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Why do we need salvation?

To understand why we need salvation we need to go back to the beginning when God created humans. He created Adam in His image and likeness and built Eve from his side1. Adam was given a commandment by God that he was not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In the day in which he ate of it the punishment would be death2. Not just physical death, but also spiritual death – dying you will die. Although Eve was thoroughly deceived and transgressed the law, Adam was not deceived and chose to disobey God. The result was spiritual separation from God and now he is subject to physical death. Did God setup Adam and Eve to fail? Absolutely not. He gave them all they needed to success. Satan deceived Eve into eating the fruit from the tree; however, Adam was not deceived at all and of his own free will chose to eat, knowing he was disobeying God3.

So what does this have to do with us and why we need […]

Why do we need salvation?2023-12-14T11:16:16-08:00

The One Abiding in Him

1 John 3:6 Every, the one abiding, in Him does not sin. Every, the one sinning, has not seen Him with discernment nor experientially knows Him.

We do not see the change in any of our English translations with the word “sin” in this passage. ‘Sin” is used twice, once as a verb, which describes an action and once as a participle which describes a characteristic. The KJV and NAS us the same word “sin” for both forms, which actually hides the meaning from the reader. The ESV attempts to distinguish the words from the NAS and KVJ, but ends up making the same mistake. The forms of the word “sin” are very important here. A participle is a verbal noun which uses an action to describe a person or characterize them as someone who does the action stated by the verbal portion. Its focus is not on the action of the verb directly. Whereas, a verb simply looks at the action.

We have two participles that are extremely important to our understanding of this passage. First is “the one abiding”. This is one who is characterized as feeling as ease in Him (Christ). Not just simply abiding for a small period of time, off and on, but not really feeling at ease; rather, one who has settled down and feels at ease with who he or she is in Christ. In the translation above I followed the Original Greek, which makes for a bit of hard English, but also helps to bring out the truth of the passage. “Every, the one abiding” (participle), is not referring directly to the action but to the characteristic of the individual who is abiding. “every” is added in the Greek […]

The One Abiding in Him2023-12-14T11:21:00-08:00

The Proper Use of the Old Testament

Two types of doctrine are found in Scripture that are revealed through two Greek words used for different types of teaching; doctrine that is to be learned and practiced and doctrine that is to be learned, but NOT practiced.

“All Scripture is God breathed and profitable towards teaching, towards conviction, towards correction, towards child training in the righteousness” , 2 Timothy 3:16.

“Teaching” refers to information to be learned but not practiced. Conviction, correction and child training in the righteousness relates to doctrine that is to be learned and practiced.

“And having various gracious gifts according to the grace, the one given to you, whether prophecy, according as the portion of the faith, whether the one serving, in serving or the one teaching, in teaching…” Romans 12:6, 7.

“… and He gave the Apostles, and the prophets, and the evangelists, and the pastors even teachers…” Ephesians 4:11.

The “Pastor” and the “Teacher” in the Ephesians passage are the same person. It is the primary responsibility of the Pastor as the shepherd to teach doctrine that is to be learned and practiced; however, he is also to properly handle Old Testament information by teaching it as information that is to be learned, but not practiced. In addition to the Pastor properly handling the Old Testament information, God has proved others with the Spiritual gift of teaching who properly teach the value of the Old Testament information without abusing it by seeking to make it doctrine to live by in this day and age (Romans 12:6,7). This is not restricting doctrine to be learned and practiced to only a Pastor being able to teach it, but the Pastor is the primary method by which this type […]

The Proper Use of the Old Testament2023-12-10T07:25:07-08:00

Defense Against Satan: The Armor from God

The Armor from God

The remaining, my brethren, be caused to be empowered in Christ and in the might of His strength. Clothe yourself with the full armor from God facing your ability to stand facing the methodologies of the slanderer. For our wrestling is not facing blood and flesh, but facing rulers, facing authorities, facing world powers of darkness of this age, facing the spiritually malignant evil in the heavens. Because of this, all of you take up the whole armor from God, in order that all of you should be enabled to stand in the malignantly evil day and having for yourself worked out all to stand. Therefore, all of you stand having girded your loins in truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having bound up the feet with the preparation of the Gospel of peace. Over all taking up the shield of the faith, by which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the malignantly evil one. And to receive the helmet of salvation, and the sword belonging to the Spirit, which is the individual utterances from God, through all communication of worship and supplication, communicating by worship at all times in the spirit and into this same watching with all persistence and supplication concerning all the saints… Ephesians 6:10-18.

The armor from God is a mental process that we go through when under attack from Satan to protect our minds from his methods, by which he seeks to keep our minds from thinking on the things above and influence our actions. Independence from God, Disappointment, Discouragement, Bitterness, Doubt, Spiritual Cowardice, Lying, Pride, An unforgiving spirit, Stealing, Corrupt communication, Busybody, and Gossip […]

Defense Against Satan: The Armor from God2017-09-04T07:27:48-07:00

1 Peter

1 Peter

Peter an Apostle belonging to Jesus Christ, to the elect strangers of the dispersion of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia dispersed according to the foreknowledge of God even the Father, by the sanctification of the Spirit because of obedience and the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Grace is to you and may possibly peace be multiplied.

The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is well-spoken of, who birthed us again according to His great mercy into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ out from the dead, into an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance, which is kept in the heaven for you, the ones who God’s natural ability is guarding through faith into a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time, in which you rejoice, since it is necessary for a little while to suffer in various trials, in order that the approval of your faith – more precious than gold even gold that has been approved by fire –  should be found unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen, you love, in whom now not seeing but you are believing, rejoicing with an inexpressible joy. And you will rejoice when you are in a state of having been glorified, having receiving the end of your faith; the salvation of the soul.

Concerning which salvation the prophets sought out and diligently searched, the ones who prophesied concerning the grace unto you, searching into what person or what time the Spirit from Christ by them declared, having before testified of the suffering unto Christ and the things concerning the glories to follow, to whom it was revealed that not to themselves but to us they were serving in these things now announced to you through those who declare the good news to you by the Holy Spirit, having been sent from heaven, into which angels desire to stoop to look.

Therefore, gird up the loins of your understanding (workings of your mind), being clear […]

1 Peter2018-11-09T13:59:53-08:00
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