The church of Jesus Christ has always been busy. Busying doing a plethora of good works, motivated by spiritual desires. In fact, we are admonished in Scripture to be doers of good works as frequently as possible. But, there is a missing piece of the spiritual puzzle that demands our urgent attention. It is proclaimed in the NT and OT and it is inscribed on the Salvation Army’s altars: “Holiness unto the Lord.”
Many Christians presently believe and pulpits are preaching and promoting that Jesus Christ is NOT the only way to God, the heavenly Father. Please know with absolute certainty that this teaching is absolutely contrary to the Bible.
Jesus thought Himself to be unique and the only way to a personal relationship with God. In Jesus’ teachings, He made very direct claims about Himself and His work which clearly reveal His own identity. These statements by Jesus do not sit well with a postmodern culture which is very anemic about truth, and particularly any claims to absolute truths in God’s Word. Just because many others today do not believe the Biblical truth does not change the fact that it is true.
How important is the OT to the NT? According to some, the OT introduces the Law that is filled with legalism, violence, and judgment. The NT provides the story of God’s grace and redemption through Jesus Christ. It is a message of love, acceptance, and tolerance. So they ask, “Does the OT have any relevance or influence upon our relationship to Jesus Christ?” Should we, as Christians, as some are suggesting that we should, “unhitch” the OT from our faith, because there is no relevance between law and grace? They declare the God of the OT and the God of the NT are incompatible.
As we discussed last week, how important is the OT to the NT? Should we, as Christians, as some are suggesting that we should, “unhitch” the OT from our faith, because there is no relevance between law and grace? ABSOLUTELY NOT! There are multiple reasons why we should not and must not “unhitch” ourselves from the influence and direction of the applicable aspects of the OT.
George Orwell in his classic book 1984 said, “Truth is the new hate speech. During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.” I believe we have reached that moment in time when it comes to declaring the truth of Sacred Scriptures as it pertains to homosexuality and transgenderism. Those willing to proclaim the truth of God’s Word are labeled with every mean and distasteful label imaginable and relegated to the bottom of the cesspool. The deceived, both inside and outside of the church are responsible for the vicious attack against God’s truth. Preaching the Bible, the Word of God is now labeled “Hate Speech” by people and governments in many countries of the world.
What we need, can only be brought about by the repentance of humanity that comes from the conviction of the Holy Spirit of God. Jesus said, “When the HS comes He will convict the world of sin.” Therefore, pastors and teachers must begin to preach the Word of God with conviction and anointing and the hearers must be attentive to the declaration of the Word and respond promptly to working of the Holy Spirit within them. Today, it's much like the situation described in Hosea chapter 4, where the prophet said that God had "a case against" Israel.
The church of Jesus Christ has always been busy. Busying doing a plethora of good works, motivated by spiritual desires. In fact, we are admonished in Scripture to be doers of good works as frequently as possible. But, there is a missing piece of the spiritual puzzle that demands our urgent attention. It is proclaimed in the NT and OT and it is inscribed on the Salvation Army’s altars: “Holiness unto the Lord.”
The debate about what the Bible says about drinking alcohol has been raging forever. What is the churches obsession with something that has absolutely no spiritual value, will not aide you in your walk with Christ, but contains everything that could bind you in addiction and can literally destroy you. Today, we have a serious problem in our society with drinking alcoholic beverages. Unfortunately, it is a perplexing issue in the body of Christ. There is a great deal of ignorance (lack of knowledge) concerning this subject, as it is revealed in the Holy Scriptures. Before we take a journey through Scripture to see what the Bible says about the Christian and alcohol, which we will do next week, let’s look at some sobering statistics about alcohol consumption.
Jesus recognized the fractures in the foundation when He addressed the seven churches of Asia. These churches that existed in John’s day were second generation churches and already were having issues in relation to their Christian foundation. It is concerning how quickly followers of Christ can be detoured from their foundation in Christ.
Jesus recognized the fractures in the foundation when He addressed the seven churches of Asia. These churches that existed in John’s day were second generation churches and already were having issues in relation to their Christian foundation. In this message, we deal with the issue of the church and compromise.
Thyatira was a small thriving town located about forty miles southeast of Pergamos on the inland route. It is interesting that Christ should single out a very small church in a relatively obscure city for such an important letter. This letter is the longest and most severe of the seven addressed to the least known, least important, and least remarkable of the cities. However, the message reaches far beyond the immediate circumstance in the church at Thyatira.
The church at Sardis comes under the most severe denunciation of the seven.The church had so completely come to terms with its pagan environment that although it retained the outward appearance of life, it was spiritually dead. The majority had so fully compromised with the pagan environment that the church was Christian in name only.
Today, we conclude our series on Fractured Foundations. We began our journey with this topic back in June. We have discussed several key historical doctrines that are under attack and how the church must remain committed to these important and essential doctrines. We have to defended them! Unfortunately, the fractures in the foundations began very quickly in the history of the formation of the early church. As you know we are presently addressing the seven churches of Revelation to understand the concerns that Jesus had with the fractured foundations in the second generation church. As we look at the final two of the seven churches, we have to decide which church will we be. We will be God’s church fulfilling His will, mission, and purpose? Or will we be a church of the world that is blinded by deception, filled with arrogance, and self-righteousness? We must decide!