Scriptures Weekly 51 - King Jesus

^{1 Corinthians 15:24-28,
"}Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. For “He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all." 

In the modern age, Kingdoms and Kings are rare. Americans are especially sensitive there is no need for a monarch and will do whatever it takes to resist any efforts that would try to reinstate a kingdom across its land. Americans enjoy their democratic society and the freedoms it maintains. So, if you are an outsider of the church, it is understandable the concept of being a citizen and servant in a heavenly kingdom with a king in charge is at minimum, fairly strange.

The first the Gospel was ever preached in Acts 2:1-42 by Apostle Peter, and after Jesus ascension into Heaven, Jesus Christ is King with all authority of this new Kingdom established on the day of Pentecost in A.D. 33. As a result -

Christ is King and sovereign Head over his Church and over all things to his Church

Ephesians 1:22, 4:15

Colossians 1:18, 2:19

He is a real King

Matthew 28:18-19

1 Timothy 6:14-15

He is a ruling King, right Now

Mark 9:1

Colossians 1:13

2 Timothy 2:2

Galatians 1:8

He is an unchanging King

Hebrews 13:7-8

The Church is not a democracy, it’s a Monarchy

Ephesians1:20

Philippians 2:9

Revelation 19:11

With this brief understanding of King Jesus, will one bow and obey the authority of the King? This video lesson on the authority of Jesus Christ, one can learn what it means for Jesus to be King, to be led by Him and honored to be one of His royal subjects in His Kingdom.

"Jesus Christ is King - click for podcast"

Scriptures Weekly 50 - Holy Spirit

Over the past months we have been piecing out specific scriptural references on how the Holy Spirit helps and interacts in the life of the baptized Christian. This week we bring them together on our 50th post of Scriptures Weekly for your ease of locating and study. We want to thank brother Doug Downs, Evangelist at the Cumberland Heights, TN., congregation for these study notes.

Click HERE to open the study.

Many blessings

Is Salvation Conditional? God says Yes

Ephesians 2:8-9,

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,not of works, lest anyone should boast."

This scripture is quoted and taught by most Evangelicals to mean, one doesn't need to do anything but have faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ for Salvation. This would be true if that is all that God has to say about it. In actuality (if one will receive the whole counsel of God instead of the easy and wide path), God says a lot more about being saved than just grace and faith. He has given mankind conditions to appropriate the cleansing blood of Christ in ones soul, and to be a citizen of His Kingdom. And why would God put conditions in His plan of redemption? This is actually very simple to understand when one realizes discipline and obedience play very important roles to pleasing and abiding in Christ. This video lesson plainly clears up any sectarian teachings (false gospels) that run rampant across the land.

Let us be reminded of Gods will to be His

John 14:15,

"If you love Me, keep My commandments."

(One of His commandments is to believe and be baptized to be saved - Mark 16:16).

2 John 1:9,

"Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son."

Galatians 1:8-9,

"But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed."

Scriptures Weekly 49 - Whats Your Foundation?

What is your life built upon? Is it family, friends, your job or your possessions? Could it even be your spouse? Do things satisfy and do people fill your life's inner needs? Can you ever truly be content and full of hope with a life that is fed with all kinds of earthly manner? Where is your spiritual life headed and can God fill every need we desire when so often people and things fail to do so?

Is your foundation based upon self gratification, and when trouble comes, things fall apart. Or is it built upon the promises of God.

Luke 6:46-49,

“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”

2 Peter 1:3-4,

His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Thief on the Cross Baptized?

The Thief on the Cross incident in the New Testament (Luke 23:39-43) is often cited as a proof text of how one is appropriated salvation today. That all one has to do is believe in Jesus with faith to be saved. In fact this is not the case as stated in Hebrews chapter 9 in reference to Jesus will being in force upon His death on the cross, ushering in the New Covenant and teachings of His Apostles beginning in Acts chapters 1 and 2.

The serious Bible student will find that this thief and Jesus while still alive were under the Law of Moses, the Old Covenant, which passed away by being nailed to the cross forever (Colossians 2:14-15). That the thief and his contemporaries were in the middle of a transition point of history during the unfolding of Gods plan for the future of His church. It is now the full Gospel as given by Jesus to the Apostles (Acts 1:2) beginning with Apostle Peters first sermon in Jerusalem that is in force and must be obeyed in order to have Salvation. This short introductory video lesson will help in your studies.

                

Charts courtesy Barnes Bible Charts

Study the Bible Online - FREE

http://school.wvbs.org

About WVBS School

Most people today struggle identifying what books are in the Bible let alone what it teaches. WVBS School is designed to provide students with outstanding Bible knowledge. The curriculum will cover every book in the Bible plus a small handful of related subjects.

PHILOSOPHY OF INSTRUCTION – God has said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” Most people today do not even know what books are in the Bible let alone understand what is in it. WVBS School is designed to increase people’s knowledge of the Bible. WVBS School will cover every book in the Bible plus a small handful of related subjects which will help anyone to understand what they read in their Bible. The desire of WVBS School is to provide each student with outstanding knowledge of the Bible.

HISTORY – By God’s grace World Video Bible School® came into existence in late 1986. After several years of recording Bible courses there was enough excellent curriculum available to begin an in-depth correspondence school. Our desire was to teach anyone who seriously wanted to study the Bible in a structured environment. The school was called Video Bible Institute. The need has now arisen to reestablish the correspondence school as an online Bible school under the name WVBS School. The school is projected to begin in early 2014. There are thousands of Bible schools, churches and individuals at the present time around the world that are using WVBS materials as a part of their curriculum.

INSTRUCTORS – All instructors in the school have had years of study and have prepared themselves to teach these subjects. They have also had years of experience in teaching these courses. Every instructor who teaches in the school is presently, or has been, an instructor in a Bible training school. These men are among the finest teachers available today.

DIRECTOR – The Director of the School is Chuck Horner. He is an alumnus of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where he majored in actuary science and minored in accounting. He graduated from the Bear Valley School of Preaching of Denver in 1974. He has served on the administrations of York College and the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver. He served both as an instructor and as Director in the Southwest School of Biblical Studies in Austin, Texas. In the fall of 1986, he helped start World Video Bible School where he serves as an instructor and trustee.

FINANCING – There is no tuition for WVBS School. It is free to all who want to take advantage of the schooling it offers. The only costs, if not taking the courses online, would be for incidental postage incurred when mailing any tests or written work to WVBS School. WVBS is organized as a non-profit and is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) organization. This allows contributions to WVBS to be tax deductible for income tax purposes. The school is financed by contributions from churches and individuals.

AVAILABILITY OF COURSES – All curriculum is completed and currently available on DVD. But, not all courses are available online. This will take additional time to accomplish. If you wish to take courses that are not available online you have the option to take these courses on DVD. Unfortunately DVDs carry a cost to manufacture and ship. Any informal or formal student will be able to receive these courses on DVD at a student priced discount.

Click HERE to enroll FREE and get started studying Gods Holy Word more deeply enriching your life forever…

Scriptures Weekly 48 - The Creators Love

1 John 4:15-16,

"And we have known and believed the love God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him."

The Bible says, "God is Spirit" (John 4:24) hence human beings, every one of them that ever was and will ever be, has an empty void within themselves until they learn the truth about God's Spiritual nature and His purpose for us. What can we know about this God - His creation in nature, His mind, and what does the bible tell us about God?

Why is God difficult to comprehend and believe? Well for one thing, He is invisible. And for another, His words in the Bible are not believed by the secular population charging it as mysticism, or a tale told by men. Alternately, the words of God may cause one to have to change and that is just too much to swallow. Thirdly, human beings since a child are generally raised up not having a grasp of the spiritual part of man. Mind and body are the dominant attention getters at home, in school and society as lives unfold and grow into adulthood, leaving the spiritual behind.

We hope this lesson gives you insight into the one true God...

Video courtesy World Video Bible School

Have you been Called by God?

A Question:

Many teach that before a person can be saved, he must be ‘called’ by God. Can you explain how this happens?”

God calls every person who is saved. Not only does God pardon the sinner (cf. Rom. 3:26), but he also teaches him of the need and means of forgiveness. The Lord Jesus said,

“No man can come to me, except the Father that sent me draw him: and I will raise him up in the last day” (Jn. 6:44).

On the Day of Pentecost, Peter preached that many “afar off” would be saved, God having called them (Acts 2:39).

The question is this: how does God call a person to Salvation?

Paul writes to Christians at Thessalonica that God “called you through our gospel” (2 Thes. 2:14). The gospel (cf. 1 Cor. 15:1-3) is communicated by “the word of truth” (Eph. 1:13), which God designed to produce faith in sincere hearts (Rom. 10:17; Jn. 20:30-31).

To say that a person is saved without God’s “calling” would be equivalent to saying that a person is saved without the gospel.

It is just as erroneous, however, to contend that God directly calls a person by some means other than the written (or spoken) gospel message (e.g., a “phone call” from heaven, a voice in the night, or the direct illumination by the Holy Spirit).

The “word of truth, the gospel of your salvation” is the New Testament, and faithful servants preach this wonderful message (2 Tim. 3:15-17; 4:2). God teaches us about his beloved son in this way. And it is in this divinely prescribed manner that God calls men and women to obey his son (1 Cor. 1:21; Heb. 5:9).

The Lord explained in John,

“It is written in the prophets, And they shall all be taught of God. Every one that hath heard from the Father, and hath learned, comes unto me” (John 6:45).

When the gospel of God (Mk. 1:14; 1 Pet. 4:17), concerning the son of God (Rom. 1:9), who reconciles us to God (Rom. 5:10), is preached by a servant of God (Titus 1:1; cf. Col. 1:7; 4:12), God is calling.

Consider Paul’s discussion in Romans of how “calling” relates to Salvation.

“Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall they preach, except they be sent? even as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that bring glad tidings of good things! But they did not all hearken to the glad tidings. For Isaiah saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So belief cometh of hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:13-17).

God calls every person who is saved exclusively through the word of Christ, the gospel. In fact, God desires the salvation of all people, through their knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9).

Sadly, many reject His calling (Matt. 7:13-14; Acts 13:46; 1 Pet. 4:17).

Wayne Jackson,
Christian Courier

Scriptures Weekly 47 - Blessed Assurance

Are you a Christian who questions your Salvation thinking your fine, then you sin and you think your out of favor with God? Then your OK then your not again and the YoYo of life in Christ just seems to continue? Lets see what Gods Word says about this issue and how to remain untangled and at peace in our walk. If your not a Christian this may help you in your studies as you seek God in His Word, the Bible.

1 John 1:7,

"But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."

The study of 1 John by chapters covers:

Chapter 1 - Continual Cleansing
Chapter 2 - Perfect Propitiation
Chapter 3 - Destroying Doubt
Chapter 4 - Fixing the Fear
Chapter 5 - Complete Confidence

Walking in the light is the operative action on our part to have continual cleansing of our sins. This doesn't mean we have to be perfect in our every move and decision while we are walking in the light. What it means is, we have an attitude that puts Christ first in every decision and choice in life, that we are striving even though we fall from time to time. After all, we are human and God knows that. Its an attitude. In Christ, we have an advocate that fixes our sin if we continue walking in the light. We at times will have doubts but God is greater than our hearts. He wants us to know we have continual cleansing, removing doubt, giving us confidence before God.

God knows we have fear about the judgment day but we can have confidence knowing the love God has for us while we abide in Him, we then can cast out fear. Finally, when we keep His commandments we can have complete confidence with joy before God.

So, what is the practical daily remedy we must do to remain in the light with full assurance?

1 John 1:9,

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 

This video lesson explains these truths in easily understood terms that will encourage the Christian and educate the seeker. May you be blessed.

Video courtesy World Video Bible School

Is Baptism Essential? - God says Yes

Baptism for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38 and more) is spoken of and inferred in many scriptures of the New Testament. Psalm 119:160 confirms the whole word of God is truth, and that we must obey all of His commands, the Full Gospel to be saved. Jesus own Words in Matthew 4:4 reinforce this truth in a big way as well.

This video lesson is an in-depth study of the subject with many scripture text references and explanations in easy understandable language. Scholars are interesting and deeply detailed in their approach to the important, difficult topics of study. But let’s face it, they can be long winded extrapolating their results to where the listener can easily lose attention. Jesus Christ and His Apostles were very simple minded and never lose our attention in the scriptures because He and they get to the simple meat of what they are conveying to the “hearer”. This study is an attempt of similar manner for your ease of following along and truly learning what the Holy Spirit through the Word is trying to help us with. It’s our hope you come to a full understanding of what the Lord would have you do to be His, forever…

For a text version of this study, click HERE.

Chart courtesy Barnes Bible Charts

Many blessings in your studies

What is the Gospel?

The gospel of Jesus Christ is the core all encompassing Bible message from the Savior and His Apostles that has not changed since the first century A.D. It is the power unto salvation to all that believe, and obey it! 

Unfortunately, today there are many false gospels and many false Christ's taught and preached in the world that can sway the weak of faith and knowledge of Gods Word. This video lesson will help the seeker to know the true gospel, and increase the faith of the Christian.

Also listen to this video lesson on the Evidence of Pardon.

May you be blessed...

          

           

            

Charts courtesy Barnes Bible Charts