ONLY THOSE “APPOINTED” TO ETERNAL LIFE WOULD BELIEVE THE GOSPEL

Salvation is an act of God from start to finish.

We have no hand in it whatsoever, just like in our birth in the flesh.

According to the Written Word of God, the Bible, only those whom God had chosen from the foundation of the world would come to the Lord Jesus, believe and thus be saved.

“God choosing,” is the backbone of Scriptures.  And God has the right to do that because He created all things. (Rom.9:20,21)

So the Christian must not take lightly his salvation, and from now on live for God alone and resolve to love and serve the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his mind, and with all his strength.

So be it.

Are you living for God, and loving and serving Him with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength?

If not, you are taking lightly His work of salvation.

And that is a very scary prospect.

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[JOHN 6:37

37 All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.]

[JOHN 6:44

44 “NO ONE can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.]

[Acts 13:48

48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.]

[Romans 9:20-21

20 But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God?“ Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’”  21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?]

SODOMY IS JUDGMENT IN ITSELF!

(Romans 1:21-32)

Sodomy is not merely a sin, but, in itself, is a judgment for the sin of idolatry, which, in the perversion of homosexuals/lesbians, is the worship of SELF.

Not only is the depravity of sodomy a slap to the face of the Creator God, whose Son is the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, the God who is with us, but the corruption is so wicked that it is shadowed/accompanied by the following sinful acts (vs. 28-31):
depraved, wickedness, evil, greed, depravity, envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice, gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil things, disobedient, senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.

Sodomy is embodied by sin upon sin, that those who do such things have no excuse and could expect only total destruction on the day of judgment.

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[Leviticus 18:22

“‘Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.]

[Leviticus 20:13

“‘If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.]

[Deuteronomy 22:5

A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wear women’s clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this.]

[Romans 1:21-32
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 
22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 
23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 
25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 
27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. 
29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 
30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 
31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 
32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.]

THE ONE THING A CHRISTIAN CAN BOAST ABOUT

THAT HE KNOWS GOD AS THE GOD OF LOVE, JUSTICE, AND RIGHTEOUSNESS (Jer.9:23,24)

As Christians, we must refrain from saying that “GOD IS LOVE,” for although that is true, it is not a faithful description of who God is.  Here is the complete formula:

GOD is the GOD of love, justice, and righteousness.

God's LOVE cannot be alienated from His PERFECT HOLINESS AND RIGHTEOUS JUSTICE. 

Many say “God is love,” because they want to continue in their transgressions, believing that God would understand and always forgive.  That is not so, boys and girls.  God’s standard of righteousness is PERFECT HOLINESS, which can only be achieved by faith/trust in the Lord Jesus.

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[JEREMIAH 9:23-24

This is what the LORD says:

“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom

    or the strong boast of their strength

    or the rich boast of their riches,

but let the one who boasts boast about this:

    that they have the understanding to know me,

that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,

    justice and righteousness on earth,

    for in these I delight,”

declares the LORD.]

STOP STORING “FOR OURSELVES” TREASURES ON EARTH!

That’s a direct commandment from the Lord Jesus!

It is not difficult to see that the garbage dump contains everything man lives and works for on this planet.  Everything money can buy ends up in a stinking landfill.

The Lord Jesus is commanding us to stop storing up material things if we have already started accumulating goods that we can actually do without.  What we have to be so sure of is that we desire to own things because they are essential in order for us to serve God by spreading the gospel and edifying the church, never to flaunt our wealth or to enjoy the pleasures of life to the fullest and as long as they would last.

Life is not for our pleasure.  Life is meant for the service of God.  And that is where true joy and fullness of life can be found.

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[Matthew 6:19-21

¹⁹ “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.]

WHO ARE GOD’S ESTABLISHED GOVERNING AUTHORITIES THAT WE SHOULD FEAR, HONOR, AND OBEY?

WHAT ARE THEIR CHARACTERISTICS?  (ROM.ch.13; DEUT.17:14-20)

1)    Established by God (Rom.13:1; Deut.17:15)

2)    A terror to those who do wrong (Rom.13:3)

3)    Commends those who do what is right (Rom.13:3)

4)    God’s servant for good (Rom.13:4)

5)    God’s servants/agents to bring punishment on the wrongdoer (Rom.13:4)

6)    God’s servants, who give their full time to governing (Rom.13:6)

7)    Does not commit adultery, murder, theft, covetousness (Rom.13:9)

8)    Loves his neighbor as himself (Rom.13:9)

9)    Must be from among his people; not a foreigner (Deut.17:15)

10)  Must not acquire great number of horses/cars for himself (Deut.17:16)

11)   Must not take many wives (Deut.17:17)

12)   Must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold/wealth (Deut.17:17)

13)   He is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this Law of God (Deut.17:18)

14)   The copy of the Law of God is to be with him at all times (Deut.17:18)

15)    He is to read it (the Law of God) all the days of his life (Deut.17:19)

16)    He must learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of  

       this law and these decrees (Deut.17:19)

17)    He must not consider himself better than the common people (Deut.17:20)

18)    He must not turn from the law to the right or to the left (Deut.17:20)

 

Not all leaders are appointed servants of God.

Our standard of who our leaders should be has been determined by God in His Written Word.

What they sell voters as to their abilities and good intentions don’t matter at all.  What matters is what God tells about them in His Word.

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[(Romans ch.13)

¹Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. ² Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. ³ For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. ⁴ For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. ⁵ Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.

⁶ This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing.⁷ Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

⁸ Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. ⁹ The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰ Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

¹¹ And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. ¹² The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. ¹³ Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. ¹⁴ Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.]

[(Deuteronomy 17:14-20)
14 When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,” 15 be sure to appoint over you a king the Lord your God chooses. He must be from among your fellow Israelites. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not an Israelite. 16 The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the Lord has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.” 17 He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.
18 When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. 19 It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees 20 and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.]

ARE YOU A CHILD OF GOD?

IF YOU HAVE NO HUNGER FOR THE WORD OF GOD, TO KNOW HIM, HIS WILL (in order to WORSHIP, SERVE, and OBEY HIM)…

YOU ARE NOT A CHILD OF GOD

(Jeremiah 15:16)
When your words came, I ate them;
they were my joy and my heart’s delight,
for I bear your name,
Lord God Almighty.

I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST?

Is this true?  Can we really do ALL things through Christ who gives us strength?

With the current popular interpretation of this verse, no, it is not true.

Firstly, we know from experience that we cannot do all things; and, secondly, God allows us only to do the things He wants us to accomplish according to His will, not because we wanted to do them ourselves according to our own desire and wishes.

In order to arrive at the proper understanding of this text, we must read the complete statement, from verses 10-12, and the context there is THANKFULNESS FOR THE GIFTS.

And the key verses here are (vs. 11, 12).

ALL THINGS =  to have plenty or be in want; to be well fed or hungry

The context here is Paul’s contentment in whatever circumstance he finds himself: LIVING IN PLENTY or BEING IN WANT.

Therefore, Paul reminds Christians at Philippi that, although they shared what they had to support his (Paul’s) needs, he was contented in plenty or in want; and because of the strength from the Lord Jesus he knows how to be content in both.

We cannot use (Phil.4:13) to justify ALL that we want to do, for that is not the thought being communicated here by Paul.

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[(Philippians 4:13)

I can do all this through him who gives me strength.]

[(Philippians 4:10-20)

¹⁰ I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me.  Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 

¹¹ I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 

¹² I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 

¹³ I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

¹⁴ Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. 

¹⁵ Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; 

¹⁶ for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need. 

¹⁷ Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. 

¹⁸ I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. 

¹⁹ And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

²⁰ To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.]