Exodus
20:1 And God spake all these words, saying,
20:2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
20:13 Thou shalt not kill.
20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
20:15 Thou shalt not steal.
20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
These are the commandments of THE God, our Father, the Alpha and Omega. These commandments were and are the Law.
They are separate from the other laws God did give in the old testament (laws of sacrifice) in that they are to be followed still today.
Here is your LORD, in the NEW TESTAMENT, testifying that these commandments shall forever be followed, on earth, by those that truly love Him.
Mark
10:18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
10:19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.
10:20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.
Luke
1:5 THERE was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
1:6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
Now there are many who will say; but Jesus says there are only two commandments He asks of us to follow, the old covenant is gone, replaced by grace in the death and resurrection of Christ…
This is NOT what is written in the Word of God. Jesus is the fulfillment of God's law. God does not simply “replace" His commands for His people.
Matthew
22:36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
So, the question this man asked is; which is the GREATEST commandment IN the Law? Jesus responds with loving God with all your heart, soul and mind. The second GREATEST is to love thy neighbor as thyself.
IMPORTANT VERSE coming up!!!
“On these commandments hang ALL the law and the prophets.” (because the Law is encompassed in these scriptures)
Jesus DID declare that these two commandments are in fact the most important, but why??
If you truly love God, you will love Him with all your heart, soul and mind. AND if you love your neighbor as yourself, you will NOT dishonor, murder, steal, lie to or covet him, correct?
Many, many people are mislead into thinking that this scripture somehow implies or even outright states that there are only two commandments to be followed in the NEW TESTAMENT… this is incorrect.
Yes, many of the original Ten Commandments are applicable so to speak, within these two commandments given by Jesus BUT there are others not specifically spoken for in this scripture (honor thy father and thy mother, keep the Sabbath) that are STILL ever important and commanded by God to be followed. These commandments would not fall away or change simply because they are not named here because God AND His Word does not change.
There is nowhere in God's Word that states the ten commandments should at any point NOT be followed. They MUST be followed, if we wish to return to our Father! (Lev 22:31)
There is further scripture that confirms again, that the Ten Commandments are to always be followed by all men who truly love God. These are from the end of time on this earth, the end of His written Word and yet the Commandments remain.
Revelation
12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Again here…
Revelation
22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
Now remember...Jesus said to follow the commandments in Matthew and in Mark so these scriptures are NOT to mean only follow the two that so many are clinging to today.
God created those ten standards to live eternally by for many reasons; He loves us, we were sinful, sinful humans who had chosen to fall away...and guess what? We are STILL those sinful humans!!! And we need His laws to exist and live eternally within His Kingdom!
When did we reach a point where we don't need to honor our father and mother? When have we not needed to remember the Sabbath and keep it Holy?
God is the same yesterday, today and forever, amen. His Will was spoken and He meant Every. Last. Word.
Here is His continued promise to those who believe and hear His Word as He has given it...
Revelation
14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
And here is His promise for those who do not…
Revelation
22:18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
Be thoughtful and full of discernment as you draw nigh to the Father. Pray for His written Word to speak to your very soul, for there are others quietly vying for it as well...
Matthew
15:8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Be well in His commandments my friends...ALL of them. Xo
Thursday, December 22, 2016
Sunday, December 18, 2016
You can't have one without the other...
Greetings friends!
As we anxiously await for Christmas day to arrive, we willfully reflect on this past year and hopefully on what Christmas truly means as a child of God.
We celebrate the birth of our Savior, God in the flesh and the grace that was and is bestowed upon those that truly follow the LORD and His will, amen.
There is much to ponder as the end of another year approaches and one of those thoughts may be; am I building my relationship with Christ by faith or works alone?
This tends to be a hot topic among many Christians and despite what many a man will tell us, GOD tells us there is no fruitful faith without works and no fruitful works without faith. The scripture to follow ensures this.
James
2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
2:15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
2:16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
2:22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
2:24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
2:25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Well, there you have it folks. There it is for all to see, the very words of the Almighty. There should be no room for confusion or disillusion in whether we can be saved by grace (forgiveness/faith) alone. We are to consider our faith and works as ONE testimony to our Father.
Another important aspect of this scripture that should be noted, God does not appear to be overly impressed by self serving gestures of kindness towards others or serving Him in public to save face with man.
These kinds of “works" are not advocated in this scripture or anywhere for that matter, but it tends to be where most Christians stumble. (Earning works)
By the examples given in this scripture, one could gather “works" to mean having the faith to answer God's call, when and how HE is asking us to AND for our desire to be HIS desire NO MATTER WHAT HE ASKS!!
If we have faith, real, real faith, there is nothing we fear in trusting His will and if we act on that faith wholeheartedly without hesitation or doubt, we have shown Him our works!
No matter what He asks, we have faith that His will is truth and we honor that in following (works).
So as we spend time with loved ones, celebrating the birth of Christ on earth, take a moment to be with God and search your heart. Hopefully we are led to faithfully improve our work ethic with each and every moment He gives us!
God bless and Merry Christmas!! Xo
As we anxiously await for Christmas day to arrive, we willfully reflect on this past year and hopefully on what Christmas truly means as a child of God.
We celebrate the birth of our Savior, God in the flesh and the grace that was and is bestowed upon those that truly follow the LORD and His will, amen.
There is much to ponder as the end of another year approaches and one of those thoughts may be; am I building my relationship with Christ by faith or works alone?
This tends to be a hot topic among many Christians and despite what many a man will tell us, GOD tells us there is no fruitful faith without works and no fruitful works without faith. The scripture to follow ensures this.
James
2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
2:15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
2:16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
2:22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
2:24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
2:25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Well, there you have it folks. There it is for all to see, the very words of the Almighty. There should be no room for confusion or disillusion in whether we can be saved by grace (forgiveness/faith) alone. We are to consider our faith and works as ONE testimony to our Father.
Another important aspect of this scripture that should be noted, God does not appear to be overly impressed by self serving gestures of kindness towards others or serving Him in public to save face with man.
These kinds of “works" are not advocated in this scripture or anywhere for that matter, but it tends to be where most Christians stumble. (Earning works)
By the examples given in this scripture, one could gather “works" to mean having the faith to answer God's call, when and how HE is asking us to AND for our desire to be HIS desire NO MATTER WHAT HE ASKS!!
If we have faith, real, real faith, there is nothing we fear in trusting His will and if we act on that faith wholeheartedly without hesitation or doubt, we have shown Him our works!
No matter what He asks, we have faith that His will is truth and we honor that in following (works).
So as we spend time with loved ones, celebrating the birth of Christ on earth, take a moment to be with God and search your heart. Hopefully we are led to faithfully improve our work ethic with each and every moment He gives us!
God bless and Merry Christmas!! Xo
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