A Better Way

A BETTER WORLD

 

We all know that since Adam and Eve listened to the lies of our enemy Satan in the Garden of Eden in (Gen 3:1-7) and ate the forbidden fruit from the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil" they introduced the sin of disobedience to God's command into our world. And since that time it has became known as the "Fallen World". Is there any way we can improve this fallen world as followers of Jesus? I just read a devotional article in Our Daily Bread (ODB) today March 29, 2014 by Joe Stowell, by this title. He used a scripture portion from (1 Peter 2:7-12) to base his article on, and I will use this same scripture passage for this article. I just read this passage from my NLT version, and Peter is talking about Jesus as the "Cornerstone" that some people stumble over because "they do not obey God's Word".

 

This is definitely an encouraging passage, and if we understand Peter's remarks and put them into practice, it just might make our world a better place. Let us look at a few statements he makes, in verses 7and 8 he gives a warning to those who "do not obey God's word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them". Then he quickly assures them "but you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, and God's very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light". This last statement matches the words of Paul as recorded in (Col 1:13-14) all because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. Peter goes on in verse 10 "Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God's people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God's mercy".

 

Just by carefully obeying Peter's words in verses 9 and 10, I believe that we could certainly improve the condition of our fallen world as committed followers of Jesus. But in order to accomplish that we would need to heed his advice given in verse 11 and 12. Remember we are "temporary residents and foreigners" in this world, as our home is in heaven with Jesus. So we need to "Keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors". Then they will see your "honorable behavior, and will give honor to God when He judges the world". This type of behavior before our worldly neighbors will only be possible as we depend completely on our staying "full of the Holy Spirit", there is no other way (Eph 5:18-20)!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                   29/03/14

THE CHURCH

THE CHURCH

Much has been written about the church over the years, but some of it has been confusing because of a lack of the true understanding of this term, in my opinion. When Jesus first used this term in (Matt 16:18) He was referring to "The Church" which He said He would build. There is only one "Church" (singular) in the world that has been in the process of being built since the book of Acts was written, nearly 2000 years ago. Paul, the apostle called by God to write nearly half of the NT, in his letter to the church in Ephesus, gives us the best description of this Church. Although addressed to this local church in the city of Ephesus, what he has to say about the church being "carefully joined together in Him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through Him you gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by His Spirit" (Eph 2:22), is describing something that is invisible, spiritual, and heavenly in nature. This must be kept clearly distinguished from the many local churches (plural) that have been established in various cities or localities over the years. The one true Church, that Jesus has been in the process of building, is therefore spiritual, invisible, heavenly, and eternal. The other use of this term church refers to an object which is natural, earthly, and temporal. The only thing these two diverse objects have in common is that they are both composed of "redeemed people of God". The local earthly church is one thing, often referred to in the NT as "churches" because they are many. On the other hand the "Church" is never referred to in the plural as churches, because there is only one, and can never be more than one!

 

One major problem is that often "unredeemed" individuals are allowed to "join" a local church, when they are not "born again" into the one true "Church" that Jesus is building. This should never be, but unfortunately is often the case. This is due in part to the leadership of the local churches not properly explaining the requirements of being part of the true Church. Also the fact that certain denominational churches consider anyone who has gone through their traditional requirements of "infant baptism" and "confirmation" are considered church members, even though they have not experienced salvation. Salvation, or the act of receiving Jesus Christ as your own personal Savior, is the only way anyone can be added to the Church that Jesus is building. That is the truth according to scripture, and should be followed by all the groups of people who call themselves a church!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                              20/10/11        

 

Abiding or Striving

ABIDING OR STRIVING

 

Often words have another word which has a completely opposite meaning. For example black and white, hot and cold, soft and hard etc, these two words abiding and striving are like that, and are completely opposite in meaning. They are important words to understand when considering our journey up the road to the Father, after we accept Jesus as Savior. Our spiritual journey as a follower of Jesus can be a very exciting life, but one filled with many twists and turns. Bob Mumford calls this journey the "Agape Road", and has written a book by that title. One chapter of his book deals with this subject of abiding and striving, and I have based this article on information he shares. The scriptures mention some form of the word abide over 120 times, the apostle John uses it over 80 times in his gospel plus his 3 letters. And remember he is often referred to as the disciple that Jesus loved, and was probably the closest one to Jesus emotionally, of the entire twelve. In chapter 15 of his gospel it is used 12 times, and is used in relation to the subject of bearing fruit in the Kingdom. So we can see that a proper understanding of it's meaning, as well as it's opposite "striving", is essential to being able to live a life pleasing to the Father.

 

The word "religion" is another word that must also be understood. It is used to describe many different groups of people from many different cultures. Basically all humans were created with a desire to worship someone, or some thing. A brief study of different cultures throughout past ages will show this fact. Some worshipped all sorts of objects, such as animals, trees, idols they made with their own hands, etc. Read the first 2 chapters of Paul's letter to the church in Rome for details. Jesus came to earth to establish a "relationship" with the Father, not another religion! (John 14:6). This was accomplished by His dying on the cross, to pay the price of the sin for all mankind. (John 3:16-17). All we read about "abiding" in scripture, pertains to relationship with our heavenly Father through Jesus Christ, after we have been "born again", and are adopted into God's Forever Family. Religious people, who have not been born again "strive" to gain acceptance by God, by doing all sorts of "good works"! No amount of religious activity can ever earn the acceptance by God into His family, because it is a gift of God. No amount of striving will ever be enough; it is obtained by grace through faith alone, without any works on our part. Read Paul's description of how we receive salvation in (Eph 2:1-10), there is no other way!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                                                                  30/04/12

Does God Have Grandchiildren`

DOES GOD HAVE GRANDCHILDREN

This term is used to identify children of children. In other words, when a couple get married and have children, and their children marry and have children of their own, their offspring are referred to as grandchildren. However in a spiritual sense we cannot use this term to describe anyone, because everyone must come to a relationship with God on their own! When a person receives conviction from the Holy Spirit that they are a sinner separated from God, and repents of their sin and accepts Jesus as their Savior, the Father then adopts them into His family. Then, and only then, are they a child of God! I believe our church traditions might leave room for some people to believe that it is possible to become God's grandchild. Certain churches believe in christening a baby and refer to that as their baptism. They seem to believe that this makes the child a member of the family of God. I believe that "baptism" is the wrong term to use for this christening, and it should be considered a "dedication" of both the child and the parents. The word baptism in scripture usually refers to a believer in Jesus, who has made a decision in their heart to accept what He accomplished on the cross, and desires to make a public declaration of this decision. We often refer to it as "believer's baptism", and it always follows a person's salvation experience! If parents who are followers of Jesus have their baby christened, and are told that they are now a child in God's family, I can see where this idea could have started. But I say no, God definitely has no grandchildren!

 

This is only one of many false beliefs that are circulating in certain church circles. Common sense should tell us that a baby cannot repent of their sins, and realize that the death of Christ on the cross paid the debt for those sins. And the scriptures are clear that baptism in water always follows a profession of faith in Christ. (Acts 2:38) Many of these church traditions that are not based on scripture could be avoided if people were encouraged to search the scriptures for themselves. Unfortunately, many people depend completely on what they are told by their pastor or priest, and never check things out for themselves, like the believers in Berea. (Acts 17:11). If more people did this, I'm sure we would have less confusion in our churches! I am constantly amazed by finding out how many "false doctrines" have infiltrated our "churches" over the years, and how far we have been led away from the Biblical pattern that Jesus had in mind when He declared "I will build My Church" as recorded in (Matt 16:18)!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                

DOES GOD HAVE GRANDCHILDREN

This term is used to identify children of children. In other words, when a couple get married and have children, and their children marry and have children of their own, their offspring are referred to as grandchildren. However in a spiritual sense we cannot use this term to describe anyone, because everyone must come to a relationship with God on their own! When a person receives conviction from the Holy Spirit that they are a sinner separated from God, and repents of their sin and accepts Jesus as their Savior, the Father then adopts them into His family. Then, and only then, are they a child of God! I believe our church traditions might leave room for some people to believe that it is possible to become God's grandchild. Certain churches believe in christening a baby and refer to that as their baptism. They seem to believe that this makes the child a member of the family of God. I believe that "baptism" is the wrong term to use for this christening, and it should be considered a "dedication" of both the child and the parents. The word baptism in scripture usually refers to a believer in Jesus, who has made a decision in their heart to accept what He accomplished on the cross, and desires to make a public declaration of this decision. We often refer to it as "believer's baptism", and it always follows a person's salvation experience! If parents who are followers of Jesus have their baby christened, and are told that they are now a child in God's family, I can see where this idea could have started. But I say no, God definitely has no grandchildren!

 

This is only one of many false beliefs that are circulating in certain church circles. Common sense should tell us that a baby cannot repent of their sins, and realize that the death of Christ on the cross paid the debt for those sins. And the scriptures are clear that baptism in water always follows a profession of faith in Christ. (Acts 2:38) Many of these church traditions that are not based on scripture could be avoided if people were encouraged to search the scriptures for themselves. Unfortunately, many people depend completely on what they are told by their pastor or priest, and never check things out for themselves, like the believers in Berea. (Acts 17:11). If more people did this, I'm sure we would have less confusion in our churches! I am constantly amazed by finding out how many "false doctrines" have infiltrated our "churches" over the years, and how far we have been led away from the Biblical pattern that Jesus had in mind when He declared "I will build My Church" as recorded in (Matt 16:18)!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                                              Revised 02/05/13

The One Mediator

THE ONE MEDIATOR

 

From Paul's first letter to his young disciple Timothy we read in (1 Tim 2:5) "For there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus". The most common use of this word in our society today would be in the case of a dispute between a labor union and an employer, and the government might appoint a "mediator" to try and bring the two sides to an "agreement". In the scripture mentioned here the two sides are "man", who because of Adam and Eve disobeying the only restriction their Creator had placed on them in the Garden of Eden, this act of rebellion brought "sin" and "death" into creation, (Rom 5:12). This original act of sin brought a division between God and man that only Jesus Christ the "sinless God/Man" could take care of by His death on the Cross of Calvary. We read that everyone on earth are "sinners" (Rom 3:9-23), and the penalty for sin is death

(Rom 6:23) so it required the death of a sinless man to pay this debt and redeem mankind. This is the very heart of the message of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God., which is really the key message of the complete Bible, especially the NT portion, which includes the New Covenant.

 

The marvelous "secret plan" that was kept hidden from mankind until the apostle Paul came on the scene, was that through Jesus Christ He would make "One New Man" from the Jews and the Gentiles (non Jews). See (Eph 1:3-10, 2:11-22, 3:1-10) to understand that this secret plan was really the creation of the "Biblical Church" that Jesus said He would build, as recorded in (Matt 16:18). This True Church includes people from every tribe and nation in the world who place their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. When they do this they are "born again" by the Spirit of God, as Jesus told Nicodemus he must be in (John 3:1-8). At this moment they are "adopted" by the Father into His Eternal Family. This is why the Name of Jesus is the most important Name of all the persons mentioned in the Bible. And of course the Name that is used more often than any other as a "curse word" by those wicked and ungodly followers of Satan the god of this world. Jesus called him the father of lies, and that there is no truth in him. See (John 8:44) for the discussion He had with a group of religious leaders. He is often referred to in scripture as the "Great Deceiver", and he still functions in that role in the present 21^st century. That's why Jesus and the apostles like Paul, John, and Peter warns us to beware of deception!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                                                22/12/12