LAMB OF GOD

THE LAMB OF GOD

 

This was the title given to Jesus by His cousin John, as recorded in (John 1:29-34). As you know he was fulfilling his role that gained him the title of "John the Baptist", by baptizing those who were coming to hear his preaching on the need to "repent". John was the man that the OT prophet Isaiah referred to in (Isa 40:3), and was the man that Jesus declared was the last of the OT prophets. And in (Matt 11:9-15) He confirms John's ministry as being the pivot point between the OT and the new. Since Jesus was the only man who was ever "virgin born", He was the only perfect man since Adam, who was created in the image of God. Because His Mother Mary was impregnated by the Holy Spirit, He escaped the original sin all the rest of us inherited from Adam. This made Him the one and only "God Man" who ever lived and the only one qualified to die on the Cross of Calvary to pay the debt we all owed. (Rom 6:23). So Jesus Christ settled the account for everyone who hears the good news of the gospel of the Kingdom, and repents of their sinful lifestyle inherited from Adam and believes on Jesus, and receives Him as Lord and Savior. When He cried out from the cross "It is finished", He meant the price of redemption for the entire human race was "paid in full", and nothing needs to be added to it.

 

This meant an end to the religious sacrifices that were part of the Law of Moses that the Israelites followed for years. The OT laws required the death of a sacrificial lamb without any blemish, which was merely a symbol of the true "Lamb of God", which was fulfilled by Jesus on the cross. This not only put an end to the OT system of sacrifices of animals, but also introduced the "New Covenant" that God had promised His people, through the prophet Jeremiah, many years before. (Jer 31:31-34). This new covenant was not a God to man covenant like the original that the people broke continually, but this new covenant was made between God the Father and God the Son. And therefore can never be broken, because God is a faithful Covenant Keeper!  This is a very important teaching that all followers of Jesus need to understand, but unfortunately has not been clearly explained by most churches that I have attended. In fact the whole message of the Kingdom of God as a "now" thing, as well as a "future" thing that will be fulfilled when Jesus comes back to set up His Eternal Kingdom here on earth. See Revelation chapter 21 for the details of this relocation of what we have always understood as "heaven" to the "New Jerusalem" down here on our planet some time in the future!!

Sincerely submitted,

Dave Jamer.                                                                                 17/05/12

WORK OR WORKS

WORK OR WORKS

 

We find this word "work" quite often in the Bible, sometimes in the singular and often in the plural form. It can be used both in a positive or a negative sense, like a lot of other words. We want to look at a few samples of both.

First we will look at (Heb 6:1) where we see the phrase "repentance from dead works and faith toward God". Today we hear a lot about the word "faith", but very little about "repentance", and I think this could open the door to a lot of wrong doctrine to come into certain parts of the "church".

It would appear that these words repentance and faith should always go together. In (2 Peter 3:9) we read that God "is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance". On the Day of Pentecost this same Peter said "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit". (Acts 2:38). Many other scriptures mention "dead works", and our need to repent from them, for example in chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation, we see John used it in his letters to most of the churches that Jesus told him to write to.

 

But this word is used in lots of time in a positive way, for example in

(Gen 2:2) we read "And on the seventh day God ended the work which He had done". And in (Ps 102:25) "The heavens are the work of Your hands".

Then in (John 17:4) where we read the real Lord's prayer to His Father just before going to the cross, "I have glorified You on the earth, I have finished the work which You have given Me to do". And of course from the cross Jesus cried out with His last breath "It is finished", referring to the work of redemption which only He could do for us! Then in various scripture passages we read about the work He expects us as His followers today, to complete for Him. For example in (Matt 28:18-20) "And Jesus came to them and said all authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Sprit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen". This last commandment given to His original followers, would naturally apply to those of us today over 20 centuries later who claim to be followers of Jesus! Are we doing it? And if so, where and how are we doing it, is my parting question!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                      16/05/12

A GODLY MOTHER

A GODLY MOTHER

 

The book of Proverbs is usually credited to King Solomon, but notice the last chapter 31 is written by an unknown man called "King Lemuel", and verse one state "The words of King Lemuel, the utterances which his mother taught him". So we can safely assume that these are the words of a "Godly mother" spoken to a young son of hers who became a king. I once thought that must have been Bathsheba, before I realized this chapter was not written by Solomon. So we can assume this unknown king must have been king of one of the neighboring nations to Judah that perhaps was conquered by Solomon, or his father King David. But in any event we can tell by her words that they came from the heart of a very godly mother. Especially the first nine verses that are directed toward him in his role as the future king, which also means that she must have been the queen married to this man's father. It's amazing how much we take for granted in scripture, I just thought the proverbs were the words of wisdom from Solomon, and I knew Bathsheba was his mother, so therefore assumed that she was the woman mentioned here. In verse 10 she is called a "virtuous wife", whose "worth is far above rubies" whose "husband safely trusts in her".

 

I recently read an excerpt from a book from Catherine Marshall the widow of Peter Marshall, who was a well known pastor who died quite young. She was sharing that Peter had always held a "dim view" of feminism, but had preached a sermon based on Proverbs 31 before he died called "Keepers of the Springs". She quoted a large portion of his sermon in her book, from which I will borrow a few quotes. She started with "The emancipation of womanhood began with Christianity---When women in this country achieved equality with men, it was accomplished only by stepping down from the pedestal on which Christianity, chivalry, and idealism had placed her". "There is no substitute for goodness---nothing can take the place of purity", "We need homes where harassed husbands may find peace, understanding, nourishment of body and soul---where children may find the warmth of love---where friends may find hospitality graciousness and joy".

I didn't know Peter, but my spirit resonates with the words from this sermon. The battle between "chauvinism" and "feminism" that seems to rage in certain circles should never have been started in my opinion. And even a  casual understanding of what it means to be a true follower of Jesus would eliminate all those foolish arguments about gender issues!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                    13/05/12

THE RAPTURE

THE RAPTURE

This word is not found in our English translations of the Bible, but is borrowed from the Latin version. It was used to translate part of (1 Thess 4:17), which is often referred to as "the rapture passage". The expression in our Bibles is "caught up", which describes what will happen to the followers of Jesus when He returns to earth at the end of the tribulation period. Several theories have come forth in the church over the years as to the timing of this event. They all center around the period that has come to be known as the "great tribulation", which was first revealed to Daniel through dreams and visions. Matthew records the words of Jesus in (Matt 24:4-41) which is an accurate outline of what will happen during the final 7 years of life as we know it on planet earth. This 7 year period is known as Daniel's seventieth week, which is taken from (Daniel 9:20-27), which is the angel Gabriel's answer to Daniel's prayer recorded in the first of this chapter. When we compare what Paul, Peter, and John had to say about this final period of history, and how it will play out during this 7 year period, we find it lines up exactly with the outline given by Jesus! Especially Paul's 2 letters to the church in Thessalonica, and the book of Revelation, which was given to John by Jesus to share with the churches. Since it is all basically the words of Jesus, why would we expect any differences?

 

The three most popular theories on the rapture are the Pretrib, the Mid-trib, and the Post-trib which are named because of where they place the timing of this event in relation to the time of the great tribulation. In the late 1980's a fourth teaching came forth called the Prewrath Rapture, which takes the truth from each of the other 3, and adds clarity regarding the timing based solidly on scripture. Although the others had certain truth, it was mixed with man made teachings, such as the idea of a "secret rapture", coupled with the dispensional teaching of C.I.Scofield, which is the basis of the Pre-trib theory. From this has come the idea that Jesus could return at "any moment", even though the scriptures tell us that He will remain in heaven at Father's side "until" certain events happen. (Ps 110:1), (Acts 3:19-21) Robert Van Kampen's book called "The Sign" is what opened my eyes to the truth on this matter. If you are interested in checking this further you will find lots of information at their website <prewrathministries.org>. Why not check it out?

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                           04/05/12

A DIFFERENT JESUS

A DIFFERENT JESUS

 

This expression is found in Paul's second letter to the Corinthians, (2 Cor 11:4). He has been warning the people about the danger of having their faith corrupted by false teachers. This is a definite danger for us in these "last days" in which we are living. Jesus and apostles like Paul warned us in several places to beware of false teachers. Read (Matt 24:4,11) to hear the words of Jesus, and (2 Peter 2:1) as well as (2 Cor 11:3-4) mentioned above, are all very clear warnings. Notice that Paul speaks of "a different Jesus", a "different spirit", and a "different gospel", as being possible things for believers to be corrupted by.

 

Today there are many different Jesus' being preached. In parts of South America we hear of a Marxist Revolutionary "Jesus", and of course many people believe in a New Age "Jesus", or a "Jesus" who appeals to secular humanists etc. These are just a few different ideas about Jesus that you could be exposed to by listening to a "different gospel", that is being spread by a "different spirit", which is really a deceiving demon. Paul mentions these in (1 Tim 4:1) "Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith, they will follow deceptive spirits and teaching that comes from demons." NLT. Notice that he is talking about true believers, and not just church goers, or make believe Christians! Some people have been led to believe that true Christians cannot possibly be "demonized", or be a carrier of a demon, but scripture and experience will not support that doctrine. It seems that a person can be a carrier of a demon before accepting Jesus as Savior, or could pick up one later by believing in a "different Jesus" as mentioned above. In either case the remedy is the same, the "different spirit", or demon must be expelled or cast out as we see Jesus and the disciples doing in scripture. Demons are spirits without a body, and we see them always wanting to inhabit a body when they are mentioned in scripture. They prefer a human body, but will settle for the body of an animal rather than to remain body-less. (Mark 5:11-13) So let's be careful we are following the True Jesus, the one and only Son of God, Immanuel (Matt 1:23), who came from heaven to die on the cross to redeem us from our sin!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                        20/04/12