Weekly Bible Study – January 1, 2018

The Doctrine of the Royal Family Honor Code and how it relates
to putting on the Breastplate of Righteousness for the Christian soldier.

Scripture References, Word & Phrase descriptions: the “Logos Reftagger” scripture links are hover pop-up active, meaning the scripture reference will just pop-up if you hover your cursor over it (don’t click on the link, just hover your cursor over it), when finished reading, hover your cursor off the scripture reference link. If the Reftagger pop-up doesn’t show all the verses, left click on the “More” button in the Reftagger pop-up window and it will take you to the online bible. If RefTagger pop-ups don’t work on your computer, that’s OK, try left clicking the link if it’s highlighted which should open a window with all the verses at the Biblia.com website; or if that doesn’t work, you can always use your Bible to look up the verses. Word or Phrase definition links may not have a website that opens. If you are running PCMatic, the pop-ups may not work; if that’s the case, email PC Matic Support to see if they can fix that problem for you.

Prepare yourself for learning the Word of God!

Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is; you have believed [trusted] in Him for His promised gift of eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to learn God's Word so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge (confess) your sins privately to God (i.e.; with your thoughts directed only to God the Father).

1 John 1:9 says: "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins (known sins) and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [unknown or forgotten sins]." NKJV (New King James Version) [italics added]; we call this REBOUND, read the full doctrine as to “why” we need to use 1 John 1:9 to grow spiritually. REBOUND

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, that He is the Son of God, the promised Messiah, as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins; the issue for you is to simply exercise faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life; when you do, you will instantly receive Eternal Life: John 3:16, 5:24, 6:47, 20:30, 31.

John 6:47 says: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life." NKJV [italics added]

Notice again what Jesus said in John 6:47: "…he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." It doesn't say, "will have"; it says, "has." Therefore, the very moment you believe in Jesus Christ for His promise of everlasting life, you have it (it's really just that simple; nothing more and nothing less), and it can never be taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift (Ephesians 2:8c) of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-15, 16, 17, 18, says: "¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ¹⁸ He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for worship and learning God's Word. If there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Study to show yourself approved to God!

Grace Bible Church
Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Doctrinal Statement

The Tree of Life is a weekly teaching summary:
God’s Word is taught Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday

Alphabetical Listing of Terms & Abbreviations used:

STUDY TITLE:

The Doctrine of the Royal Family Honor Code and how it relates to putting on the Breastplate of Righteousness for the Christian soldier.

Point 1 was our Definition and Description.

We begin with the fact that the apostle Paul says in 2Co 3:1, Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some letters of commendation to you or from you? You are our letter, which means their life had been changed by the doctrine the apostle Paul, and men like Timothy, Titus, and Apollos had taught them, then Paul goes on to say that they were known and read by all men;

This refers to the fact that the recipients of the teaching of the Word of God must not only apply this truth, but communicate it in terms of their lives and their relationship to others.

2Co 3:3, Being manifested [or it’s being revealed] that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink,[you’re not a letter or book which we wrote with ink] but [you have been written] with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone [a reference to the Mosaic Law which was written on stone], but you are our letter written on tablets of human hearts or human right lobes.

The phrase cared for is the aor-pass-part of diakoneo which means to be ministered to through doctrine or through the communication of the word of God. It means to be penned, to be written, to be prepared. It does not mean to hold someone’s hand, or to pat them on the head and tell them nice things which are usually not even true. This means to prepare your students for life through the communication of the Word of God or Bible doctrine.

As a part of the Royal Family honor code and putting on the breastplate of righteousness, the recipients of Bible doctrine must not only apply the truth that comes from the word of God being taught, but also communicate it in terms of their lives in relationship to others. Therefore as members of the Royal Family we are to live like Gal 6:1-2 says, Brethren, even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted. [so that we can] Bear one another’s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ.


1Jo 2:8-11, On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. The one who says he is in the light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. The one who loves his brother abides in the light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Then in 1Jo 3:14-18 we read, We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. We know love by this that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world’s goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.

As a part of the Royal Family honor code and putting on the breastplate of righteousness, the recipients of Bible doctrine must not only apply the truth that comes from the word of God being taught, but also communicate it in terms of their lives in relationship to others. However, make sure you understand, that this does not mean to change your personality to fit and conform yourself to what others desire you to be.

When the apostle Paul said in 2Co 3:3, Being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, he was saying that as a part of the Royal Family honor code and putting on the breastplate of righteousness, the recipients of Bible doctrine must not only apply the truth that comes from the word of God being taught, but also communicate it in terms of their lives in relationship to others. It means that you be who you are because you realize that you are the reflection of the grace of God, and in 1Co 15:10, But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.

Therefore, the Royal Family honor code centers around those two words again: Truth and Integrity, with integrity being defined as devotion to spiritual, moral, and ethical principles related to truth and honesty. Hence, the royal family honor code or putting on the breastplate of righteousness relates to both the PPOG as well as every function in relationship to people.

Remember Matt 25:40 where our Lord said, “Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, {even} the least {of them,} you did it to Me.”

Acts 9:4-5, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who art Thou, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting,”

A very simply principle emerges: gossip, maligning, slandering others is a violation of the Royal Family honor code. Not just against the brethren, but against all members of the human race whether believers or unbelievers. This is why Tit 3:2, Speak evil of no man, do not be argumentative, gentle, showing every consideration for all men.

As a part of the Royal Family honor code, the believer needs to understand that he is born again into a status quo of aristocracy. This is why the Church-age is the dispensation of the Royal Family of God. Therefore, we must have royal function to go along with the fact that we are Royal aristocracy.

This is why the apostle Peter said in 1Pe 2:5, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

1Pe 2:9-10, But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the basis for the fact we have an honor code and He is the prototype of putting on the breastplate of righteousness. Prototype means that the lord Jesus Christ is the original model on which the breastplate was manifested and shown. He left us this honor code and the means of putting on the breastplate of righteousness.

The Lord Jesus Christ has three categories of royalty:

Divine: The Royalty of His deity, by virtue of the fact that He is eternal and infinite God.

Jewish: The Royalty of His humanity, by virtue of the virgin birth, Incarnation and First Advent.

Battlefield: The Royalty of His Hypostatic Union, by virtue of His strategic victory at the Cross.

We also have to understand and appreciate the Royal Families of Jesus Christ.

Divine royalty: This is a reference to God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ always had this family in His divine Royalty and always will.

Jewish royalty: This refers to the dynasty of David. All of His ancestors from David and Bathsheba down to his legal father Joseph and His real mother Mary.

Then we also have His stepbrothers: James, Joseph Jr., Simon, and Judas or Jude. Then there are His stepsisters, at least two, being also royal descendants (Matt 13:55-56).

Matt13:55-56, Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then {did} this man {get} all these things?

His Battlefield royalty: The Royal Family of God = every Church-age believer. After His ascension and session, there was no Royal Family for His third Royalty. The Age of Israel was brought to a screeching halt, and the Church-age was inserted, the dispensation for the calling out of the Royal Family of God. The Church-Age is the mystery age, its doctrines being previously unknown. Technical phrases are used to describe the Royal Family are: The body of Christ, the Church, the Bride of Christ, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, Sanctification, and the Beloved Brethren.

Each part of our Lord’s royalty performs a specific function at the Second Advent.

In His Divine Royalty, Jesus Christ controls history. Therefore, Jesus Christ will judge the entire world.

In His Jewish Royalty, Jesus Christ returns as the Son of David, re-gathers Israel, terminates their fifth cycle of discipline, fulfills all the unconditional covenants to Israel, and rules forever over Israel’s born-again believers.

In His Battlefield Royalty, Jesus Christ terminates Satan’s rulership of the world. He incarcerates Satan and his demon army at the end of the Millennium.

Jesus Christ then becomes the ruler of the world as the King of kings and Lord of lords, superseding Satan.

Rev 19:12, And His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head are many diadems; and He has a name written upon Him which no one knows except Himself.

Rev 19:16, And on His robe and on His thigh, He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

This last category of royalty is necessary to provide a Royal Family for the Lord Jesus Christ who is seated at the right hand of God the Father.

Therefore, the Jewish-age was halted, and the Church-age was inserted to call out the Royal Family. Also, the baptism of the Holy Spirit enters us into union with our Lord Jesus Christ making us spiritual aristocracy.

Aristocracy has standards, and these standards are what we call the Royal Family honor code. The honor code or putting on the breastplate of righteousness is the Christian way of life. And it is compatible with two things that happened at salvation.

1) The baptism of the Spirit and current positional truth provide the Church-age believer with a double portion of perfect righteousness and eternal life. The phrase “in Christ” found throughout the New Testament is the basis for the fact that the honor code is superior to any other code, or system, or morality, or spiritual function, in any previous or future dispensation.

2) And then secondly, the imputation of perfect righteousness provides a purpose for the Royal Family. This imputation provides both motivation and momentum.

We have the perfect righteousness of God the Father through imputation, and the perfect righteousness of God the Son through being in union with Him. Therefore, if we have the perfect righteousness of God freely given to us at the moment of salvation, we should learn how to operate in that righteousness which results in personal integrity found in the believer.

Right thinking results in right motivation. Right motivation means right function. This is the force of the Royal Family honor code or putting on the breastplate of righteousness. However, for this right thinking to occur there must be maximum Bible doctrine in the right lobe of the soul. For application of this resident doctrine there must also be the filling of the Holy Spirit.

The honor code or putting on the breastplate of righteousness also includes the advance to maturity. The honor code or putting on the breastplate of righteousness makes it possible for every believer who is positive to doctrine to advance to maturity. There is a great enemy to the honor code or putting on the breastplate of righteousness and that is gossip, maligning, and slandering others. These are the number one sins which destroy the Royal Family honor code and make it impossible to put on the breastplate of righteousness.

Eph 4:25, Therefore, having laid aside the lie, each one of you speak the truth with his fellow-believer, since we are members one of another.

The lie is anything which contradicts the honor code. The lie includes certain areas of carnality, cosmic involvement, and Christian degeneracy. Laying aside the lie is recovery in all of these areas where we have failed. The PPOG is the greatest producer of honor and integrity in all of history. It is an honor and integrity produced by the ministry of God the Holy Spirit. It is an honor and integrity produced by perception, metabolization, and application of Bible doctrine.

Absolute truth will tolerate nothing less than the honor, integrity, and virtue that comes from the filling of the Spirit, the perception and inculcation of doctrine, and the resultant spiritual growth. And absolute truth has prevailed in the past and will prevail in the future. But when people reject absolute truth, there is no understanding of true honor and integrity.

They violate the Royal Family honor code and never put on the breastplate of righteousness.

Prov 6:12-19 teaches two categories of sin which basically violate the Royal Family honor code and prohibit any believer from putting on the breastplate of righteousness. Verses Prov 12-15 address the troublemaker. He is arrogant, jealous, implacable with revenge motivation which and motivated by evil. He is a gossip, and guilty of inordinate ambition and inordinate competition. And the troublemaker is a disaster in the local church and in any organization.

Troublemakers are always uptight. In their own mind, troublemakers are always better than everyone else. Prov 6:12 says, “A worthless person, an evil man is one the who walks with a false mouth.”

This means that trouble-making is often generated through the mouth in gossip, maligning, and judging. A false mouth emphasizes the sins of the tongue.

Prov 6:13, “Who winks with his eye, who signals with his feet, who points with his finger.”

All this is the body language of mockery, ridicule, and derision. A troublemaker gets his kicks by putting other people down. And he himself is a slob, but he can put down other people.

Prov 6:14, “Who with perversity in his right lobe devises evil continually [or a better translation,”

Perversity and malice is any deviation from doctrine. The troublemaker does not go by what the Bible says is right and wrong.

You see some believers live by the royal family honor code and some believers spread strife.

Prov 6:15, “Therefore, his destruction will come suddenly [divine discipline]; instantly he will be broken, and there will be no healing.”

First, the troublemaker suffers from self-induced misery under the law of volitional responsibility. Then eventually he gets clobbered with divine discipline in three stages: Warning discipline, intensive discipline, and eventually dying discipline. So either remain a troublemaker and be broken, or depart from it through rebound and recovery and a crash diet of Bible doctrine.

Prov 6:16-17, “There are six things which the Lord hates; in fact, seven are an abomination to Him. A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,”

Haughty eyes or a proud look is arrogance, which includes everything, e.g., bitterness, jealousy, vindictiveness, implacability, hatred, self-pity, etc. A lying tongue refers to malicious gossip and slander. Hands that shed innocent blood refers to murder.

Note the pattern in verse 17, for it lists the three categories of sin: Mental attitude sins, sins of the tongue, and overt sins. Notice that murder is the only overt sin listed among the seven worst sins. (Not drunkenness, not fornication but murder).

Physical murder deprives an individual of his right to live given to him by God. Mental murder can be a stumbling block to someone’s spiritual growth.

The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life: Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.

Internet Church Service – December 31, 2017

EMBEDDED VIDEO SERMON in HD – NOTES
Dispensation of the Mosaic Law,
The Introduction to the Ten Commandments.

Please join us as we fellowship in the Word of God, listen to
Christian Music, Pray in Christ’s Name, and Praise the Lord
in our Hearts and Minds.

ALL ARE WELCOME

from - Romans 8:38-39

Hymn #1

Hymn #2

Preparing yourself for the study of God’s Word

Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is— you have trusted in Him for eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to take-in God’s Word or participating in a Communion Service, so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge your sins privately directly to God the Father. This will assure that you are in fellowship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit’s convicting ministry, also called the convincing ministry will then be able to teach you as the Holy Spirit is the real teacher and the pastor’s message is the vehicle the Holy Spirit uses to convince you what you are learning is true or not.

1 John 1:9 says—“If we confess [simply name, cite or acknowledge to God the Father] our sins [known sins], He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins [known sins] and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [all unknown and forgotten sins].” NKJV (New King James Version)

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins to God; the issue for you is to believe by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life and you will be saved the very second you believe in Him:

John 6:47 says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.” NKJV

Notice again what John 6:47 says, “he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.” It doesn’t say, “will have”; it says, “has.” Therefore, the very moment you believe Jesus Christ’s promise of everlasting life, you have it (it’s really just that simple), and it can never be lost or taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-18 says: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for learning God’s Word, if there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Our Pastor-Teacher is:

Robert McLaughlin - Grace Bible Church
and Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Terms used by RMBM

Doctrinal Statement

This ministry is non-denominational and is dedicated to
teaching the Word of God from the original languages and
making it available at no charge throughout the world.

OPTIONAL: On-line Bible – NASB95

Sermon

NOTES

Unlike the bible study, these notes are not just for reading without watching the video. These notes are more designed to follow along during the sermon and to bring up the “hover pop-up scripture references” (some websites may require to left click the link, if that doesn’t work then look them up in your Bible) when the Pastor asks everyone to turn to that passage in their bibles.

Sermon: Dispensation of the Mosaic Law,
The Introduction to the Ten Commandments.

Spiritual, moral and social life are in a state of disintegration.

They are closely related to a subject with which many people are familiar but about which they know very little about— the Ten Commandments, or the Decalogue (Exo 20:1-20).

Occasionally, young people find themselves in a position where they are required to memorize the Ten Commandments.

There are those in this country who have never been near a Sunday School, do not attend a church, and may not even have a Bible, but are knowledgeable regarding the Ten commandments or the Decalogue.

John 1:9 There was the true light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.

Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

Rom 1:19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.

(1) Exo 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.

(2) Exo 20:4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.

(3) Exo 20:7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.

(4) Exo 20:8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

(5) Exo 20:12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.

(6) Exo 20:13 “You shall not murder.

(7) Exo 20:14 “You shall not commit adultery.

(8) Exo 20:15 “You shall not steal.

(9) Exo 20:16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

(10) Exo 20:17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

6. “You shall not murder.

7. “You shall not commit adultery.

8. “You shall not steal.

9. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

10. Exo 20:17 “You shall not covet”

What is generally not understood is that all ten of the commandments are a summary of God’s principles pertaining to freedom not just sin.

Such as child molestation, fear, worry, and doubt etc; Such as passages as 1sa 12:23 “Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you;

The point is that there are so many sins that are not mentioned in the Ten Commandments.

Each of the Ten Commandments is backed up by a series of divine laws which were given for the protection and happiness of both believers and unbelievers in Jesus Christ.

Even though the Mosaic Law is not our modus operandi today, the commandments have always applied to the human race in general.

1. Codex I – Freedom Code; the Decalogue or Ten Commandments.

2. Codex II – Spiritual Code; which includes the complete shadow presentation of Christ and His saving work.

3. Codex III – Establishment Code; civil statues of Israel.

What is known as the Ten Commandments called also the Decalogue summarizes a system of “spirituality-morality” — not one or the other, but a combination of both.

For you if you are spiritual, you will be moral but if you’re moral you may not be spiritual.

The first five commandments declare the principle of spirituality or the possibility of establishing a relationship with God; the last five apply to man’s relationship toward his fellow man.

You shall have no other gods before Me.

You shall make no idols.

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

Keep the Sabbath day holy.

Honor your father and your mother.

You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

You shall not covet.

These things were important because they were a generation of believers and our Lord did not want the commandments to be principles of morality without the concept of relationship with God.

The Ten Commandments are not a set of specific, detailed laws. but are the principles God has set forth for the protection of life, liberty and property of a people within a national entity.

No group of people can survive as a national entity without a basic system of spirituality-morality; and where these commandments and principles found in them are violated by a maximum number of people, that nation will be destroyed.

The influence of the Decalogue.

The reason can be attributed to the fact that in the past this nation has adhered to the principles found in the Decalogue.

The ten Commandments promote the concept of Privacy and Private Property.

Today we have a tragic breakdown in law; therefore, the protection of privacy and property is being eroded and the law is being subverted to promote socialism.

The very essence of socialism is an invasion of privacy and private property. Socialism, when carried to the extreme, results in the types of government which exists today in Communist countries.

When a nation promotes anti-divine principles, and makes those principles a part of its legislative laws, then socialism becomes the law of the land.

Socialism not only destroys freedom in a nation, it eventually destroys the national entity itself, for it is international in its scope and denies the principle of nationalism as designed by God.

The Concept of Right Man and Right Woman. Divine Institutions #2 and #3, Marriage and Family, are protected by the principles in the Decalogue.

The Concept of Military – divine institution #4 for one of the great objectives of the Mosaic Law is to provide a stabilized population of young men who are willing to defend not only their right woman, but every right woman for every right man in a nation.

As we shall see in our exegetical study of the sixth commandment, the word for “kill” should be translated “murder”; therefore, it has nothing to do with military life.

To kill the enemy as a military representative of your country is not only compatible with the plan of God, but is commanded and should be done “as unto the Lord.”

This situation could be drastically changed if the military were made up of a believers with Bible doctrine or even unbelievers with the principles of the divine institutions in their right lobes.

The Biblical principle in fighting a war calls for the defeat of the enemy, and that entails killing and neutralizing the enemy.

You do not stop wars by playing games with the enemy; you stop wars by KILLING THE ENEMY!

In spite of man’s efforts for peace, there will be warfare until the Second Advent of Jesus Christ (Matt 24:6; Mark 13:7; Luke 21:9).

Matt 24:6 “And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.

Prin-You cannot stop wars by being a peacenik; you cannot stop wars by disarmament. The only way to stop war is to be ready for war; and adequate preparation demands a strong military!

The Jews in the Old Testament had the greatest military record of any national entity in the ancient world, with the possible exception of the Assyrians.
It was the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of Hosts, the Commander of the Armies, who gave the orders for the Jewish Army to fight and defeat, and in some instances, to annihilate the enemy.

Hymn #3

The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life:
Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.

Internet Church Service – December 24, 2017; Sermon: Dispensation of the Mosaic Law, The Real Issue behind the Commandments.

EMBEDDED VIDEO SERMON in HD – NOTES
Dispensation of the Mosaic Law,
The Real Issue behind the Commandments.

Please join us as we fellowship in the Word of God, listen to
Christian Music, Pray in Christ’s Name, and Praise the Lord
in our Hearts and Minds.

ALL ARE WELCOME

from - Romans 8:38-39

Hymn #1

Hymn #2

Preparing yourself for the study of God’s Word

Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is— you have trusted in Him for eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to take-in God’s Word or participating in a Communion Service, so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge your sins privately directly to God the Father. This will assure that you are in fellowship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit’s convicting ministry, also called the convincing ministry will then be able to teach you as the Holy Spirit is the real teacher and the pastor’s message is the vehicle the Holy Spirit uses to convince you what you are learning is true or not.

1 John 1:9 says—“If we confess [simply name, cite or acknowledge to God the Father] our sins [known sins], He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins [known sins] and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [all unknown and forgotten sins].” NKJV (New King James Version)

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins to God; the issue for you is to believe by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life and you will be saved the very second you believe in Him:

John 6:47 says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.” NKJV

Notice again what John 6:47 says, “he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.” It doesn’t say, “will have”; it says, “has.” Therefore, the very moment you believe Jesus Christ’s promise of everlasting life, you have it (it’s really just that simple), and it can never be lost or taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-18 says: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for learning God’s Word, if there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Our Pastor-Teacher is:

Robert McLaughlin - Grace Bible Church
and Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Terms used by RMBM

Doctrinal Statement

This ministry is non-denominational and is dedicated to
teaching the Word of God from the original languages and
making it available at no charge throughout the world.

OPTIONAL: On-line Bible – NASB95

Sermon

NOTES

Unlike the bible study, these notes are not just for reading without watching the video. These notes are more designed to follow along during the sermon and to bring up the “hover pop-up scripture references” (some websites may require to left click the link, if that doesn’t work then look them up in your Bible) when the Pastor asks everyone to turn to that passage in their bibles.

Sermon: Dispensation of the Mosaic Law,
The Real Issue behind the Commandments.

1. Familiarity b. Selfishness — Love for Self.

Flexibility is not compromise = it is the freedom given to all members of the human race the right and the ability to reveal their love and worship toward God in their own unique way.

John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,

Whether it’s impersonal love or personal love, the royal family honor code demands no hypocrisy or mendacity.

Prin-When you start to love someone you have not seen, it’s because you have linked up with their thinking.

The pres-act-part of pisteuo which refers to believing doctrine or having it metabolized.

Answer: Bible doctrine, you believe the word of God!

“full of glory” is a reference to the spiritually sustained believer who reflects the glory of God with the structure in his soul.

How can you ever assume that loving God the Father, loving God the Son under occupation with Christ, and fellowship with the Holy Spirit be set aside for a lot of nonsense called “Christian fellowship” or social life with Christians?

You never put fellowship with visible people above your relationship or fellowship with God.

You cannot fulfill the #1 priority of fellowship with God simply by resolving to make God #1; it comes through the daily perception of Bible doctrine.

Christian fellowship is no substitute for learning Bible doctrine from whomever is your right pastor.

This is because spiritual growth and the execution of the PPOG and subsequent glorification of God only occurs through perception of doctrine, not through Christian fellowship.

1. Having personal love toward God is commanded, Deut 6:5, 10:12, Mark 12:30.

2. If you do not have Bible doctrine within, you cannot and do not have love for God, John 5:38-42.

3. If a believer really loves God, it will be manifested by his desire to hear God’s word, John 8:47.

4. If you love the Lord, you will guard and protect His doctrines in your soul, John 14:15.

5. It is doctrine abiding in Christians, not works, that reveals to the Father how much we love Him.

6. If you guard or keep God’s Word in you, God’s love will be in you, John 15:10.

7. Having God’s mind or Bible doctrine is that which produces God’s love, Phil 2:2

8. Keeping doctrine in the soul is the only way to love with God’s love, 1Jo 2:5.

9. Loving God is revealed by your impersonal unconditional love toward one another, 1Jo 4:7.

10. Loving God and His people can only come through knowledge of doctrine, 1Jo 4:16-21.

11. Since God is invisible and the object of category one love, we must see and love Him through doctrine in the soul, 1Pe 1:8.

12. Category one love also sets up the standard for grace, Psa 119:132.

13. Category one love is also the basis for supergrace blessing, 1Co 2:9, Ps 37:4 5.

14. Category one love is the basis for personal and national blessing, Deut 30:15-20.

15. Category one love motivates combat courage and military victory, Jos 23:10-11.

16. Category one love provides strength for adversity and pressure, Heb 11:27.

17. There is a special curse on believers who fail to have category one love in 1Co 16:22, they are said to be “cursed until the Lord comes.”

18. Even witnessing must be motivated by category one love, 2Co 5:14 “The love of Christ motivates us.”

Learn to distinguish between fellowship with God and so-called Christian fellowship, which is nothing more than having social life with Christians.


Christian fellowship is no substitute for learning Bible doctrine from whomever is your right pastor.

This is because spiritual growth and the execution of the PPOG and subsequent glorification of God only occurs through perception of doctrine, not through Christian fellowship.

Heb 10:25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near.

The word for encouragement is the present active participle of the Greek verb parakaleo which means to be encouraged, to be exhorted, to be comforted, and even to challenge.

This is a telic participle which indicates the purpose of the action: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together.
Heb 10:25 “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as is the habit of some, but gather together for the purpose of encouraging one another.”
Perception of Bible doctrine, not Christian fellowship.

Encouragement comes from Bible doctrine, not from Christian fellowship.

The real issue and your real motivation must be “I love TLJC and I am here to learn His word.”

What keeps you coming to Bible class is your own motivation from your own understanding and perception of doctrine, and making it the #1 priority in your life.

Prin-Your Christian fellowship with other believers is inconsequential! It is your fellowship with God that counts!

The purpose of assembly worship is the function of perception, metabolization and application of Bible doctrine, and through the momentum from metabolized doctrine, to execute and fulfill the PPOG for your life.

Heb 10:25 “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as is the habit of some, but for the purpose of encouragement.”

Heb For if we go on sinning willfully [how? By forsaking the assembling of ourselves together] after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,

They are isolated because of Geographic’s, handicaps, illness, lack of transportation or many other reasons.

The priority is to get doctrine to have fellowship with God.

Positive volition will not be denied by God.

(1) Through the local church under face-to-face teaching.

(2) In an isolated situation where no assembly with orthodox teaching is possibly.

Hymn #3

The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life:
Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.

Weekly Bible Study – December 25, 2017

The importance of the belt or the
girdle of truth and the breastplate of
righteousness for the Christian Soldier.

Scripture References, Word & Phrase descriptions: the “Logos Reftagger” scripture links are hover pop-up active, meaning the scripture reference will just pop-up if you hover your cursor over it (don’t click on the link, just hover your cursor over it), when finished reading, hover your cursor off the scripture reference link. If the Reftagger pop-up doesn’t show all the verses, left click on the “More” button in the Reftagger pop-up window and it will take you to the online bible. If RefTagger pop-ups don’t work on your computer, that’s OK, try left clicking the link if it’s highlighted which should open a window with all the verses at the Biblia.com website; or if that doesn’t work, you can always use your Bible to look up the verses. Word or Phrase definition links may not have a website that opens. If you are running PCMatic, the pop-ups may not work; if that’s the case, email PC Matic Support to see if they can fix that problem for you.

Prepare yourself for learning the Word of God!

Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is; you have believed [trusted] in Him for His promised gift of eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to learn God's Word so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge (confess) your sins privately to God (i.e.; with your thoughts directed only to God the Father).

1 John 1:9 says: "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins (known sins) and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [unknown or forgotten sins]." NKJV (New King James Version) [italics added]; we call this REBOUND, read the full doctrine as to “why” we need to use 1 John 1:9 to grow spiritually. REBOUND

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, that He is the Son of God, the promised Messiah, as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins; the issue for you is to simply exercise faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life; when you do, you will instantly receive Eternal Life: John 3:16, 5:24, 6:47, 20:30, 31.

John 6:47 says: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life." NKJV [italics added]

Notice again what Jesus said in John 6:47: "…he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." It doesn't say, "will have"; it says, "has." Therefore, the very moment you believe in Jesus Christ for His promise of everlasting life, you have it (it's really just that simple; nothing more and nothing less), and it can never be taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift (Ephesians 2:8c) of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-15, 16, 17, 18, says: "¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ¹⁸ He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for worship and learning God's Word. If there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Study to show yourself approved to God!

Grace Bible Church
Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Doctrinal Statement

The Tree of Life is a weekly teaching summary:
God’s Word is taught Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday

Alphabetical Listing of Terms & Abbreviations used:

STUDY TITLE:

The importance of the belt or the
girdle of truth and the breastplate
of righteousness for the Christian Soldier.

Eph 6:14, Therefore, hold your ground after you have buckled on your combat gear around your waist with truth, and after having put on the breastplate of righteousness.

We are going to see that the Breastplate of Righteousness has to do with the believer’s integrity in the midst of the angelic conflict and spiritual warfare. Remember that in Eph 6 we are still dealing with spiritual warfare and the Christian soldier. Therefore, the true biblical principle is that the integrity of God begins with your relationship with God and without a relationship with God there is really no true integrity.

1. Integrity is the spiritual strength to put into operation that which you claim to believe.

2. Integrity also is the means conforming to certain standards or rights.

3. Thirdly, integrity is the quality of life and power needed to live because integrity gives the believer capacity to act and to perform properly.

4. Therefore one of the most important goals of the Christian life is to develop integrity or to put on the breastplate of righteousness.

5. Motivational integrity which is personal love toward God. Or functional integrity which is unconditional love toward all mankind.

6. Integrity is for a man to know what is good and what is evil, what is useless, shameful, and dishonorable.

7. The Romans defined integrity as devotion and loyalty, especially to your family. To them, loyalty was the key to possessing integrity.

8. A believer who pursues experiential righteousness and loyalty finds true life, +Righteousness, and godly honor.
Prov 21:21, He who pursues righteousness and loyalty Finds life, righteousness and honor.

9. Loyalty and sacrifice and knowledge of God rather than sacrificial giving is what the Lord truly delights in Hos 6:6, that the Lord delights in loyalty rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Alright, we are now ready for Eph 6:14, Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

In Eph 6:14 we have two concepts: The first concept has to do with the first item of equipment called the girdle or really the belt or harness of the Roman soldier. Whenever a Roman soldier moved out of his tent or his barracks and moved to the rack where the equipment was stacked, the first thing that he put on was the belt. Therefore, let’s note how it is stated by Paul.

Eph 6:14, Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth,

The first word in this sentence is the aor-act-imp of the verb histemi which is stand which we’ve now had in verses Eph 6:11, 13, 14. It means to stand against, to oppose, to hold your ground, to stand fast. Remember, this is because the believer does not have any human power or any human ability to enter into a spiritual combat with a superior creature.

The superior creature being Satan and all the fallen angels. Angelic creatures are infinitely stronger and greater and smarter than we are. We cannot cope with them, and therefore God has provided this wall of fire, and the first item in the equipment is a part of the wall of fire. The aorist tense is a constantive aorist, it views defensive action against Satan and demons in its entirety. In other words, the constantive aorist tense views the believer as reaching a point where he is spiritually strong enough to hold his ground against spiritual warfare.

It has taken the believer a lengthy time of dedication and devotion as a student of the word of God to reach the point where he is able to put on the harness, or the belt of truth. You have to have truth, and the more truth that you learn, the more truth you will understand.

Then, the more truth that you understand, the more truth you will think. And, the more truth that you think, the more chance for integrity you will possess. That is the way the principle works. It starts out with truth in the concept of Bible doctrine.

When we talk about truth here, we’re talking about absolute truth, we are talking about the word of God. The active voice, the Church-age believer produces the action of the verb under the military metaphor of defensive action. Our defensive action in time of spiritual warfare is the constant and persistent perception of Bible doctrine, in spite of the satanic pressure.

The imperative mood is the imperative of command in which God makes a direct positive demand on the volition of every church age believer. So, the phrase stand firm or hold your ground is a divine command for defensive action through the daily intake of Bible doctrine.

Eph 6:14, Hold your ground therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

Instead of saying in Eph 6:14, Hold your ground, because of this, a better English translation would be, Because of this, hold your ground consistently,

The wearing of a girdle or a battle harness in the ancient world took on the meaning of one who is ready and prepared or strengthened for service or action. The phrase having girded is the aor-mid-part of perizonnumi which means to buckle on a belt.

Here it means to put on your battle harness which is used metaphorically for equipping oneself with the knowledge of truth.

The wearing of a battle harness in the ancient world took on the meaning of one who is ready and prepared or strengthened for service or action.

So, we will translate this, having buckled on your combat gear around your waist with truth,

And we are going to see some very interesting principles behind this buckle or battle harness, one of which is the fact that all the military equipment was in some way attached or connected to this harness. The aorist tense is a constantive aorist which means that it is something that you do on a daily basis. Your daily exposure to Bible doctrine and your daily intake of doctrine is the only way that you can buckle on this belt of truth. This is the only way that you can take defensive action against Satan while you’re taking offensive action with regard to the PPOG [Pedesigned Plan of God]. The middle voice is an intensive middle in which the Church-age believer acts for himself upon something belonging to himself. Bible doctrine belongs to you. And since it belongs to you, and, it is the greatest of all treasures, it is far more important than anything else in your life.

How you think, how you handle life, what capacity you have for life, your entire lifestyle depends on making Bible doctrine number one priority in your life. When you do this, you are learning how to buckle on your combat gear around your waist with truth.

The middle voice is an intensive middle in which the Church-age believer acts for himself upon something belonging to himself. And what do I mean by that? Look at

1Co 3:21-23, So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.

You cannot hold your ground against Satan until you have Bible doctrine or the buckle of truth. We will also see why the breastplate is second and not first.

So, this verb perizonnumi implies a combat belt issue for every Roman soldier as a part of his equipment.

Eph 6:14 says so far, Because of this, hold your ground, having buckled on your combat gear

Prin-The wearing of the girdle or a battle harness in the ancient world took on the meaning of one who is ready and prepared or strengthened for service or action. Here it means to put on your battle harness which is used metaphorically for equipping oneself with the knowledge of truth. All the military equipment was in some way attached or connected to this harness. Your daily exposure to Bible doctrine and your daily intake of doctrine is the only way that you can buckle on this belt of truth.

This is the only way that you can take defensive action against Satan while you’re taking offensive action with regard to the PPOG.

Now this belt or this harness was worn, in part, over the breastplate. The part that went around the waist actually was the bottom part of the belt which held the breastplate in place. The breastplate would snap on to the slots in the part of the harness or the belt which went around the waist. And so there was a harness system on the belt which actually fastened the breastplate in position.

However, remember the principle: you had to have the belt on before you could put the breastplate on. Otherwise you have a piece of armor just flapping around which would be totally useless. And of course, that application should be very obvious, you have to have truth or Bible doctrine first, before you can operate in the righteousness or the integrity of God.

the belt part is actually the part that fastens the breastplate, the breastplate comes out of the belt. However, make sure that you understand, the belt must be on first, then you can put on the breastplate.

Now, the belt not only serves as a harness but it also a baldric. What is a baldric?

A baldric is a shoulder belt usually of ornamented leather worn over the chest to support other parts of the military equipment. And the baldric would go over the top of the breastplate, and we will see something about that as well.

So the baldric consisted of two parts: a broad leather belt which was worn around the waist, and a leather strap, which was slung across the chest and over the shoulder.

There was another part in the belt that fastened to the breastplate below and this was a system for protecting the entire genital area of the soldier.

So, everything was attached to the belt, and this is why the Romans had a very thick and very wide leather belt with all of these things that fastened on them. And when the soldier was buckled up for combat, all of these things were in place and he could coordinate and know that defensively he was protected. The various parts of his body which would cause him to be killed were extremely well protected and therefore the belt was the basic part of the armor. The complete belt was used when heavy armor was worn, for to it was attached the bottom part of the breastplate.

The baldric was also stud¬ded with metal plates and fastened with a decorated buckle. Suspended from this belt also were the scabbard or a sheath for the sword and loops for ropes and rations; all were easily accessible as they were needed. The point is that the girdle or the battle harness was that part of the Roman’s armor that everything else depended upon, just like everything depends upon Bible doctrine in the Christian way of life.

The Roman soldier also had fastened to his belt his most valuable possessions: silver and gold, jewelry which he had plundered from captured cities or from enemy bivouacs. And so there is another analogy here which is the fact that if we have on the belt of truth, we will have a measure of blessing from following the Lord.

So, Paul mentions the belt first and foremost because he un¬derstood its importance: the belt was the key to the rest of the panoplia, the armor of God. Therefore, it paralleled Bible doctrine resident in the soul, the basic requirement for the full armor from God. Once the Christian Warrior has buckled on his waist the baldric God intended for him to wear, he is fully prepared for the charge of the unseen enemy.

When the alarm trumpet blew, the Roman soldier would run to the rack of equipment and the first thing that he would do is put the belt on. Once the equipment was put on and all in place, they would pick up their weapons and move to the FLOT line, which is the defensive area.

FLOT is a military acronym for the forward line of troops. This is how the Roman soldiers would handle being on the front line in warfare.

Many times they would lock shields against the enemy and we will see how that has to do with the fellowship which takes place in the local assembly as believers pull together for the same purpose.

Eph 6:14, Because of this, hold your ground, having buckled on your combat gear

Next, we have the accusative singular direct object from three words. The first word is definite article ten used to distinguish this belt from all other belts. This tells us that this is a special kind of belt. And with this we have the noun osphun which refers to the waist. And then the possessive genitive from the pronoun su which is humon meaning your waist.

EPH 6:14, Because of this, hold your ground, having buckled on your combat gear around your waist with truth,

Next we have a prepositional phrase which emphasizes the importance of this combat belt as Bible doctrine resident in the right lobe of the soul. How does the Christian soldier get ready to hold his ground? By means of doctrine!

We have the preposition en plus the instrumental singular from aletheia which does not mean with truth but signifies the means by which we reach our spiritual objective in life – doctrine, or that which is believed. The absence of the definite article calls attention to the high quality of doctrine.

Thus, the so-called belt of truth comprises the entire realm of doctrine – all its truths, all its categories ¬as it is assimilated by the daily function of perception, metabolization and application of Bible doctrine. If, therefore, the Christian wants to attain the super-grace status of maturity, he must take up the challenge to expose himself to Bible doctrine on a consistent and daily basis, no matter what distractions or temptations would keep him from it! The objective the high ground of super-grace – is well worth the effort! So aletheia is the word for truth or Bible doctrine.

The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life: Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.

Weekly Bible Study – December 18, 2017

The Doctrine of the Second Advent
as it relates to the Christian Soldier. Part 3.

Scripture References, Word & Phrase descriptions: the “Logos Reftagger” scripture links are hover pop-up active, meaning the scripture reference will just pop-up if you hover your cursor over it (don’t click on the link, just hover your cursor over it), when finished reading, hover your cursor off the scripture reference link. If the Reftagger pop-up doesn’t show all the verses, left click on the “More” button in the Reftagger pop-up window and it will take you to the online bible. If RefTagger pop-ups don’t work on your computer, that’s OK, try left clicking the link if it’s highlighted which should open a window with all the verses at the Biblia.com website; or if that doesn’t work, you can always use your Bible to look up the verses. Word or Phrase definition links may not have a website that opens. If you are running PCMatic, the pop-ups may not work; if that’s the case, email PC Matic Support to see if they can fix that problem for you.

Prepare yourself for learning the Word of God!

Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is; you have believed [trusted] in Him for His promised gift of eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to learn God's Word so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge (confess) your sins privately to God (i.e.; with your thoughts directed only to God the Father).

1 John 1:9 says: "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins (known sins) and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [unknown or forgotten sins]." NKJV (New King James Version) [italics added]; we call this REBOUND, read the full doctrine as to “why” we need to use 1 John 1:9 to grow spiritually. REBOUND

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, that He is the Son of God, the promised Messiah, as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins; the issue for you is to simply exercise faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life; when you do, you will instantly receive Eternal Life: John 3:16, 5:24, 6:47, 20:30, 31.

John 6:47 says: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life." NKJV [italics added]

Notice again what Jesus said in John 6:47: "…he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." It doesn't say, "will have"; it says, "has." Therefore, the very moment you believe in Jesus Christ for His promise of everlasting life, you have it (it's really just that simple; nothing more and nothing less), and it can never be taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift (Ephesians 2:8c) of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-15, 16, 17, 18, says: "¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ¹⁸ He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for worship and learning God's Word. If there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Study to show yourself approved to God!

Grace Bible Church
Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Doctrinal Statement

The Tree of Life is a weekly teaching summary:
God’s Word is taught Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday

Alphabetical Listing of Terms & Abbreviations used:

STUDY TITLE:

The Doctrine of the Second Advent
as it relates to the Christian Soldier. Part 3.

We will conclude our study on the Second Coming or the Second Advent this morning by a summary of what is going to happen during the end times concerning the Tribulation Period which is followed by the millen¬nial reign.

The Second Advent is the second time the Lord Jesus Christ comes down on earth as a member of the human race and He returns with the Church-age believers, the royal family of God, with special emphasis on winner believers and the invisible heroes.

1Th 3:11-13, Now may our God and Father Himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you; and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all men, just as we also do for you; so that He may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus [And who does He come back with?] with all His saints.

He comes back with all His saints and Rev 19:7-14 tells us that this is followed by the closing arguments and summary which includes the Millennial rule of Jesus Christ on the earth. So, we read in Rev 19:7, “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” How does the Bride or the Church make herself ready? She dresses and adorns herself with the righteous acts she has performed as a member of the Church or Royal Family of God.

Rev 19:8-10, And it was given to her [the privilege] to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. And he said to me, “Write, Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.” And I fell at his feet to worship him.

This was an angel that John met and whom he tried to worship, but the angel would have none of that and so he said to the apostle John, And he said to me, “Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; WORSHIP GOD. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Notice that the angel would not receive worship from men, he would only allow the Lord Jesus Christ to be worshipped.

The same thing happened to Thomas. In John 20:26-28, And after eight days again His disciples were inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst, and said, “Peace {be} with you.” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand, and put it into My side; and be not unbelieving, but believing.” Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed {are} they who did not see, and {yet} believed.”

Notice that the lord Jesus Christ would receive worship from Thomas because Jesus Christ is God and as God worship is due to Him.

Back in Rev 19:11-16, And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteous-ness He judges and wages war. And His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head are many dia¬dems; and He has a name written upon Him which no one knows except Himself. And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite the nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

Now, after the Bride makes herself ready or adorns herself then there is a time of 1000 years of perfect environment on the earth. And now comes the Lord Jesus Christ, the God-man who rules the earth like Satan was unable to do. This duplicates the conditions before the fall of Satan and before the fall of man in the garden of Eden. It’s interesting that there are three areas of perfect environment that are actually taught in the Bible.

1. One is prehistoric perfect environment which occurred and existed prior to Satan’s fall and the angelic revolution, Eze 28. The perfect environment continued until the satanic revolution.

2. Then when man was created to duplicate the same conditions, perfect envi-ronment was provided on the earth, according to Gen 2-3. And man’s revolution destroyed perfect environment.

3. In the last 1000 years of human history, there will be perfect environment, and yet even though perfect conditions exist, at the end of the Millennium, there is a final revolution, Rev 20.

And we learn something from these three areas of perfect environment, we learn that rational creatures including angelic and humans, are no better off in perfect environment than in any other environment. In fact, perfect environment is never the solution to the problems of life.

And of course, at some time in your life, as we all have, you have probably tried to envision perfect environment, for some people they think of marriage, becoming successful, or doing great things in some way.

But it has been demonstrated time and time again, that the accomplishment of these things does not bring the happiness that most consider to be a part of perfect environment. It just simply doesn’t work that way. So we learn the wonderful lessons, that Bible doctrine in the soul is what gives a person happiness. Why? Because Bible doctrine gets rid of the garbage in the soul. Bible doctrine gives you contentment, tranquility and peace. Bible doctrine allows you to share the happiness of God, one of the problem solving devices.

Prov 3:1-6, My son, do not forget my teach¬ing, #But let your heart keep my commandments; For length of days and years of life, And peace they will add to you. Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart.

Don’t lose your grip on Love and Loyalty. So you will find favor and good repute In the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.

Listen for the voice of God in everything you do, everywhere you go; He’s the one who will keep you on track.

Prov 3:7-9, Do not be wise or conceited in your own eyes [don’t assume you know it all]; Fear or respect the Lord and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your body, And refreshment to your bones. Honor the Lord from your wealth, And from the first of all your produce;

Honor GOD with everything you own; give him the first and the best. I think if we all did that we wouldn’t always have needs in the Church.

Prov 3:10-18, So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will over¬flow with new wine. My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord, Or loathe or sulk at His reproof, For whom the Lord loves He reproves, Even as a father, the son in whom he delights. How happy is the one who finds Lady wisdom, And the one who gains understanding or Madam insight. For its profit is better than the profit of silver, And its gain than fine gold. She is more precious than jewels; And nothing you desire compares with her. Long life is in her right hand; In her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, And all her paths are peace She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, And happy are all who hold her fast.

Satan cannot interfere or interrupt this argument of the prosecution called perfect environment because he is incarcerated during the Millennium. The closing argument and summary of Satan in the appeal trial of the angelic conflict occurs at the end of the Millennium when Satan is released from his prison. As the defense attorney, he has one more argument.

Satan’s closing argument is the Gog revolution at the end of the Millennium. What is the Gog revolution?

Rev 20:7-8, And when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore.

Satan is released from his imprisonment and he is permitted once again in his final appeal to pass through the earth and to arouse discontent against the perfect environment that has existed for a thousand years. He is released from his prison and as the defense attorney, he has one more argument. Remember in the garden of Eden, Satan came in the form of a serpent, it was demon possession of an animal. The serpent was the most beautiful animal in the garden for Adam and the woman. And Satan did not attack the man, the one who was in charge. If he had, it would have been no contest.

The woman would have always had an excuse. She could have said to God, “I did what my husband told me to do.” I don’t know how many times women have said that by the way, but I’m sure that it’s been said from time to time. It’s always music to the ears of the husband. But the point is, Satan didn’t attack Adam. Adam was not deceived, the woman was. And it isn’t just the woman in the garden who is said to be susceptible to deception, all women are according to the Bible.

This is why we read in 1Ti 2:11-14, Let a woman quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being quite deceived, fell into transgression.

And so let’s note the chronological order of the events that take place after the Second Advent or Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are involved in something that is an extension of something that is far greater than our own personal circumstances. Our own personal goals.

Something that is far greater than who and what we are. Something is far more magnificent.

We are being watched by angels.

Now, when Satan revolted against God in prehistoric times all of the angels were created beings from the hand of God and therefore they were all perfect. And, when Satan first entered the picture with mankind, he found two perfect people, Adam and the woman were created perfect.

So when we get to the perfect environment of the Millennium, think of it…..1000 years of no war. 1000 years of no one suffering. No one deprived, no poor people! Everyone is in a perfect environment! Everyone has everything. During that time there’s great evangelism but not everyone believes in Christ, nevertheless they are still living! The only ones who die in the Millennium are those who die because of capital punishment.

Satan is released from his prison and he goes through the land and he is visible. He is visible with all of his beauty. With his magnificent personality he persuades literally hundreds and thousands of people to revolt against God and revolt against perfect environment. It’s again the same choice that the angels made, Jesus Christ on the one hand or Satan on the other hand!

The revolt against perfect environment is the same pattern as the revolt in heaven in prehistoric times. It’s the same pattern on a limited basis but the same pattern as existed in the fall of Adam and the woman.

Rev 20:1-2, And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss [the fourth compartment of Hades, the prison for fallen angels] and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years,

You would think that anyone who went to jail for a thousand years would learn something?

However, let’s see!

Rev 20:3-4, and [he] threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he should not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them [this is a Millennial reward for Tribulational martyrs]. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

These are the winner believers who were willing to be martyred for the cause of Christ during the Tribulation period.

Rev 20:5-7, The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed [this is a reference to the second resurrection of unbelievers referred to here]. This is the first resurrection. Blessed or happy and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power [this is when unbeliev¬ers are raised from the dead and they stand before God and then are thrown into the eternal lake of fire], but they [Tribulational winners] will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years. And when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison,

Satan has been in prison for a thousand years and during that thousand years on earth, perfect environment has existed as we have noted. Everything was absolutely perfect. There’s no such thing as a person who doesn’t have everything in life. There’s an abundance of wealth and success for everyone. The only thing that is not quite perfect are the people. People still have old sin natures, everything else is perfect.

When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison.

The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life: Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.