When it comes to matters of life, faith, and culture, we must think as God thinks. We must persuade our hearts and minds of His ways and adjust accordingly, rather than bend His Word and ways to conform to modern thought and culture.
God’s ways of life are never out of date. God’s ways are righteous and He leads us along the path of righteousness, in all that we do. Our faith is not separate from culture. In fact, our faith should shape culture.
What is righteousness?
Is Jesus God? YES!!
Was Jesus God before he came to earth? YES!!
Was Jesus God while he was a man? Let’s explore that idea. I don’t want to make you nervous, so the short answer is YES, but there are some things to understand about his form while in a human body.
1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
It’s safe to say that if you don’t believe that Jesus came in the flesh you are deceived by the spirit of anti-christ. So what does “in the flesh mean?” It doesn’t just mean that he was real, it’s referring to the kind of being he was. Let’s look at several passages that address this topic.
Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.
— 1 John 3:21-22
The key to pleasing God is, keeping His commandments. If you keep His commandments, your heart will be confident before Him, and you will receive whatever you ask. What a powerful promise! It’s almost unbelievable, but that’s exactly what John said.
It begs the question, what are the commandments you’re supposed keep? He gives us the answer in the next verse.
Can you lose your salvation if you sin? It's an age-old question that has sparked debate, split churches, and sent people into mental health facilities. We know that we're saved by grace through faith and not by works, but some seem to think you might lose your salvation by works. Or they at least want you to believe you are not truly saved if you sin.
For the record, sin is bad. Sin sows death into your life, it hardens your heart to God, it destroys marriages, erodes culture, and the list goes on. Don't sin! But if you do sin as a Christian, don’t forget you’re forgiven.
What does it mean if you sin as a Christian? Does it mean you have never met God? Or does it mean you are not presently experiencing Him?
Let's remind ourselves of a few key points already addressed in 1 John to make sure we understand John's thoughts on salvation and forgiveness.
My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. 1 John 2:1-2 NKJV
John gets to the point, don’t sin, but if you do, remember that Jesus was judged and punished for your sin. He implies that God will never judge you or punish you for sin, because Jesus was your sufficient sin offering. It’s a binding, legal transaction that God honors.
Does that make you want to sin? I hope not. That would be unwise and dishonoring of the salvation Jesus died for you to receive.
There’s more going on here than just a reminder that you’re forgiven in Jesus. Looking at these passages in legal terms, and in the setting of a courtroom bring out the deeper meaning.
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.
— 1 John 1:7
God calls us to walk in the light. Do you know how to do that? What if you don't walk in the light, do you lose your salvation? The answer is straightforward when you let the Bible speak for itself. John clarifies "walking in the light" a little later in his letter.
1 John 2:9 He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. 10 He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11 But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
A casual reading of 1 John may leave thinking that walking in the light is staying out of sin, and walking in darkness is sinning. But when you read the whole letter, you see that the author defines his own terms. 1 John does directly address sin, but that's a different issue than walking in the light/love.
The devil and demonic forces have been stripped of any and all authority by Jesus Christ. Any place the enemy seeks to exercise influence is an affront against the authority of Christ and, in fact, illegal. The spiritual enemies of God and man have no right to exercise authority over humankind.
However, some humans are deceived and participate in the strategies of the enemy. The places where mankind is in agreement with Luciferian and satanic doctrines are marked by their control over mankind and the destruction that follows. A stronghold becomes established.
But a stronghold influenced by spiritual dark forces is not the presence and power of the lying spirit itself, it's mankind's mindset as a result of that influence.
To say it clearly, a stronghold is a mindset.
We are living in volatile and uncertain times. There are all sorts of voices and influences fighting for our attention. In some cases, we’re not even sure what to believe.
Regarding COVID-19, I read that it isn’t mutating, then I read another article that says it is. Some say once isolated to test for vaccines, the virus dies quicker than they can test it, others say it lasts longer than usual. Our own health care officials say the church is dangerous but it’s unclear if the virus is spreading due to protests. One thing we know for sure is that God’s promises are sure, let’s stand on those.
But since we can’t really trust the majority of news sources, we must listen to another source. I’m not pushing a conspiracy theory as much as I’m addressing the 24-hour news cycle. News outlets are forced to squeeze every drop out of a story. Often times they release stories before they know all the facts. This is a problem.
That leaves us with one option that will not give us fake news, the spirit of God. If I could teach you to do one thing and one thing only, it would be to hear and follow God. But how do you do that?
Christ is the seed. He is the fulfillment of the promise that through Abraham, all the families of the earth will be blessed. Christ offers deliverance from sin and death as well as eternal life for all who trust in his finished work.
It’s pretty simple to understand that Christ is the seed that blesses all nations, but you are actually included in part of that fulfillment as well. The Body of Christ in the earth, blessing all nations is the residual effect of Christ being planted in the earth.
Christ continues to bless the nations of the world through his spirit AND his body. YOU!!!
Not only do you enjoy the blessings -
Your thoughts about yourself and inner self-talk have the power to produce life or death. Think about it. What happens when you’re feeling sorry for yourself or you spend time beating yourself up in your mind? How does it feel? How do those kinds of thoughts influence your inner state and your choices? Same question about your words. You are nurturing yourself or killing yourself. You are planting seeds of life or death.
