How Long, O God?

“When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, ‘O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’ Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.” Revelation 6:9-11 ESV

Who is doing the killing? “The bad guys,” you say. But who are “the bad guys?” That is the big question. And are you certain you know who they are and who they are not? What if you are wrong? Could you be wrong? What if you are being deceived? Is that possible? What if, in your zeal, you are actually supporting those who are murdering God’s servants, i.e. those who are righteous in the eyes of the Lord? And not all murder is physical. For when you repudiate those who are truly serving the Lord, what is that?

So, how do you know who is good and who is bad? You don’t know it by listening to those who are truly evil while you refuse to listen to those who are truly righteous in the eyes of God. And how do we distinguish good from evil? By the Scriptures. By what Scriptures? What Scriptures are we to live by as followers of Christ? Well, we can learn from all Scripture, but we live under the New Covenant, not the Old Covenant. So we need to follow what the New Covenant Scriptures teach us. And what do they say?

For one, they teach that all who deny Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, are antichrist (against Christ, opposed to Christ). And by denying Jesus as the Christ they are also denying God the Father, for they can’t have the Father without the Son (Jesus Christ). So those who deny Jesus as the Christ also deny (repudiate) the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And what did Jesus tell the Jews who refused to believe in him? He told them that their father was the devil, not God, not Abraham, and they did the works of the devil.

[Rom 9:4-8; Rom 11:17-25; 1 Co 3:16-17; 2 Co 6:14-18; Gal 3:16,26-29; Gal 4:22-31; Eph 2:11-22; Eph 3:6; Col 3:12-15; Tit 2:14; Heb 8:8-10; 1 Pet 2:9-10; John 8:18-19,38-47; 1 John 2:22]

But what if someone claims to be a Christian? Then what? Well then the Scriptures teach that we must be crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. We are no longer to let sin reign in our mortal bodies to where we obey its lusts and sinful desires. For if sin is what we obey, and not righteousness and obedience, it will end in death, not in eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23).

So, who should we be listening to? Those who repudiate (deny, reject) Jesus Christ as the Messiah? Those who refuse to believe in Jesus Christ? Those who profess faith in Jesus Christ but who deny him by their actions? Those who profess Jesus with their lips but who are still deliberately and habitually sinning against the Lord, hiding their sins in secret, then lying to you to cover up their evil deeds? And/or those who are teaching Scriptures out of context and twisting them to say what they don’t say? None of these!!

So, who do we believe? First and foremost we must believe the Scriptures, but we have to remember that we are now under the New Covenant, not the Old Covenant. So we don’t listen to Judaizers who are trying to convince us that we still must go by the teachings and practices under the Old Covenant. Do we still have to obey the Lord? Yes! Do we still have to live by his moral laws? Yes! But under the New Covenant teachings, not the Old Covenant. And God’s people under the New Covenant believe in Jesus Christ.

And God’s people under the New Covenant are those who have repented of their sins, who have been crucified with Christ in death to sin and who are now living to God and to his righteousness. That doesn’t mean they do everything perfectly, but they are not living in sinful rebellion against the Lord. They are not people who just give lip service to God but who then go on in deliberate and habitual sin. They are those who are living holy lives in moral purity, honesty, faithfulness, and in obedience to the Lord Jesus.

So, if you want to listen to any humans, listen to those who you know walk closely with the Lord, who are listening to his voice, who are following him in obedience, and who are doing his will according to the Scriptures, in practice, faithfully, in full commitment to the Lord Jesus. But still test them. Test what they are teaching against the Scriptures IN CONTEXT, for even many who may seem righteous are teaching Scriptures out of context and are twisting them to say what the Scriptures do not teach.

And don’t follow those who willfully deny the New Testament Scriptures in favor of living by the Old Covenant. If all they do (or mostly do) is point you to the Old Covenant while they repudiate the teachings under the New Covenant, don’t listen to them. Don’t follow them! But don’t reject anyone without first looking into the Scriptures yourselves to see what they teach. For many professing Christians are following lies and liars because they refuse to look into the Word of God for themselves to see what they teach.

So, what’s the bottom line here? Many professing Christians today are followers of humans or people groups or earthly governments without testing what these people are doing and saying, in prayer, and against the New Covenant teachings in the Scriptures. And many of them are following and supporting antichrists and liars, deceivers, manipulators, and murderers of God’s true servants (according to the New Covenant teachings). So they are standing with and in support of God’s enemies who murder his people.

And who are God’s people under the New Covenant? Again, they are all who believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Messiah (the Christ), who are followers of Jesus Christ, who have died with him to sin and who are now living to him and to his righteousness, by the grace of God, and in his power, in obedience to his commands, and in moral purity, honesty, and faithfulness, according to the instructions given to us in the New Testament under the New Covenant, IN CONTEXT. And who no longer walk in sin.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg 

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For Our Nation  

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Trust Him with your life today.

Make Him your Lord and your Savior.

Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.

He will forgive you of your sin;

Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.

On our knees to God we’re praying,

Seeking God to give us answers

That are only found in Him.

God is sovereign over all things.

Nothing from His mind escaping.

He has all things under His command,

And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing

In our Lord, and interceding

For our nation and its people

To obey their God today.

He is our hope for our future.

For our wounds He offers suture.

He is all we need for this life.

Trust Him with your life today.

https://vimeo.com/379406352