed, when deprived of stressors. Much of our modern, structured, world has been harming us with top-down policies and contraptions . . . which do precisely this: an insult to the antifragility of systems. This is the tragedy of modernity: as with neurotically overprotective parents, those trying to help are often hurting us the most.”[3]

In an educational opening statement to his book he writes; 

“Wind will extinguish a candle, but energises a fire” his advice is that we do not turn our children into candles, but QUOTE “You want to be the fire and wish for the wind”[4]

What Taleb has discovered is that hard trials generally make for more resilient ADULTS, but soft touch coddling of feelings almost ALWAYS leads to neurotic, narcissistic people. 

Our passage in 2 Tim 3 demonstrates that this is going to be the general state of the modern Church in the last days, and it is not too difficult to see it as true. 

The modern contemporary “feel good church” is bursting at the seams with meaningless emotional drivel designed to first Please the Crowd and then with their music, dull their senses into altered states of consciousness so they can leave the Church in the same sinful state, but feel better about it.

2 Timothy 4:3–4

3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

Beloved, relationship are NEVER proved during the good times. It is not difficult to love those who love you, it is never difficult to have a relationship with someone who agrees with everything you say and do, as long as this is all that is expected in a relationship, be sure you leave your candle in a breathless room.

Relationships are PROVED THROUGH TRIALS AND DISAGREEMENTS. If they endure this, they will certainly grow in greater agreement, the wind has blown but they have chosen to persist AND THE FIRE OF their love toward another gets stronger.

Those described in 2 Tim 3, “men lovers of their own selves” etc, are made evident by their willingness to “Endure Sound Doctrine”. The unwillingness to do so will see them come up with all manner of excuse to leave the church. 

Watch for them, this is a Sign of the Times, for.

2 Timothy 3:13

13 …evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

NOTICE however how the verse we have under consideration frames itself,

For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 

Each phrase sets itself up for the next in a natural sequence and consequance. Those who Love Themselves, is inferred to the exclusion of all others, for we all naturally love ourselves, there is therefore a distinction in this passage.

We naturally become “Covetous”, we lust for that which we think will give to us that which we ought to gain from our relationship to Christ. In January I preached a Sermon titled “A Bag With Holes”, in that sermon is stated that the covetous relationship that many Christians have with Money testifies that money is the final frontier of Christian idolatry, our love of it displaces our love for God, for in it we believe to receive all the comforts, security, happiness and opportunities that would otherwise come from God. 

Boastfulness and Pride are co dependant both to each other and to the one that loves himself. God help you if you ever say anything to such a person that diminishes what he/she thinks of themselves. 

The SELF ESTEEM movement has destroyed proper self enquiry. Reciving a participation award just for showing up and created a plethora of self entitled people whose love for themselves has outweighed the Gospel.

Blasphemers: The word is pertinent of the individual who loves himself MORE, as is seen in the next verse.

Disobedient to parents: naturally, if you love yourself to the exclusion of all others, you will have NO regard for the advice or direction of parents.

Unthankfulness is the most hurtful of all that is above. What do you do when you have shown abundance of love and gone out of your way time and again, you have cared and prayed, stayed up late at night ministering to a brother or sister, gotten up in early mornings and spent regular time. What of parents who have so wonderfully provided for their Children and find themselves SHOVED aside, placed into nursing homes and rarely ever visited?

How do you deal with unthankfulness? How does the LORD?

What can we do with ingratitude beloved? You cant discipline it. What can you do? 

You will do as the Lord does, Feel Pain!

UNHOLY: is the culmination of Self Love, it is the assessment of oneself according to personal perception and not according to rule. The UNHOLY man has no governing principal in life other than what he wants to attend to for himself. There is no rule and no law; “Do as thou wilt shall be the whole of the law“…now where did I get that quote from?

 “Peple with the condition might seem charming and charismatic at first, at least on the surface, but they generally find it difficult to understand other people’s feelings. They often:

behave aggressively or impulsively

feel little guilt for harm they cause others

2 Timothy 3:3-4

3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 

“For men shall be…Without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers etc” 

We notice that a change has occurred respecting natural tendency. The passage is descriptive of a nature within them that is antithetical to what they ought to be.

There is no change in clause between verses 2 and 3, so what we have is a continuation of the description of those Timothy is to know about concerning the nature of people in the CHURCH in the last days.

They role on perfectly naturally from FIRST becoming “Lovers of their own selves” 

“For men shall be…3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 

While we are so naturally seeing such a rise of the population of both the world and the Church of people being exclusively “Lovers of their own selves”, we are also seeing a dramatic rise in a personally disorder known technically as “Antisocial Personality Disorder”, or more popularly known as Sociopathy.

The Bible refers to these people simply as “without natural affection” and then goes on to show the result, .

Winston Smith, in his Substack article titled “Origins of Sociopathy“, subtitled ‘The Etiology of Guiltlessness’ describes the nature of the Sociopath as distinctly “Without Natural Affection“;[6]

He writes of them saying;

“There seems to be a general inability to process emotional experiences in the way most people would….

The sociopath may marry and have children but is unable to truly love them. They can appear to display the right emotions but it is contrived and doesn’t come from the heart, but is a practiced skill, like a second language, never native.

The author does on to state the difference between the perfect “self love” of the Narcissit and the Sociopath, stating;

A narcissist may feel the pain of being alone, without relationship because of his narcissism, and will want relationship but is completely ill equipped to maintain a relationship. The sociopath simply does not care about anyone or any relationship in this way. People are only useful as far as they are a utility.

According to Healthline, the Characteristic of those the Bible refers to as “without natural affection“, but the world refers to as “Antisocial Personality Disorder” AKA Sociopathy;

“People with the condition might seem charming and charismatic at first, at least on the surface, but they generally find it difficult to understand other people’s feelings. They often:

     •   break rules or laws

     •   behave aggressively or impulsively

     •   feel little guilt for harm they cause others

     •   use manipulation, deceit, and controlling behavior”

Now this is important as to how such conditions arise.

In her book titled, “The Sociopath Next Door” subtitled “The Ruthless versus the Rest of Us“, Dr Martha Stout writes of the development of this condition evidently concentrated in the state run Orphanages of Communist Romania, under the psychopathic ruler Nicolae Ceausescu.

In the 1990’s it was discovered that these Romanian Children were kept in terrible state-run institutions with 1 staff member per 40 children, staff were instructed to ensure they had MINIMAL Contact with the children and provided the children only just enough food to live on.

Once these institutions were exposed, compassionate Westerners began to adopt these Romanian orphans and discovered it was a difficult journey;

She wrote;

“…a couple in Paris would discover that their beautiful ten-month-old Romanian daughter was inconsolable, and only screamed louder when they tried to hold her. Or a couple in Vancouver would walk into their three-year-old son’s bedroom, to find that he had just hurled the new kitten out the window. Or parents in Texas would finally have to admit to themselves that they could not keep their adoptive five-year-old son from spending his days staring into a corner, and that he sometimes viciously attacked their other children in the middle of the night as they slept. Western Europe and North America had imported an attachment disorder nightmare created by a sadistic Romanian sociopath who was no longer even alive. Having been completely deprived of attachment in infancy, many of these rescued children were loveless.”[8] (Stout, 2021, p. 132)

It is interesting that there is a massive rise in Sociopathy in the west, a study as early as 1991 found the disorder doubled from the previous 15 years in the WEST;

Dr Stout cites;

“North American culture, which holds individualism as a central value, tends to foster the development of antisocial behavior, and also to disguise it. In other words, in America, the guiltless manipulation of other people “blends” with social expectations to a much greater degree than it would in China or other more group-oriented societies.” (Stout, 2021, p. 136-137)

Its difficult to imagine how the exponential rise in Childcare Centres in the western world WONT LEAD to an entire generation of Sociopaths both now and in the future. Children from 6 months old are dropped off to be “cared for” by others. Sadly, the instruction given in many of these centres are to ensure there is a limit on personal affection toward these little ones, and especially to ensure it is not from any one particular carer. 

Let me put this together;

We should expect to see an ongoing rise of people “without natural affection” as Children are deprived from the love and affection that should come from their distracted parents.

With the dramatic rise of divorce through the satanic attack on the family, and the rise of parents placing their children in Childcare early in the morning while they ‘go to work’ and not collecting them until they are ready for bed in the late evening, there is NO DOUBT Sociopathy is going to be huge in the last of the last days.

An interesting note Dr Stout wrote of  respecting the value of the emotionless, unempathetic sociopath might have as a soldier or even a law enforcer who does not question the morality of their instructions;

“because they experience no horror while killing (or while ordering killing) and no guilt after the deed is done.” P 139[9]

The extreme end of this state of being, this time to come when they shall be “without natural affection” was given to us by Jesus when he spoke to his disciples concerning the time to come;

Matthew 10:21

21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. 

2 Tim 3:5-8

5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. 

Psalm 5:9

9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue. 

Isaiah 29:13

13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: 

Ezekiel 33:31

31 And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, buttheir heart goeth after their covetousness. 

Matthew 7:15–20

15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 

2 Timothy 3:9

9 But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.

Just as Jannes and Jambres had limitation placed on their sin, so too shall all men of “corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith” not proceed any further than that which God permits.

Absalom rebelled against his father David, he first stole the hearts of the people his father was anointed to govern, deceived many of the leaders of his father to follow him and anoint him king, while he planned the overthrow of his father. Only to end with himself caught high in a tree and struck down.

In the book of Esther we see Haman build a gallows to have Mordecai hung on after he deceived the King into signing a godless order to destroy ALL THE PEOPLE of Mordecai, simply for his hatred of him. In the end it was Haman himself who was hung on the gallows he built for Mordecai.

IN the book of Daniel we find those who falsely accuse Daniel of error cast into the den of lions whose mouths testified who was innocent and who it is that were guilty.

The Bible teaches often of how the wicked dig a pit for others but they themselves fall into.

Proverbs 26:27

27 Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him.

Proverbs 28:10

10 Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good things in possession.

King David wrote;

Psalm 57:6

6 They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down: they have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. Selah.

Beloved; The perilous times Paul warned Timothy of is a testimony of the proximity of the Lords return for his Church.

As you see these things come to pass, and as you witness so many cought up in such sin today, look up and know that the Blessed appearing of our Lord and saviour is near.

Be ENCOURAGED, do not hold more tightly to people than you do to the Lord. Seek to PLEASE HIM and you will be blessed even though you may be persecuted.

Jesus said

Luke 6:26

26 Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

John 15:18–20

18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. 20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

{$NOTE_LABEL}. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/19/selfie-australian-slang-term-named-international-word-of-the-year

{$NOTE_LABEL}. https://time.com/247/millennials-the-me-me-me-generation/

[3]. “Antifragile” Nassim Taleb, P 5

[4]. “Antifragile” Nassim Taleb, P 3

[5]. “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders” (DSM-5-TR),

{$NOTE_LABEL}. https://escapingmasspsychosis.substack.com/p/origins-of-sociopathy#footnote-anchor-7-50646953

{$NOTE_LABEL}. https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/sociopath#signs

[8]. Stout, M. (2021). The sociopath next door: The ruthless versus the rest of us. P 132

John Murray Press

[9]. Stout, M. (2021). The sociopath next door: The ruthless versus the rest of us. P 139

The post Perilous Times Pt 2: For Men Shall Be appeared first on Hope Baptist Church.

 Perilous Times Shall Come. 

(2 Tim 3:1-9)

1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. 9 But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times“, is the opening line to the famous Charles Dickens book, “A Tale of Two Cities“, and it is curious how well the line fits respecting the biblical history of the world and the description of the last days.

For on the one had we all rejoice as we see the world developing in a manner that so perfectly identifies the nearness of the return of Christ for his Church.

The Word of God is confirmed as TRUE each and every day and our joy in the knowledge that we will not be ashamed of our faith grows each and every day.

We look for that “blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (Tit 2:13) and know that all our sorrow and trials is coming to a close with noting but the absolute fulness of joy on our very doorstep. 

I have said it before and know it to be true, ‘there is no problem I have today that the Rapture will not fix’. That someday soon, and IMINENTLY SOON, we who have believed the Gospel to the saving of our souls, shall be “caught up…to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thess 4:7)

All that we see occurring in the world, and as we shall see through this 2024 MAYDAY Series, In the CHURCH, proves to us that the time is very near!

And yet we also despair as we see the suffering and trials of what can only be described as indicators toward “Perilous times“.

But it is when we consider further the lines that come after the first line of Dickens most famous novel that we ought to ponder its message as it seems to align with that “time yet future” the Bible tells us of;

  It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way–in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

The contrasting worlds written of by Dickens was that of London and Paris before and then during the French revolution, where great love together with innocent sacrifice for that Love was demonstrated, and all in the midst of the greatest societal transformation in the history of one city being undertaken.

The world is undergoing just such a societal transformation, not suddenly, but gradually yet with an almost routine suddenness jolts of change.

After the event we call “Covid”, People had begun to question the dramatic changes they were seeing around them, but could not believe.

The “Incredulity” that Dickens identified in his opening paragraph was reflected in this early 21st Century, just as it was in the late 19th Century of the time he wrote. 

Many stood puzzled wondering what on earth is going on, and while many searched diligently for answers, and therein grew in wisdom, it also demonstrated yet another contrast but parallel to his opening chapter, the world also entering into “the age of foolishness“.

Deception, as Jesus warned of, will be the single greatest “sign of the times”

The MAYDAY Series is a prophecy series I preach on every year in the month of May, and we have looked at, and can indeed continue to look at, the growing development of prophetic confirmation of revelation in so many areas as we have done. 

Whether that be the coming Global Government that Christians have long been warning or, 

or the coming Global Digital Currency system that we are even now seeing being developed around the world together with our own unique global digital identification. 

Or the coming Global religious system, which is not as evident to the world, but evident to conservative, biblical Christians being put together before our eyes, and will come to the fore when Antichrist sits in the restored temple in Jerusalem.

We could speak of the rising antisemitism and how the entire world will come to hate Israel, just as the Bible teaches.

How the United States of America will play NO ROLE WHATSOEVER, in the last days events and why that may be.

We may address the political atmosphere, 

the societal temperature 

and the ever growing level of both immorality and violence, all of which testify to the truth of Biblical prophecy in the last days.

We could spend weeks talking of all the signs of the times that show with certainty the soon coming of Jesus Christ for his Church, and warn the LOST of the wrath of God soon to be poured out upon a godless world, and they also being the object of his Wrath if they will not believe Jesus died to save them from the consequence of their sins.

But there is one area of prophecy I have not perfectly addressed, and that is what the Church will largely look like in those days.

With that, I ask two questions;

We are going to look first at the many warnings given us in the New Testament of those who would work with Satan to destroy the Church and not spare the flock, including false teachers/preachers, wolves in sheep’s clothing rising up among the brethren, tares sown among the wheat in todays message.

But we also will look at the Seven Churches of Revelation to see the journey.

Finally we will give consideration and HOPE with knowing which TWO Church types will remain UNTIL that very day Jesus returns for his flock.

From the very beginning of this passage we see a pronouncement of a time yet future to Paul and to Timothy, the recipient of the letter written some 2,000 years ago.

Several things stand to reason even in the first line;

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

…”this know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come…“.

Lets pray.

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 Tim 3:1

There is that which the apostle desires to reveal to Timothy in this second letter, it is something that is otherwise UNKNOWN…“this KNOW also”… it is something yet to be revealed to him, it is not a reminder, but something that Paul desires to share with Timothy that he is not expected to KNOW.

       This is one of the reasons we are sure that Paul is not speaking of the ‘world out there‘, for Timothy could simply look around him and see in his day multitudes of people in the pagan or secular world that are well described by this passage.

No, Paul writes his “Pastoral Epistle” to Pastor Timothy, who is historically the first pastor of the church at Ephesus, to reveal to him of the state of the CHURCH in the last days.

Turn to Romans 1 is Paul’s identifier for a world that has rejected the knowledge of God, and, but for a handful of items, it is not too dissimilar to the description given to Timothy; 

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:” (Rom 1:28-32)

In Galatians 5, Paul gives an identifier of the nature of the flesh;

Galatians 5:19–20

19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, etc

The similarities where Paul writes;

2 Timothy 3:2–4

2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers,false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

Now, how can Paul be writing to warn Timothy and all furture Pastors of a time yet coming, if this was already the state of matters in the world in his own day?

Unless he was NOT WRITING of the state of the world in the last days, but the state of the CHURCH!!!

Beloved, the description given to Timothy is to describe the Church at a time yet future, and he desires that Timothy would KNOW it, and it is certain that it would come.

If this is ONE of the signs of the last days, and we are seeing all these other signs demonstrating that we are even now in the last days, we should also see this characteristic of the nature of those who call themselves “Christian” evident in the Church.

“This KNOW also…”

How can you KNOW if you are described in this passage?

It is certain that this describes the last days Church, and I would fail you miserably if all I did was to point at it as ‘somewhere out there’, rather than in this very church.

Every single book of the New Testament (except Philemon) warns us of the danger of corrupt men and women in the Church, we know Jesus spoke often of false teachers in each of the Gospel accounts, especially of the “scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites“, can we justify the notion that we have NOT be warned?

Acts 20:28–31

28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. 29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. 31 Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.

Why such need of warning beloved if it were not true? They wont “spare the flock of God”, they care little for the sheep, but serve ONLY themselves.

Romans 16:17–18

17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. 18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

Beloved, the first Sunday of every month we read the same passage in the next book after Romans, 1 Corinthians, warning us in chapter 11 of his recognition of divisions and heresy in the Church, and saying;

1 Corinthians 11:19

19 For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.

Paul writes that we are to properly “Judge” such things as this in Chapter 14:29, and concludes the letter warning;

1 Corinthians 16:22

22 If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha

In his second letter Paul is jealous for the Church he has ministered and endured in work with for years, and fears for them saying;

2 Cor 11:3-4

3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

Dear Church, the aim of Satan is to DESTROY THE CHURCH as he also tries to destroy the family, why? Because biblical Churches and Biblical Families are the greatest single evidence to the world of the nature and character of God. 

Tragically, Satan uses people, and even genuine Christians, to do his bidding. He has them disguised as “angels of light”. 

2 Corinthians 11:12–15

12 But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion; that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we. 13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

In the letter to the Galatians Paul marvels that they have turned themselves to another Gospel in Chapter 1, testifying they are “perverting the gospel of Christ” (v7). He goes on to wonders who has bewitched them in chapter three, even calling them “Fools” for accepting it in Gal 3:1.

Are we truly to think of ourselves as unlikely to be deceived when even the Churches planted by the apostle Paul were so easily bewitched? 

Have you been bewitched beloved? Have subtle men, disguised as ministers of light, led you astray by believing their words and NEVER CHECKING the TRUTH OF THEM?

Acts 17:11

11  These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

Noble are the ones who CHECK THE INFORMATION GIVEN THEM, Fools are they which receive information WITHOUT QUESTION. 

BUT SADLY, We are living in a time when people want to believe WHAT THEY WANT TO BELIEVE because it SUITS their purpose and desires.

It is a time when the TRUTH is often INCONVENIENT, and dam those who you are willing to hurt along the way.

“Not sparing the flock of God“

To the Ephesians is warned to not be “partakers” with “the children of disobedience” (Eph 5:6-7), to “have NO FELLOWSHIP WITH THE UNFRUITFUL WORKS OF DARKNESS, but rather reprove them” (Eph 5:11)

But instead of having “no fellowship with the …works of darkness” we suffer them to join us and so DIM OUR OWN LIGHT.

INSTEAD OF “reproving them” we entertain them. 

We reject the simplicity of the word of God, we wont trust the Lord at his word, because it is NOT CONVENIENT. And so we allow the “perilous times” to gallop into our churches.

Again beloved, what is YOUR ROLE in facilitating the last days Church???

The very same chapter of Ephesians, please tune there as it matters much.

The very same chapter, God desires we would awaken to the truth of this and realise the days we live in;

Ephesians 5:14–16

14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. 15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

While King David “hates every false way“, congregations of todays Churches who don’t spend any time learning the “true way”, desires we tolerate such evil workers of iniquity in our Churches, yet Paul calls them “dogs” in the next book of Philippians;

Philippians 3:1–2

1 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. 2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.

False teachers had come in to take away the truth of Christ and the joy of salvation from the Philippians, but Paul warns to safeguard them. 

And so he testifies to them in verse 18;

Philippians 3:18–19

18 (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: 19 Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

If this was true then, how much more today? If the first century Church, so near to Christ and who gave even their lives for the sake of the truth, suffered such sinners, how much more in a day when we will not endure sound doctrine at all?

How much are you facilitating such days?

If you are not reading your Bible every day, you are helping these days develop.

If you are not regular in prayer, you are precipitating such perilous times.

If you get offended that I call you out in this way rather than feel convicted in sorrow, you will be one perfectly described by the adjectives of 2 Timothy 3 eventually if not already.

In Colossians Paul warns of “lest any man should beguile you with enticing words” (Col 2:4), he continues more specifically in verse 8 saying;

Colossians 2:8

8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

In 1 Thessalonians we are charged to “prove all things” and to “abstain from all appearance of evil” (1 Thess 5:21-22)

In 2 Thessalonians Paul is even more worried for the Churches, stating that God is righteous to “recompense tribulation to them that trouble you” (2 Thess:1:6), stating to punish those with everlasting destruction, “who obey not the gospel” (v8-9).

All of this leading men as the “mystery of iniquity doth already work” and “then shall that wicked be revealed“..”…whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders“

Why?

“…because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved” (2 Thess 2:7-10)

We sit here thinking to ourselves that this has no affect on us. That excusing our reading of the word of God and excusing spending any time in prayer, and devices this world employs to conform us to the world have no effect, yet the bible tells us that it will ALL HAVE ITS AFFECT in us, and as a result “perilous times shall come“.

“This KNOW also” begins Paul to Timothy, warning after warning is given us showing that Satan desires to destroy the work of the Lord, and he uses CHRISTIANS to do it best.

In 1st Timothy is a classic text that warns of placing young men into positions of authority and how the devil can use them at his own will.

It is in the passage that speaks of those desiring the office of a Pastor, and gives a description of their character for the work. But there is a warning not to place a “novice” in such a position of authority,

1 Timothy 3:6–7

6 Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

Christians can and are used by the Devil, it happened in Pauls day, it happens today and the lack of humility in such people precipitate the “Perilous times” warned of in Scripture.

But then Paul goes on to warn in greater clarity of such days;

1 Timothy 4:1–2

1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

2nd Timothy has our text in chapter 3, and seeing we shall expound it further in another sermon, I will not continue that hear, save the passage in the next chapter, 2 Tim 4

It is both the charge and the warning to EVERY PASTOR before God. It is the Charge given us in every Bible College, and it is the charge we have as Pastors by all Godly men who ordain us for the ministry, and it testifies to the Perilous Times written in the previous chapter, and six verses after telling us of the worsening condition expected to be seen in the Churches;

Look at 2 Tim 3:9

Quote “but evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Tim 3:9)

Now see;

2 Timothy 4:2–4

2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

My job as the Pastor of Hope Baptist Church is to safeguard this church from such seducing men and people. My charge before God is to honour HIM first. 

In just under thirty years I have seen much evil in Churches, I have seen seducing spirits and seducing people that have led many away, and, I HAVE SEEN THE faith of many shipwrecked by the behaviour of other Christians.

I am to call evil, “EVIL”, and not excuse it. I am commanded in scripture to “reprove, rebuke and Exhort with all long suffering and doctrine”. I am not to do everything I can to safeguard my pay packet!!!! I am called to safeguard the CHURCH and to preach “in season and out of season”.

I am fully aware that the time HAS COME when they will not endure sound doctrine, we are LIVING IN THE LAST DAYS, and I am more aware of that today than I have ever been in my life before.

But there may come a time that you will choose to have a man that will simply scratch you where you are itching, you may be the one written of here who “will not endure sound doctrine; but after your own hearts lusts heap to yourself teachers, having itching ears“.

If so, you will join the long, long list of churches around the world that have done just that. 

I will never be a partaker of fluffing the pillows of Christians who desire to remain asleep to their sin and idolatry, no matter the cost.

I signed up to feed the sheep, not to entertain the goats.

One last passage and we shall leave it there. 

In a sister passage to 1 Timothy respecting the identification of the man suited to Pastor;

Titus 1:9–16

9 Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers. 10 For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision: 11 Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake. 12 One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. 13 This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith; 14 Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth. 15 Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. 16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

As my desire was to demonstrate that EVERY new Testament book warns of the danger in the churches, from wolves in sheeps clothing, false teachers, false brethren, Christians used by Satan, to prove the truth of the doctrine and to OPEN our eyes to the church of the last days. 

We already know the warnings in the gospels by Jesus, you have now examples in each book from Acts through to Titus of the warnings in the New Testament alone, you can dig out the rest for yourself.

Philemon is the only book of the New testament that does not have any such warning. 

In closing;

You have a choice beloved, either repent and turn back to the Lord and remove yourselves from those who work in the darkness that you may lead a fruitful and blessed life, or stay continue to excuse yourself and add to the darkness to come.

As for me, as your pastor, I cant help you any more than this. I have warned time and again that you will fall into sin and Satan will use you to facilitate his work, but I am powerless to do any more, the choice is yours.

I am not going to go through all twenty six books to prove how much God wants to warn you of sin rising in the Church, but one last passage that I cannot overlook. It is the chapter AFTER our primary Chapter, 2 Timothy 4Where do you fit in the description of 2 Timothy 3?

Your family needs you to be reading your Bible every day.

Your family and friends need you to be praying to the Lord Jesus Christ each and every single day.

The WORLD needs you now, more than ever.

There is no time!

1 Corinthians 7:29–31

29 But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none; 30 And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not; 31 And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away.

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John 3:16–21

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

“Saved From What?“… its a question that is asked by those who query the question we asked in the first message regarding the Gospel asked by the jailor in Acts 16:30

“What must I do to be saved?”

Some time ago, a man brought forward his strong argument against the Bible, declaring, “I am seventy years of age, and have never seen such a place as hell, after all that has been said about it.” His little grandson, of about seven years of age, who was all the while listening, asked him, “Granddaddy, have you ever been dead yet?”[1]

We have spoken of Jesus Christ and why he came, why he died, how it is that he rose from the dead. 

We spoke of spoke of its historical reality and laid down the arguments that are so clear.

We spoke of our state, our sin and how we all have broken the law of God and CANNOT BE REDEEMED by our own efforts, no matter how hard we try. Sin entered into the world, and death by SIN has placed us into the same condemnation as the Devil and His angels for which HELL WAS ORIGINALLY CREATED.

The Law of God is the measurement of the standard that would grant unto us the PRIVILEGE OF HEAVEN. No man is able to meet that standard, no man that is, except the one who came in our place to give his life a sacrifice for our sin.

SAVED FROM WHAT? Is the question?

SAVED FROM HELL….is the answer.

The same HELL created for the devil for HIS SIN AGAINST GOD, is the hell mankind is condemned to for his SIN AGAINST GOD.

Incredibly, no man or woman needs to go to hell.

Jesus told the world that there is a Broad way to hell and “many there be which go in thereat, Because strait is the gate and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Mat 7:13-14)

YET JESUS MADE A WAY, AND NONE NEED TO GO TO HELL.

Why will “many go in”?

John 3:19 “…men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil”

The topic of hell is not something that most people would not bring up in polite conversation, but it is interesting to consider the contrast of today to any time in history past; for thousands of years man has had a natural concern respecting his existence after death. ‘The Afterlife’ has always been a topic of conversation among men, both pagan and Jews alike have lived their lives with this fundamental question before them. 

Paul knew EXACTLY what the jailer was making enquiry of, and the jailor also knew he did not need to explain to Paul what he was referring to when making this enquiry. Both knew that the question was specific to SALVATION FROM THE DAMNATION OF HELL FOR SIN!

In John 3, Jesus makes a number of statements employing words that IDENTIFY THAT END FOR ALL OF MANKIND apart from the gospel;

From verse 16 we see it;

whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Here you have to completely opposing propositions, one is that of an individual “perishing“, OR of having “everlasting life“. These are antithetical one to the other. But it continues on in the passage;

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

If the world is not willing to be “saved”, then it shall certainly be “condemned”… ‘condemnation’ therefore, is the opposite of being “saved”. But the passage is still not finished;

18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already,

Again, it is as if Jesus is trying so hard to help us understand the two opposing points, one to be “not condemned“, the other is being “condemned already“. The Roman Jailor of Acts 16 clearly KNEW where he stood on those two polarising positions.

Do you?

Jesus explains why there is a condemnation from verse 19 in John 3, and we are still drawn toward giving consideration to the antithesis; you are either on one position OR you are on the others…there is no half way point in the Bible;

19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

Jesus spoke of hell more than any other single individual in the Bible. Of the 54 occurrences of the word in the entire Bible, Jesus uses the word itself 15 times, in other words, almost 1/3rd of the employments of the word “Hell” in the entire Bible is employed by Christ, the one who would die to save mankind from it.

SOMETHING HAS CHANGED

Something has changed however in our modern days. Though the concern over the afterlife was front and centre in the minds of most people up until but a century ago, today it is a taboo subject.

Perhaps it is considered “taboo” by most people because most people do not want to be reminded of the sin that is sending them there, they have dulled their consciences to the point that they are quite literally sleep walking into hell and are angry when you try to wake them up,  UNTIL it is too late and, like the rich man of Luke 16, they are buried and “in hell he life up his eyes, being in torments” (Lk 16:23).

In his book The Vanishing Conscience, Pastor John Macarthur relates a telling example of the people of the world respecting their sin and how it all ends. He writes of an airline disaster in 1984;

He writes;

“In 1984 an Avianca Airlines jet crashed in Spain. Investigators studying the accident made an eerie discovery. The “black box” cockpit recorders revealed that several minutes before impact a shrill, computer-synthesized voice from the plane’s automatic warning system told the crew repeatedly in English, “Pull up! Pull up!”

The pilot, evidently thinking the system was malfunctioning, snapped, “Shut up, Gringo!” and switched the system off. Minutes later the plane plowed into the side of a mountain. Everyone on board died.

When I saw that tragic story on the news shortly after it happened, it struck me as a perfect parable of the way modern people treat the warning messages of their consciences.[2]“

Its not just that people do not want to be told about their sin today, people do not want to be told that there are consequences to sin. 

“The wages of sin is death” says the bible in Romans 6:23.

“…sin entered into the world, and death by sin, so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Rom 5:12)

“The soul that sinneth, it shall die…” Ezek 18:4

Jesus said, “and these shall go away into everlasting punishment” Matt 25:46

Turn to Mark 9 to obtain the full perspective on sin and its end by the lips of Jesus

Mark 9:43–48

43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 44 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 45 And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 46 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: 48 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

Every culture in the world has an innate belief in what is often referred to as “The Afterlife”. 

Even in this secular nation of Australia, where almost 40% of people identified themselves as having no religious affiliation in the 2021 Census, I have never yet been to a funeral where the individual is regarded as ceasing to exist.  

Every person who I have witnessed officiating over a funeral has given at least some remark as to a present afterlife existence for the person who has died.

Contrary to both scripture, every ancient culture and the living belief of all people who recognise a positive and negative end to life, every funeral I have witnessed consistently proclaimed a “Positive End”.

Jesus said

Matthew 7:13

13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 

What Jesus spoke of and every culture has long been aware of seems to have become the first historical victim of being “shadow banned”. First in the culture, then in the Bible Cemeteries (Seminaries) and finally in the pulpits of Churches.

Its removed from Old testament completely in almost every modern Bible and included about half of the time in the New testament. 

The word “Damned” and “Damnation” is removed completely in almost all modern versions of the Bible….

I have worked in the construction industry for thirty years and we had DANGER SIGNS everywhere and labels on everything warning us of potential injury. 

Modern Christianity has taken away the WARNING label of life and death and today people live with little to no fear of death.

Some kill themselves for fears in life thinking that it is SAFER to “Die” than to live.

Beloved, this is frightening! Especially when the Bible presents “death” as the ultimate and final enemy of mankind;

1 Corinthians 15:26

26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

The word “Hell” appears in no less than 54 verses of the Bible gives men no excuse to be ignorant as to its meaning and Christians NO EXCUSE as to its warning.

Synonyms of the word and allusions to the place; such as the word “perish” in John 3:16, “Everlasting Destruction” 2 Thess 1:9, sudden destruction 1 Thess 5:3, ‘vessels of wrath fitted to destruction” Rom 9:22, Fiery Indignation Heb 10:27), blackness of darkness Jude 13, eternal fire Jude 7, outer darkness Mat 8:12, 22:13, 25:30, everlasting fire Matt 25:46, Lake of Fire (Rev 19:20, 20:10, 20:14, 20:15), Perdition 1 Tim 6:9,  Just to name a few, are found so much more frequently, adding further to the evidence of wilful ignorance to which account will be given in the day of Christ (Phil 1:10). 

23 of the 54 occurrences of the word ‘Hell’ is found in the New Testament. All but SEVEN of those appearances of the word ‘Hell’, came from the mouth of Jesus.

The warnings that he gave are the clearest of all the warnings in the scriptures and the descriptions given by Christ are also the most revealing as to its description.

Fire

Hell is descriptive of an extremity of fire that is incomparable to that on the earth.

Matthew 5:22

22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

It is a place created for the Devil and his angels, both unaffected by natural fire; 

Matthew 25:41

41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

Here we see that it is an “everlasting fire”, 

It is a place where the body will be committed;

Matthew 5:29

29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

Not the body that dies, but a different resurrected body; Jesus said

John 5:29

29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

How is that “Resurrection Body” described?

Jesus quoted Isaiah in Marks Gospel. Turn to Mark 9 

Here and in Isaiah 66:24 are the only places of 

Mark 9:43–48

43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 44 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 45 And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 46 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: 48 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

Blackness of Darkeness

There is NO LIGHT in Hell

Jude wrote of False Christians, godless individuals of the last days in his single chapter book;

Jude 12–13

12 These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; 13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.

A good guide line of hell is to consider it as the complete opposite of Heaven, where heaven is filled with light, Hell is absolute darkness, and possibly even a darkness so dark it can be felt.

In Gods judgement against Egypt, when he separated his promised people from the wicked, he commanded Moses;

Exodus 10:21

21 And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.

So many think to themselves that Hell will be a party with all the wicked, they are sourly deceived. John Bunyan wrote of one man so wicked that he was warned of his end and he replied ignorantly “what would the devil do for company if it were not for men such as I?“.

There will be no company in hell beloved!

Where heaven is filled with fellowship and company, hell is absolute solitude for all eternity. While there certainly seems to be an awareness of those in hell (Isa 14:10), unlike heaven, there is no indication anywhere that there is fellowship or companionship in hell.

Solitary confinements are employed in the prison system to inflict a greater punishment on inmates. The Devil will not have company, he will not “rule in hell” as Milton portrays in his epic poem Paradise Lost, he and all those in hell will not even see one another in that place.

Where is Hell?

Ok, we enter into a part of this conversation that is not perfectly certain, but derived ONLY from how the Bible presents it.

The ancient world has ALWAYS believed Hell is in the midst of the Earth, and the Bible does nothing to discourage this view, but may indeed affirm it.

The Bible indicates that Hell has a geographic location. Yes, it is a physical place!

When reading the scriptures, unlike heaven, we do not get the impression that hell is a mystical “otherworldy” realm. The passages of the Bible indicate that Hell is actually GEOCENTRIC.

In other words, it is in the belly of the Earth.

“Bottomless Pit”: appears 7 times referring to hell and only in the book of Revelation.

Revelation 9:1-2

1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

Psalm 55:23 refers to the place as “the pit of Destruction”

Luke writes of the devils plea to Jesus that they would not be cast into “the deep” (Luke 8:31)

The assembly of wicked men who rebelled against the authority of Moses and Aaron were spoken of by Moses as he said;

Numbers 16:30–33

30 But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD. 31 And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them: 32 And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. 33 They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.

The ONLy place you can have a “Bottomless Pit” is in the belly of the Earth. 

Scientists argue a little over whether the centre of the Earth is Liquid or Solid, but both agree that it is a metallic structure with a heat intensity of between 6,000c and 7,000c.

The “outer core” they all agree is liquid fire and evidently seen spewing out of Volcanoes.

Opposed to Heaven, the Bible indicates Hell as in the Earth. 

Revelation tells us that “death and hell” will be “cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death” Rev 20:14

Probably the single most difficult aspect of Hell to conceive of is its eternality. That is, that it is forever.

You can feel free to invent a PURGATORY no matter how horrific you can create it, and no matter how long it is that you will endure it, IF THERE IS HOPE YOU WILL EVENTUALLY ESCAPE.

A “purgatory” is ALMOST WORTH the risk of living a sinful life to its fullest degree INSPITE OF ENDURING the most evil horror that an imagination can conceive of, IF there is hope that you will one day come out of it.

Jonathan Edwards, in his famous sermon: Sinners in the Hand of a Angry God” writes that;

“If all the sands of all the beaches on the world were placed into an hourglass, and each grain of sand represented an entire year, you would yet have hope of being delivered”

But this is not HELL.

Arthur W Pink recognises that even the protestants of his day were considering a form of Protestant Purgatory, vainly trusting that “the punishment of hell is ‘corrective’ rather than ‘retributive’, that the fires of HELL are “purifying” rather than “penal“.

He goes on to write;

Some who hold this view make a great pretense of honoring Christ, yet in reality they greatly dishonor Him. If men who died rejecting the Saviour are yet to be saved, if the fires of hell are to do for men what the blood of the Cross failed to effect, then why was the Divine Sacrifice needed at all—all might have been saved by the disciplinary sufferings of hell, and so God could have spared His Son.[3]

It is that HELL is ETERNAL, Forever, never to be availed from, never to stop, never to be delivered from, that makes a hell out of HELL.

Jude wrote of the deceivers in churches in the last days, comparing them to the fallen angels who are

 Jude 7

“… set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”

Revelation warns of those who take the Mark of the Beast that is coming on the near horizon, for which the “Digital I.D.” Being debated at the moment is PREPATORY;

Revelation 14:9–11

9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

Daniel wrote some 500 years before Christ of this end, saying;

Daniel 12:2

2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

There is ALSO a body that they will rise with that seems fit for purpose; Jesus spoke of each being “raised” from the dead;

John 5:29

29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

The resurrected bodies of the saints are likened to Jesus glorified body, but the only description related to the body of the damned is seen in Isaiah and Jesus words in Marks Gospel, identified by the phrase;

“Where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched” Mark 9:44, 9:46, 9:48, the repetition of which is deleted in almost every modern version of the Bible today. (V 44 & 46 deleted)

Those raised to the “resurrection of damnation” are written of to suffer the “second death”.

Revelation 21:8

8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

The passage of the rich man in hell testifies to the torments as Conscious, so much so that he does not desire the company of any family or freind to attend to him. 

He has no question of being removed from this state, but desires relief from its torment;

“send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame[4]“

The FORGOTTEN CONSCIENCE IN LIFE seems to be FULLY INFORMED in death. 

None in hell shall be remembered, no name given and celebrated between the wicked today will endure;

Proverbs 10:7

7 The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot.

Job 18:17

17 His remembrance shall perish from the earth, and he shall have no name in the street.

Psalm 9:5

5 Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever.

Psalm 9:6

6 O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them.

This is contrasted with those who have believed the Gospel, who will be given a NEW NAME;

To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. [5] (Rev 2:17)

John 3:16–21

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 

18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 

19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

[1]. Tan, P.L. (1996) Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times. Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc., p. 554.

[2]. MacArthur, J., F…Jr. (1994) The vanishing conscience. Electronic ed. Dallas: Word Pub., p. 36.

[3]. Pink, A. W. (2005). Eternal Punishment (10). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

{$NOTE_LABEL}. The Holy Bible: King James Version. electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version. (1995). Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., p. Lk 16:24.

{$NOTE_LABEL}. The Holy Bible: King James Version. electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version. (1995). Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., p. Re 2:17.

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What Is Repentance?

John 3:16–21

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

What is “repentance”?

What must I Repent of to be saved?

Different aspects in the scripture respecting “repentance”.

The word appears 106 times in the Bible. (42 Old / 64 New)

A Change of Heart:

The law of First Mention

Genesis 6:6

6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

A Change of Heart that Leads to Change of Action

Exodus 13:17

17 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt:

Jesus Parable after being asked of his “authority”

Matthew 21:28–29

28 But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. 29 He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.

A Change of Heart that leads to salvation

Luke 16:30

30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.

A Conviction of the Heart that prerequisites and immediately precedes Salvation

Acts 2:37–38

37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? 38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Acts 3:18–19

18 But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. 19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

When Peter was questioned for going to the gentiles and recounted his vision beforehand, testifying that they too received the Holy Ghost as it did on the Jews.

Acts 11:18

18 When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.

Johns Baptism was a baptism of Repentance;

Acts 13:24

24 When John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

Acts 19:2–4

2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. 3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism. 4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.

A “Fruit” that evidences The Change of Heart

Matthew 3:1–8

1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, 2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand…..

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

A Regret

(Gen 6:6)

1 Samuel 15:35

35 And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.

Job 42:5–6

5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. 6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

A Sorrow For Trespass and Sin

Luke 17:1–4

 3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. 4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.

A Sorrow For Trespass and Sin that LEADS to Salvation

2 Corinthians 7:9–10

9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. 10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

It is a Commandment

Acts 17:30–31

30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: 31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

A Change of Heart to acknowledge the Truth

2 Timothy 2:24–26

24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, 25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; 26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

A Turning of Works to Faith

Hebrews 6:1

1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,

John 3:16–21

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

John 10:25–30

25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me. 26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and my Father are one.

Sealed

2 Corinthians 1:20–22

20 For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. 21 Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; 22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

2 Corinthians 5:5–8

5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. 6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: 7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

Ephesians 1:12–14

12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. 13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Obey The Law of Moses?

Acts 15:1–11

1 And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. 2 When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question. 3 And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren. 4 And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them. 5 But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses. 

6 And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter. 7 And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. 8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; 9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

Acts 15:19–29

19 Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: 20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. 21 For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day. 

22 Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren: 23 And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia: 24 Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment: 25 It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth. 28 For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; 29 That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.

Galatians 2:19–21

19 For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. 20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

Galatians 3:1–3

1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? 2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

Hebrews 7:18–19

18 For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof. 19 For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.

Hebrews 7:22–25

22 By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament. 23 And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death: 24 But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. 25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

Believe In The Heart

Acts 8:32–38

32  The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: 33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. 34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. 36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? 37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.

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What Must I Do To Be Saved?

Acts 16:25–34

25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. 26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. 27 And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. 29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, 30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. 32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. 34 And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.

Two weeks ago we spoke of the triumphal entry of the Lord. The day that Jesus presented himself as the King of Israel, the day the people acknowledged that this same Jesus is the one spoken of all through the Old Testament and presented himself on the very day Daniel wrote of 483years earlier.

To the very day that Cyrus, king of Persia made his proclamation in both speech and also in writing;

2 Chronicles 36:23

23 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.

Incredibly however, while one day the people rejoiced in Jesus and exalted him as their king and that all should follow him, a few days later he was turned upon, falsely accused before a multitude and sent through no less than three fake, unlawful trials before being presented with false witnesses, until he was unlawfully condemned by the testimony of his own lips.

Remember beloved that accusations must be PROVED by the accusers.

 Accusations are NOT to be defended against, they are TO BE PROVED. 

This happens to each and every one of us from time to time,

You will have people forcing you to defend against an accusation, but the burden of proof is on the accuser. “Innocent until PROVEN guilty” is the correct manner of law, not ‘guilty until PROVEN innocent’. 

Those seeking you to answer an accusation are reversing the lawful burden of proof.

This is what occurred to Jesus. He was asked to defend himself against an accusation, but the burden of proof is ALWAYS on the accuser. 

What happened to Jesus was LAWLESSNESS. This same LAWLESSNESS is repeated often today.

What we witness in the Bible during this time was that the cries of “Hosanna, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord”, four days later gave way to “Crucify him, Crucify him”.

Not even the Governor Pilot could get an answer as he cried out “Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more saying Let him be crucified.” Mt 27:23

Three days and three nights later the resurrection of Jesus Christ became the single most proven historical event of all history, the denial of which would require the denial of ALL history not video recorded. 

What then came of all of this?

Opportunity for eternal life began to be preached to all the world as a testimony to the truth of Christ for the salvation of the world.

       The world was changed, NOT BY WAR, but by WORD!

The testimony is that Jesus, the Son of God and God the Son, died for the sins of the entire world and eternal life became available to ALL who would choose to believe it.

       While “…the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness;” it became “unto us which are saved…the power of God”,

Paul continues;

19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. 1 Corinthians 1:18–21

AND SO THE QUESTION IS STILL ASKED TODAY AS IT WAS THEN;

WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?

Do you know the answer beloved?

Acts 16:30

And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

Built within the question of Acts 16:30 is an internal recognition of personal condemnation.

When a man asks the question, “what must I do to be saved?”, he testifies to his full understanding that he is ETERNALLY LOST.

The question here is not one related to a physical salvation. 

He was not drowning in a sea of water and in need of help. 

He was not stuck down a mine shaft and desired to be saved,

and he was not making enquiry as to his personal safety from the punishment due for runaway prisoners, for they already told him “we are all here” (v28).

No, the “keeper of the prison” was asking for the sake of his eternal SOUL.

Have you EVER asked that same question?

Have you EVER had a care for the state of your eternal soul?

Have you EVER wondered whether or not you will be accepted by God into heaven?

Have you EVER feared the reality of falling headlong into hell?

You know, each and every minute, of each and every day, of each and every year, someone dies and opens their eyes in hell.

Think on this for just a moment Christian!

The disciples themselves asked of Jesus, “are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate” (Lk 13:23-24).

In Matthew 7 Jesus makes it clear saying;

 Matthew 7:13–14

13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. 

You walk past people each and every day who, without YOUR personal intervention and witness of Christ that the person might have OPPORTUNITY to be saved, may end up in hell for your silence.

To you however who still sit condemned by sin, this alone is of eternal value to think about:

There is literally NOTHING preventing you for falling into hell this very minute. Turn to the obituaries just locally, and see how many people have “died suddenly” in the last DAY, and wonder what if it were you?

No doubt, you, like they, have made plans for tomorrow. You made plans for your next holiday, but what if the expectation of those plans perished in a moment and you were suddenly brought down to hell?

Proverbs 11:7

7 When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish: and the hope of unjust men perisheth.

Jesus gave his parable on this matter and it is worth seeing the word of God for yourself, turn to Luke 12:16

Luke 12:16–20

16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? 

No doubt the hope of many is for a longer life. A time to fulfil dreams and purposes that never had God in the frame. 

No doubt they expected that they made their plans well concerning eternity. They said their prayers daily, they attended their religious services and NEVER EXPECTED to come to hell for their troubles?

The Psalmist wrote;

Psalm 73:18–19

18 Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. 19 How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors. 

I have a personal story that might best illustrate the “slippery places” the Psalmist speaks of.

Working in the construction sector for many years, there were times I would need to walk on a pitched tin roof. On a dry day, the best and most sure footing a person can have while working up there are a pair of gum boots.

The warm roof, together with the soft rubber sole gave a surer footing than any other hard soled shoe and you can work in total comfort and assurance, expecting to get your work done in time.

But if a single splash of water hit that roof where you were standing, there is literally nothing to stop you from falling. Your own weight, while previously helping you stand firm, would now work against you and accelerate your fall.

So too are all those who think they stand safe who have never sincerely asked the question;

The question “What must I do to be saved?” had not really been asked or answered sincerely, and so they are now in torment and only wish for a drop of water to cool their tongues.

Turn forward a little in your passage in Luke 

Luke 16:19–24

19  There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: 20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, 21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. 27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: 28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. 29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. 30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. 31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

The first thing we recognise is that the rich man does not have a name. 

This is true for all those in hell; while they have every desire to make a name for themselves on earth, they are forgotten in hell. 

Proverbs 10:7

7 The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot.

The second thing we recognise is that the rich man does not question why he is found in hell. 

No doubt he thought he laid out plans otherwise and took good care to never be there while yet alive, but now there is no indication he questioned the justice of the matter.

Those who think they will have something to hold God to account for after death, may be surprised to find THAT the conscience they seared and sealed on earth, be fully informed in eternity and have NOTHING TO SAY.

Thirdly we see that it is CONSCIOUS TORMENT.

The man is fully aware of the torment of his soul that it is ALL CONSUMING; 

send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

LASTLY (and there are many other items to bring out, but this last is my present desire to show); THE MAN HAS NO EXPECTATION OF DELIVERANCE…EVER.

Not only does he not request “time out for good behaviour“, but ONLY for the TEMPORAL relief of his torment, He does not even want the company of FAMILY MEMBERS.

27 I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: 28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.

AS to the nature of the condemnation, there is NOW only ONE!

Turn to John 3

John 3:19–21

19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

 31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

Here in this same text is an assumption that some WAY has been made available for people to be SAVED.

The question assumes SALVATION is an option.

For the man no doubt has tried much to attain that good place in his own merits and his own ability, but is aware to have come short of it time and time again.

Imagine for a moment that you have tried to purge all your own sins in your own effort, only to have a cat cross your path unexpectedly and you curse and swear as it almost tripped you up!

Well now you would need to go back on your knees, or count some additional rosery beads, or face the right latitudinal direction and pray, or hope that the god you worship wasn’t listening to the profanity under your breath.

No, clearly you, like the Keeper of the Prison, would know you needed to be “SAVED“. What a relief it would be IF ONLY someone ELSE made a WAY!

Beloved, God is just, he is not going to let sin slip, there is a cost to sin against God just as there is a cost to crime against man, and that cost MUST BE PAID FOR. 

Some provision MUST be made available in order to SAVE YOU for paying the cost yourself, a WAY to be delivered, a SUBSTITUTION made in your place for YOUR sin.

Even a sacrificial atonement, voluntarily made for it to be just, by one who was innocent of any and all transgression you had made, and one that is Approved BY GOD to have met the criteria HE requires.

Having something DONE for you in this case is INFINATELY different for you DOING it yourself.

“What must I do to Be saved?” from this gentile jailor is a very different question to that asked of Jesus by the rich young ruler, 

Matthew 19:16

16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?

You see, this is the question asked of ALL RELIGIONS IN THE WORLD. All have a different answer, but ALL PRESUME there are NO provisions available, and ALL must DO some good thing to “have eternal life“.

All the days of their life is preoccupied with that “good thing” and IF they have ever done enough.

ALL people, except for those who have trusted that JESUS made PROVISION for their sin. 

For them, the work is DONE, and all they need “DO” is believe Jesus did it all.

Ephesians 2:8–9

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

“Works” assumes that if you live according to the law, you can be justified, but this is NOT the PURPOSE of the Law and is expressly DENIED IN SCRIPTURE;

Romans 3:20

20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Turn to the book of Acts and see what is said when men have tried to convince those who think to earn ETERNAL LIFE by THE LAW OF MOSES;

Acts 15:6–11

6 And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter. 7 And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. 8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; 9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 

10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

NO my friends, none can EARN eternal life, it is a YOKE that no man is able to bear. What is needed is PROVISION to be made FOR OUR SIN.

Else, we all must give our account once our appointment with death comes;

Hebrews 9:27–28

27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 

The next verse in that text gives to us the culmination of this sermon and the answer to the question we began with AND identify the PROVISION made, 

Hebrews 9:27–28

27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 

28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. 

Acts 16:25–34

25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. 26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. 27 And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. 29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, 30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 31 And they said, Believeon the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. 32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. 34 And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.

Not by OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS

Isaiah 64:6

6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

BUT, BY PROVISION MADE

2 Corinthians 5:21

21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Isaiah 53

AND SO, THE ANSWER IS GIVEN;

John 3:14–18

14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Do Not Neglect So Great A Salvation;

Hebrews 2:1–4

1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. 2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; 3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; 4 God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?

The post What Must I Do To Be Saved? appeared first on Hope Baptist Church.

1 Corinthians 15:12–26

12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: 14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. 15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. 16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: 17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. 18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. 

20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. 21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. 24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

What a difference a week makes. 

If there was ever a time in your life of a week that has both its highs and lows we might wonder how it could compare with the week that had seen the Lord Jesus Christ go from the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, to his murder at Golgotha and his resurrection three days and three nights later. 

John 12:12–13

12 On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Is the record of John, the beloved apostle.

Mark 11:9–10

9 And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: 10 Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.

Is the record of John Mark, apostle and company-man of Bananas and Paul for the ministry of the Gospel of Christ.

Matthew 27:22–25

22 Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. 23 And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified. 24 When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it. 25 Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.

Is the record of Matthew a few days later, with similar accounts in Mark, Luke and John.

In a matter of a few days the testimony of Christ went from exaltation to condemnation in the eyes of the people. From Veneration to detestation, from being worshipped and adored to being demonised and abhorred, and all this in but a few days.

What happened?

When you look at the account in its best chronological order as seen in Matthews Gospel, we see that after Jesus presents himself as King on the very day prophesied by Daniel (9:25-27) and in the very manner spoken of some 500 years earlier by Zechariah (9:9), the zeal of Christ for the temple of his father consumed him after his entering into the city and he overthrew the tables of the merchandisers. 

Chapters 22 to 25 of Matthews Gospel was the next day where he condemned the leaders of the people with great clarity against their sin, no sooner had he done so that Matthew 26 records just two days before the Passover, a conspiracy to destroy him; turn there;

Matthew 26:3–4

3 Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, 4 And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill him.

Thereby culminating in that which Isaiah wrote of 700 years earlier in Isiah 53,

Isaiah 53:3–6

3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 

4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ that we celebrate, as we gather on the first day of every week since that time, is a matter of HISTORY. 

It is NOT a fable, a nice story or a myth, it is a testimony of HISTORY that has historic affirmations in;

The historical claims concerning Christ fulfills ALL these in greater force than the historical accounts of ANY OTHERS ancient account of ANY OTHER ANCIENT EVENT.

Philosophers Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli write, 

“We believe Christ’s resurrection can be proved with at least as much certainty as any universally believed and well-documented event in ancient history.” [1]

Yes, we believed Jesus died for our sins by faith, and we trusted that in him dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily and that his blood was sufficient to wash away all our sins, BUT IF JESUS DID NOT RISE FROM THE DEAD HISTORICALLY AND IN REALITY, we would yet remain in our sins practically. 

Whatever we believe to be true would still not be true if what we believe is true, is false.

1 Corinthians 15:17

And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. 18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. 

Our faith means NOTHING if it is not rooted in reality!

Three Things that are attested to in this portion of Scripture that must be TRUE.

1 Corinthians 15:3–8

3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. 8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

Embodied in 1 Corinthians 15 is a creed concerning Jesus Christ, his death, his burial and ESPECIALLY his RESURRECTION.

It is there in verses 3-8 and it was circulating well before it was here penned by Paul in this letter to the Corinthian Churches. 

It is a creed that testifies as to the reason WHY Christ died, (v3) “for our sins according to the scriptures”. 

It is a creed that testifies of his burial for no more than three days (v4)  And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

It is a creed that testifies of a multitude of witnesses that had seen him after he rose from the dead in verses 5 & 6, And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remainunto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

And it is a creed which testifies to the appearance of Christ to two of the most ardent sceptics who did not believe anything concerning Jesus being “The Christ“; 

James the brother of Jesus, and SAUL (Paul), the persecutor of all the “Christ ones” who followed “that way“;

7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. 8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

What we have here is an historical creedal testimony that had been circulating at least orally well before the writing of any of the epistles of Paul. 

This first letter to the Corinthian Churches written around 57AD and affirmed as a letter from Paul by the earliest Church fathers such as St Clemens Romanus less than forty years later in 96AD.

Not a single critic of the New Testament doubts the authenticity of this letter from Paul;

Theologian Spence Jones, in writing of Pauls letter to the Corinthian Churches, wrote over 100 years ago saying.

‘…not a single writer of the smallest importance, however “advanced” his school of criticism, has ever ventured to question its cogency.[2]“

Jesus held people accountable to KNOW who he was BEFORE the day he entered into Jerusalem, presenting himself as KING on the day prophesied exactly 483 years earlier by Daniel (9:25). 

When John the Baptist came to enquire of him;

Matthew 11:2–6

2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, 3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? 4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: 5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

When he the wonderful works he did in certain cities testified of who he is but they refused to believe, Jesus said;

Matthew 11:21–24

21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. 23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.

When the Pharisees asked for an additional sign from Christ apart from all he had already shown them he said;

Matthew 12:39–42

39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. 42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

And finally, when he approached the city in the day and the manner in which all the scriptures of old testify to, and he wept before it;

Luke 19:41–46

41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, 42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. 43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, 44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. 

Now, before I go on, what of YOU?

The testimony of Christ has come down through the ages and with it is a ring of truth that your own sin and longing testifies to.

What of YOU?

Your death is imminent, judgement of sin looms over head pressing you down and you walk over the thinnest covering underfoot to keep you from falling headlong into hell at any moment, it is as brittle as chalk and your own weight works against you.

WHAT OF YOU?

With the testimony of history and billions around you to the truth of Christ, will you not be held accountable to the information you have? 

Perhaps it was through the pointing out of the sinful state of the people with such clarity that caused them to turn against him so quickly.

When Jesus spoke to the leaders of the people the day after he presented himself as the fore coming King, he said in the plainness terms possible to those who stood against him;

Matthew 23:28

28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

Matthew 23:32–33

32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. 33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

Perhaps it was the clarity of this accountability that turned the people against Jesus not a day after they cheered his entering in.

1 Corinthians 15:14–19

14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. 15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. 16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: 17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. 18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. 

From the very beginning, even before the death of Christ, there was a plan to deny his resurrection, and so the apostle here brings the logical conclusion that if Jesus did not rise from the dead then all preaching is pointless, so too your faith, you are yet in your sins with no hope of eternal life and only the ever-present expectation of hell and judgment,

Hebrews 10:27

27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

From before his death the plan was afoot to deny his resurrected life.

Turn to;

Matthew 27:62–66

62 Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, 63 Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. 64 Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first. 65  Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can. 66 So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.

So here we have the very first claim of doubt presented that would potentially explain two events;

Two doubts that would persist for over two thousand years.

Lets take a look at its employment after Jesus rose from the dead;

Turn forward to Matt 28,

The women came to the tomb, an earthquake hit while the angel of the Lord rolled back the stone (v2), the keepers of the door feared as they saw the angel and became as dead men (v4) and the angel spoke to the women, commanding them to go tell the disciples of the Lord;

Matthew 28:11–15

11 Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done. 12 And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, 13 Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. 14 And if this come to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him, and secure you. 15 So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

And EVEN “UNTO THIS DAY” some 2000 years later is the same tale told.

1 Corinthians 15:14–15

14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. 15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.

So which is TRUE?

Are the historical testimonies true or the doubts true?

So many are the possible doubts of the account, but none testify better to the truth of the account than the historical record we have.

Everything from stealing the body to account for the empty tomb, to group hallucinations of seeing the risen Christ has been proposed to answer the question.

From rejecting that Jesus died on the cross (the famous “Swoon Theory”) to the disciples of Christ LYING for some personal gain in the matter, has been proposed.

The Empty Tomb

That the Tomb was unexpectedly EMPTY is testified to by this claim that persists to this very day. 

The expectation was that Jesus body was meant to still be where it was laid after he died on the cross. Testifying that “They stole the body” ALSO testifies to the FACT that the tomb was unexpectantly EMPTY.

That this was the natural original conclusion of even the disciples of the Lord seem to have been lost on the doubters, turn to John 20

John 20:1–10

1  The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. 2 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. 3 Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. 4 So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. 5 And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. 6 Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, 7 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. 8 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. 9 For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.

Mary, seeing the risen Christ, thought he was the gardener and requested the body from him;

John 20:15

15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.

Both the disciples and the discoverers EXPECTED the tomb to contain the body of Jesus.

How likely could it be that the disciples of the Lord stole the body from the tomb, and deceived the world that Christ had risen from the dead and willing for themselves to DIE for that which THEY KNOW to be a lie?

In 1972 a scandal toppled the United States President Richard Nixon called Watergate. A conspiracy to cover up the scandal was perpetuated by two of the closest aids to the president, but one of them John Dean, turned ‘States Evidence’ and testified AGAINST Nixon.

The reason why, in his own words, “to save my own skin“.

According to Charles Colsen, who served prison time for his part in the scandal (and who, indecently is the FOUNDER of Prison Ministries Fellowship International, who we thank for his work in the gospel of Christ shared to Tyson), John Dean confessed the “lie” after only two weeks to “save his own skin”.

Quote:

The real cover-up, the lie, could only be held together for two weeks, and then everybody else jumped ship in order to save themselves. Now, the fact is that all that those around the President were facing was embarrassment, maybe prison. Nobody’s life was at stake. But what about the disciples? Twelve powerless men, peasants really, were facing not just embarrassment or political disgrace, but beatings, stonings, execution. Every single one of the disciples insisted, to their dying breaths, that they had physically seen Jesus bodily raised from the dead. Don’t you think that one of those apostles would have cracked before being beheaded or stoned? That one of them would have made a deal with the authorities? None did.[3]

Beloved, what is the evidence of history is simply that the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, together with over 500 witnesses at one time, testify that Jesus rose from the dead and was seen alive.

Neither James, the brother of Jesus, nor Saul, the persecutor of Christians, believed in Jesus UNTIL they had seen him alive on separate occasions.

James became the Pastor of the Church in Jerusalem and was later killed by sword by the Herod the king in Acts 12:1.

Saul, who became Paul, was the first persecutor of the church of God, believing he was doing God service. Stephen was the first martyr in the scriptures, who died at the feet of Saul. The Damascus road was Saul’s experience, and Saul, who was later named “Paul”, is said to have died by decapitation in Rome for his testimony of “the resurrection from the dead”.

During one of his trials he shouted out;

Acts 24:21

21 Except it be for this one voice, that I cried standing among them, Touching the resurrection of the dead I am called in question by you this day.

Why are these two testimonies important?

Because they are the testimonies of Sceptics and enemies, not friends. They are strong because there is no bias that can taint their witness and evidence.

There was one more sceptic however…

PHYSICAL RESURRECTION

That it was a physical Resurrection and not a spiritual manifestation is made evident in several sources both in the gospel accounts AND in the book of Acts.

Thomas doubted both the witness of his friends AND even his own eyes;

John 20:25

25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

John 20:26–29

26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: thencame Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. 27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. 28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. 29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. 

Thomas is credited for bringing the truth of Christ to India where it was said he was speared to death in the city of Mylapore, India in July, 72 AD for his testimony of the risen Christ.

Unlike “martyrs” willing to die not knowing they are deceived, there are no sane people on earth willing to die for what they KNOW to be a lie?

Gary Habermas is by far the greatest and most prolific writer respecting the veracity of the resurrection of Christ.

He has been interviewed countless times defending the truth of it and answering all arguments of atheists unwilling to accept the historical reality of what he and others refer to as the ‘The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is single most assured fact of all history’, the denial of which would cause us to deny ALL OTHER HISTORY that is not seen with our own eyes today.

He has written several books on the subject, has collated over 4,500 writings on the same subject, has his Four Volume Magnum Opus of almost 4,000 pages on the matter pending publication, two of which this year, including.

On the Resurrection: Evidences (released Jan, 2024. 1072 pages)

On the Resurrection: Refutations (release Sept, 2024. 896 pages) 

Gary Habermas Summarised the logic of the argument of coming to the truth of an historical event this way;

Some Testimony Is Stronger Than Others.

 Historians employ a number of common-sense principles in assessing the strength of a testimony. Here are five of those principles: 

1.​Testimony attested to by multiple independent witnesses is usually considered stronger than the testimony of one witness. 

2.​Affirmation by a neutral or hostile source is usually considered stronger than affirmation from a friendly source, since bias in favor of the person or position is absent. 

3.​People usually don’t make up details regarding a story that would tend to weaken their position. 

4.​Eyewitness testimony is usually considered stronger than testimony heard from a second- or thirdhand source. 

5.​An early testimony from very close to the event in question is usually considered more reliable than one received years after the event.[4]

What we have concerning the Resurrection of Jesus Christ has all of this and so much more. 

1 Corinthians 15:20-21

20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. 21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 

The question now comes to you!

Will YOU believe the Gospel?

[1] Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli, Handbook of Christian Apologetics (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1994), 181.

[2]. Spence-Jones, H.D.M. (ed.) (1909) 1 Corinthians. London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company (The Pulpit Commentary), p. v.

[3]. Charles Colson, “An Unholy Hoax? The Authenticity of Christ,” BreakPoint syndicated column 020329, (29 March 2002).

[4]. The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus (p. 40). Kregel Publications. Kindle Edition.

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Triumphal Entry

Luke 19:28-44

Jesus had just come from Jericho (v1)

Pt 1 (Lk 19:28-35)

The Event and Context

Luke 19:28–44

28 And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem. 29 And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, 30 Saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither. 31 And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him. 32 And they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them. 33 And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt? 34 And they said, The Lord hath need of him. 35 And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. 

Jn 12:12-15  (See Zec 9:9)

Day 1- Entry in Mt 21:1-11 then the cleansing of the temple!

Day 2 (v17-18) Miracle of Fig Tree (18-22) / Debates In the Temple (Mt 21:23-23:38)

Pt 2 (Lk 19:36-40)

The Prophecy

36 And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way. 37 And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; 38 Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. 39 And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. 40 And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. 

Ps 118:22-26 “Blessed is he that cometh…”

Gal 4:4-6 “when the fulness of time was come..”

The stones would cry out….WHY? = Daniel 9:20-26

Pt 3 (Lk 19:41-44)

The Rejection

V44 “because thou knewest not…”

41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, 42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. 43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, 44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

Day 2: Matt 23:34-37

Lk 23:28-31 (journey to the Cross)

Jn 1:9-12 (“..came to his own…his own received him not..”

Pt 4

He Shall Come Again

Matt 23:38-39 (“…till ye shall say..”)

Hosea 3:4-5 (“…Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek…”

Zech 12:9-10 (“..they shall look upon me whom they have pierced”)

2 Cor 3:12-18 (“even to this day…the vail is upon their heart”)

Romans 11:25 (“until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in”)

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Ephesians 4:11–16

We gave consideration last week in the introduction to personal ministry, learning and knowing that there must be in us a state of the heart that completely trusts in the Lord to attend unto the work of God in our lives.

A recognition that he is the one who supplies all our needs. That we are in want for nothing when we are willing to trust him for everything. And there is no inconsistency in our work, in our employments to make provision in this regard, for the Bible calls us to attend to all that we do as Unto Christ”, but there is certainly an understanding that we OUGHT not to fret for the loss of anything that is needed;

Luke 12:30–31

30 For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. 31 But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.

The heart prepared, the question now comes to mind as it did to the apostle Paul on that Damascus road;

Acts 9:6

6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? …

How long has it been that you have asked the question? Many may have presumed they know the answer, but many have also yet to ask the question first.

Some believe it is their natural ‘talents’ that give an indication of that which God would have them to do. This is not necessarily so. Perhaps like Paul who’s craft was Tent making, your talents and abilities are only there to help support your work.

What is seen for the passage here in Ephesians, is that the gifts that are given to men are POST Salvation.

8Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;  12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 

Yes perhaps, their present abilities may have value in supporting the work, just as the education of Paul helped his ability to preach the Gospel, yet it was Jesus that had him set aside; “… saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.” Acts 13:47

Beloved the work that is to be attained in you is the work of the LORD, and it is marvelous in our eyes. When will it come?

As mentioned last week, it will not come while you are “a man of unclean lips and dwelling among a people of unclean lips” (Isa 6:6), but when first your “iniquity is taken away and your sin purged” (v7), and if your heart be ready, that you are willing to trust the Lord with all that is in you, then and ONLY then might you hear that voice in your heart saying;

“Whom shall I send, and who will go for us” (v8)

Perhaps then, when that burden to attend to good works rises up in you and you have placed your trust completely in him, you will answer as did Isaiah, “here am I; send me”.

In this passage I aim to first demonstrate that;

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Ephesians 4:7–8

7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. 8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

There are none who have been saved by Christ that are NOT SAVED unto the ministry of Christ. 

That is a bold statement, and yet it is even here presented to you and I.

7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. 8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

Every single person who has been saved by the Lord has been given a gift to fulfil the very purpose of their lives. 

We understand, simply in the fact that all people have been created, we have come into this world and have come for a purpose. We are not ‘accidental man’, we are purposeful creatures created for the pleasure of God and to share in his communion with us. 

Sin had broken that relationship. And in breaking of the relationship between man and God, there is no longer a desire in man to fulfil any purpose other than that which man has set for himself. Rather than God being the centre of his life, man is the centre of man.

The book of Judges lays it all out so perfectly in the last verse;

Judges 21:25

25 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

There is no God in the heart of fallen man, the natural inclination of man is to do “that which is right in his own eyes”, he has no inclination to attend to that for which he has been created. Man does all he can even to remove himself from the very thought that he is a created being, by denying the creator himself.

Romans 1:21–22

21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

Not so those who have had this blessed relationship restored. You now have a purpose, a purpose that has been established by none other than God, your creator. 

There is reason for your life, there is purpose for your life. And, as incredible as it may seem, it is the highest purpose that can man can ever have because it was purposed in the heart of the living God.

Ephesians 2:10

 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Beloved, I can assure you of one thing that is true. When you are attending to the “good works” God has ordained that you should walk in, when you understand that you are his “workmanship”, “fearfully and wonderfully made” as the Psalmist wrote (Ps139:14), even a “vessel unto…honour” (2 Tim 2:20), you are living a life that is being fulfilled each and every day. Even though you go through the trials of life, and some of those trials are indeed a part of the gift God has given you, you can still attend unto your work with Joy.

2 Corinthians 9:8

8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

Beloved, far too many Christians today are living mediocre lives, living for themselves rather than living for the Lord who has crafted them to be fulfilled ONLY when they attend to his work which he “hath before ordained that YOU would walk in them”.

They flash their mediocre lives on instagram to tell the world that they are not interested in the work God has called them to attend to, they are living life on their own terms, fake Hollywood smile and all.

And if they continue to live their lives all their days their way, Frank Sinatra will get another play at the grave.

Beloved, both joy in life and reward in heaven is attained, not when we do it our way, but when we attend to the gift Jesus has given us when “he led captivity captive”

Turn to

1 Peter 4:10

10 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

Every man” says Peter, there are gifts for all of mankind that are given for mankind to fufill the purpose for his life.

We can talk a little more about how to know what your is, but before we do so we need to deal with the objection that comes to think God has not given you ANYTHING. That there is NO PURPOSE to your life, or the question as to what that purpose might be.

Though you, no matter what state of life you are in, do not beleive you have a purpose for your life, it is denied by the eternal, infinite truth of Gods words.

1 Peter 4:10

10 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

Whatever it is that you think or feel, must be subordinate to what God says.

If you are willing first to accept this as true, then and only then are you in the position to search for it.

Many years ago when we left an unbiblical Church, I had almost given up thinking there were biblical churches out there, until the scripture came to my mind that “the gates of hell will not prevail against my Church”. It was my belief that this text gave me assurance that there simply still must be biblical churches out there, that set me searching.

Decide first to believe Gods word that you have a very peculiar and special calling, a gift given directly by God that NO ONE ELSE IN THE WORLD CAN ACCOMPLISH BUT YOU.

Then, begin your journey!

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Ephesians 4:11

11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 

Everyone is given a peculiar calling, some of them are listed in the Bible. 

Here we see that he gave “Some” to be apostles; and “Some” to be prophets, and “Some” evangelists, and “SOME” pastors and teachers.

Beloved, if “every man received the Gift”, and “every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. 

Are “ALL” apostles? “All” prophets? “All” Evangelists, pastors and teachers?

All indeed do receive a peculiar Gift, but not all share in the same gifts. 

Apostles particularly no longer exist. The description of an apostle is those who have seen the risen Christ in the flesh, and were directly ordained by him to preach to the world. The false apostles of today will give their account to Jesus at Judgement.

Some of those gifts are listed, and many more are listed in the scriptures, but all have the same ultimate purpose that you will need to consider as we go through this study.

In the early Church, God had ordained very specific roles for people that would not continue, we see this is 1 Corinthians 12 to 14, these were known as “Revelatory Gifts”. At that time the word of God was incomplete, and we give diligent consideration that the verse; “But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away” in 1 Cor 13:10 can only refer to the Word of God in writing, and not the Word incarnate. It cannot refer to Christ, because he had already come, but this is looking yet future to that which has not yet been.

Certain gifts, such as the gift of Tongues, Knowledge and prophecy were revelatory gifts, they were there temporarily to affirm the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Jews through the signs ordained by God from the beginning, even to Moses on the mount.

Remember, the gospel was to go to the Jew first. Jesus came to the children of God FIRST. You recall the woman of Canaan who called after Jesus respecting the devil in her daughter, and his response to her in 

Matthew 15:24–28

24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. 26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. 27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. 28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

Three times Paul affirmed that the Gospel was to go to the “Jew first” Romans 1:16, 2:9 & 2:10, we see the same pattern all through the New testament, but what we know more about is that “the Jews REQUIRE a sign”  (1 Cor 1:22).

The signs gifts would be done away when that which is perfect is come.

Turn to 

Romans 12:1–8

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 

3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. 

4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: 5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; 7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; 8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

Has your heart changed? Have you first presented your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service”? 

God will not place on you that which your heart does not desire. This is why the heart was the first itme we spoke of last week. This is why we dealt through this entire series with those things from the most difficult to the simple. Do you trust him?

Proverbs 3:5–6

5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Are you being conformed to this world, or are you being transformed by the renewing of your minds? Are you spending more time reading your Bible and in prayer than you are distracted by that which will pass away?

Do you still love the world, or is you eye for Christ alone?

Do you think of yourself more highly that you ought to think? Are you a man like Diotrephes in the scriptures, a man who likes to have the preeminence among men? Do you exalt yourself or abase yourself? Beloved, whatever you do to yourself, God will do the opposite to you. 

Be sure not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. 

Remember that you are a part of the body of Christ, and this is the key respecting whatever it is that the Lord has given you as a gift.

4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: 5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; 7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; 8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

The gift given you is PECULIAR to you. 

There truly is never going to be another person that will do what you are called to do. If there were, God would never have made YOU!

You are unique to him, set aside for his peculiar purpose. 

The ONLY way you will know how valuable you are is to realise that the work you are called to do, is for God. Your purpose has INFINITE WORTH.

So what are you doing to prepare for it?

❖

Ephesians 4:11–16

12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 

This is where the rubber meets the road.

The gift in which you are called, the “good works” you have been given the grace to attend to, is directed in a direction that God had ordained for the blessing of the world;

It is 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 

Turn To;

Matthew 25:14–30

14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. 15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. 16 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. 17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. 18 But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money. 19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. 20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. 21  His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 22  He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. 23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. 26  His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: 27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. 28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. 29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. 30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

It is interesting to me that the word Talent is interchangeable to purpose and ability and here we have this parallel story that is likened to Jesus having left his Church in the hands of the members of his body.

He expects a return on what he has given us, for the benefit of his body, the Church.

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Ephesians 4:13

13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 

One of the great “Until’s” of the Bible.

This is the time when opportunity to attend to our ministry comes to a close. A time we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ”

When we come to realise the infinite value of the work we have attended to, when we see how God had multiplied even the little effort we had done, when we come to realise how much more we could have done.

It is interesting to me how quickly we think in the flesh. All of us have this desire to do some great thing for God and we often measure it the way the world measures fame. We think that if we are well known by man, we should be well known by God. If man has put us on a pedastool and all these people “follow us”, then we must be something in deed.

But that is not at all how the Lord measures the value of that which he has given us.

We saw something interesting in the parable of the talents that Jesus was speaking of. Each had received the talent and each had received the reward for exercising that which was given him to the fullest extent.

They do not boast, they know that what they have they have been given.

Those that have been given much, are expected to attend to that which they have been given to the fullest extent. Those that have been given but one gift ought to do likewise. Both are measured in the extent to which they ahve applied what they have been given, WITHOUT BOASTING!

Isaiah 10:15

15 Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood. 

The time however to excersise those gifts is comeing to a close. Each and every day that goes by is closer to us going to him or he coming for us.

And there will be a reward for those who have faithfully attended to his work.

1 Corinthians 3:11–15

11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. 14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

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