“And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last!” (1 Thessalonians 2:13-16 ESV)
Again, this is Paul writing to the church of the Thessalonians, but the letter was from him and Silvanus (Silas) and Timothy. And they were thanking the Lord for the testimony of faith of these believers in Christ, but not just via their verbal confessions of faith, though, but by their faith as proved genuine by what they did in love and heart response to God for what Jesus Christ did for us on that cross. For he put our sins to death with him so that, by faith in him, we would die to sin and walk in obedience to his commands.
It is a good thing when we receive the word of God as having come from God, even if it is delivered to us through other humans. But we should always test what we hear or read against the Scriptures in their appropriate context to make certain that those who are teaching the Scriptures are doing so according to the Scriptures and not according to human flesh. For not everyone who teaches the Scriptures does so according to the Scriptures, but many are teaching them falsely according to the desires of the flesh.
And it is a good thing if we have godly people to serve as our examples to show us the way of righteousness and holiness and to direct us in the path of the Lord in godly living and in walks of obedience to our Lord. Sadly, at least here in America, such people appear to be few and far between. The majority appear to have all gotten on the “cheap grace gospel train” and are marketing their “churches” to the people of the world. And so they have altered the character of God and his gospel to be more acceptable to flesh.
So, we cannot rely on other human beings to set the right example for us in holy living, for so many have gone the way of the world and are living very shallow “Christian” lives. Even so many pastors have gone the way of marketing and marketing gimmicks in order to draw in large crowds of people from the world into their gatherings in order to grow their “churches” numerically. But then it ceases to be the “body of Christ” gathering together for mutual encouragement and edification, as the Bible teaches.
And since so many professing Christians in America are following the way of the world and are joining in with the church being turned into a marketplace to be marketed to the people of the world, and so they have adopted the “cheap grace gospel” as the truth rather than the gospel that Jesus and his NT apostles taught, not many are truly being persecuted for their walks of faith in Jesus Christ. Instead a very diluted form of Christianity is now being popularized in America, but it is not biblical Christianity.
But that will all change when the antichrist begins to rule and all professing Christians are faced with the reality that they have to either take a stand for Jesus Christ, and die for their faith, or choose the diluted and altered gospel of salvation which requires no repentance and no walks of obedience to the Lord, and so Satan is not threatened by them at all, and so he does not persecute them. And another reality that must be faced is that all Jews and non-Jews who do not believe in Jesus Christ do not believe in our God.
And that is critical that we understand this because so many Christians are idolizing the physical nation of Israel and are giving that nation a reverential kind of worship and undying loyalty and devotion. But the Scriptures make clear to us that God’s enemies are our enemies. They are the ones who will persecute us and put us to death just like they did to Jesus. And they come from those who deny Jesus is the Christ. So they are not of God. They are not God’s chosen people. We who believe in Jesus are God’s chosen ones.
So don’t be surprised if those who you now support and believe are your friends, and on your side, turn out to be your enemies instead, and are the ones who persecute you and who put you to death for your faith in Jesus Christ. And please do not give your worship to human beings. Remember that an antichrist is coming on the scene to deceive even the elect, if that were possible. Don’t put your faith in humans to be your “saviors.” Jesus Christ is to be our only Savior and Lord. Look to him to save you!!
But God will judge. One day Jesus is going to return to judge the people of the earth, many of whom profess him as their Lord with their lips. But he is going to say to them, “I never knew you. Depart from me you workers of lawlessness.” For Jesus said that not everyone saying, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the ones DOING the will of God the Father who is in heaven. So don’t be fooled into thinking that how you live won’t matter for eternity. Continue in sin and you will not inherit eternal life with God.
[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2]
Teach Them
An Original Work / May 24, 2012
Based off various scriptures
Open up the blinded eyes of
Those who walk in sin’s darkness.
Turn them to the light of Christ
And to His righteousness.
Turn them from the pow’r of Satan.
Turn them to the peace of Christ,
So they may receive forgiveness
And eternal life.
Teach them to put off their old selves
And their former way of life,
And to put on their new self,
Reborn to be like Christ;
To not copy worldly customs;
Be transformed in life and mind;
Obey freely His word in them,
Pleasing unto God.
Teach them how to love their neighbors
Truly as they love themselves;
Be a witness; share the gospel;
Satan’s lies dispel;
Comfort all who mourn in sadness;
Share Christ’s love and joy today.
Do this through your life and witness
For your Lord always.
https://vimeo.com/125485489
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