Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!
This simple message of the coming Kingdom of God and our need to repent is little heard today.
Humanity is not being warned of the coming judgment of God and the precious gift of salvation which can be accessed by believing in the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This simple message, in many respects, has been tainted, bloated and has all but disappeared from the airwaves and our consciousness since it was first preached by John the Baptist in the days before the declaration of Christ the messiah/saviour.
Furthermore, much of the simple teachings of our Lord to those who believe are not taught, and, in many cases, are being ignored, as He predicted they would be.
I came to know about the Lord’s precious gift of salvation from the Youth Christian Fellowship at my high school. I was in my mid-teens.
Prior to this, I knew about the existence of God and Jesus, but I never had anyone tell me about my need for salvation. In fact, I never really thought about it, before then.
Even though I mouthed the sinner’s prayer, at the time, I didn’t have a clear understanding of what I was doing.
Subsequently, though, without going into detail, I personally acknowledged my need to be saved.
I wasn’t frightened into this awareness by the threat of going to hell, but it was the Lord’s hand of conviction which rested heavily upon me which gave me the revelation of my need to be born again.
However, those early years were fraught with confusion and much ignorance.
The messengers were deceived; therefore, the message was corrupted.
Because of the mercy of the living Christ and His pre-ordained purpose for my life, my salvation became a two-fold gift of deliverance – one, from my own sins and, two, from the deceit-filled ignorance and teachings of today’s Christian churches.
For my answers, in the midst of my confusion and many questions, I turned to the Lord.
Firstly, when we say, as believers, we are saved. From the perspective of the scriptures, what are we saved from?
Undoubtedly, I would have answered, “I was saved from hell.” But is this scripturally accurate?
The scriptures says:
Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Rom 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
Rom 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.
Eph 5:5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Eph 5:6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
Col 3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Col 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
Col 3:3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
Col 3:4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
Col 3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
Col 3:6 For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
Col 3:7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.
Col 3:8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
Col 3:9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
Col 3:10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
The sum of the verses above, simply put, is the creator of heaven and earth has declared that all of mankind is sinful and shall be judged. However, to escape the wrath (judgement) of God, He sent His only son, Jesus Christ, to pay the eternal price for our sins.
By the grace of God and the revelation of the Holy Ghost, through the scriptures, I now understand what I was saved from and why I needed saving.
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In the beginning I didn’t have this understanding, and it caused me no small amount of suffering.
Many ‘churches’ today all espouse their version of the gospel message, and many times to the destruction of the hearers.
Thus the Lord said:
Luk_21:8 And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.
Mat_23:15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
Today, there are hundreds, if not, thousands of man-made churches.
We know from our Lord that not everyone who preaches/teaches in the name of Christ was sent by Him.
Mat_7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
2Co 11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
2Co 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
2Co 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.
2Pe 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
2Pe 2:2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
2Pe 2:3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
1Jn_4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
Given these warnings and declarations of false apostles, prophets and teachers it is evident not everyone who takes the name of Christ is a servant or disciple of the Lord.
If a person is a ‘member’ of an established ‘christian’ church, it is more than likely, they were baptized by one of the elders of the congregation. As a result of this, they become an affiliated member of whatever denomination performed the rite of baptism, rather than, what should be the fact, a member of the body of Christ.
Jesus Christ, through the apostle Paul, alluded to this same practice.
1Co 1:11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
1Co 1:12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
1Co 1:13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
1Co 1:14 I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;
1Co 1:15 Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.
As subtle as this blaspheme is, it is a common practice and deception among so-called ‘christian’ churches today.
Therefore, these questions follow, who can we believe and what does it really mean to be saved?
In my next post, I will share the simple truth of what it means to be born again.