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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 known unconfessed 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
The Tree of Life is a weekly teaching summary:
God’s Word is taught Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday
God’s Word is taught Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday
STUDY TITLE:
If God loves those He created, why did He create hell for those who reject our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?
As we have noted many many times: No matter what questions you may have in life, the answers are found in the Word of God; Deut 32:4, “The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He.”
There are certain passages where believers can fulfill God’s plan with their very own personal sense of destiny that is to follow. Listening; Learning, or Living, as we try to fulfill the spiritual life which we have been called to fulfill. In fact, there are basically just two different ways that a member of the human race is allowed to exercise their freedom towards salvation or their freedom to grow spiritually; 1Ti 2:3-6; Eph 2:8-10; 2Pe 3:18.
Let us begin with God’s will for all unbelievers which is based upon. First of all, their need for Salvation.
1Ti 2:3-6, This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, {and} one mediator also between God and men, {the} man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony {borne} at the proper time.
The main passage of 1Ti 2:4 reveals that “God’s Word desires all men to be saved and to come to the [epignosis knowledge] of the truth. This means that after the unbeliever realizes the importance of the spiritual gift that they also had along with the Time, Talent, or Treasure that our Lord also allows us to reap so that we may enjoy! For example, there are two basic questions that people have to answer which deals with God’s Word and the environment of our very own spiritual life as we are living and are united in Him.”
So, as we continue to search for the Truth that God desires for all of us to live in.
Psa 51:6, Behold, Thou dost desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part Thou wilt make me know wisdom.
It is an honest member of the Royal Family who operates in the virtue or integrity of God. It is also forbidden that at certain times the average believer recognizes the important doctrinal conclusions that need to be followed as Christian soldiers and even considered to ignore your responsibility toward all members of the human race. Especially the sins of omission. The sins of emotion destroy the lives of many believers who are searching for TRUTH.
There are also a few other passages that we can respond to if we have a desire to fulfill God’s will, God’s plan, or even the fulfillment of your very own spiritual life which we sometimes call your very own personal sense of destiny. In fact, there is another passage that sums things up immediately in which the Apostle Paul verified in one
+ of the most popular passages that we have concerning salvation and then concerning living the spiritual life that our Lord planed just for us.
This was so that we could enjoy every minute of this “New Spiritual Life” that God has called us to live in so that we could reap the benefits of PVTD, positive volition toward doctrine. The doctrinal principles in this passage especially, reveal our need for the Lord and our need for His word as we go forward living the spiritual Life that God has called us to. In fact, the Greek noun for church literally says that we are known as the ekklesia, which is made up of two Greek words;
The preposition ek = out from
The noun kaleo = called out ones.
We have seen a list of certain questions and answers that as an ambassador of Christ to represent Him as He truly desires to be represented…which is Aristocracy. Aristocracy refers to the highest class of individuals who are recognized in certain societies, as being close to the king of the country that they have been sent from. It also refers to the nobility or the privileged class of the elite in any country.
They are also known for the power and the nobility that comes from being an aristocrat. As an ambassador for Christ, which you truly are if you have become born-again and saved and especially if you realize the importance of your responsibility, then you should make the appropriate decisions to bring glory to our Lord.
Let’s look at some of the Tests and the Trials and the Tribulations in the natural realm so that we can make certain doctrinal rationales that apply directly to the spiritual life that God has called us to.
1. An ambassador does not appoint himself. We were appointed by God himself way back in Eternity Past when the Lord saw that we would believe in Him as our Savior under the proper biblical environment for the evangelizing of those who need to be saved.
If you have done so, then relax and enjoy the blessings that our Lord promised us so that we would be able to enjoy Him and the entire Trinity who is always doing something for us, especially at the moments that we will begin to enjoy because of our calling.
God, not only gives us the power, but He also gives us the ability to enjoy all that He has done just for us! We have the power and the ability to handle the job before us no matter what it entails. This is another reason that our Lord said what He said beginning with John 15:11, “These things [doctrines] I have spoken to you, that My joy or [His happiness] may be in you, and {that} your joy may be made full or complete. This is My commandment, that you [impersonally unconditionally] love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends, if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and {that} your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give to you. This I command you, that you love one another.”
2. The ambassador does not support himself. The Church-age believer, as an ambassador for Christ, is provided for by God and His logistical grace. This falls under that popular principle of Matt 6:33.
We begin with Matt 6:25-34, “For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, {as to} what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, {as to} what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and {yet} your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a {single} cubit to his life’s span? And why are you anxious about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these. But if God so arrays the grass of the field, which is {alive} today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, {will He} not much more {do so for} you, O men of little faith? Do not be anxious then, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘With what shall we clothe ourselves?’ For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your Heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. {Each} day has enough trouble of its own.”
3. The ambassador’s instructions are always in written form, so he has no doubt as to what he should do. We have the policies, problem solving devices, instructions, principles, doctrines, and concepts in written form in the scripture.
4. The ambassador does not belong to the country to which he is sent; Phil 3:20, For our citizenship is in Heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; Our citizenship and home is in Heaven. We are also citizens of a client nation to God.
5. The ambassador does not live in the foreign country for his own personal interest. We live here on earth solely to serve in the interest of our Lord. Therefore, we subordinate all personal interest to the function of our ambassadorship, which includes the attainment and function of the spiritual skills, the filling of the Holy Spirit, cognition of Bible doctrine, and execution of God’s plan for our life (Pre-designed Plan of God or the PPOG).
Our production skills, which include our ambassadorship, are in place at the moment of salvation, but are not effective until we develop spiritual skills. We will study both of them, that is the production skills or spiritual skills.
6. The ambassador does not treat any insult to himself as personal. This is the royal ambassador’s function in both spiritual self-esteem and impersonal love for all mankind. We tolerate others and hold no grudges. When you are insulted, treated unfairly, or ridiculed, you have tremendous problem solving devices. By the way, they are available from your pastor if you desire the doctrines that your Pastor encourages you to follow along with the other believers who also need to honor or to obey the Word of God for the benefit of all. You have to have the spiritual strength to use these problem-solving devices and then leave the matter in the Lord’s hands.
7. When an ambassador is recalled, his recall is tantamount to a declaration of war. This is analogous to the rapture of the church whereas the tribulation is analogous to the period of war. For example, if it has not happened to you yet, it will happen, because one of the questions that everyone has from time to time is the fact that if God loves us so much, then why do we suffer?
Why do we suffer?
We suffer because the Bible, the Word of God, prophesied that our Lord was also going to suffer but He would still remain under the control of the Mentorship of God the Holy Spirit. Many believers have missed out on receiving divine blessings from the doctrine of Election where our Lord willed His highest and best for all members of his Royal Family to love and to enjoy. Or, “If God loves us so much then why do people die?” Or, what about the question, “If God loves those He created so much, then why did He create the eternal lake of fire or hell for those who reject the Gospel and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? We know that because our Lord said in Matt 25:41 that the eternal fire had been originally prepared for the devil and his angels, not the human race.
Matt 25:41, “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;”
Not only that but it could also be one of those passages that say Sheol [the part of Hades where unbelievers go after they die] had to be enlarged, that is to make room for members of the human race who reject the Gospel. Therefore, Sheol has enlarged its throat and opened its mouth without measure; Isa 5:14, Therefore Sheol has enlarged its throat and opened its mouth without measure;
The point is that so many people do not realize some of the important principles concerning the devil and his angels which reveals to me the importance of repetition, because even though I have taught on this passage many times before. Even though I have taught on this passage many times before, I realized that I missed one particular phrase and that is the personal pronoun autou [translated “His”] anggelos [fallen angels who recognize the authority of Heylel [devil or Satan]. And this is very interesting because even the devil and his angels know and recognize the importance of authority, especially the spiritual authority of the two different kingdoms. One of those kingdoms are known as our Lord stated as “His Father’s Kingdom” in Matt 26:29 “But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”
One of the most popular passages on this principle is found in Mark 1:15, where our Lord said; “The time is fulfilled, and “the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” Here is one of the most common description that is used and called “
The Kingdom of God.” In John 18:36, our Lord called it “My Kingdom.”
John18:36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting, that I might not be delivered up to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.”
Eph 5:5, it is called the kingdom of Christ and God; Eph 5:5, For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
Col 1:9-17, For this reason also, since the day we heard {of it}, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please {Him} in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. And He is the image of the invisible God, the first born of all creation. For by Him all things were created, {both} in the Heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities all things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
What about prayer? What does the Bible say? Doesn’t the Bible say in Isa 65:24, “It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.
Now, this answer for us from God tells us that before we call or ask Him for anything, we should realize that He has already answered us even before we ask? And, if He hears us” while we are “still speaking,” then that means He already knows what we were going to ask Him before we do ask Him.
What is that we should ask? Whatever it is, it will be exceeding abundantly beyond all that we could ask or think, Eph 3:20, Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us. Therefore, a question emerges such as why we ask the Lord for anything, if He already knows what we need before we even need it or ask it.
Now, if all these things are true, then why did the Lord say in Isa 65:1, “I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me; I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’ To a nation which did not call on My name.
Let’s break this down for a moment. The first phrase in Isa 65:1 says, “I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me; ”
What does it mean when our Lord says; “I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me?” Remember one of the main passages on this subject is found in the Gospel of John. For example, we know what we should prepare ourselves for when it comes to worshipping and honoring our Lord. As the apostle John says, “Beware of what you listen to, especially in the last days of your life or your client nation.” We must be prepared to honor and respect our Lord Jesus Christ as John wrote in John 3:14 “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whoever believes may in Him have eternal life.
Now, the lifting up is two-fold; both spiritual and natural. The natural is first, it refers to the literal event of the fiery serpents as in Num 21:6, And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. The Lord was responding to the rebellion and the implacability of the Jewish people who were complaining to Moses and the Lord about being delivered from the slavery in Egypt. The spiritual is “lifting up our Lord” in the spiritual realm where we believe in “lifting up our Lord” or as Him being number one and the top priority of living the spiritual life.
John 12:31-32, “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world shall be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”
We know our Lord’s thoughts before the cross and even while on the cross, which He gives us John 5:41, “I do not receive glory from men;”
However, the main passage in the Gospel of John means that as the Word of God is taught, our Lord said in John 6:44-45, “No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught of God or by God. Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me.”
In this way, the Lord permitted Himself to be found by those who did not ask Him for anything or seek Him for anything. Look at Isa 65:1 where the Lord said; “I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me;” Notice that they didn’t ask for the Lord, but He still permitted them to search for Him.
Now, how did they “seek for Him” or how was He “sought by them” if He hadn’t called for them? He did that only in the sense that they were born with a light or with a conscience that convicts them of the fact that there has to be a Creator and that can be found even within nature. For in John 1:2 we read, “He was in the beginning with God.”
John 1:3-13, All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John. He came for a witness, that he might bear witness of the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but {came} that he might bear witness of the light. There was the true light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 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, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
Since we are in the Gospel of John, go forward to John 7:10, But when His brothers had gone up to the feast, then He Himself also went up, not publicly, but as it were, in secret.
There were many times that the celebrityship of our Lord was well-known and apparent even though He did not try to draw any attention to the fact. He was constantly dealing with people who were jealous of Him. Or, People who were bitter, angry, and even filled with hate. These are the ones who desire the destruction of those who seem to be prospering with our Lord or those who are being blessed by Him. It is a very evil, wicked generation that is always seeking for signs and wonders rather then the doctrinal truths and facts that our Lord desires for all of us to have and to function under….etc.
Now, in John 7:11-17, The Jews therefore were seeking Him at the feast, and were saying, “Where is He?” And there was much grumbling among the multitudes concerning Him; some were saying, “He is a good man”; others were saying, “No, on the contrary, He leads the multitude astray.” Yet no one was speaking openly of Him for fear of the Jews. But when it was now the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and {began to} teach. The Jews therefore were marveling, saying, “How has this man become learned, having never been educated?” Jesus therefore answered them, and said, “My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If any man is willing to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or {whether} I speak from Myself.”
In fact, one of the most popular questions really is why is there a hell for those who reject God’s commands. Does man or woman have the freedom to choose whatever they desire? Or, does man or woman have a choice to choose whatever they desire? And notice that there is a difference between freedom or choice. We are not really free to do whatever we want to do, or to think whatever we want to think or to say whatever we want or live like we want as well. In other words; and here is the profound principle of doctrine: We do have freedom, but the freedom is limited by the choices we are offered, because the freedom that we have is freedom to choose from the choices that we are offered.
We are not free to do whatever we want to; we are free to choose from the choices our Lord gives us. In that sense, there is a bondage of the will which is based upon the fact that we are not really given freedom as we know it, we are given a choice, beginning with the main question; “What do you think of the Christ?” Matt 22:42; John 3:18.
In Matt 22:42 “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?”
The human race is divided by one passage; John 3:18 “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Every member of the human race is either classified as a believer or an unbeliever. Therefore, we can conclude that man is not really a product of his own free will because he is not given freedom to do whatever he wants to do, in reality, he is given a choice as to what kingdom he wants to be a part of. The Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of darkness?
The point is that we all need to be prepared to answer these questions and more questions like these.
1. Is there a God?
2. Is there a devil?
3. Are there angels?
4. Are there humans?
5. Where did the humans come from?
6. What is the Angelic Conflict?
7. What was the origin of the conflict?
8. What part do humans play in human history?
9. Why am I here?
10. What does God expect from me?
11. Why is there Suffering?
12.Why are there Two Kingdoms?
13. Where did these kingdoms come from?
14. Why the Church?
15. After salvation; What?
16. What is expected from believers in the Church-age?
17. What happens to us when we die?
18. How do we glorify the Lord in time?
19. How do we glorify the Lord in eternity?
20. What will we do for all eternity – forever and ever?
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.
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