GRACE AND THE TRUTH - DAILY INSPIRATION

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The Key to a Worry-Free Life
by Paul M. Sadler


 According to doctors at the Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona, rattlesnakes thought to be dead can still strike, bite, and kill you. Doctors in Phoenix said they have a large number of patients admitted each year suffering from bites from rattlers thought to be dead. Sometimes the snakes were shot and their heads cut off; but, the snake head retains a reflex action. In fact, one study showed that snake heads could still make striking-type motions up to sixty minutes after decapitation.

 Satan, that old Serpent, was defeated at Calvary—his head was cut off. Hebrews Chapter 2 says that our Savior, by His death, destroyed him who holds the power of death. But for a season Satan can still strike and wound us. He can still hurt us and poison our relationships and spread his deadly venom into our homes and lives.

 Paul admonished the Corinthians to take great care in this area, “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices” (II Cor. 2:11). Although this may have been true in the apostle’s day, we are not sure it is the case today. It seems to us that many believers are unaware they are under attack. Satan can be very subtle and his devices are well planned. While his devices take on many forms there is one in particular that he uses quite effectively— worry! If the enemy can keep you off balance in this area he can successfully hinder your service for the Lord.

WORRY

 “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” —Phil. 4:6,7

 Do you worry? I didn’t think so, but there are some who struggle with this problem. Paul says, “Be careful for nothing.” In our modern day language we would say, “Don’t worry about anything. ”The Greek word behind the term “careful” here is merimnao, which means to pull in different directions, to distract. This is exactly what worry will do to you—it will tear you apart both emotionally and physically. It can be one of the leading causes of ulcers, which is something else to worry about!

 Worry always dwells on the future in regard to what may or may not happen. It mulls over every worst-case scenario imaginable.

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CHOSEN TO BE A SOLDIER
DICK WARE, Pastor




Reading: II Timothy 2:3, 4


God through the Apostle Paul tells Timothy not to let his timidity cause him to be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ, nor of Paul who is in prison for the Lord and the Gospel of Grace. Paul exhorts Timothy to share in the sufferings  of Christ. Paul wants him to have a reproducing ministry (2:2). However, to do so, Timothy had better get ready for spiritual warfare and suffering. Timothy finds that his "holy calling" (1:9), involves him being "a good soldier of Jesus Christ" (2:2). This is true of every believer, but, especially true of God-called Ministers!

Some divine  imperatives for God's soldiers are: "stir up" (1:6); "do not be ashamed"  (1:8 ); "hold fast" (1:13); "keep"  (1:14); "be strong" (2:1); "commit" (2:2); "endure" (2:3); study (2:15); "continue" (3:14): "Preach the Word" (4:1); "do the work of an evangelist"  and "fulfill your ministry" (4:5)!

The words of a song that I have worked at to memorize and challenge myself with, come to mind:

"AM I A SOLDER OF THE CROSS?"

"Am I a soldier of the Cross? A follower of the Lamb? And shall I fear to own His cause Or blush to speak His name?

Must I be carried to the skies On flowery beds of ease, While others fought to win the prize And sailed thru bloody seas?

Are there no foes for me to face? Must I not stem the flood?

In this vile world a friend to grace, To help me on to God?

Sure I must fight if I would reign---Increase my courage Lord!

I'll bear the toil, endure the pain, Supported by Thy Word!"

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NOT UNDER LAW
by Cecil Argetsinger



NOT GENERALLY TAUGHT, but of tremendous importance is the truth set forth in these six simple words: "Not under law, but under grace."

They speak not only about two completely different and opposing systems by which God relates to His people here on earth, but they also speak of two separate and distinct periods of history. The "law" represents the manner of God’s dealings with the nation of Israel, while "grace" depicts the nature of His relations with the Church, the Body of Christ.

The one, law, began with the covenant made between God and Israel on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 19:3-8 ) about 1500 years before Christ appeared on the scene. It ended with the death of Christ on the cross, for it was there He "blotted out the handwriting of ordinances [the law] that was against us, and took it [the law] out of the way, nailing it to His cross" (Colossians 2:14). The other, grace, began (generally speaking) with the same death and will continue until the Church is taken out of this world (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 ). In the Scriptures, the word "law" has two significations. Particularly, It has reference to the commandments and ordinances given by God through Moses to the nation Israel (Exodus 20, Deuteronomy 32:47). but it also includes any system or rule that regulates human conduct and by the keeping of which is supposed to make men right in the sight of God. Basically, the law is a works or merit system. It represents the efforts and good deeds of men by which they seek to please God and make themselves acceptable to Him.

Grace, however, is in principle exactly the opposite of law, Grace represents not what man must do in order for a right standing before God, but rather asserts that God, entirely apart from any good deeds or works that man might do, freely accomplishes the same. Grace declares that righteousness with God is given, not earned.

That "law" and "grace" are opposing principles is easily demonstrated. The law principle says "If you do good, I will bless you." That this was the nature of God’s relationship with Israel is clearly expressed in the covenant he made with that nation on Mt. Sinai.

"Now therefore IF you will obey My voice, and keep My covenant, THEN you shall be a special treasure to me above all (other) people; for all the earth is mine" (Exodus 19:5).

"If you will obey" is the prerequisite for "then you shall be a special treasure."

How different is the principle of grace: "I have blessed you, now do good." Pure grace represents the manner by which God is dealing with the believer of this present age, the one who has heard the message of the Cross and has placed his faith and confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ. For him, his blessings are all of grace and only by grace. Under grace, blessings are never earned nor deserved. Good works have no part or place in the bestowal of God’s blessings--instead they are freely given. Under grace, the motive for right living arises out of gratitude and love for the One who suffered so much in the believer’s behalf.

The law proved to be an "administration of condemnation." It did not and could not make people righteous before God. It could only prove their total sinfulness. The law could not bring men to God, it only proved them guilty before God (Romans 3:19-20). It takes imputed righteousness, the gift of grace, to make one right in God’s sight (Romans 8:1-2;3:24).

But there doesn’t need to be any mistake. Being "under grace" provides no license to sin; grace rather prohibits sin.

"For the grace of God that brings salvation to all men has appeared [on the scene], teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ." (Titus 2:13)

Indeed, the conduct that is set before the one who is "not under law but under grace" is a high and holy walk that is in keeping with his heavenly calling and position in Christ. "I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, " writes Paul, "beseech you that you walk worthy of the calling to which you have been called" (Ephesians 4:1). In our own strength, such a walk is absolutely and completely beyond any Christian to accomplish. We may no longer be "dead in sins" (Ephesians 2:1), but we are not under law--that is, not under its demands for righteousness. But as far as attaining righteousness in our own strength, we cannot, for we are spiritually unable.

However, not only does grace forbid sin by the believer, as Romans 6:15 declares. It also frees him from the power of sin.

"For sin shall not have dominion [exercise lordship] over you, for you are not under law but under grace."

And the believer under grace has something never given under law. That something is, in all reality, Someone--namely the indwelling person and presence of God, the Holy Spirit.

Nowhere in Scripture is it taught that the believer has attained to sinless perfection. The Christian life is a struggle, fierce and constant, not just against Satan and his forces, but against the evil and awful sin nature that is still present in every believer. This nature will only be removed when we are "forever with the Lord." But victory is assured because. under grace, the Holy Spirit has come to indwell every believer and to abide there as long as we are on this earth.

The Christian may temporarily give in to sin, but the dominion of sin over the Christian is broken. The believer may, for a time, allow his sin nature to govern his activities, but, unlike the unbeliever, he is not controlled by it. Once we were sinners and walked according to the dictates of Satan, but now all is changed. We are new creations in Christ and have the privilege of living a life of righteousness by the power of the Holy Spirit. Sin may be in us, but is no longer our master, for we are "not under law, but under grace."

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Are you a Sinner or a Saint?
By Andy Knight


Are you a sinner? I didn't ask if you sinned. I asked if you were a sinner. What's the difference?

"Sinner" is a noun. It's a label. It's an identity. It's something you are. "Sinned" is a verb. It's an action. It's a behavior. It's something you do. Am I just splitting hairs? Why does it matter?

If you've never come to a point in your life when you believed that Jesus Christ is God, that he died on the cross, and rose again, and if you've never trusted in that faith as your salvation, then the answer is yes. You are a sinner. However, if you have believed and trusted in Christ, then please understand that the Bible no longer refers to you as a sinner. It refers to you as a saint. Say to yourself, "I am Saint ________!" (And fill in the blank with your name.)

If you haven’t figured it out, people live according to the way they see themselves. If they see themselves as a lousy rotten sinner, unacceptable to God, that’s exactly how they will live. On the other hand, if they see themselves as having a righteous, holy heart that longs to trust God, then that’s exactly how they will live.

And that changes everything! When I understood this, the Christian life began to make more sense. I understood my new identity. It's not that I didn't sin, but the reason I felt miserable after I sinned was because I was acting like someone I wasn’t.

As a Christ follower, you are a redeemed, chosen, and holy saint. I may have never met you, but if you're my brother in Christ, I know your heart. You desire to serve Christ not because you have to, but because you understand God's grace and you now want to. ”

As Malcom Smith told the audience last weekend at the AELM conference, "We need to go the mirror and take a jolly good look at ourselves and remember who we are." You're not a sinner. You are a saint. You are His beloved!

By the way, I enjoyed meeting some of you at the conference last weekend in Taccoa, GA, and I'll be writing more about what I learned in the near future.

Grace and Peace, Andy

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THE GREATEST
By Miles Stanford



"We love Him, because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19).

We first come to know something of the Lord Jesus' love by what He did for us; but that is only the basis for coming to know His love in what He is to us. The first is known at the Cross, the latter is entered into through personal fellowship with the risen Lord.

"There are three steps in appreciation of His love for us. First, I learn that He loves me so much that He saved me. He is our treasure; 'My Beloved is mine' (Song of Solomon 6:3). The second step of affection is the consciousness that He loves me so much that He has a right to me. He would have me for Himself. 'I am my Beloved's' (Song of Solomon 6:3).

"The third step is the consciousness that He loves me so much that He wants my company. 'His desire is toward me' (Song of Solomon 7:10). Love's delight is found in the company of its object. May we know in a deeper way, and in a fuller measure, the sweetness of personal intimacy with 'the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me' (Gal. 2:20).

"Much ministry is lost upon us as to any practical result, because we are not prepared to be detached from things here, so as to be simply here for Christ. And the preparation for this is to come personally under the influence of the blessed attractiveness of the Lord Jesus. When we sit under His shadow with great delight, everything else becomes so small, and loses its hold upon our hearts."--- C.A.C.

"But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (II Cor. 3:18 ).

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God’s Unpredictable Ways
by Anabel Gillham



Joseph, in the Old Testament, was allowed to be sold into slavery so that "when the proper time came" he would be in Egypt, where he was going to be trained to be a ruler and used mightily of God. (Genesis 50:20) How would you have transferred Joseph to Egypt, preparing his character all the while for the position he was to hold? How would you have instilled within Joseph patience? Fairness? Courage? Leadership? I don't think I would have seriously considered the slavery, prison, betrayal routes that the Lord chose for Joseph. I wouldn't have been able to comprehend how the treachery, his brothers hatred, the lonely hours separated from his beloved father, and the interminable days in prison could have been part of his preparation as a ruler in Egypt. The unfathomable ways of the Lord.

Have you ever noticed one of the important details that seemed to determine God's deliverance from Egypt for the Israelites? Genesis 15:13-16: "Then Jehovah told Abram, 'Your descendants will be oppressed as slaves in a foreign land for 400 years . . . after four generations they will return here to this land; for the wickedness of the Amorite nations living here now will not be ready for punishment until then.'"

The Amorites? They fit into Your plans? They're enemies of Israel! Why should they be considered and be the factor that keeps us enslaved? Are You aware of our misery? Don't you see how we are mistreated? I just don't understand.

Every detail, even the lives of their enemies, had to be ready. The unfathomable ways of the Lord.

The man was lying at the gate of the Temple. This had been his regular station for many years, for he was "lame from birth" and was carried there every day to ask for alms. Jesus of Nazareth passed by that gate and no doubt the poor man held out his cup and cried, "Alms! Alms!" But Jesus passed him by!

And then one day, Peter and John passed that gate, and when the lame man called out for alms, they said, "We don't have any money to give you, but we give you what we have to offer . . . in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!" (Acts 3:1-8 )

Jesus had seen him. Peter and John had passed that way before. Why was he healed today? The "fullness of time" had come for him...and for 5,000 souls who listened as Peter preached. Every detail was ready. The compassionate ways of the Lord.

Our Lord lingered when Martha and Mary sent their urgent plea, "Come quickly. Lazarus is very ill!" Why did He linger? What was His plan?

He knew what was going to happen, and that great glory would come to God if He would just wait for a few days until all the details had been arranged. Martha and Mary didn't know what His plans were. Can you imagine how distressed they were?

Where is He? Why doesn't He come? What's taking so long? I cant endure this waiting any longer! Surely He received our message! Do you think that maybe He doesn't know?

But the ways of the Lord were good. (Luke 11:1-44)

The ways of the Lord are good.

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"HEARTS MADE OF STONE"
Pastor P. Hume


Several years ago there used to be a popular song, the opening words of which were:
    'Hearts made of stone
     They'll never break!'

Indeed, how hard-hearted many people can be. Yet behind a mask of hardness there can often be fears, discouragement and real guilt.

But the Bible speaks on several occasions about the hardening of the heart. Not arteriosclerosis - the hardening of the arteries - but a sort of spiritual moral sclerosis.' We are warned about such a hardening in Hebrews 3:12-13: 'Take care, brethren, lest there should be in anyone of you an evil, unbelieving heart, in falling away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long it is called 'today'  lest anyone of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.' Sin allowed in our lives - whatever  that sin may be - has a deadly affect.

The word used for 'hardened' is from a Greek verb skleruno. It means to 'make dry or hard.' what was formerly tender and succulent has become intractable, obtuse or insensitive. Thus Paul, by the Spirit vividly describes the interior character of unregenerated people in these words:' . . . the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded (alienated) from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness (Porosis (Greek), meaning to 'petrify, make callous') of their heart' (Ephesians 4:18 ). As a result of this hardening of the heart, they live according to their passions and impulses: 'And they, having become callous (to cease to feel any pain - of conscience), have given themselves over to sensuality, for the practice of every kind impurity with greediness' (Eph. 4:19).

Lo you see the seriousness of hardening one's heart (mind, conscience and will) against the Lord and His Truth? To thus turn away from Him and His Word is to go in one direction only - into darkness, deceit and depravity! True, Some may not go into the depths of depravity, but nevertheless, they are still 'in their sins' and still 'alienated from God.'

Therefore, it is possible for people themselves to harden their hearts against God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Gospel and the truth of the Bible! They are responsible! And they will be accountable for such rejection of the Lord and His Word in the day of Judgment. Don't allow yourself to fall into this category! Come to the Light today. Be open with the One who knows all about you, and fall into His 'arms' of mercy and grace through Jesus Christ.

But there is another source of the hardening of human hearts mentioned several times in the Scriptures. It's mysterious, yet it's serious. It is illustrated in the person of Pharaoh in Exodus 1:15 -- the king of Egypt. It is stated nine times that Jehovah hardened Pharaoh's heart. Three times it states that Pharaoh hardened his heart against the Lord. Likewise in the destruction of Sihon, king of Heshbon (Deuteronomy 2:30) as in the case of the inhabitants certain parts of ancient Canaan (Joshua 11:20), God sovereignly hardened the hearts resulting in their destruction.

Thus the Apostle treats of this in Romans 9 and 11 when he gives the reason for the fall of the nation Israel. Study Romans 9:14-24; 11:7-10,25 on this, adding also John 12:40 and Matt 13:10-17. To accomplish His sovereign purpose, God hardened the hearts of all but a remnant which believed in Israel, to the end that salvation, reconciliation, and blessing may come to the world. But the day is rapidly approaching when this same Lord will 'soften' the hearts (Job 23:16), open blinded eyes and cause 'all Israel (to) be saved' (Romans 11:26). What a day that will be?

Is your heart 'soft' or 'hard' toward the Lord and His Word?

Grace, Peace and Love,

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ACCEPTABLE CONSECRATION
By Miles Stanford

"The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (Rom. 8:7).

If a Christian does not realize his identification with Christ in His death, he does not know true consecration. Crucifixion is the path to, and foundation of, consecration. The deeper truths are not entered into through consecration --- they are its basis. "The price of consecration is crucifixion."

" 'Present yourself unto God as alive from the dead' (Rom. 6:13). This is the true ground of consecration. For believers to 'consecrate themselves to God' ere they have learnt their union with Christ in death and resurrection is only to present to God the members of the natural man, which He cannot use. Only those 'alive from the dead'---- that is, having appropriated their likeness with Him in death --- are bidden to present their members as instruments unto God."

"The modern teaching of consecration, which is tantamount to the consecration of the 'old man,' seeks to bypass the death sentence and therefore only leads to frustration and failure. When, however, you and I are prepared, in simple humility, to make the fact of our death with Christ our daily basis of life and service, there is nothing that can prevent the uprising and outflow of new life, and meet the need of thirsty souls around us." - J.C.M.

"Therefore, brethren, we are debtors bound not to the Flesh, that we should live after the Flesh [but to the Spirit]" (Rom. 8:12, Cony).

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Are You Running to Win?
By C.R. Stam



"And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible" (I Cor. 9:25).

Paul's epistles have much to say about the competitive sports of his day. He uses the gymnasium and stadium, the races, the boxing and wrestling matches, to drive home vital spiritual lessons.

As he witnessed the intense enthusiasm of the masses and the grim determination of the contestants in the Greek games, he was gripped with the challenge to believers to put as much into the issues of life and death as these put into their games.

How rigidly the contestants, then as now, controlled and denied themselves! How tirelessly they trained themselves!

"Now they do it," says the apostle, "to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible one."

In this pleasure-loving, self-indulgent age, believers are prone to forget that the Christian life is a race and that the divine Judge is watching their performance. He observes those who are running with all that is in them—and He likewise observes those who have so indulged themselves in the things of this world that they can hardly run at all.

Realize it or not, the race will soon—perhaps very soon—be over and the prizes awarded. Let each of us, therefore, ask himself: How will I fare then? Am I heeding the exhortation: "So run that ye may obtain," or do I scarcely care whether or not I receive the approval of the One who gave His all—Himself—to save me from a just and certain doom and to bless me with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies?

May God convict us, beloved, and help us to arise to meet the challenge that faces us every day while the millions of the lost about us continue their course to Christless graves, and a confused and divided Church points them in a dozen different directions.

May He give us a burden for the lost—and the saved. May He convict us of our responsibility for their condition. May He help us to live lives of true, practical devotion to Christ, rather than mere sentimental devotion; to practice self-control and self-denial, to put our all into the race, so that when we stand before Him He may confer upon us a garland of victory that will never fade away, and with it everlasting joy that we have brought honor, rather than reproach, to His worthy name.

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OUR VICTORIOUS WARFARE
- BY LEON TUCKER

   'Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.' EPHESIANS 6:11

   Speaking strictly within the Scriptures, the Church is not even on the earth. It is viewed by God as seated in the heavenlies. Positionally it is there, conditionally it is here: but spiritually it must reckon itself dead, buried, raised and seated with Christ in heavenly places. If the conflict of the Church is not against 'flesh and blood,' against who is it?

   'Against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of the world, against spiritual wickedness in heavenly places.'

   Four times 'against.' Four things, 'against,' --- 'principalities,' 'powers,' 'rulers of darkness' and' spiritual wickedness'.

   Let us ponder and consider these persons and powers of the underworld now holding possession and position in the upper world. Who are they? Where are they? Why are they?

   They are wicked spiritual hosts in military organization camped and entrenched in the heavenlies. They are invisible agents of wickedness in an organized spirit world. They are the rulers of the darkness of this age. They actually exercise rule over this world in this age-time of darkness and delusion. They direct the energy of the age. They are unquestionably organized in military order. Militarism not only prevails on the earth, but maintains in the heavenlies. Intimations and allusions to this organization may be found in Ephesians 1:21 and Colossians 2:15. The Book of Revelation seems to open unto this very sphere and describes a future struggle (see Revelation 12:7-9). The leaders of these hosts alone are mentioned.

   When Christ was raised up from the dead and exalted to the highest point in the universe, He passed through these organized ranks who were powerless to prevent Him passing through and up. Says Ephesians 1:21: 'Far above all principalities and power and might and dominion.'  Christ has been raised infinitely above them and they wait beneath His feet for their future humiliation and casting down.

   Having failed to defeat Christ, the head of the Church, they now turn their attention to the Church, the Body of Christ. God has purposed that the 'heavenlies' will be the sphere of the future service of the Church (see Eph. 3:10). Its calling is heavenly, its ministry will be heavenly, therefore its conflict is 'heavenly.' The place now occupied by 'wicked hosts' will be then occupied by the Church. The Church must realize the character of this conflict and be properly armored. 'Put on the whole armour of God,' says the Apostle, 'that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.' The word wile is 'stratagem,' cunning art of a spiritual foe. Not a flesh and blood conflict where human wit must meet human wit, but a warfare issuing for the secret counsels of a world of darkness and demons. This is the one and only sphere of the conflict and contest of the Church. All other enmity to the Church is created and promoted from this seat of antagonism.

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THE MIDDLE WALL OF PARTITION
by Russell S. Miller


“For He is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;

“Having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in Himself of twain ONE new man, so making peace;

“And that He might reconcile both unto God in ONE BODY by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

“And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.

“For through Him we both have ACCESS by one Spirit unto the Father” (Eph. 2:14-18 ).

On that Day that Christ Died, we know that “the veil in the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom...” (Matt. 27:51), but the meaning of this terrific event is hidden from the understanding of Jew and Gentile until we come to the Epistles of St. Paul. In the book of Exodus, God “put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel” (Ex. 11:7). In giving the Law of Moses, He “put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean” (Lev. 10:10; 11:47; 20:25). And in the Prophets, God condemned the priests for “violating” His law and “profaning” His“holy” things: “...they have put no difference between the holy and profane...between the unclean and the clean...and I am profaned among them” (Ezek. 22:26).

But in Paul’s Gospel, the Apostle declares that “there is no difference” today, between Jews and Gentiles: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:22,23). Israel was “nigh” but through their unbelief the Jews had become as “far off” as the Gentiles. And Paul further points out that God is now dealing with all mankind today—by His grace:

“For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:12,13).

This should not too difficult for us to understand. It simply shows that there is now no longer  a difference between Jews and Gentiles today. And this, brethren,  this occurs before Acts 28; before  Acts 18:6; before Acts 13, but after Acts 2. It shows that with Paul’s conversion in Acts 9, and the commencement  of the dispensation of the GRACE of God, that “the middle wall of partition” was broken down. It shows that the gospel of the grace of God is to all peoples and nations without distinction today (Acts 9:15).

God has put an end to all the bigotry, prejudice, and biased opinions of religious men and women! The Lord Jesus has “abolished the enmity”  through “the blood of His cross” making, “in Himself, of [the] twain ONE  new man,  so making peace” (Eph. 2:15). Thus Paul’s exhortation:

“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

“And be ye kind one to another,tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Eph. 4:31,32).

Clearly, then, this wonderful“access” to God that all peoples have today is first revealed to the Apostle Paul by our Lord Jesus Christ in Romans, Ephesians, and Hebrews:

“Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh” (Hebrews 10:19,20).

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"THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY"
by Russell S. Miller



"For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [hindereth] will [hinder], until he be taken out of the way.

"And then shall that wicked [one] be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming:

"Even him [anti-Christ], whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders" (II Thes. 2:7-9).

In this world-system "the mystery of iniquity" is connected with foreign intrigue, espionage, politics, and liberalism, but this short study shall focus upon the professing church with its modernism, ecumenicalism, and neo-evangelicalism. There is no principle, or cause, that these men will not sacrifice upon the altar of their global economy and one world religion. And this wickedness was already at work in Paul's day under the guise of different names, but nevertheless just as subtle:

"For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him" (II Cor. 11:4; see also verses 13-15).

Satan, of course, is responsible for all the confusion, wickedness, and lawlessness that is in this world. It is Satan who "hates" our "Liberty" in the Lord Jesus Christ and seeks only to "steal" and to "kill" and to "destroy" (John 8:44; II Cor. 3:17; John 10:10). But the "love" of God was manifested in the cross of Calvary where "CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS" (I Cor. 15:3,4).

"But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them" (II Cor. 4:3,4).

Nevertheless God has not given us "the spirit of fear" but rather He has commissioned us with "the mystery of godliness" today, and equipped us with the ability "to make all men see WHAT IS THE FELLOWSHIP OF THIS MYSTERY, which from the beginning of the world hath been HID IN GOD, who created all things by Jesus Christ" (Eph. 3:9) until He takes us, His blood-bought Church, out of this sinful world.Such preaching, in the power of the Holy Spirit, will suppress "the mystery of iniquity" (Rom. 1:16-18; II Tim. 3:5) and further the cause of Christ in this world.

 The commission, which God has given members of the Body of Christ -- Romans 16:25,26 -- has been ridiculed and slighted even by Christians for many long years now. It is about time they woke up to the stark and stern reality, that Paul's Gospel hinders the ministers of iniquity!

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THE FAITHFULNESS of OUR GOD
Part 1 of 2
By Pastor James R. Gray



God is faithful in all that He is and that He does. Moses once said, "Know therefore that the LORD thy God, He is God, the faithful God" (Deut. 7:9). The Apostle Paul reminds us that even "if we believe not, yet He abideth faithful: He cannot deny Himself" (II Tim. 2:13). Faithfulness is essential to His being and He cannot act contrary to Who He is or what He does. His faithfulness rests upon His very being. His omnipotence, truth, immutability, holiness, love and righteous justice are foundational to His faithfulness. He never forgets, fails, falters, or forfeits His word. Faithfulness is one of His glorious perfections and one of the great themes of the Bible.

The Apostle Paul is a great spotlighter of the faithfulness of God. In his epistles there are six declarations about God's faithfulness. God is faithful in all His relations with His own. It is not our faithfulness that is the focus, but God's faithfulness. In fact, God remains faithful in all of these areas, even when we do not.

GOD IS FAITHFUL TO SAVE

"Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it" (I Thess. 5:24). Believers are those who have responded to the call of God. This call was, first of all, to salvation. In II Thessalonians 2:13-14, Paul makes clear that salvation is the work of God. Our salvation is entirely due to the initiative of God. He chose us to salvation. However, God's choice did not automatically save us, it became a reality by the work of the Holy Spirit and belief of the truth. Believers are here contrasted with those who "did not believe the truth but took pleasure in unrighteousness" (II Thess. 2:12).

We were called by the gospel of God's grace. The call of God involves receiving eternal life (II Tim. 1:9-10; 6:12; II Thess. 2:14). God in His grace calls men to salvation. It is His call that proceeds and inspires us to call upon Him (Rom. 10:12-13). Therefore, believers are called-out ones. We are called into one Body, the Church (CoI. 3:15). In fact, the word church is the Greek word ekklesia, meaning the called-out ones. We have not joined the church, Christ has joined us to His church and to Himself (1 Cor. 12:13). God is faithful to save those whom He calls (Rom. 8:29-30). He called us to salvation, and He is faithful to completely accomplish it.

GOD IS FAITHFUL TO SECURE

"Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blame-less in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord" (I Cor. 1:8-9). Believers are secure in Christ. God will "confirm you unto the end." The Greek word for confirm is bebaioo, meaning to fix, make sure, preserve. It denotes to "make firm or reliable so as to warrant security" (Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary, 331). God is faithful to secure us. We do not secure ourselves by works or any other means. Our security is completely in the hands of God. We will not present ourselves blameless in that day. He will present us "holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight" (Col. 1:22). the word blameless is a legal term in the Greek, indicating not merely to be unaccusable, but free from any charge. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8:1).

GOD IS FAITHFUL TO SAFEGUARD US

"But the Lord is faithful, who shall establish you, and keep you from evil" (II Thess. 3:3). God is faithful to save and secure us for eternity. He is likewise faithful to safeguard us in this present age. The word keep is an interesting one. The Greek word is phulasso. Although keep is a true translation, the word is more colorful than what the English word brings out. It is a military term meaning to watch, guard, sentinel, or garrison. It implies conflict and armed protection against attack. God safeguards His own.

That which we are safeguarded from is evil, or the evil one. The text here could be translated either in the neuter: evil, or masculine: the evil one. Paul uses the word in both ways; for evil in general (Rom. 12:9; I Thess. 5:22) and of the evil one (Eph. 6:16). Most students prefer the masculine translation (the evil one) because of the context.

This does not mean that evil or the evil one will never touch us. Job knew what it was to be touched by the evil one. However, as J. Sidow Baxter observes:
Again and again Satan is allowed to attack; and, alas, all too often our outward human defenses are pierced; but inside those there is an invisible wall of fire around God's elect before which Satan is scorched and thwarted. He may penetrate right to that innermost citadel, ripping away everything else to get there, as he did in the case of the patriarch Job; but there he always reaches the impenetrable, and slinks back in discomfiture, while the Lord's beloved comes through wiser and stronger, even as gold tested and purified (Majesty: The God You Should Know, 207).

God safeguards us so "who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For Thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these thing we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 8:35-39).

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THE FAITHFULNESS of OUR GOD
Part 2 of 2
By Pastor James R. Gray



GOD IS FAITHFUL TO SANCTION

God is faithful to safeguard us, because He is faithful to sanction what He permits to occur. "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way of escape, that ye may be able to bear it" (I Cor. 10:13).

Temptation is a persistent enemy to every believer. It never quits. It continually attacks morning, noon and night. It surrounds us, allures us, and tries to trip us day after day, month after month, year after year. When it comes to temptation, let us give careful consideration to the facts:

* God does not tempt us

The temptation we face never comes from God. James 1:13 warns us, "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man." The author of all good cannot be the author of sin, nor can He tempt any of His creatures to sin. We cannot blame God for the temptation we face. The buck stops with us. James continues, "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed" (1:14). When we fall into sin from temptation is it no one's fault but our own.

* God does limit temptation

God will "not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able" (1 Cor. 10:13). The word suffer is the Greek word eao meaning to permit or allow. God will not allow us to be tempted above what we can handle. God controls the amount of temptation Satan may bring upon us. Our all knowing God will not allow us to be overloaded. Each of us has a maximum capacity that we are able to handle, with His help. He knows our maximum capacity and will not allow more than that. At the point of maximum capacity He will say "no more" Job 38:11). It is important to notice that this is based upon God's knowledge, not upon what we think we can handle. He knows our limits even when we do not.

* God always makes an escape from temptation

God promises to provide a way of escape. It does not matter what the temptation is (drink, drunks, depravity, whatever), all have a way of escape. Thank God that is always true. The words "way of escape" is one word in the Greek, ekbasis, meaning a way out. We do not need to be victims of our weaknesses, environment or circumstances. God is faithful! He has appointed a way out of any and every temptation we face.

It should be pointed out that the way of escape may not mean a doing away with the temptation, but enduring the temptation. Otherwise, the last phrase - "that ye may be able to bear it" - has little meaning. The phrase clearly refers to enduring the tempta-tion without faltering because Christ is "able to succour them that are tempted" (Heb. 2:18 ). The word succour means to help, aid. God is faithful to aid us in temptation. Making us able to ride it out, to go through it, and to bear it while we're enduring, thus coming out victorious. We can have victory over any temptation.

Notice also that the temptation and the way out come at the same time. When the temptation begins, the way out or the means to endure is available. The way of escape is always present with the temptation. The two cannot be separated. God is faithful to sanction or limit the temptation we face and to provide a way out. It is up to us to take the way out. In reality, whatever way of escape God is faithful to provide in a particular trial, it will include dependence upon the sustaining power of God.

GOD IS FAITHFUL TO HIS SOLEMN WORD

"Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He is faithful that promised)" (Heb. 10:23). God is reliable. He will do what He promised. His is faithful to His word. Because He is faithful to His word, we ought to be faithful to Him. We may prove to be unfaithful to our word, but God never fails to perform what He promised in His solemn word. It is impossible for Him to lie (Heb. 6:16-18 ).

GOD IS FAITHFUL TO PERFORM

"But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay .... For all the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God by us" (II Cor. 1:18,20). The translation of verse 18 is not the best. For one thing, the word as is not in the Greek text. Also, the word true is the same Greek adjective which in the other references is translated faithful. Therefore it is better translated, "God is faithful."

The context shows that God is faithful to perform His Word. God not only promises, He performs what He promises. God's promise is always crowned by His performance. God will do what He says He will do. God is faithful!

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THE GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

St. Paul, in his Epistle to the Romans, refers to those who receive “the abundance of grace” and “the gift of righteousness” (Rom.5:17) which God in love bestows upon all who trust in His Son for salvation.

The Bible declares that no man can ever stand uncondemned in the sight of God, the Judge of all, unless he receives righteousness as the gift of God's grace.

Quoting from the Psalms, the Apostle says in Romans 3:10; “It is written, there is none righteous, no, not one”. This is why Paul pitied those who continued to go about “to establish their own righteousness” (Rom.10:3). He knew that their struggle was utterly futile, that they needed to be saved (See Verse One).

Let us thank God that the Lord Jesus Christ took the condemnation and judgment of our sins upon Himself at Calvary so that His righteousness might be imputed to us by grace through faith. Regarding Abraham’s justification before God, the Apostle says: “What saith the Scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness” (Rom.4:3).

Abraham’s justification, of course, was based on the fact that Christ was to die for sin, but Christ’s death is now past; it is an historical fact. Thus righteousness is now proclaimed through Christ and offered to all as a gift. “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom.5:8 ). “God hath made Him to be sin for us…that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (II Cor.5:21).

But we must receive this righteousness as a gift, for “to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, HIS FAITH is counted for righteousness” (Rom.4:5).