by Terry Laughlin | Apr 29, 2016 | Heaven
Read from Scripture what the Ultimate Father did. “For God so loved the world, He gave His one and only Son, that whoever, believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) Those who receive the Father’s gift, receives all the Father has. The Bible gives us this wonderful truth, “What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.” (Galatians 4:1-7)
Titus 2:11 says, “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.” This grace from God is offered to all of mankind. When Christ enters a man by the Holy Spirit, he is under a special grace that sustains the soul in time of need. (2 Corinthians 12:9) It provides strength. (1 Corinthians 15:10; 2 Timothy 2:1) It produces thanksgiving and glory to God. (2 Corinthians 4:15) It affects our conversations. (Colossians 4:6) And it enables believers to live holy and godly lives. (2 Corinthians 1:12)
Annie Johnson Flint, quoted in John R. Rice’s, Poems That Preach says it beautifully, “He giveth more grace when burdens grow greater, He sendth more strength when the labors increase. To added afflictions, He addeth His mercy, to multiplied trials, His multiplied peace. When we have exhausted our store of endurance, when our strength has failed when the day is half done. When we reach the end of our hoarded resources, our Father’s full giving is only begun. His love has no limit, His grace has no measure. His power no boundary known to men. For out of His infinite riches in Jesus. He giveth and giveth and giveth again.”
(The Tales of the Tardy Oxcart, Swindoll)
by Terry Laughlin | Apr 29, 2016 | Heaven
We Have the Benefit of Forgiveness
Read from Scripture what the Ultimate Father did. “For God so loved the world, He gave His one and only Son, that whoever, believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) Those who receive the Father’s gift, receives all the Father has. The Bible gives us this wonderful truth, “What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.” (Galatians 4:1-7)
1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
When a person acknowledges his sin and in repentance confesses those sins before the Lord, his sins are forgiven. By virtue of the cleansing effect of Jesus’ atoning death the repentant sinner is fit for fellowship with God the Father, Jesus His Son and enabled to walk in step with the Holy Spirit. (The New American Commentary)
John instructs Christians on what to do when sin overcomes them and the benefits of confession to the Lord.
It begins with confession: “confess” (is homologeō – ὁμολογεω) means to agree with another or rather to agree with God as to all the implication of the sin committed by the child of God. This includes the hatred of that sin, the Christians sense of guilt because of it and his heart desire to put that sin out of his life. (Wuest’s Word Study in the Greek New Testament; Word Studies in the New Testament) The Christian who is forgiven of a confess sin has the spirit and heart of King David who wrote, “My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.” (Psalm 51:17)
Walter B. Knight wrote about “A man who was deeply convicted of sin and about his need for the Savior. Restlessly, he wondered one night along a country road, seeking relief for his misery. When he became tired, he sat down by some hedges. After sitting for a while, on the other side of the hedge he heard two girls in conversation. One girl had heard a sermon about forgiveness, she said it brought her so much comfort. The sermon brought out a statement that has been spoken by most of us, ‘You made your bed, now lie in it.’ (Knight’s Treasury of 2,000 Illustrations)
The Bible records the words of the Greatest Teacher of all time, ‘Your sins are forgiven… I want you to know that Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” (Mark 2:10) I like the words written by Micah, “You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.” (Micah 7:19)
God does not hold our sins against us once we have called upon Christ for forgiveness in repentance.
by Terry Laughlin | Apr 29, 2016 | Heaven
We Have the Benefit of Eternal Life through Jesus Christ
Read from Scripture what the Ultimate Father did. “For God so loved the world, He gave His one and only Son, that whoever, believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) Those who receive the Father’s gift, receives all the Father has. The Bible gives us this wonderful truth, “What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.” (Galatians 4:1-7)
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life.” Sin means death. Christ means eternal life. John 10:27-28 says, “My sheep know my voice and I know them and they follow Me and I give unto them eternal life.” Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in Me will never die.”
“In the chapel of St George, in West Minster Abbey, is a memorial of World War II. It consist of four bound volumes that contain the names of the 60,000 civilians who were killed in the city of London by enemy action. One volume lies open at a time on the shrine and a light shines down upon the typescript names that appear on that open page. Each day a page is turned. Thus will the names of those who were rich or poor, titled or of the common people, old or young, healthy or ill, sound body or crippled, famous or infamous, stand together to be revealed in the light for all to see as a page of the book is turned each day. It is known as the book of death. The Bible tells of a book of life. It is in Heaven. In that book, too, will be found the names of men and women from all classes and conditions on earth. All will be in the light, and all will be honored of God. For the Book of life will reveal, in that coming day, the names of those who through faith in God and His Christ have been regenerated from death to life in Jesus Christ” (In the Lamb’s Book of Life; Knight’s Master Book of Illustrations, Knight)
by Terry Laughlin | Apr 29, 2016 | Christian Living Truth's
You or Christ Glorified
Matthew 6:1-4 says, “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
These are the very words taught by Jesus Christ, given for the purpose of protecting individuals and churches from ostentatious giving. Any true born-again teacher of God’s word knows that Christians must reach out to people who are hurting, ill or have a real need. I recommend how the communitarian, Matthew Henry had put it: “It is a great duty, a duty which all the disciples of Christ, according to their ability, must abound in.” It is my conviction that we are to minister to the needs of the Body of Christ (Galatians 6:2) and to the non-church in hopes of drawing them to the love of God and His Son Jesus Christ. (Luke 10:27)
The problem in meeting a need–without the Holy Spirit bringing illumination to the truths in Matthew 6:1-4 may only reveal how generous the persons or organizations are, thus bringing glory only to themselves. Jesus makes it clear: all love gifts should be given in such a way so that there are no temptations for others to glorify the giver, but ministered in a way that brings praise to God. When that is done, God will bless the love offering in a way that brings the hurting and needy into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. (New American Commentary; Commentary and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; The Pulpit Commentary; Matthew Henry Commentary).
During my 25+ years of preaching and teaching God’s Word, I have observed the church–as the world sees it–reaching out to the non-churched. Too often, it comes across to them as, “that person or church only wants us to become members of their church.” When that thought occurs, ministry outreaches appear to be administered through ulterior motives. We deceive ourselves if we think we are not in great danger of the subtle sin of drawing attention to ourselves or our churches as we reach out. Not following Jesus’ principle of meeting the needs of the hurting, as taught by Him, can spoil our efforts, like flies in healing oils can ruin the entire box of precious ointments. (The New American Commentary; Commentary and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Matthew Henry Commentaries)
A Spirit-anointed love ministry that reaches out to the needs of the hurting is guided by the following truths: 1.) A Christ-appointed overseer that assists the Body of Christ to exercise their gifts for the good of others and not themselves (Ephesians 4:11-16; Philippians 2:4) 2.) Everything is being done in a manner that brings clarity to the whole counsel of God’s Word. (Matthew 28:18-20) 3.) Full accountability presented to those who have Biblical authority. (Acts 11:1-4, 18) 4.) It must have someone who is gifted in collecting and distributing the love offerings. (Acts 6:1-6) 5.) It must have someone opening doors of opportunities for participation during the out reach. (1 Corinthians 16:1-4)
In the following passage of Scripture, Jesus does not contradict Matthew 5:16, “the letting your light shine before men.” The Lord’s principles are for us to govern our own hearts, which is paramount to Him. Truthfully, this way of ministering to needs protects His personal honor and us from being worshiped by men. (The New American Commentary, Commentary and Explanatory on the Whole Bible)
Let the Holy Spirit examine your heart with these questions: 1.) What is the purpose of your giving to meet a need? 2.) Are you exercising your Spiritual gifts for the Lord or you own recognition? 3.) When your giving is complete, who is getting the praise?
by Terry Laughlin | Apr 29, 2016 | Sin
The Word of God Determines?
Many questions abide about the sins of mankind. Among the most common is “what is sin and is it subjective to mankind’s opinion?” The writer of the book of Romans says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Romans 3:23)
The Bible, the “Logos,” the revealed will of God makes it clear, For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Every true God-believing, Christ-centered, Spirit-led person seeks the whole counsel of the Bible so they can know how to live in a manner that is pleasing to the Lord. They have the heart of the Psalmist who wrote, “Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. Blessed are they who keep His statutes and seek Him with all their heart. They do nothing wrong; they walk in His ways. You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed. Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands. I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws. I will obey Your decrees; do not utterly forsake me. How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to Your word. I seek You with all my heart; do not let me stray from Your commands. I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You. Praise be to You, O Lord; teach me Your decrees. With my lips I recount all the laws that come from Your mouth. I rejoice in following Your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on Your precepts and consider Your ways. I delight in Your decrees; I will not neglect Your word.” (Psalm 119:1-16)
Sin (ἁμαρτάνω hamartánō) is to miss the mark on the way. One who keeps missing the mark in his relationship with God is hamartōlós, a sinner. (The Complete Word Study of the New Testament) Eve failed to be steadfast on God commands; thus, women have to suffer painful labor during childbirth. Adam did not meditate on God’s way; therefore, through painful toil mankind must make his living. Their collective willingness to be misled is the reason why mankind’s flesh must return to the ground. They’ve missed the mark, as it were, which set in motion the demonstration of God’s justice, “being banished from the Garden of Eden.” (Genesis 3:1-19; Romans 5:12) The Garden of Eden represents to us a place where mankind can enjoy uninterrupted and unadulterated fellowship with the Lord. Sin is that condition of the human heart that creates a lifestyle that is offensive to the God who created man. In truth, sin is the condition that hardens mankind’s spirit against God’s sovereign will for them. It is cancer that afflicts the mind/heart/affections, poisoning mankind’s thought, influencing their words and producing misdeeds that harden mankind’s spirit to the leading of the Holy Spirit of Christ. Sin keeps mankind from seeking Biblical council on marriage, thus keeping couples from being one flesh (Genesis 2:24), united to one another (Genesis 2:24) producing a heart open to divorce (Matthew 19:8). Sin attacks the mind, producing unproductive thinking, nursing and rehearsing, missing Gods mark of meditation that is pleasing to Him (Psalm 104:34) and thoughts taken captive to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).
The Bible tells of the fruits of the sinful nature. (Romans 1:18-32; God’s Wrath Against Sinful Humanity; Galatians 5:19-21) Sin is not determined by the opinion of man or the oversight of the self-proclaimed churches, but by the “Logos,” the revealed will of God, the Bible. The Apostle Paul wrote, “…I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law.” Paul was checking his thoughts and life to the Word of God. (Romans 7:7)
Where do you get your conclusions of sin? Is the Word of God, the Bible, your final decision on what sin is?
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