Monday, December 19, 2022

Dying In Your Sins

Confess Your Sins

“Therefore I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am he you will die in your sins” (John 8:24).

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Brethren, the Lord Jesus says that Christians should not look to political leaders for solutions but we should look to Him for answers. The Lord said He commanded us instead to pray for our leaders (2 Timothy 2:2) and our Land (2 Chronicles 7:14) and NOT to look to leaders as if they are irreplaceable and that He (Lord Jesus) is the answer! 


It is unfortunate that there are many Christians who think that once saved always saved applies to the Lord. That is really not true at all! Even after we are saved and born-again, we still need to acknowledge our mistakes daily and confess them in order to ask the Lord for forgiveness (1 John 1:9). The apostle John did not write this epistle to the unsaved, he wrote it to Christians and this is in line with the Old Testament teaching. I’ll briefly explain below.

The Bible says sin is not imputed where there is no law (Romans 4:15) that is why the apostle Paul said when the law came into operation he died, meaning his sin was acknowledged and he was to be judged accordingly (Romans 7:9). Similarly, in the Old Testament especially before the giving of the Law there were no sacrifices to atone for sin and people perished without the law (Romans 2:12).

However, after the Law was given on Mount Sinai (Exodus 20:1-17), the Lord knowing that people are naturally sinners and that people will be guilty of sin before Him (Romans 3:10), He provided the Levitical priesthood system and put in place animal sacrifices to atone for sins so that God can forgive the sins of the people (Leviticus 4:3-35). When God established the Levitical priesthood to serve the Israelites by making atonement for their sins, He knew the people would repeat their sins and they would have to offer sacrifices and confess their sins in order to receive forgiveness (Leviticus 5:5).


Do Not Be Deceived By Once Saved Doctrine

Therefore, what makes the once-saved doctrine so dangerous is the fact that there is a general assumption that Christians are incapable of sinning after they are saved and we all know that is simply not true (Galatians 6:1). In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ whom I fear and who’s voice my family and I have heard warns that every brother or sister who is born-again if you sin purposely or unintentionally when you become aware of your offenses, please confess your sins to the Lord and ask for His forgiveness that is the Lord’s provision to help us in our weaknesses to get right with God (1 John 2:1-2). If we fail to make right and sin, and it happens that we die without making right we will die in our sins and go HELL (John 8:24; Revelations 21:8).

In conclusion, the vision we shared above serves as a warning to us and reminds us of the Lord’s holiness and uncompromising Word that states, “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness, no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14 NIV).

Again, we extend an invitation to those who are not saved yet to make right with God and receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, please start by praying this Prayer of Sincere Repentance. For any questions or comments on this article or our ministry, please contact us.


Blessed Peace
Brother Glenn

Monday, December 12, 2022

How Grace Saved Us From God's Wrath

“He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:9-10).

Important Note: Due to persistent power outages in our area which have left us without electricity for the whole day, we are unable to provide a refreshing article. We are pleading with you dear brethren to join us in praying for our Country, South Africa. 

Now, the Lord is warning those who do good that they should not think that such goodness can substitute for salvation, we know that no amount of human goodness can equal our eternal salvation through the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 17:10). However, goodness being a characteristic of God is a Christian virtue and when we do good as saved Christians we honor the Lord and serve as servants (Matthew 23:11) who will themselves be honored and served in God's kingdom.

According to Charis, when the Lord gave her this message for this article He sounded very pleased, and rightfully so; His coming was a great joy to the world and peace to mankind (Luke 2:10-14). This week’s message is at the heart of the gospel and our salvation. As it is, without grace we would all be under God’s Righteous Judgment. In the Bible we read, “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— not from works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9 HCSB). Nowadays, many people have falsely presented this message to show that since we are saved by grace, we don’t have to do anything. The general consensus today is that we should just be content with going to church and participating in the Lord’s Supper and other routine rituals in order to complete our salvation. This notion is dangerously false, as the Bible declares: “For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10 HCSB).

In other words, we were NOT saved on the merit of good works, but we are saved to do good works and to demonstrate our faith and obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ (James 2:26). A living faith bears testimony to the transforming work of Christ in us. In like manner, a father expects his son to obey him and the son’s obedience is interpreted as respect and submission to his father’s authority.

God’s Grace in Our Lives

Furthermore, although salvation is a gift of God’s grace and not a reward for our good works, that is not a reason for us to ignore good works. We are not free to live and sin as we'd like. God’s grace is not only the “unmerited favor” we receive, but it also WORKS IN OUR LIVES, giving us the inner strength and power to discipline ourselves and overcome the enemy’s schemes. That is to do good, to endure suffering, and to triumph over temptations (Romans 6:14-15; 2 Corinthians 12:9; 2 Timothy 2:1). God exercised His grace towards us before we were born; that same grace continues to be active in our lives, and the age to come (Galatians 1:15; Romans 5:2, 21; Ephesians 2:7; 1 Timothy 1:12-16).

Grace Brought Forgiveness

Any wrongdoing spoils a relationship, and forgiveness is absolutely necessary if a relationship is to be restored. While this is not an article on forgiveness, God granted us His forgiveness to show us His grace and to recognize our wrongdoing. Forgiveness was not a pretense that nothing happened. It meant God recognizing our wrongdoing for what it is, and then in love forgiving us, forgetting it, and restoring our relationship with Him (Hebrews 10:17-18; Psalm 103:12).

Man, being a sinner, has spoiled his relationship with God; we have fallen under God’s judgment. Therefore, man is in need of God’s forgiveness if we are to escape that judgment (Exodus 32:32; Romans 3:23-24). Only God alone can grant this forgiveness (Mark 2:7, 10; Acts 5:31), and sinful man is in no position to demand it of Him! This statement might sound strange, but no person who is a sinner has a right to forgiveness without repentance and faith (Nehemiah 9:17; Micah 7:18; Psalm 32:5; 51:17; Luke 7:36-50; 1 John 1:9). I must stress this: there is no mechanical way of gaining forgiveness, such as offering a sacrifice or reciting a formula. We are dependent entirely upon God’s mercy (Psalm 51:1-4; Colossians 2:13). In the provision of gifts in the Old Testament, God provided a way whereby a person could demonstrate his repentance, faith and obedience. Without such attitudes, a person benefited nothing from his sacrifices (Psalm 50:9; 13:14; 51:16-17; Isaiah 1:11, 16-20).

Therefore, the death of the animal in the place of the sinner also showed the sinner clearly that forgiveness of sin was possible only when the penalty of sin had justly been carried out. Forgiveness was costly, and without the shedding of blood, there was no forgiveness of sin (Hebrews 9:22; Leviticus 4:2-7). Christ’s death is the basis on which God forgives all sins, past – present and future (Matthew 26:28; Acts 13:38, Romans 3:24-26; Ephesians 1:7). Through the cross, God has forgiven our sins and removed it forever (Psalm 103:12; Isaiah 43:25; Colossians 2:13-14; Hebrews 8:12).

Reconciliation

Through our sins, we became God’s enemies. We were separated from God, came under the wrath of God, and were unable to enjoy fellowship with God (Romans 1:18; 8:7-8; Ephesians 2:3; Colossians 1:21). Therefore, man needs to be reconciled to God; that is, he needs to be brought back to God from a state of hostility to a state of peace. As we know, the only way that reconciliation can occur is through the removal of the cause of hostility.

Christ Jesus our Lord brought this reconciliation when He died on the CROSS; He bore man’s sins. God’s holy wrath against sin was satisfied, but only at a significant cost to Himself. God was in Christ, reconciling sinners to Himself. In His love, He accepts repentant sinners back to Himself (Romans 5:6-9; 2 Corinthians 5:18-19, 21). Reconciliation is God’s work, not man's. The fault is on man’s side, but the removal of hostility is the work of God (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).

In conclusion, having been saved by grace means sin no longer has power over us and we must show this to be true by the way we live (Romans 8:2; Galatians 3:13-14; Titus 2:14). We should not mistake the grace of God as an encouragement to sin willfully, or assume that once we've been saved we remain forever saved so we can keep on sinning; for sin results in death (Romans 6:1-2; Romans 6:23). We were bought at a price and we are now God’s servants in obedience and righteous living (Romans 6:16-18; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

WARNING

In a vision we received recently from the Lord involving a very prominent woman of God, this sister's work for the Lord was recognized, but she was also held accountable for the false things she proclaimed in the name of the LORD. The LORD is Holy and no amount of lies no matter how well intended should be used to speak in Jesus's name (see Lying in Jesus' Name article). When Charis asked if the person involved was in HELL, the Angel lifted up her shoulders and replied: "You may not know." This implied that the Angel was not allowed to speak on the person's fate.  

In our experience with the Lord, when we have sinned, He shows His displeasure with our sins by giving serious messages, meaning if He was to come or we died at that moment of sinning, it would result in us facing His wrath. This was revealed by the Lord Himself in the recent Rapture Vision - Saved by One Minute. Don't despise your salvation and take the work of the CROSS as cheap; it is our life and the gift of GOD to all who embrace His redemptive plan.

If you are not yet reconciled to God through being born again, here is a Prayer of Sincere Repentance to get you started. For any questions or comments on this article or our ministry, please contact us.

Grace, mercy, and love to you all,

Brother Glenn.

Monday, December 5, 2022

Don't Follow The Crowd In Wrong-Doing

 Siding With The Truth Only

“You must not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you are called to testify in a dispute, do not be swayed by the crowd to twist justice"(Exodus 23:2).

It is often so easy to fall into the wrong by simply believing what someone may have said or following some practice without having verified the truthfulness thereof (Acts 19:32). some time ago, a very good friend of mine related to me how he innocently followed a group of his friends in committing a serious crime. 

During the commission of the crime, he did not consider it a crime or serious enough that it could lead to imprisonment. Being 18 years at the time, the reality and severity of the crime only dawned on him when he was arrested. The brother recalled that when he stepped into prison, he felt that he lost his innocence and that every dream of being a good person and a responsible person has been taken away from him. What hurts him the most he said, although the crime was committed and initiated by his friends, he was the only one left in prison to face the consequences. Now for the few months, he spends in jail he realized that his 'innocent' decision to follow and participate in a crime unquestionably, almost led him to receive a criminal record which would have contributed to him leading a destructive life.

Furthermore, having been a non-believer when he was incarcerated, the brother was enticed to faith in God when he looked at the drawing of two white doves and the image of praying hands while in there. He could still vividly remember a dream from God about two strong bulls and two raindrops that fell beside him which he shared with one of his inmates who rightly gave him a correct interpretation that he was going to be released and discharged from prison and it happened that way. God used his faith to save his friends from prison as well (Genesis 40:13-23)

The Dangers Of Crowd Influences

Brethren, the story above is true in every respect. We need to realize that God is always judging us as individuals for our actions (Genesis 3:14-19), while we might be hiding behind the crowds to engage in evil behavior our participation will be judged by our intentions. It is easy to simply just agree to please others, remember when we know right from wrong we will be held accountable so think before you say something or decide to join in some activity or discussion, the Lord see the contribution of your intention(s) (1 Corinthians 4:5; Romans 2:16). As it was, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram took many 'innocent' souls with them when they rebelled against Moses and Aaron (Numbers 16:4-35). 

Similarly, when the Spies returned from spying out Canaan, only Joshua and Caleb gave a good report while 10 men sowed fear, discord, and rebellion which resulted in countless people losing out on entering the promised land while facing God's judgment in the desert (Numbers 13:26-33;14:1-45). It is therefore in the nature of evil men and women to sow divisions in a community or country to advance their own interests, but discerning and praying men and women of God should always be led by the common good of all which discourages any form of evil intent. 

In conclusion, let us guard against crowd influences and pray for discernment before we join in a discussion on social media or in some action. If our contribution is to impress or show off and so fanning the flames of hatred God will 'sift' our contribution out and accordingly retribute (Colossians 3:25). As Christians, we are called to pray and to provide Godly counsel to our leaders and fellow men in society (Jeremiah 38:14-23; Acts 27:21-26). Let us act with sober judgment in our decisions, salvation is precious!


Blessed Grace

Brother Glenn