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

 

Hide and Seek

HIDE AND SEEK

 

I'm sure you all remember when we were kids we could spend hours playing "hide & seek". We would all take turns trying to find the perfect hiding place where no one could find us! Of course we never found the perfect place, and were always found. But the idea of finding some place, where we could remain hidden from the searchers, and yet see them, would keep us playing this game for hours!

 

The scriptures mention in several places about a secret hiding place, where we can remain hidden from our spiritual enemies. This is important for those of us who are followers of Jesus, who are often being hounded by Satan and the spirits of his kingdom of darkness. In (Psa 91:1) we read "He, who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty". This verse plus many other similar ones, give a clear message that our God has provided a safe place for us to hide from our enemies. This safe hiding place is found only in an intimate relationship with our Creator God, which He has made possible because of what His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, did for us on the cross of Calvary!

 

This is the very core of the gospel of the Kingdom, that Jesus came to declare, and was then passed on to his disciples. After His death and resurrection he sent the Holy Spirit to take His place on earth. These disciples were baptized with this Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:4), and became known as the first apostles (sent ones), who went about spreading the good news of the Kingdom. This same Holy Spirit who came to earth that day is still here, and is still baptizing and filling people with Himself as they yield themselves completely to Him. Paul declared in (Eph 2:19-22) that we have become a temple or "dwelling where God lives by His Spirit" NLT. So now as followers of Jesus, we can be filled with the Spirit of God, and have Him living in our hearts by faith! Could this be the NT way of expressing the truth of these OT scriptures about being safe under His Wings etc? How could we be any more protected by our God, than by having Him living within us? It would seem to me that if we make Satan aware of this fact, by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of our testimony (Rev 12:11), that he would have to back off, and leave us alone!

 

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                              Revised 18/07/14

UNISEX

UNISEX

 

The first time I remember ever seeing this word was sometime in the early '60's as part of an advertisement for men's shoes with pointed toes. That was about the time that the United Church of Canada came out with their "New Curriculum", and both these topics have come a "long way" since being introduced to our culture. The United Church has led the way toward replacing God's Word with "Liberal Theology", and "New Age" teaching. And the "Gay Agenda" continues to push their agenda to unbelievable heights, including so-called "same sex marriages". Most of us could never imagine the word "unisex" could ever expand to include such things as those demanded by the present "Gay Agenda". But that is just an example of how far sin can be multiplied by our enemy Satan. God's word is very clear regarding sin as recorded by the Apostle Paul in (Rom 1:18-32), and certainly God has never changed His mind. Thank God that He never changes, imagine what it would be like to worship a "god" that you never knew when he would change his mind completely about certain things!

 

This whole subject of "perverted sexual relationships" has been so promoted by the Public Media in the past few years that it is hard to believe how far lies can spread. We certainly know that the enemy Satan is behind it all, and as Jesus told the Jewish Pharisees in (John 8:44) that they were of their father the devil who "is a liar and the father of lies". And Satan (the devil) has never changed since lying to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and causing sin to enter our creation. The church leaders have apparently tried to eliminate "sin" from their vocabulary, or "redefine" the word sin to a more acceptable one. We hardly ever hear the word sin or the need to "repent" from sin today in our "seeker friendly" churches. The very thought of being a "sinner" is quite offensive to the modern mind today, they need to read (Rom 3:9-20) and see what God's Word says about sin.

 

The Apostle Paul clearly describes the works of the flesh in (Gal 5:16-21) and the list starts with "sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures" plus 14 other sins that can result in those who do such things "will not inherit the Kingdom of God". We should become familiar with scriptures such as this passage, and let people know what our Holy God thinks about these kinds of sin. Thank God He has given each of us who have placed our faith and trust in Jesus, and been "born again" by the Spirit of God, the "gift of His Spirit" to war against our sinful "flesh". Our "old nature" we inherited from Adam died with Jesus on the cross, but we still have this sinful "flesh nature" which must be keep in line by the Spirit of God!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                              26/04/14

Out of Orbit

OUT OF ORBIT

 

I was impressed by a devotional in Our Daily Bread Aug 4, 2010, by Joe Stowell, from which I borrowed his title and a few quotes. He based his thoughts on Psalm 63, which is a Psalm written by King David while he was in the wilderness of Judah. Joe said "David understood that true joy and purpose came not in admiring God from a safe distance, but from chasing hard after Him". This is the theme of his article, and he starts by comparing our journey of following Jesus, with a space probe to Mars. He imagines the waste of time and effort if that probe should get drawn off course by the gravitational pull of some other less significant object!

 

This is a distinct possibility for any of us in our journey of following Jesus. There are many things that can draw us away from our original determination to be a follower of Jesus, who paid the price of our redemption from our life of sin! Perhaps it is our immediate family, or close friends, who think we have become a fanatic, or have joined a cult. Perhaps it is the draw of worldly entertainments, or some habit you established before you came to know Jesus. Whatever it might be, you can be sure your enemy Satan will use it to try and draw you back to serve his kingdom of darkness, and not God's Kingdom of light! The important thing to remember is that our loving Father has made ample provision for everything we need to live a life pleasing to Him. But the decision to accept these provisions is always left to us.

 

A careful reading of (Psalm 63) will show us what King David did while hiding out in the wilderness of Judah, fleeing from the wrath of Saul. In the NLT, verse 1 reads "O God, you are my God. I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you, my whole body longs for you, in this parched and weary land where there is no water". When we seek for God, as David did, He will be found by us. He is not hiding from us, but the fact is that He is holy, and unless we become holy as He is holy we can not have intimate fellowship. (1 Peter 1:16). We, as part of the Body of Christ on earth, must follow Paul's advice in (2 Cor 7:1) "Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God" NLT. So we can see that God has made provision for our holiness, but it is our responsibility to keep "in orbit", so to speak, and stay close to Him!

Sincerely submitted

Dave Jamer                                Revised 04/07/15