Audio Message:
AM I REALLY GOING TO HEAVEN?
The problem with religion today is
that they fail to see The Mystery. God had a secret that
Satan knew
nothing about. It's called "the church, the body
of Christ." God's
purpose in the church is to show
something to somebody. Paul says:
(Eph 3:8 KJV) Unto me, who am
less than the least of all saints, is this grace given,
that I should
preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable
riches of Christ;
(Eph 3:9 KJV) And to make all
men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which
from the beginning
of the world hath been hid in God, who
created all things by Jesus
Christ:
(Eph 3:10 KJV) To the intent
that now unto the principalities and powers in
heavenly places might be
known by the church the manifold
wisdom of God,
(Eph 3:11 KJV) According to the
eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our
Lord:
The church, the body of Christ, is
God's eternal purpose, chosen in Christ before the
foundation of the
world. But all through the Hebrew
scriptures and all through the
earthly ministry of Jesus
Christ and Peter’s ministry in the book of
Acts, God kept
it hid. It was a mystery until it was revealed to Paul.
The doctrine committed to Paul for
the church today includes the eternal security of the
believer. Paul’s
doctrine glories in the cross of Christ.
Paul’s doctrine reveals the
total completeness of the work
of Christ on the cross. The
righteousness of God, which you
must have, if you ever plan to see God,
to be with the Lord
Jesus Christ in glory for all eternity, is only
revealed in
Paul’s gospel, the gospel of Christ. Paul’s gospel is
the
power of God. So only in the doctrine in Romans through
Philemon do you
find in the gospel, the power of God and
the righteousness of God
revealed.
Paul’s gospel is about a mystical,
literal union with Christ. It’s about being a
member of Christ, of his
body, of his flesh and of his
bones. As a member of the body of Christ,
a believer CANNOT
lose his salvation. You CANNOT be defeated by the
devil.
You CANNOT be defeated by the world and you CANNOT be defeated
even by yourself! The good news is, when we are
saved, we are sealed,
and even if there were to come a time
when we begin to doubt our own
salvation, yet God remains
faithful. The Lord Jesus Christ remains
faithful, he cannot
deny himself. By the word of God I want to show you
that
this is true.
There is a concerted effort on the
part of powers and principalities, spiritual wickedness
in high
places...by Satan's ministers, disguised as
ministers of righteousness,
by false religion, by false
teaching and by fear tactics to try to
convince a believer
that he can lose his salvation.
Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not
against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of this
world, against spiritual
wickedness in high
places.
Satan has ministers in pulpits around
the world. They look just like everybody else. But
they are preaching
another Jesus and another
gospel:
2 Corinthians 11:14 And no marvel;
for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of
light.
2 Corinthians 11:15 Therefore it is
no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as
the ministers of
righteousness; whose end shall be
according to their works.
The bible says that men profess to
know God but in works they deny him. Did you know that
to claim to do
good works in order to find favor or to keep
favor with God actually
denies God?
Titus 1:16 They profess that they
know God; but in works they deny him, being
abominable, and
disobedient, and unto every good work
reprobate.
Men in religion do that. The attack
always comes by casting doubt on sound doctrine, by
false teaching and
by relying on the wisdom of men instead
of the word of God. Paul wrote
to Timothy:
(1 Tim 1:3 KJV) As I besought
thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into
Macedonia, that thou
mightest charge some that they teach
no other doctrine,
(1 Tim 1:4 KJV) Neither give
heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister
questions,
rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so
do.
(1 Tim 1:5 KJV) Now the end of
the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a
good
conscience, and of faith unfeigned:
There is false doctrine in the form
of fables being taught around the world today by men
who go outside the
doctrine given to the church, the body
of Christ, found in the books of
Romans through Philemon,
books written by the teacher, the preacher,
the minister
and the apostle to the church, the body of Christ,
the
apostle Paul. Paul says that he is the apostle of the
Gentiles.
Romans 11:13 For I speak to
you
Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles,
I magnify mine
office:
In I Timothy 2:7 Paul says he
is a preacher, an apostle, a teacher of the
Gentiles.
1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God,
and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ
Jesus;
1 Timothy 2:6 Who gave himself a
ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
1 Timothy 2:7 Whereunto I am ordained
a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in
Christ, and lie not;)
a teacher of the Gentiles in faith
and verity.
And in 2 Timothy he says again that
he is a preacher, an apostle, a teacher of the
Gentiles. He tells
Timothy:
2 Timothy 1:8 Be not thou therefore
ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me
his prisoner: but be
thou partaker of the afflictions of
the gospel according to the power
of God;
2 Timothy 1:9 Who hath saved us, and
called us with an holy calling, not according to our
works, but
according to his own purpose and grace, which
was given us in Christ
Jesus before the world
began,
Notice that Paul refers to
a
believer’s salvation as past tense. In other words, a
person who trusts
the finished cross work of Jesus Christ
is already saved, past tense,
and it is a done deal, not to
be undone. Your actions, nor your
attitude, can undo what
Christ did. He died for our sins.
2 Timothy 1:10 But is now
made
manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ,
who hath
abolished death, and hath brought life and
immortality to light through
the gospel:
2 Timothy 1:11 Whereunto I
am
appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of
the Gentiles.
The reason you cannot undo
your
salvation is because you didn’t do anything to gain it
in the first
place. You didn’t earn it, and you can’t lose
it. Paul says that
believers are sealed unto the day of
redemption. The seal of the Holy
Spirit CANNOT be
broken!
Ephesians 4:30 And grieve not the
holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day
of redemption.
People who teach that you can lose
your salvation invariably teach that you can also gain
your salvation
by some form of good works and invariably
they go outside body of
Christ church doctrine....outside
Romans through Philemon to prove it.
Galations 6:16 says:
(Gal 6:16 KJV) And as many as
walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and
mercy, and upon the
Israel of God.
The problem with many, if not most,
in religion today, is that they simply will not
believe that when God
says Israel He means Israel and when
he says the church He means the
church. Israel is not the
church and the church is not Israel. Those in
the Church,
the body of Christ, follow Paul's rule and "teach no
other
doctrine" while the Israel of God, the church at
Jerusalem follows
Peter's rule.
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John is to
Israel. The books of Hebrews through Revelation are to
Israel. But
Romans through Philemon is written to God's
heavenly people, the church
the body of Christ. All of the
bible is FOR US but not all of the bible
is UNTO US.
"Approve things that are excellent," Paul says
in
Phillipians:
Philippians 1:9 And this I pray, that
your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge
and in all judgment;
Philippians 1:10 That ye may approve
things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere
and without offence
till the day of Christ.
I Corinthians is clear that ONCE
SAVED ALWAYS SAVED. A believer cannot lose his
salvation because of the
finished work of the cross. It is
possible to lose a reward for your
work for the Lord, but
you will never lose your salvation. Look at the
outcome
here, of the Judgment Seat of Christ:
(1 Cor 3:11 KJV) For other
foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is
Jesus Christ.
In other words, the foundation is the
truth of the gospel of Christ. That Christ died for our
sins, 1
Corinthians 15, verse three, and that he was raised
again for our
justification, Romans 4:25.
(1 Cor 3:12 KJV) Now if any man
build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious
stones, wood, hay,
stubble;
(1 Cor 3:13 KJV) Every man's
work shall be made manifest: for the day shall
declare it, because it
shall be revealed by fire; and the
fire shall try every man's work of
what sort it
is.
(1 Cor 3:14 KJV) If any man's
work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall
receive a reward.
(1 Cor 3:15 KJV) If any man's
work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he
himself shall be
saved; yet so as by fire.
So by this we are to understand that
we are complete in Christ. Our works will be tried at
the judgment seat
of Christ, but we, ourselves are already
saved:
Colossians 2:10 And ye are complete
in him, which is the head of all principality and
power:
Many in religion don’t believe their
bibles. Many follow the traditions of men. People who
believe their
bible instead of men, instead of the leaders
of the denominational
religious system are prone to be put
down, belittled and ridiculed by
religious men. Paul warns
Timothy that those who would live Godly in
Christ Jesus
WILL SUFFER PERSECUTION.
2 Timothy 3:12 Yea, and all that will
live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer
persecution.
2 Timothy 3:13 But evil men
and
seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and
being deceived.
Now look at Paul’s advice to Timothy
in the next verse:
2 Timothy 3:14 But continue thou in
the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured
of, knowing of
whom thou hast learned them;
The things which thou hast learned.
Who did Timothy learn from? From Paul. In all
likelihood Timothy never
heard Peter or read anything that
Peter wrote. And it was Paul who
received the revelation of
the mystery and it was Paul who taught it
to
Timothy:
Galatians 1:11 But I certify you,
brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is
not after man.
Galatians 1:12 For I neither received
it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the
revelation of Jesus
Christ.
Now religion doesn’t like that idea,
and they go to almost any length to make Paul, the
apostle of the
Gentiles, an also ran, secondary to Peter.
They exalt Peter and
belittle Paul, in spite of the fact
that Peter only preached to one
Gentile in the bible and
Peter never, not once, claimed to be a teacher
of the
Gentiles. Paul says those who WILL live Godly in Christ Jesus
will suffer persecution. And guess where the
persecution mainly comes
from: From men professing
Godliness. From men having a form of
Godliness, but denying
the power thereof. And what is the power of God
unto
salvation?
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of
the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto
salvation to
every one that believeth; to the Jew first,
and also to the Greek.
Romans 1:17 For therein is
the
righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as
it is written,
The just shall live by faith.
So people who trust in Christ alone,
can expect persecution from religion. But the good
news is, if we
suffer for him, if we are instant in season
or out, if we teach no
other doctrine, if we endure sound
doctrine, if we endure hardness like
a good soldier then we
will reign with Him. Your reigning with Christ
depends on
your SUFFERING FOR HIM in holding to the truth of
the
gospel.
(2 Tim 2:10 KJV) Therefore I
endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may
also obtain the
salvation which is in Christ Jesus with
eternal glory.
(2 Tim 2:11 KJV) It is
a
faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall
also live with
him:
(2 Tim 2:12 KJV) If we suffer,
we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he
also will deny us:
(2 Tim 2:13 KJV) If we believe
not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny
himself.
Paul is saying that if we believe the
gospel, that Christ died for our sins, all of our sins,
then God has
put the death of Christ to our account, he
counts it as OUR DEATH. But
Christ is not still dead. He
was raised from the dead. Paul says in
Romans that he was
delivered for our offenses and was raised again for
out
justification. He is alive and we shall ALSO LIVE WITH HIM. Period.
Done deal. It will happen.
Now if we fail to stand for the truth
of the gospel, If we fail to study to show ourselves
approved unto God,
if we start letting ourselves get tossed
about by the wind of doctrine
and the deceit of evil
men....if after having done all...we fail to
STAND....stand
for giving the glory to God....instead of some man, or
to
our own performance....HE WILL DENY US THE PRIVELEGE OF REIGNING
WITH HIM.
If you are saved by grace through
faith in the finished work of Christ alone, even if
you begin to doubt,
even if you are confused, even if you
get to the point that you get so
messed up you don’t know
what you believe, HE ABIDETH FAITHFUL. He
CANNOT deny
himself. We are his body. He cannot deny his body that
he
died to save. Paul says:
(2 Tim 2:19 KJV) Nevertheless
the foundation of God standeth sure, having
this seal, The Lord knoweth
them that are his. And, Let
every one that nameth the name of Christ
depart from
iniquity.
Paul laid the foundation and it is
sure and sealed! Iniquity in every case you want to look
up in the
bible....is always false religion!
If you don't know the Lord Jesus
Christ as your personal Saviour, or if you are not
totally sure of your
salvation and your eternal security in
Christ, it is our prayer that
you might read something in
the next few minutes that will convict you,
that is,
convince you that you need a Saviour. That you need to trust
in the finished work of Christ alone for
salvation.
If you are already saved, then it is
our hope that you might read something that will
build you up in
your faith and help to establish you in the
truth of the gospel. What
you need to understand is that
your salvation is based totally and
completely upon the
finished word of Christ at Calvary for you.
Your salvation is not based, in any
way, on what you can do, or could do, or are going to
do, for the Lord
in order to find favor with God. Nor is
your eternal security based, in
any way, on what you "do
for the Lord" after you are saved. For your
salvation, God
does not "require" a sacrifice from you. But, miracle
of
all miracles, instead of God asking you to bring Him a
sacrifice...God,
instead, brought you a sacrifice....the
Lord Jesus Christ, who died for
your sins. The bible says
that God was in Christ:
2 Corinthians 5:19 To wit, that God
was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not
imputing their
trespasses unto them; and hath committed
unto us the word of
reconciliation.
So, the point is, that your sins are
already paid for.
2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made
him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might
be made the
righteousness of God in him.
God is not going to "reckon"
or
"impute" your sins to you, because nearly 2,000 years
ago, He
"reckoned" them to Christ, and the bible says, "God
made Him to be sin
for us. So, what's the problem then? You
need Jesus Christ as your
Saviour. One day, you are going
to have to answer to God for what you
believe. What you
believe....about Christ. Are you trusting Christ? Is
Jesus
Christ your Saviour? Do you have a Saviour? Romans 10:9 says:
Romans 10: 9 That if thou
shalt
confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt
believe in thine heart
that God hath raised him from the
dead, thou shalt be saved.
Then, if you believe that
Jesus
Christ died for your sins, you believe that He died
for all of them.
That is, when Jesus Christ died, in A.D.
33, your sins were in the
future. In other words, Christ
died in A.D. 33, and you were not even
born until this past
century. So your life, and all of your sins, were
all in
the future when Christ died. He died then....and you are living
now.
If Christ died for your sins, then he
died for all of them. To believe that Christ died for
your sins...up to
the day that you believed in Him, the day
you were saved, and then
believe that from then on you must
live without sins....or else repent
and confess daily in
order to stay saved.....is not the salvation that
is given
through the Apostle Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles.
To believe the truth of 1 John 1:9:
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.
Is to NOT BELIEVE the completeness of
your salvation in Collosians 2:13, that God has forgiven
us all
trespasses:
Colossians 2:13 And you, being dead
in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh,
hath he quickened
together with him, having forgiven you
all trespasses;
or Ephesians 4:32 that God
has
forgiven us:
Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to
another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as
God for Christ's
sake hath forgiven you.
or Romans 5:11 that you have already
received the atonement:
Romans 5:10 For if, when we were
enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his
Son, much more,
being reconciled, we shall be saved by his
life.
Romans 5:11 And not only so, but we
also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom
we have now
received the atonement.
You see, 1 John 1:9 speaks about the
same future salvation for Israel that Peter preached in
the book of
Acts. It is a future day of atonement for the
nation Israel. Their sins
will be blotted out at the second
coming of Christ, according to Peter
and John. But Paul
says, in our case, we look back to the cross, trust
in
Christ, and have now received, already, what the nation Israel will
received when “all Israel shall be saved, as it is
written” at the
second coming.
The problem with religion today, for
the most part, is that they fail to see that in
Matthew, Mark, Luke and
John, and in Peter’s preaching in
the book of Acts, salvation for
Israel was yet future.
Peter did not have the revelation of the mystery
that was
later revealed to Paul. Peter, James and John, look forward to
atonement, a national day of atonement for Israel, at
the second coming
of Christ. But that’s not the case for
us. We already HAVE the
atonement. To NOT believe that your
salvation is finished and complete
in the finished work of
Christ is to refuse to "rightly divide the word
of truth"
as in 2 Timothy. Paul says:
2 Timothy 2:14 Of these things
put them in remembrance, charging them before the
Lord that they strive
not about words to no profit, but to
the subverting of the hearers.
Many people get subverted by fair
sounding words of religious men who know nothing at
all of the truth of
this verse:
2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself
approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be
ashamed, rightly
dividing the word of truth.
Now by comparing spiritual things
with spiritual, as in 1 Corinthians 2:13, comparing
scripture with
scripture, we know that the word of truth is
a reference to the gospel.
Paul refers to the word of truth
in Ephesians 1:13 as “the gospel of
your salvation,” and he
says that once those Ephesians heard it and
believed it
they were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is
the earnest of our inheritance, our inheritance in
Christ, unto the day
of redemption. The day of redemption
is a reference to the catching out
of the body of Christ.
We call it the Rapture.
To not trust completely in the cross
of Christ alone for salvation is to fail to see the
difference between
prophecy and mystery. The difference
between the things spoken by the
mouth of all the holy
prophets (to Israel) since the world began, as in
Peter’s
ministry in the book of Acts, and the gospel which was revealed
to the Apostle Paul who preached, "according to my
gospel, and the
preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the
revelation of the mystery
which was (not spoken by anybody
before, but was) kept secret since the
world began," as in
Romans 16:25. The things God spoke, through
Israel’s
prophets since the world began, are obviously NOT the things
which God kept secret since the world began, until
he revealed them to
Paul. You see, the message that Paul
delivered to you was that Christ
died for ALL YOUR
SINS:
1 Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered
unto you first of all that which I also received,
how that Christ died
for our sins according to the
scriptures;
1 Corinthians 15:4 And that he was
buried, and that he rose again the third day according
to the
scriptures:
And Paul says, in Romans 4:25 that
when Christ was raised, he was raised for our
justification.
Romans 4:25 Who was delivered for our
offences, and was raised again for our
justification.
Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified
by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ:
Look at what Paul told Timothy:
2 Timothy 2:7 Consider what I say;
and the Lord give thee understanding in all
things.
2 Timothy 2:8 Remember that Jesus
Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead
according to my
gospel:
According to Paul’s gospel, Christ
was raised for our justification, the living proof
that God has
forgiven us ALL trespasses. That’s just what
the bible says in
Collosians:
Colossians 2:13 And you, being dead
in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh,
hath he quickened
together with him, having forgiven you
all trespasses;
So to believe in Jesus Christ as your
Saviour is to believe that all your sins are PAID
FOR....and that God
will never call you into judgment for
your sins ever again. Why? He
called Jesus Christ into
judgment for your sins. He placed your sins
upon Christ.
The bible says "God made Him (Jesus Christ) to be sin
for
us." Therefore God found Jesus Christ guilty of your
sins.
God condemned Jesus Christ for your
sins. Poured out His wrath upon Him. Satisfied his
wrath against you by
pouring it out on Christ. So what do
you do? You receive Christ as your
Saviour. You believe on
Him, not just in Him, you believe on Him as
your Saviour.
You accept Him as your Saviour. You believe the record
that
God gave through Paul, that Christ was judged for you, that Christ
PAID FOR your sins. The wages of sin is death...and
Christ died,
according to 1 Corinthians 15, verse 3, FOR
OUR SINS. The payoff for
sin is death. That is to say, the
wages of sin is death
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is
death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus
Christ our
Lord.
Now a gift is not a gift if you are
required to work for it. Many of us say that we give
“Christmas gifts,”
when many times they are “Christmas
requirements.” God doesn’t require
a gift from you. God
doesn’t require anything from you. Instead he GAVE
eternal
life….in Jesus Christ.
Romans 3:24 Being justified freely by
his grace through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus:
Now if God has already judged Christ
for your sins...and He received YOUR WAGES then God
is not going to
judge your sins in you. That would be
receiving double wages. Christ
paid the wages, by
dying...you need Him as your Saviour. Confess Him as
your
Lord and Saviour, believing that your sins are paid for. Trust the
Lord for your salvation...not yourself, not religion,
not your water
baptism, not your church membership, not the
fact that you quit some
bad habits and started some good
ones, or that you promised God this,
that or the other.
Simply trust in the record that God gave of His Son.
Trust
Jesus Christ as your Saviour.
If you believe, like I believe, that
the King James Bible is the Word of God in English for
English-speaking
people, then you must believe that God
called Paul to be the apostle of
the Gentiles. The bible
says so in many places. Look at what the Lord
said about
the man he sent:
John 13:20 Verily, verily, I say unto
you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me;
and he that
receiveth me receiveth him that sent
me.
Make no mistake about it, the Lord
Jesus Christ SENT Paul to the Gentiles. Listen to
Paul’s account of his
encounter with the Lord on the road
to Damascus:
Acts 26:15 And I said, Who art thou,
Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou
persecutest.
Acts 26:16 But rise, and stand upon
thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this
purpose, to make thee
a minister and a witness both of
these things which thou hast seen, and
of those things in
the which I will appear unto thee;
Acts 26:17 Delivering thee from the
people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send
thee,
Anyone who corrupts the gospel given
to Paul is preaching "another gospel" as in
Galations:
Galatians 1:6 I marvel that ye are so
soon removed from him that called you into the grace of
Christ unto
another gospel:
You see, the gospel of the Kingdom
was preached in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The
same gospel was
preached by Peter in Acts chapter two, and
it had to be identified as
“another gospel” when the Lord,
from Heaven, revealed the gospel of
your salvation to
Paul.
Galatians 1:7 Which is not another;
but there be some that trouble you, and would
pervert the gospel of
Christ.
Galatians 1:8 But though we, or an
angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than
that which we
have preached unto you, let him be
accursed.
Galatians 1:9 As we said before, so
say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto
you than that
ye have received, let him be
accursed.
Anyone who corrupts Paul’s gospel is
to be accounted accursed. Anyone who adds religious
works to it, will
be called for a fool and thrown out of
the fight:
2 Timothy 2:5 And if a man
also
strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he
strive lawfully.
Men will be rejected by God for not
receiving the love of the truth
2 Thessalonians 2:10 And with all
deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish;
because they
received not the love of the truth, that they
might be saved.
In every debate which opposes the
eternal security of the believer, those who claim that
salvation can be
lost also preach that it can be gained by
works of righteousness, by
good works...and they always go
outside the body of truth committed to
Paul for the church
today....outside Romans through Philemon.
Paul said in Romans 2:16 that God
would judge the secrets of men, according to my
gospel:
Romans 2:14 For when the Gentiles,
which have not the law, do by nature the things
contained in the law,
these, having not the law, are a law
unto themselves:
Romans 2:15 Which shew the work of
the law written in their hearts, their conscience also
bearing witness,
and their thoughts the mean while accusing
or else excusing one
another;)
What was the “work of the law?” Well,
Paul says it was a schoolmaster, to bring those who
were under the law
in the past….to Christ. So, the Gentile,
who was never under the law,
of Moses, still has a
conscience. He still has the knowledge of good
and evil.
Even though you never had the law, you still have
a
conscience, and it convicts you or convinces you, of good
or evil.
Romans 2:16 In the day when God shall
judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to
my gospel.
Well, what is Paul’s gospel? It’s not
the gospel of the Kingdom preached in Matthew, Mark,
Luke and John. The
cross of Christ is simply not in view in
the preaching of the gospel of
the Kingdom in Matthew,
Mark, Luke and John. Look at what Peter said
when Lord told
him he was going to be crucified, buried and raised
from
the dead:
Matthew 16:22 Then Peter took him,
and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee,
Lord: this shall
not be unto thee.
Now you need to understand that the
time of Matthew 16 is just a short time before the
cross. In other
words, Peter and the twelve had been going
about for over three years,
preaching the gospel of the
Kingdom, healing the sick, raising the
dead, cleansing
lepers and casting out devils…but DID NOT KNOW about
the
cross of Christ. Religion doesn’t believe this. They don’t know
this and they refuse to believe it. People have been
taught to “follow
the Lord” as in his earthly ministry. In
the red letters of Matthew,
Mark, Luke and John. And the
fact is, NOBODY, Peter, James and
John…..NOBODY knew about
the cross, and the cross, as we know, is
CENTRAL to your
salvation. In Luke 18, the Lord takes the twelve and
tells
them he is going to be crucified, buried and raised from the
dead. Look what the bible says:
Luke 18:34 And they understood none
of these things: and this saying was hid from them,
neither knew they
the things which were spoken.
So what is Paul’s gospel? He said in
Romans 16:25 that his gospel was the revelation of the
mystery:
Romans 16:25 Now to him that is of
power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the
preaching of
Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of
the mystery, which was
kept secret since the world
began,
The mystery, in other words, THE WHY
of the cross of Christ. My gospel. Paul’s gospel. The
fact that Christ
DIED for our sins and that he was RAISED
for our justification.
Paul told Timothy in I Timothy 1:3 to
"charge some that they teach no other
doctrine."
1 Timothy 1:3 As I besought thee to
abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that
thou mightest
charge some that they teach no other
doctrine,
1 Timothy 1:4 Neither give heed to
fables and endless genealogies, which minister
questions, rather than
godly edifying which is in faith: so
do.
1 Timothy 1:5 Now the end of the
commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a
good conscience,
and of faith unfeigned:
He said, in 2 Timothy:
2 Timothy 1:11 Whereunto I
am
appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of
the Gentiles.
2 Timothy 1:12 For the which cause I
also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed:
for I know
whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he
is able to keep that
which I have committed unto him
against that day.
Paul committed his salvation to the
Lord. He said he was persuaded that HE, the Lord, was
able to keep it.
What about you?
2 Timothy 1:13 Hold fast the form of
sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and
love which is in
Christ Jesus.
In 2 Timothy he said to "commit these
things to faithful men."
2 Timothy 2:1 Thou therefore, my son,
be strong in the grace that is in Christ
Jesus.
2 Timothy 2:2 And the things that
thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same
commit thou to
faithful men, who shall be able to teach
others also.
The gospel of the grace of God is
just that. It's about grace....not religion. It's about
salvation
without religious works of any kind: repentance,
water baptism, keeping
the law, the Lord's Supper, or any
other kind of human effort, through
faith in what Jesus
Christ did for us instead of what we are doing for
Him. The
salvation message that Paul preached is this:
Titus 3: 5 Not by works
of
righteousness which we have done, but according to his
mercy he saved
us, by the washing of regeneration, and
renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Paul is saying that Christ died for
our sins, being made to be sin for us, and he was
buried, and three
days and three nights later by the power
of God He was regenerated and
renewed and rose from the
dead, and he rose for our justification. Paul
says
salvation is by grace:
Romans 11: 6 And if by grace, then is
it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace.
But if it be of
works, then it is no more grace: otherwise
work is no more work.
In other words, in time past, faith
PLUS works of faith were required by God for
salvation. Paul says not
now. It is NO MORE of works. Think
about this: If a man did work for
somebody then the person
he worked for would be in debt to him for the
work he had
done. That’s not the case with your salvation today:
Romans 4:4 Now to him that worketh is
the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
Romans 4: 5 But to him that worketh
not, but believeth on him that justifieth the
ungodly, his faith is
counted for righteousness.
Religious men claim to be keeping the
law in order to find or to keep salvation. What does
God’s word say
about that?
Romans 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of
the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight:
for by the law
is the knowledge of sin.
God gave his law to show men what
righteousness really is. It is God’s standard of
perfection. It is a
sad mistake for a man to boast that his
righteousness is in the law.
Galatians 2: 16 Knowing that a man is
not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith
of Jesus
Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ,
that we might be
justified by the faith of Christ, and not
by the works of the law: for
by the works of the law shall
no flesh be justified.
So consistently over and over the
message is one of grace alone:
Ephesians 2: 8 For by grace are ye
saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is
the gift of God:
Ephesians 2: 9 Not of works, lest any
man should boast.
Any attempt to preach any form of
works of righteousness for salvation in this age, in the
dispensation
of the grace of God, is to pervert the gospel
of Christ and those who
do are to be accounted accursed.
Compare these verses in Galatians:
Galatians 1: 7 Which is not another;
but there be some that trouble you, and would
pervert the gospel of
Christ.
Galatians 3: 10 For as many as are of
the works of the law are under the curse: for it is
written, Cursed is
every one that continueth not in all
things which are written in the
book of the law to do
them.
Galatians 5: 4 Christ is become of no
effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the
law; ye are
fallen from grace.
It is impossible to be saved by grace
through faith in what Christ did for you, while at
the same time
"working for your salvation."
Romans 11: 6 And if by grace, then is
it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace.
But if it be of
works, then it is no more grace: otherwise
work is no more work.
Now in Peter’s gospel of the Kingdom,
gospel of the circumcision, and before Paul was
saved and before the
revelation of the mystery was given to
Paul, Peter told Cornelious, the
Roman Centurion in Acts
Chapter Ten, that those who "feared God and
worked
righteousness" were accepted of Him.
Acts 10:35 But in every nation he
that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted
with him.
But Paul said something entirely
different to Titus:
Titus 3:4 But after that the kindness
and love of God our Saviour toward man
appeared,
Titus 3: 5 Not by works
of
righteousness which we have done, but according to his
mercy he saved
us, by the washing of regeneration, and
renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Anyone who says that those two verses
say the same thing....has a reading problem. You
cannot work
righteousness and not work righteousness at the
same time. Paul said,
in 2 Timothy 2:15 to "rightly divide
the word of truth," and he said in
Phillipians 1:10 to
"approve things that are excellent." Paul has the
salvation
message for you, today, not Peter. Peter preached the gospel
of the Kingdom. Peter did not know the WHY of the
cross of Christ. It
had not been revealed in Matthew, Mark,
Luke and John or in Acts
chapter two on the Day of
Pentecost. The why of the cross was revealed
to
Paul
2 Timothy 2:7 Consider what I say;
and the Lord give thee understanding in all
things.
2 Timothy 2:8 Remember that Jesus
Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead
according to my
gospel:
In this age, people are saved by
identification with Christ. To identify means "to prove
to be the same,
or to treat as one." 2 Corinthians 5:21
tells us that God made Christ
to be sin for us.
2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made
him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might
be made the
righteousness of God in him.
In other words, He was treated as one
with us and our sin on the cross. As a natural,
physical human being,
in Adam, we are identified with the
sin of Adam
Romans 5: 12 Wherefore, as by one man
sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so
death passed upon
all men, for that all have
sinned:
In other words, by one act of one
man, the act of disobedience, we are all sinners. We
are born in sin.
We have a sin nature. We didn’t have any
choice in the matter. By
Adam’s sin, we all have the nature
of Adam, we are all sinners.
But "In Christ" we are identified
with the death of Christ. People die because of
Adam's sin. Believers
live because of Christ's death for
sin. The word "for" in Romans 5:6, 7
and 8, means "in
behalf of," or we might say "instead of." Christ
died
instead of the ungodly, and Christ died instead of
us.
Romans 5:6 For when we were
yet
without strength, in due time Christ died for the
ungodly.
Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his
love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us.
Romans 5:10 For if, when we were
enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his
Son, much more,
being reconciled, we shall be saved by his
life.
On the Cross our sin was laid on
Christ and he was judged as a sinner in our behalf. God
identified him
with us and our sin. Now, those who believe
the gospel are identified
in Christ, in death, on the
cross. God identified us as dying with
Christ, being buried
with Christ and raised with Christ. That's what
the word
baptism means, identification. As in:
1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit
are we all baptized into one body, whether we be
Jews or Gentiles,
whether we be bond or free; and have been
all made to drink into one
Spirit.
That's a spiritual baptism that takes
place the instant you trust Christ as your Saviour.
It is the seal of
God's Holy Spirit which identifies you
with everything Christ has done
for you and puts it to your
account.
Colossians 2:10 And ye are complete
in him, which is the head of all principality and
power:
Colossians 2:11 In whom also ye are
circumcised with the circumcision made without hands,
in putting off
the body of the sins of the flesh by the
circumcision of Christ:
Colossians 2:12 Buried with him in
baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the
faith of the
operation of God, who hath raised him from the
dead.
This is a believers IDENTITY
in
Christ. God has identified Christ with you and your
sins. It’s up to
you to identify yourself with Christ as
YOUR Saviour. Once you do that
seal of the Holy Spirit of
promise takes place and you belong to the
Lord. There can
be no charge made against us who believe the
gospel,
according to Romans, because all of our sins were
charged to Christ and
he died for them.
Romans 8:33 Who shall lay any thing
to the charge of God's elect? It is God that
justifieth.
Romans 8:34 Who is he
that
condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that
is risen again,
who is even at the right hand of God, who
also maketh intercession for
us.
Not only that, the law, which is
against us and contrary to us, was also taken out of the
way, and
nailed to the cross:
Colossians 2:13 And you, being dead
in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh,
hath he quickened
together with him, having forgiven you
all trespasses;
Colossians 2:14 Blotting out the
handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which
was contrary to
us, and took it out of the way, nailing it
to his cross;
So a saved individual is "dead to
sin" according to Romans
Romans 6:2 God forbid. How shall we,
that are dead to sin, live any longer
therein?
Dead to sin is a POSITIONAL truth. In
other words it is not an experience issue. God RECKONS
it so. He counts
it so, to you, when you trust the Lord.
People who try to experience
salvation get goose bumps, but
do they really get saved? When the
experience goes away
what do they have left? In other words,
deliverance is not
salvation. Neither is salvation deliverance. Just
because
you overcome a bad habit or a sickness, it is not a sign of
salvation. As a matter of fact, there are NO SIGNS of
salvation. It is
a FAITH ALONE issue. You are either
trusting Christ alone for salvation
or you are not. The
bible says that in Christ we have been made free
from
sin:
Romans 6:22 But now being made free
from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your
fruit unto holiness,
and the end everlasting
life.
Service for God is something you can
ONLY do after you trust the Lord. If you are not
trusting the finished
cross work of the Lord Jesus Christ
and that alone for salvation, then
there is nothing you can
do for the Lord anyway. The bible says that
the plowing of
the wicked is sin. You are not even a “workman” as in
2
Timothy until you first trust the Lord. When you trust
the Lord you are
saved, sealed and eternally secure because
of the faith OF CHRIST. His
faith, his faithfulness, is
what got the job done. Not yours.
The Law is also taken out of the way
by the cross of Christ. So in Christ you are a new
creature, and Paul
tells us that we also should walk in
newness of life. God has finished
all the work required for
your salvation and that's the end of it. Walk
in it. Live
in it. Trust in it. Trust what God has done....not what you
can do for the Lord.
In Christ is the most
fantastic
reality in the universe. That phrase appears more
than 160 times in
your bible. In Christ you are righteous
BY HIS FAITH. Romans 3:22
Romans 3:22 Even the righteousness of
God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon
all them that
believe: for there is no
difference:
You are justified BY HIS FAITH.
Galations 2:16.
Galatians 2:16 Knowing that a man is
not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith
of Jesus
Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ,
that we might be
justified by the faith of Christ, and not
by the works of the law: for
by the works of the law shall
no flesh be justified.
And you have life BY HIS FAITH.
Galations 2:20
Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with
Christ: neverthless I live; yet not I, but Christ
liveth in me: and the
life which I now live in the flesh I
live by the faith of the Son of
God, who loved me, and gave
himself for me.
In Ephesians 1:13, those who trust
the Lord for salvation are sealed by the Holy Spirit.
The seal of God
cannot be broken. "The Lord knoweth them
that are his..."
Ephesians 1:12 That we should be to
the praise of his glory, who first trusted in
Christ.
Ephesians 1:13 In whom ye
also
trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the
gospel of your
salvation: in whom also after that ye
believed, ye were sealed with
that holy Spirit of
promise,
Ephesians 1:14 Which is the earnest
of our inheritance until the redemption of the
purchased possession,
unto the praise of his
glory.
Paul said that he was fully persuaded:
2 Timothy 1:12 For the which cause I
also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed:
for I know
whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he
is able to keep that
which I have committed unto him
against that day.
Paul had committed the keeping of his
soul to the Lord Jesus Christ. At the end of Paul’s
life, look at what
he said:
2 Timothy 4:8 Henceforth there is
laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord,
the righteous
judge, shall give me at that day: and not to
me only, but unto all them
also that love his
appearing.
I believe that what Paul could have
had in mind here is the appearing of Jesus Christ on
the road to
Damascus to give Paul the message of grace.
Those who believe Paul’s
message of salvation by grace
alone through faith alone, are the true
believers. They are
the ones who are members of HIS BODY, of his flesh
and of
his bones. Christ died to save his body, and he will not lose a
single member of it.
So the body of Christ began with a
sudden, unscheduled, unprophesied appearance of the Lord,
on the road
to Damascus in Acts chapter nine. The Lord
saved his worst enemy and
our pattern:
1 Timothy 1:15 This is
a
faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that
Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners; of whom I
am chief.
1 Timothy 1:16 Howbeit for this cause
I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might
shew forth all
longsuffering, for a pattern to them which
should hereafter believe on
him to life
everlasting.
The body of Christ began suddenly and
unexpectedly by the appearance of the Lord. Our bodily
redemption will
happen the same way. There will be another
sudden appearance of the
Lord in the air:
1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord
himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with
the voice of the
archangel, and with the trump of God: and
the dead in Christ shall rise
first:
1 Thessalonians 4:17 Then we which
are alive and remain shall be caught up together with
them in the
clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so
shall we ever be with the
Lord.
The Lord knoweth them that are his.
They are sealed with that holy Spirit of promise unto
the day of
redemption. That day that Paul talks about
there, is the catching out
of the church, which is his
body. So he says:
1 Thessalonians 4:18
Wherefore
comfort one another with these words.
We live in the dispensation of the
grace of God. God is dispensing grace in this age of
grace in which we
live. Salvation by grace is not salvation
by works and includes no
works of any kind but a simple
trusting in what Jesus Christ worked out
for you. God
didn’t leave anything to chance and he made sure there
was
nothing that could cause a believer to lose his
salvation.
Ephesians 2: 8 For by grace are ye
saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is
the gift of God:
Ephesians 2: 9 Not of works, lest any
man should boast.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are
his
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
which God hath
before ordained that we should walk in
them.
The billboards and bumper stickers
tell you to obey Acts 2:38. God says obey Acts
16:31!
Acts 16:31 And they said, Believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy
house.
So the bible says “trust in the Lord
with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own
understanding, but
acknowledge the Lord in all thy ways and
he will direct thy path.”