Internet Church Service – December 27, 2015

NEW EMBEDDED VIDEO/AUDIO SERMON in HD:
Christmas Special: The Paradoxes of Christmas, Part 1

Sermon Message:

Christmas Special: The Paradoxes of Christmas, Part 1

In HD - Video and Audio

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

Thank you for joining us for today’s worship service. Please enjoy the music before and after today’s video message (the video may also contain hymns).

TIP to enlarge the print hold down the “Ctrl” key on your key board, while it is being held down, move your mouse forward until the desired print size is just right for you. To return to normal screen size, reverse the process (some will see a % in the lower right corner of your screen, normal is 100%)

The lyrics have been provided so you can sing along with the artist in your mind and soul; imagine that the artist’s voice is your voice. I’m not a very good singer myself so I often get the lyrics for some of my favorites and sing along in my mind and soul, this way it’s as if I’m doing the singing to the Lord; try it. The embedded church service video may also contain music generated by the church itself.

Hymn #1

Away In A Manger – Lyrics in Video
(Google puts the video commercials on most YouTube Christian videos. You can
usually skip the commercial if there is one. Also, most videos are now preset by
Google to automatically run the next related video that Google wants you to see;
you can just hit the pause on the video to stop it before it changes.)

Hymn #2

We Three Kings of Orient Are – Lyrics in Video
(Google puts the video commercials on most YouTube Christian videos. You can
usually skip the commercial if there is one. Also, most videos are now preset by
Google to automatically run the next related video that Google wants you to see;
you can just hit the pause on the video to stop it before it changes.)

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 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:

Lectionary

The word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It cuts all the way through, to where soul and spirit meet, to where joints and marrow come together. It judges the desires and thoughts of the heart. (Heb. 4:12) GNB-UK

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living, so that the person who serves God may be fully qualified and equipped to do every kind of good deed. (2 Tim. 3:16-17) GNB-UK

Do your best to win full approval in God's sight, as a worker who is not ashamed of his work, one who correctly teaches the message of God's truth. (2 Tim. 2:15) GNB-UK

Opening Prayer
(Do your best to make it your own – below is a sample prayer)

Heavenly Father, we pray that we will all be richly edified by Your Word today and that You will make what we study today clear to us. We pray that all participants in this service as well as those who review it at a later date will be edified and blessed by today’s message. We pray this in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen

Our guest Pastor-Teacher is:

Robert McLaughlin - Grace Bible Church
and Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

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.

Sermon

Christmas Special: The Paradoxes of Christmas, Part 1

To view the notes for the embedded sermon below click the above link and open in separate window and split the screens or print the notes to follow along with the sermon and add your own expanded notes to the print-out.

ALTERNATE VIEWING OPTION:
For those who don’t see the embedded video above; some social websites don’t allow
embedded videos; the alternate I suggest is the best site to view this church service.

Left click on the following link:
Internet Church Service – December 27, 2015

TO VIEW THE SERMON: If you don’t see the embedded video above; right click the link above, a small window will open then left click either “Open in New Window” or “Open in New Tab” and the church service notes page will open, it has three options in the upper right side of the page, right click the link titled “download mp3” and just like before, select either Open New Window or Open New Tab to open the MP3 player, this will leave the notes page open so you can move back to it, so go back to the notes page to follow along in the notes, the streaming audio should begin automatically in your default audio/video player (like, Windows Media Player).

If you need to leave the service, when you come back, to move the MP3 player forward, press and hold the left click down on the player progress bar where you see the little arrow under the time on progress bar and move your mouse forward

OPTIONAL: On-line Bible – NASB95

If you wish to use it, right click the link and in the drop-down box, left click the "Open Link in New Window"; when the new window opens, reduce the window size of both the on-line bible and the slideshow and configure them to be side-by-side. Also, the window opens to John 3:16, click the word “more” below the verse, you will then see two online bible columns, Use the column on the left as it is set for the NASB95, at the top of the column where you see John 3:16 in the search box, type the book and verse when the Pastor asks you to go to a particular Bible verse, e.g., 1TI 5:21 [for 1 Timothy], or Eph 3:10 [for Ephesians], etc., then click “Enter” on your key board. You can use the “right column” if you wish for a different bible version but you’ll need to type in the verse you want each time as I directed you for the column on the left side.

Hymn #3

Go Tell It On The Mountain – Lyrics in Video
(Google puts the video commercials on most YouTube Christian videos. You can
usually skip the commercial if there is one. Also, most videos are now preset by
Google to automatically run the next related video that Google wants you to see;
you can just hit the pause on the video to stop it before it changes.)

CLOSING PRAYER:
(Again, below is a sample prayer, do your best to make it your own)

Heavenly Father, we pray that the Holy Spirit will make what I’ve learned today clear to me, for I pray this in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ’s name. Amen

If you have any questions that are pertinent about today’s message, please don’t hesitate to ask, you are welcome to ask them via a private message or by a reply in this post. However, sometimes questions can be real short but require a much longer answer in order to give an adequate answer. If I don’t think that the question is able to be answered quickly I’ll reply back telling you that I’ll research it and get to you with the answer (it may even be a few days as I’m a little slower than I used to be). Please don’t let what I’ve just said make you hesitate to ask questions.

I want to thank all of you who have attended this Internet Church Service as well as those who will view it at a later time or date.

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 21, 2015

What it means to live in the Royal Family Honor Code as you put on the Breastplate of Righteousness.

PLEASE READ FIRST

Scripture References, Word & Phrase descriptions: If available on the website you're viewing this on, a few links (i.e., those without an already written scripture quote or brief explanation) 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), they work best using the Firefox browser – pop-ups in Internet Explorer, Chrome & other browsers only appear for a few seconds at best. If you don’t have Firefox (or hover pop-ups aren’t available on the website you’re viewing this on), that’s OK, move your cursor off and on the link until it is read; or left click the link which will open the verse at the online bible; or you can always use your Bible to look up the verses.

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]

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; the issue for you is to have faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life:

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 3:14-18 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 R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries

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

STUDY TITLE:

What it means to live in the Royal Family Honor Code as you put on the Breastplate of Righteousness.

OPTION: If you would prefer to go directly to the Grace Bible Church website to read this study message, all verse reference links are active there (but not hover active) and Enlarged Text is also an available option – right click the above link then left click “Open Link in New Window” or “New Tab”

Terms & Abbreviations used:

PPOG = Predesigned Plan of God
Human Good = Evil + Good Deeds while not in fellowship with God
OSN = Old Sin Nature
TLJC = The Lord Jesus Christ
SSE = Spiritual Self Esteem
PVTD = Positive Volition Towards Doctrine
+H - The Happiness of God
NVTD = Negative Volition Towards Doctrine
Doctrine = Bible Truth

To look up other “terms”, go to:

Alphabetical Listing

BEGIN BIBLE STUDY
Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotes and references
are from the NASB – New American Standard Bible

What it means to live in the Royal Family Honor Code as you put on the Breastplate of Righteousness.

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 indeed 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 MAT 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.”

ACT 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 excellences 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 (MAT 13:55-56).

MAT 13:55-56 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.

PRO 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 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. PRO 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.

PRO 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.

PRO 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.

PRO 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.

PRO 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.

Merry Christmas from Mark & Lottie

 

TRUE OR FALSE?

GOD’S GIFT OF “ETERNAL LIFE” IS GIVEN TO ALL WHO SIMPLY BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST!

If it is true, what exactly must one do to receive this gift of eternal life? In the Gospel of John, chapter 6, verse 47, the Apostle John recorded his eyewitness testimony of what Jesus Himself said: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.” NKJV [everlasting life and eternal life are synonymous terms in the Bible]. Jesus clearly states in this verse that anyone who believes (trusts) in Him receives eternal life. But, what is it that we need to believe about Jesus? The Apostle John makes it clear in John 20:30-31: …that Jesus is the Christ [Christ means Messiah], the Son of God; and that believing you may have life [eternal life] in His Name. NKJV; in other words, to believe in Him is equivalent to believing that He is the Christ [Messiah], the Son of God. Now, notice again what Jesus said in John 6:47: “he who believes in Me has everlasting life.” He did not say will have, He said has. Simply put, God’s gift of eternal life (Ephesians 2:8) is given to believers instantaneously at their moment of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; in other words, the very second a person is persuaded of the truth about what God’s Word says a person must do to receive eternal salvation (like when the Jailer asked the Apostle Paul and Silas in Acts 16:30-31 – ³⁰…“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” ³¹ So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved…) and then simply believes in Jesus Christ, he/she instantaneously possesses everlasting life [John 6:47]; it’s really that simple—nothing more and nothing less. Therefore, the correct answer to the opening question is: True!

Furthermore, the mental act of believing in Jesus Christ is all that’s needed to be saved. The very second anyone crosses the line from unbelief to belief in Jesus Christ, they are saved [that is, saved from the great white throne judgment of all unbelievers at the end of time and from being cast into the lake of fire which would be eternal separation from God, Revelation 20:11-15; John 5:24]. In other words, the new believer now actually possesses God’s gift of eternal life; meaning he or she is guaranteed: 1) unending life [meaning, the believers eternal relationship with God will never end, not even at physical death]; 2) resurrection to a new glorified physical body that will be immortal; and 3) eternal participation in the world to come, (Titus 3:4-7; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52; Philippians 3:20-21; John 6:38-40), all this plus much, much, much more comes with simply believing in Jesus Christ. And, it is literally impossible to ever lose your eternal life or have it taken from you (John 10:28-29), not even if you later change your mind and stop believing [if that were to happen, the born-again believer will most likely experience serious discipline from God and lose some or all of any temporal and/or eternal rewards (1 Corinthians 3:11-15) that person may have accumulated from any good works he/she had accomplished while in the Spirit, but you can never change the fact that you once believed; therefore, eternal life can never be lost or taken from you, no matter what!). Another way to think of it would be, if you could lose eternal life, God would not have used the words “eternal” or “everlasting” life. How long is eternal life? Forever!

It is Jesus the Christ [Messiah], who is both true humanity and undiminished deity as the Son of God in one person who is the object in the eternal salvation of the unbeliever; for all who by simple faith alone believe in Him alone, the result to the one who believes will be the instant gift of eternal life (John 20:30-31). It’s important to understand that belief in Him is truly a mental act of believing that Jesus’ promise of everlasting life is true and then it’s entirely up to the unbeliever to believe in Him, when you have believed mentally in Him, that is the actual point of saving faith. In other words, the point of saving faith, the mental act of believing actually occurs before you are able to formulate in your mind what to say to God in audible words like when you learned something new in school, you believed in your mind first then you formulated the words, in thought only, “I get it”, believing always happens in the mind first, never audibly. Therefore, the magnificence of God’s infinite knowledge hears the unbelievers thought of belief in Christ instantly as he or she thinks it and just as instantly that unbeliever is saved (given eternal life). Hallelujah!

Merry Christmas

Mark & Lottie