SAINT OR SINNER?

SAINT OR SINNER? ?

We know from reading (2 Cor 5:17) that anyone who is "in Christ" is a new creation, and we know from (John 3:3) that this happens when a person is "born again" by the Spirit of God. By this act on our part of confessing our sinful condition and receiving Jesus Christ as our personal Savior from sin, we become "saints". Paul wrote several letters to groups of believers gathered together to form churches. He always extended his greeting to the "saints", or holy people, who resided in that city. In other words the believers, or followers of Jesus, were called saints. Because over the years the church has set certain people apart, and called then saints, usually long after they are dead, we have been confused about the true meaning of this term. We often hear well meaning believers refer to themselves as just a "sinner saved by grace", but this is not correct. If they are indeed saved, they are no longer a sinner, but a saint. Their true identity has been changed from sinner to saint, and their position before God can never be reversed. If and when a believer sins after being saved, they don't revert back to a sinner, they are merely a saint who has sinned. God has made provision for restoring such a one back into fellowship with Him. (1 John 1:9)

In the natural world around us we see beautiful butterflies, who were once ugly worms before they were supernaturally changed. Now a butterfly can land in a mud puddle and get wet and dirty, but they never revert back to a worm because of this mistake. As soon as they dry off they can fly again as usual. Neither does a saint revert back to a sinner because they fall into some form of sinful behavior after they are saved. By following the provision of God in His Word, they can be cleansed and restored. There has been much confusion in the church over this issue of a Christian sinning. Some say they are lost again, while others have maintained that they are eternally secure. I believe if we separate membership in God's family, from our position in His Kingdom, we have the answer to this debate. In other words our sinful behavior does not affect our position in the family of God, but it may affect our place in His kingdom. In (1 Peter 1:3-4) we read about a "precious inheritance" which is being reserved in heaven for us! I believe this is our part in the Kingdom of God. A careful reading of (1 Cor 6:9-11), (Gal 5:19-21), and (Eph 5:3-5) will clearly show that this type of sinful behavior listed in these passages will affect a believer's place in the Eternal Kingdom. We enter God's family by means of the new birth, which is a gift of God's grace, but we are transferred into the Kingdom,(Col 1:13). If we are transferred in, we can be legislated out if necessary! Check these scriptures out for yourself, and see what you think!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer

TWO MEN

TWO MEN

 

I have been impressed with the stories in the scriptures of two men that Jesus healed, who were very different. One was the "certain man" mentioned in (John 5:1-15), who had been lying by the pool of Bethesda apparently for 38 years waiting to be healed. The other man was Blind Bartimaeus, mentioned in (Mark 10:46-52) who was actively seeking healing. Jesus asked both men a very similar question, to the one "Do you want to be made well?", and to the other "What do you want me to do for you?". Let us look briefly at these two men, and their different attitudes toward healing.

 

The certain man in John 5, started to offer excuses to the question of Jesus. Apparently he had become discouraged and had really given up hope of ever being healed. As a result he had learned to accept life as it was, and because Jesus knows what is in the heart of every man, He asks him that question. How many people today who are in need of healing or deliverance have come to the same place as this man? They have become accustomed to their condition, and couldn't imagine what life would be like otherwise! Therefore Jesus comes to us all at certain times with this same question "do you want to be made whole?" If we are completely honest, I believe none of us can say we are as whole as Jesus wants us to be! Thank God He is not finished with any of us yet, and is still working on us, little by little to bring us to the place of spiritual maturity! The scriptural term for this process is "sanctification" resulting in "holiness", a term not heard very often in the modern day church, but quite often in the pages of scripture. (1 Peter 1:16)

 

In the case of Bartimeaus, he was actively seeking healing from his blindness. Before Jesus ever asked him what he wanted, he was crying out to Jesus for mercy. This indicates to me a much different attitude from the certain man in John 5. We might say his was a very "passive" attitude, whereas Bartimaeus had a very "proactive" attitude. Jesus healed them both because of his mercy and compassion, but can you see the difference in the two men? Which of these two attitudes towards being made whole would you say you have? I think it is easy to fall into the "passive" mindset of the certain man, especially if your condition has persisted for many years. Let us ask God for a "proactive" attitude towards the needed deliverance or healing we need to become perfectly "whole"!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer

THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY

THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY

Our "infinite" God has some secrets that we cannot understand with our "finite" brains. He has recorded in His Word, a scripture that sheds some light on this predicament. In (Deut 29:29) NLT we read "The Lord our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all He has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions". There is no way we can understand how God can be "One", but at the same time be "Three in One", unless He reveals it to us. Recently I read an article entitled "The Spiritual Life" by Victor L Torres Jr. in an old issue of ACTS magazine that has helped me with this topic. He explains the doctrine of the Trinity as

God the Father as the One who wills it. (The Source)
God the Son as the One who speaks it. (The Word)
God the Holy Spirit as the One who accomplishes it. (The Power)

This description helped me to see the different functions of our Almighty God, who is definitely one in essence, but functions in three entirely different ways. There has been much confusion over this doctrine, starting back in the fourth century, according to some church historians. That's when some theologian first came up with the "Jesus Only" theory, which was countered by some other theologian with a strong "Trinitarian" theory. Slight variations of these have been circulating in the church ever since. But if we can see that the same One and only God divides up His functions in these three different areas, it should help us understand His "Three In One" characteristic, and end the needless arguments!

Once we leave behind these arguments, and realize that the scriptures teach us that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, are all co-equal members of the "Godhead", it should become easier to understand. I often try to use something simple like water (H2O), which we know can exist in three different forms, as liquid, as solid (ice), or as vapor (fog), to help us understand the Trinity. Each of these three different forms of water is essentially the same basic H2O atoms in different arrangements to form different objects. If we can see that plain ordinary water can exist in three distinct forms, why doubt that Almighty God can?
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer   

DISCERNMENT

DISCERNMENT

 

It would seem that one thing that is critical for followers of Jesus to be able to exercise today is "discernment"! Scripture warns us that in these last days there will be "many", not just a few, false prophets and teachers going around with only one purpose in mind. That purpose is to lead people astray from the plan Jesus has for them. Satan's main function in the world is described by Jesus in (John 10:10) "to steal, kill, and destroy"! And since he can't get at God directly, he attempts to destroy us followers of Jesus, because we carry the "incorruptible seed" of God in our renewed spirits. The Holy Spirit inserts that eternal seed in us at the moment we repent of our sinful life style, confess our sins, and receive Jesus as Savior! We are then a threat to Satan's kingdom, and he will do all that he can to keep us from being an effective witness of God's Kingdom of righteousness. His chief weapon against us is deception, and our chief protection against deception is discernment!

 

So what exactly is discernment? Scripture gives a description of natural discernment that comes with maturity in our spiritual growth. (Heb 5:11-14) This sort of discernment comes by exercising the abilities that God gives us from spending time in His Word, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We are born as "spiritual babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food" NLT, but expected to grow up into mature believers. (Eph 4:11-14) We will then not be "tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching". NLT This is one way to prevent being deceived by false teachers, but the other way is to ask God for the gift of the Holy Spirit mentioned by Paul in (1 Cor 12:10). He states "He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit". NLT. This is probably the most important of the nine gifts mentioned in this passage, to have functioning in our churches today! 

 

As I understand it, there are three possible sources of a message we think is from God. 1/ The Holy Spirit of God, 2/ Our human spirit, 3/ A demon spirit from Satan's kingdom of darkness. One family of spirits that our enemy uses against the church is known as "religious" spirits, or demons. They can adapt themselves to any situation, in any culture, including the church in NA! We need to be aware of this fact, and ask God for this gift of discerning of spirits so that we can know where a message is really originating. Demons are invisible, earth-bound, "bodiless spirits",  that appear in the NT to have a strong desire to inhabit a body. They certainly prefer a human body, but will settle for the body of an animal, rather than to remain bodiless. (Mark 5:12). A major part of the earthly ministry of Jesus was casting demons out of people who were carriers of demons, or we can say were "demonized", and not "demon possessed" as some English translations would have us to believe. If this gift of the Spirit was operating in the Body of Christ, I believe we could have been spared from many false doctrines that have plagued the church for centuries! So it would seem to me that if followers of Jesus would "grow up" to full maturity (Eph 4:11-16), and seek the gift of discerning of spirits mentioned above, the Church would become what Jesus planed it to be, and not what it has become. Let us who are followers of Jesus determine in our hearts to do this with the Lord's help!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer