“39 And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. 40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. 42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” – Luke 23:39-43

Three men were crucified that day: Jesus in the middle. The other two were criminal men, malefactors, wicked workers of inequity. “Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.” – Matthew 27:38. These two are serious criminals. Crucifixion was not a sentence given for any light offense; they were thieves; these two men were sinners.

One of the men understood, professed, and spoke with the Lord Jesus Christ, the other did not. It’s a simple message with a simple choice every man must make. One man accepted Jesus, and the other rejected Christ’s power and authority, including God’s particular way of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ to come into His Kingdom.

Many denounce Jesus Christ, even cursing God with rantings and ravings, while others don’t think there is a God at all. Some make very astute-sounding objections to God and Christ while remaining illogical in their assumptions of the design and its Creator. God, to some men, is a myth or a religious crutch for the weak, they say. Even some believers treat God as a spare tire only to be used in an emergency but otherwise forgotten.

Though the historical events are accurate, the picture drawn by Scripture in the last hours of Christ upon the cross illustrates God’s great and final judgment of all men. As these men did, your eternity will be decided before that great day; you will either be on Christ’s left hand or His right. The rulers, priests, scribes, Pharisees, and many of the attending soldiers mocked Jesus Christ, even saying, “Save thyself, and come down from the cross.” – Mark 15:30

This first man told Jesus to save himself and the other:

“39 And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.”

Yet Christ would die that day and commit His own spirit into the hands of Father God. A malefactor is a man who bestows evildoing on other men. In contrast, a benefactor profits a man, and in the case of Christ, benefits all mankind, even eternally, to those who believe. Notably, many would be saved, but not by God’s ordained means of salvation through Christ. If Christ climbs down from that cross, as the man asked, none are saved. God has made one way: faith in Jesus Christ as payment through giving himself as the final sin sacrifice for all men that believe by faith.

The books of the law and the prophets all point to this moment; this is the most pivotal juncture in all of Scripture: the Son of God, holding the future of mankind in His power, is hanging on a cross, being tortured to death, yet without sin, treated as a criminal. This is it! This is the way to holy God, the very day God offered eternal soul salvation to all men everywhere. Jesus loves us enough to stay on that cross for those who know deep in the corners of their heart that they can’t live unto God without Him, let alone see heaven’s glory.

Centuries beforehand, the profit tells of the coming Christ: “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.” – Isaiah 53:10

In offering His own soul for yours, accepting the condemnation for your sins, the sons of God, Christ’s seed by faith, could be birthed anew by the Spirit of God. Christ is the seed of the promise to Abram, and those that are Christ’s are the blessed of all nations according to the prophecy. Upon the cross, Jesus looked out through time and saw His seed, all those who would be His.

And God certainly did fulfill the prophecy and Jesus’ time of the resurrection three days later, for Christ is eternal: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” – John 1:1. All things were made by Him and for Him. Jesus rose from the grave three days later; death could have no hold on Him.

We never hear from the first man again, and Jesus did not reply. Gone from the pages of history, this first man died eternal death, receiving his due reward. The horror is incalculable, being right next to Jesus on the cross and assuming God should have made some other way to be saved: “If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.” Imagine the pride. Imagine the arrogance of presuming how God should order His domain and make way for eternal life. The man practically says: No, I won’t be saved except God do things my way. How many millions have suffered this exact same end? And what of you, dear reader? If you claim any other way to Father God, you have called Christ a liar.

Now, we see the second man:

“40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?”

He is no less a criminal, lying and thieving. Only the Gospel according to Saint Luke, records this precious exchange, in verses forty through forty-three. It’s the moment of faith between a sinner and his Saviour.

This second man, on the other side of Jesus, professed at least cursory acceptance of the existence of God, for he rebuked the first man for his railings. Having believed and thought it wise to fear God, he departs from the evil of the first man, differentiating himself by accepting who Christ is.

This man had a reverence for God. “And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.” – Job 28:28. No man can depart from evil in this life or eternity, but through the clemency and power of God Almighty.

The second man believed in more than just the existence of God and a degree of respect for God. He had the mental wherewithal to realize he would die either way, regardless of God’s plan for salvation as written according to Scripture. His eternal soul was on the line; his life would soon end. It would seem that he realized even if Jesus had done some miracle by removing them all from the cross, he was a wanted man, being condemned already; he was nonetheless guilty of sin against God. And before God’s holy throne, all men stand guilty of sin; we’re all guilty under the law of God.

You may not be an evildoer, but all men everywhere are condemned already by their sin. Jesus suffered the cross because it was necessary payment for sin as God fulfills His promise to make a way of forgiveness from the curse of sin that all men carry. The curse of sin is in your being; a sinner is who and what you are. “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” – John 3:18. You’re going to die, condemned by God already for your crimes; God is holy, somebody has to pay.

The second man continues:

“41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.”

The thief admitted not only his sin but that his due reward was wrath in the judgment of God. All men are under the verdict of God. All things are His, and every man is judged by His standard. He will heap appropriate consequences upon all men for their deeds. So few hear this profound truth; hell is what you’d undoubtedly get if justice is served. You don’t want justice from God; what you need is mercy. For a criminal, the second man on the cross was at least aware.

The due reward of Christ is His Church. Jesus never sinned. He is the perfect, holy sacrifice to God, once for all, paying for the sins of the world to save the body of Christ, who are His. Nobody has a right by their actions to claim Christ; the Church is His by faith. All those who believe in the hope of forgiveness of sin, seeking heaven instead, belong to Christ the King.

Speaking of Jesus Christ: “22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself  to him that judgeth righteously: 24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” – 1 Peter 2:22-24.

Jesus didn’t climb down off the cross, and though they reviled Him, didn’t argue with His accusers, even praying, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” He held His peace knowing the God who judgeth righteously. Jesus bore our sins, suffering the torment, scourged, beaten, and bloodied; by His stripes, can a man be healed anew.

The second man sought his only hope:

“42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.”

The man believed Jesus is Lord; He’s who and what He says is, the holy Christ, Redeemer of sinners, Sovereign over the Kingdom of God. He called Jesus Lord, admitting His power over him and authority over life and death itself; Christ alone determines the eternal state of a man’s soul. All men die, and all men are judged.

So the second thief called upon Jesus as Lord and Saviour, having surrendered to Jesus and to the will of God that in death he would be forgiven from hell so that he could be partaker of the everlasting Kingdom of God with Christ. What a simple and lovely prayer in faith; “Remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.”

“43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.”

God doesn’t owe us anything, yet proving His love, Christ took the vile evildoer to be His own by accepting that man’s simple faith. This man on the cross could perform no good deed of repentance toward God or make amends. He could perform no religious ceremony or rite, nailed there to a cross with the Son of God; all he could do was ask for mercy. The man could make no restitution, which is the law of God; remaining a criminal under the ordinance of God up to his last breath, by simple faith alone, Christ took the man into His everlasting. We don’t even know his name, but God loved him and saved him. “To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.”

The first man who railed against Christ, as far as the Scripture record indicates, never had faith to be saved. The second man came to the realization of God at the very last moments of life. Had Christ’s crucifixion been any other day, would he have believed in time to be born again?

Appointed by God, no man knows the number of his days on earth or upon what date his body will expire. All men everywhere face the same choice those two sinners met that day: guilty of sin, impending death; one man to eternal damnation, the other by faith to life everlasting with Holy Father God. The difference between a repentant sinner and a man lost to hell is that the sinner admits what he’s done is wrong, and the due reward of punishment by God’s authority is fitting.

At Christ’s great judgment of all men, which side will you be on? Are you the man on Christ’s left hand rejecting God, cursed to hell for all eternity, refusing to admit your sin? “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” – Matthew 25:41

Or, are you the man on the right who believes Christ is Lord? “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” – Matthew 25:34

Dear Lord, have mercy on me a poor sinner.

“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” – Ephesians 4:32

The last phrase of that final verse of Ephesians four is astounding and so very plain. It truly can only be arrived at through childlike faith. If reading along in your bible, it’s easy to miss as you finish the chapter and close the book, but this truth is at the centrality of the doctrine of soul salvation. Of course, the context of the later part of Ephesians four, from verse 20 onward to 32, is critical instruction for the Christian believer, discussing personal effort, putting off your former self, and allowing the Lord to continue His sanctification of you. A man born afresh by the Spirit of God ought to recompense to the brethren all these duties mentioned and more. Give no place to evil speaking or doing. Grieve not the Holy Spirit, verse 30 says.

But found so simple and proper are those few words toward initial faith in Christ at the end of verse 32. Don’t miss it; God did not save you because of you, or because of anything about you, or because of anything you’ve done, said, promised, confessed, nor anyplace you’ve joined in whichever ceremonies or rites you may partake; God, for Christ’s sake alone, because He loves His son, is the sole reason the Father has granted you reprieve and given you to His only begotten.

Salvation is not about you; it’s not for you, and it’s not because of you; it’s all for Jesus Christ.

Oh, the unmerited favor of God who, by grace in salvation, calls men to Christ. God forgave you for Christ’s sake, giving you to Jesus as His Church, the body, for He loves His Christ. Not because of you; what is a man such as you to God and Christ? But God gave you to be the bride of His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. You are the inheritance of Jesus Christ, for His own good pleasure; not for your sake, but entirely by miracle has your faith arrived unto conversion that Christ be magnified among men, hallowed in the highest to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. The degree to which you are blessed by God to be converted for His purposes, chosen in Him, is immeasurable.

On the verge of tears, there’s no way to adequately describe the depths of God’s mercy to be numbered among those forgiven. The complete degree is unknowable; who can reconcile such an act, that God would glorify His Son, and you being what, a hapless stranger alienated from the commonwealth of God, struggling in the toil of daily grind full of labor when God out of heaven called you to His Son. Who are we to complain or object or refuse anything He asks, now living in the freedom of Christ as the gift of His Father? To sound the depths of this blessing is impossible; it’s much too far for a man to understand what it is to be pardoned because he is given to Christ.

God made man in the first place for His own great purposes; male and female created He them; and blessed them. And He formed you, and breathed into your nostrils the breath of life; and you became a living soul, sentient, aware of Him. But the world is filled with liars telling men to be their own gods, the center of it all; humanism is a contagious viral cancer consuming the West and profoundly damaging the Church. Is He the holy Creator, owner of all that is, sovereign in the purposes of His actions and will, knowing and ordering the beginning from the end of all things, or is He less than a man?

The feast is polluted, soiled, and having spots; a plague of leprosy is among us. Most Christians are trained to think of God as their cosmic butler. Manpleasers, false teachers have beguiled us, insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Biblical Christianity requires a logically consistent world-life view and a conformable understanding of who God is. The fact is that you are a slave to Christ and not your own, but bought with a price in blood to bring glory to Him, and for no other purpose at all do you now draw breath.

The Lord would tuck you under His wings, cover you with His feathers, be your shield and buckler; “how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” The river runs its course, yet the ocean is not overflowing; the wind on her circuit returns all things, bringing a whirlwind, yet you still have not. When will God’s people stop asking for worldly gain and stuff but again cry unto God; quicken me for thy name’s sake, for thy righteousness, here am I God; send me.

When the twoedged sword of conviction by the Spirit arrives, it convinces us of our unrighteousness and the totality of the perfect righteousness that is Christ our Lord. Righteousness is the quality or state of being morally correct and justifiable – without guilt or sin. Born in sin, you were not and are not righteous, but Christ was, is, and will forever be the sinless Holy One. In Christ is the only place of uprightness for the sinner.

Not because of your righteousness: “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one” – Romans 3:10. And again: “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” – Isaiah 64:6.

Not by any measure of your own works: “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” – Titus 3:5

Not by the keeping of any religious rules or law, which only condemn for sin: “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” – Romans 3:20.

Not by your religion, for a million blood sacrifices to God over millennia were still not enough: “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.” – Hebrews 10:4

But the only hope of men is the offering of the Lamb of God to die on the cross that He might receive those who, by faith, Father God has given. And Jesus rose from the grave, ascending to the Father, preparing His bride over generations for His return to claim what is rightfully His. Holy Father, God gave those whom Christ would convert through faith at His will, not for your sake, but for Christ’s. By no deserving acts of your own, the full measure of the miracle of soul salvation is unknowable to the mind of man. It truly is a grant that you, not of your power, but that God would use you to bless His faithful Son, Jesus Christ.

No man shall boast; salvation is a gift of God. Only Jesus Christ is righteous: love God and have mercy on the brethren, even as God, for Christ’s sake, hath forgiven you.

Ezekiel 22:23-31

In chapter 22 of Ezekiel, he is commissioned as a judge to show Jerusalem her abominations, to pronounce the determinations of God against Jerusalem (Verses 1-2), calling it the bloody city (Verse 2) defiled by idols (Verse 4).

Verses 5-12 are a catalog of sins from which the charges against them are cited. Making a complete list of America’s sins would be impossible; time and space are limited, but some instances will be applied.

Verses 13-22 are the pronouncement of judgment, but within those verses, note that verses 17 through 22 discuss the necessity of the refining process they must undergo. Many types of metal and alloys are mentioned denoting that the purification of this refining will affect everyone; none shall escape the ire of God. Being purified and having the dross of sin skimmed can be painful for a man. But praise the Lord, put through the fire with sin purged, the end is sweet as honey, for we come out as a son of God after chastisement which yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness (Hebrews 12:11).

Then, in our text, holy God calls out a roster to Ezekiel of the specific groups and their sinful actions; the prophets, priests, princes, and the people. The chapter concludes with verses 30 and 31; God could find no just man, a leader among the people that would give Him reason to forestall His wrath.

As background, Deuteronomy 19 is the Law of Innocent Blood. And in Proverbs chapter 6, cataloged among the things God hates are hands that shed innocent blood. “A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood” – Proverbs 6:17. Also, see Matthew 27:3-4, carefully considering the ends of men and the demise of empires that shed the innocent blood.

Some application for today is needed from the section starting in verse 23 to the end of the chapter. We’ll look at their situation and similarities today to understand why judgment is arriving in the West and what repentance should be if only we would.

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“23 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 24 Son of man, say unto her, Thou art the land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon in the day of indignation.”

Verse 24 is not a pronouncement of drought but an indication that the land and people were not being cleansed, having no refreshing of God’s mercies due to their wickedness. Water is often a picture of the Spirit of God or, particularly, the person of the Holy Spirit. Jesus offered the woman at the well living water (John 4:14). Christ places the Spirit of God in a man’s soul, born again by the Spirit, making all who would believe “a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” Also, see Revelation 22:1.

In Ezekiel chapter 22, the Spirit of God was being withdrawn, a horrifying thought indeed, for in the absence of God, darkness prevails, sin abounds, wickedness multiplies throughout the land, and the people suffer. What is outer darkness, but the absence of inner Light? It’s reasonably apparent that an exit from faith in God has been crossed for America and the West.

There is an Old Testament distinction between priests and prophets; verses 25 and 26 list them separately. Some thoroughly understand the Old Testament structure of roles and modes of worship, days of observance, purposes of the offices, and various sacrifices, but this writer has a weakness. Firmly planted in the New Covenant, the history is of interest but the application rules.

The prophets are most noted when God calls them and declares judgment on the people by them. The prophets had a separate school; in 2 Kings 6, they needed a more extensive training and living facility. We think today of a prophet as a man of old who foretold the future at the word of the Lord and did great miracles. But most often in the Bible, a prophet is a teacher (John 3:2) or a messenger of God. Though He was a prophet, but not only a prophet, billions of people today do err, thinking that Jesus was just another visionary. But Jesus rose from the grave. Everything Jesus said is coming true, and we serve in hope while awaiting His return to finish our course. Be sure Christ dwells in your heart by faith, making you rooted and grounded in love.

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“25 There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof.”

Deuteronomy 18:15-22 details the creation of the office of the prophet; note carefully in verses 21 and 22 how to identify a false prophet. The modern prophecy movement today is run by the devil himself. Only God knows the future, but it’s plain to read what becomes of a people when their state is such as ours.

The prophets then, as today, were divining lies for personal gains, like a roaring lion ravening the prey, which sounds remarkably like the description of the devil in 1 Peter 5:8. The making of many widows refers to the false declaration to the king(s) about the authority of God to go to war, which is detailed further in verses 27 and 28 below.

Today false prophets further devour souls by selling the self-righteousness of works salvation, declaring rites, rituals, and ceremonies as equal to the grace of God that comes only through faith in the sacrifice of His own Son. They steal the foundation of the Gospel truth (1 Corinthians 15:3-4) and simplicity that is in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 11:3), filling men with the pride of their own achievements, which are wood, hay, and stubble (1 Corinthians 3:10-13), the filthy rags of men’s own righteousnesses (Isaiah 64:6), all of which, every last thing, will burn up in the final conflagration at the judgment of Christ (2 Peter 3:10-12).

How many false health and wealth movement prophets today have taken treasure and precious things?

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“26 Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.”

As background, the book of Leviticus outlines the Old Covenant law of the priesthood. We worship today, or we should, under the New Covenant in Christ.

First, profane can mean anything not ordained of God, not necessarily wicked, but even the ordinary. God is holy; nothing about Him or the worship He demands is common. There certainly are very profane things, wickedness and evil of all types, but taking the things not ordained of God and including them in worship, claiming them to be godly or holy, is a problem that leads to idolatry.

Unrepentant sinners abound among Christians, some even teaching in the churches, women “priests,” and many other examples come to mind today. But none of those churches started by having, for instance, sodomite preachers. Somewhere in the history of those churches, they allowed the profane. Perhaps the problem started before the current membership was alive: the leadership let some things slide, and just a few “little sins” began to creep in. Righteousness begets righteousness, and evil is forced to flee. So too, sin produces even more corruption by eroding the holy, just, wholesome, and clean, making God see all that worship as profane.

The application of verse 26 to today is rather apparent, or it should be. The priests are allowing all manner of sins, which is a violation of God’s holy law. The churches have put no difference between the holy and the mundane, let alone rejecting sin among them.

In Acts, the body of Christ met and worshipped daily and from house to house (Acts 2:46-47, 5:42), and God grew it mightily for their faith. I attend church on Sunday: it’s the right day under the New Covenant. I’m not telling you when to gather together, but you must do it; it’s a commandment (Hebrews 10:25). I know the churches are messed up. Even the good ones are messed up, for they’re full of sinners.

America’s churches are full of professional liars, teaching you to obey the god-government and how to get along by successfully integrating your family into a secular evil society while pretending it’s not all sin, debauchery, and unclean.

But you have to go to church. Go to every church within miles until you find one that obeys Christ’s command in Matthew 22:37-40. And John 13:35 is how you know who are His disciples. Most folks who won’t attend church today don’t go because they see how bad they are. Without you in some assembly, how can they stay right with God? Christianity isn’t a consumer activity in which you choose your favorite; it’s sometimes very formidable work to be obedient and please the Lord personally and as a group.

You can do this even in the face of what church leaders are doing. Show yourself to Holy God, one repentant sinner, desiring to be consecrated in the Lord, a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1) worthy to be reckoned as belonging to the Most Holy. Then take charge of your family, purge all sin from among you, seeking God’s favor that you might be bathed in the blood of Christ, sanctified by the Holy Spirit of God. Next, your local church body; cleanse it of all sin, remove the unrepentant, and present it to God in like manner. “Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” This isn’t somebody else’s job; it’s yours.

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“27 Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.”

It’s just too many sins today to list; frankly, I don’t even care what our leaders do anymore. We deserve them. The issue in the text is the shedding of blood for gain.

It’s difficult to understand why anybody of sound mind would join the armed forces of America or NATO countries. Without going on a tirade against the evil rulers of America, the West, and the global Oligarchy, I’ll point out that America has been at war my entire lifetime and doing it for fun, profit, and one world order. Waring for a few men’s pleasure and gain establishing a global central banking cartel is not a righteous endeavor; have no part in it. The bloody city, Washington D.C., has its due coming, along with all those who shed innocent blood to our ruin.

And what about abortion? America has princes in many states ravenous for the innocent blood of babies. Horrors undertaken too difficult to bear for a man not owned spirit of antichrist occur daily. Healthcare and healing have been turned into sickcare and a death mill. What else could come of a people who don’t value the next generations of their people?

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“28 And her prophets have daubed them with untempered morter, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the LORD hath not spoken.”

“untempered morter” seems to be a metaphor for patching up the rulers with lies, making feel and look good.

In verses 27 and 28, the prophets have sanctioned unjust wars. What was happening in Ezekiel’s day is happing here. The mainline Christians love war, and presidents take to themselves false prophets who divine “peace peace” lying through their teeth. See Jeremiah (a contemporary of Ezekiel) 6:14, 23:16-17.

As a young voter, politicians would promise a continuation of the “largest peacetime expansion” of the economy in history (but by flagrant usury debt to our children, a part they would omit) and, in the next breath, tell us who they were going to bomb back to the stone age. Take heart; I fell for it, too, even offering myself for military service. God has seen these lies! Presidents have had wicked men and women “spiritual advisors” and many famous professional fake Christian “men of God.” God has seen these lies, too, and the dual citizens they really serve.

“Even those who profess themselves to be my prophets, have been unfaithful in the discharge of their office; have soothed the people in their sins, and pretended to have oracles of peace and safety when I had not spoken to them.” – Adam Clarke on verses 27 and 28.

Separate yourself from the evil of Babylon as much as possible. Escape from her any way you can but run to the Lord God!

“My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the LORD.” – Jeremiah 51:45

“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” – Revelation 18:4

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“29 The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.”

It’s so bad in America that just about everybody has decided to “get mine” while the gettin’ is good. Dishonesty in business, whether with customers or employees, repressive wages, and much more, is now standard, while government mandates acceptance of the New Religion in all affairs of life. Welfare and insurance/disability fraud are rampant. People just accept sin as a way of life and that everybody does it. God also sees these lies. Christians are supposed to be different; be ye separate (2 Corinthians 6:17).

And don’t let liars and false Christians abuse this verse where it mentions oppressing the stranger. God required Israel to apply the entire law to the strangers and sojourners among them (Exodus 12:49) and requires the same of us today (Acts 10:34, Romans 2:11). Verse 29 is not Christ’s license to import a billion heathens and destroy your civilization through 501c3, Soros funded “refugee resettlement!” Notwithstanding, do good to whom God has said in the New Testament.

But not every one of us has turned to evil. There are those among you, come what may; we’ll try as God allows us to endeavor for what is right. Lord, have mercy on us.

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“30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. 31 Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD.”

And finally, we arrive at the fury of God Almighty in the indignation of His wrath, having determined fiery vengeance to recompense those men for their evil. This same God is the only one that can save our civilization now, and it starts with you. It’s not justice you need; it’s the mercy of God’s forgiveness.

This is where every man stands, born into sin, helpless before the power of God’s holy throne, condemned already to hell’s eternal depths for your sin. The law can’t save you; no amount of religion or good deeds can appease God, for there is only one just atonement.

“For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.” – Ezekiel 18:32

Though you deserve it, God takes no pleasure in your soul’s eternal demise. He offers life if you would turn unto Him and live. Without Him, judgment is at the door.

Look back at verse 30; regrettably, there is none righteous, no, not one. It’s horrifying to hear in the day of Ezekiel that God searched out among all men one who could stand before Him, a hedge, a man to fill the gap between sin and the peace that lies at heaven’s gate, and there was none to be found.

But God, in His mercy, has given a man, His only begotten Son, a righteous hedge, a Mediator, a daysman betwixt you and God’s anger. Jesus fulfilled the Scripture according to the prophets and the law when He was crucified for your sins to pay the debt in total that you never could. He was buried and rose again the third day, triumphant over sin, death, hell, and the grave, now seated at the right hand of God the Father. Christ lives to make intercession for you.

“Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” – Hebrews 7:25

Saved to the uttermost, it sounds like a perfect offer; go ahead and take it. He’s making intercession to God for you; call upon Christ Jesus, understanding you are a sinner, and whatever evils come our way, without Christ, you will surely perish in the fire of God’s wrath. But God loves you, and hell doesn’t have to be your home. Believe in your heart that the resurrected Christ, Jesus, is the way to life eternal and a life of service to the good of God that He would bless you now and into eternity. It will get worse here in the coming days; show yourself to God as belonging to Jesus Christ, ask for forgiveness for your sins, and offer yourself before the mercies of God’s courts.

Part One

Romans 9 and 1 Corinthians 1 as references.

There is the offense of the cross and the scandal of the cross. But they, at the center, have much overlapping commonality. It could be the scandal that offends, but both are scandalous and appalling to men.

The New Religion and mock-Christian liberalism are both inclusive, but neither is actual Christianity. At the center of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the exclusive nature of Christ and by Him Christianity.

The Roman Empire had many gods in the first century. So too, the continual influence of the last Greek empire and its philosophies in Christ’s day permeated much of European and Mediterranean basin civilization; the seeking of “new knowledge” and the presence of many gods was in every town and hamlet.

What struck the first century’s polytheistic (and pantheistic) senses as the Gospel went west was that Christians proclaimed one God, a living God, and an undivided title by Him to be made a son of God. To the exclusion of all religions, Christ stands as the only way to have a personal relationship with God. He alone is the door and salvation for entrance into the legitimate flock (John 10:9), which is His Church – the body of Christ; everlasting life in heaven is through Jesus. This is deeply objectionable, still today, and even among some professing Christians.

The world nods in acceptance and approval when you find a new way to have temporary comfort in your own skin. Whether that path is proper or even wholesome doesn’t matter. Everyone is allowed to have his unique god, which does not matter as long as everyone finds the thing that helps him justify his evil while conforming to the modern sense of ethics and morality.

It’s claimed that you can have any savior you like and be secure in your feelings; this is the least objectionable thing in which there is no scandal. Can’t we all get along? But to the mind of the man in Christ, he knows Holy God is deeply offended at making yourself accepted among men in the rejection of Him; Christ said, “Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”

All those professing to be wise by knowledge and “science” and well-doing, comfortable in their own deception, are brought to ruin in the simplicity, exclusivity, power, and authority of Christ’s cross.

The abject sinfulness and grotesquely open wicked flaunting of sin as pride all started with well-doing. Where else could the works of men, trying to do good, lead but to proclaiming themselves to be free from consequence? These works of faith have led directly to the place warned of by the prophet in Isaiah 5:20, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”

All this evil of the New Religion in the West started as well-doing; the works of being a good person but outside of God’s holy law through faith in Jesus Christ is ruinous. They still think they are correct; the claim is that good people are being tolerant. They genuinely believe. You might say, well, I’m not that bad, I would never land in the bed of someone of my own sex, but the works of your own righteousness, whatever they may be, will no less land you in the same hell with them.

Also, today, self-centered humanists are significantly at odds with the message of the cross. As it was from the start, the preaching of the cross two thousand years later is somewhere on the scale of foolishness for them (1 Corinthians 1:18) to causing seething murderous rage (Acts 7:45). Without Christ, you are numbered as an enemy of God.

There’s a movement that’s gained little traction, but we must be on guard. There are those saying that Talmudism (modern Judaism), Mohamedism, and Christianity are all Abrahamic faiths and are, therefore, equally valid. The Talmudists are promoting this but don’t actually believe it and still hate Jesus Christ. This is the subtlety of the devil, a broad way, an easy non-offensive path, but Christ has defeated sin, death, and the grave; Jesus says, “strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

Few find it because it must be sought by faith in Jesus and only by faith in Him. Talmudism and Mohamedism are founded in hatred, not in the love of God, who gave His only begotten Son to reconcile sinful man to Himself. It is not holy God that must negotiate with all the faiths; it is men that must be reconciled to God by surrendering to Him through faith in Christ Jesus.

All men are helpless before the God that created them. The evolving god that changes as a man ages and learns, built by the world’s wisdom, is foolishness to holy God (1 Corinthians 1:23-29). But men, in their vanity, assert a god: regardless of the form, the mastery claimed by man is to conceive his god and make that god the symbol of his many illusions so that he may placate his fears of the unknown universe. But it’s not the man that can conceive God but God that creates the man.

“For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.” – Romans 14:9

Jesus Christ is Lord of all. We must convey that you can, in accordance with the power and authority of Jesus Christ, enter into His kingdom and eternal life in heaven by placing your faith in Him. He died for your sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day. Jesus lived a sinless life, defeating sin on the cross, and He rose again on the third day conquering death and is now seated at the right hand of power in heaven, crowned Ruler and King of all that is. The power and authority of God to make life eternal can be realized by you, in faith, and the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord imparted unto you by the forgiveness of your sin and imputation of Christ’s righteousness.

“Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.” – Romans 9:18

The acceptance of Jesus Christ’s payment for your sins on the cross and sole reliance on Him for eternal life, by faith in His resurrection, is for those that belong to Him mercy, but to those that are not, it lends to a hardened heart. God’s authority over all His creatures and, therefore, the offense of the cross is well shown in this verse. God does what He wants with whom He will, and nobody can tell Him to do otherwise; He is sovereign. But we know that entrance may be gained by much prayer in seeking not to rule God that He changes His mind but by calling upon the mercies of Christ Jesus the Mediator. Nonetheless, God does as it pleases Him with His creatures.

But this exclusive title offered by Christ to become a son of God comes not by the workings of man, for what difference would Jesus Christ make if He were just one more religious figure added to the pantheon of global gods? That notion is no offense to the world or the New Religion. Jesus, the “good guy” and guru of kind living, is easily assimilated into the many false world belief systems, and thereby, Christ, in the mind of the unconverted, becomes just another inoffensive idol among the rest.

A man is not saved by following the moral life of Christ or the ethics of His teaching but by faith; except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God: ye must be born again. Nonetheless, if they would be called friend, those that are His keep His commandments. In fear of the Lord, when He reveals Himself and His divine authority to judge your wicked crimes against him, a man can receive Christ as having taken his substitutionary punishment. As applicable as Christ’s teachings may be, and indeed, obeying Christ’s commands is a fact of life after conversion, the rest is simply religion.

——-

Part Two

No man genuinely converted by Christ chose to become Christian; neither did any man who did not receive Christ get converted.

This statement about the undivided authority of the Almighty to work His will for His unknowable purposes will offend not just unbelievers but 95 percent of professing Christians. Salvation is an exclusive moment. You can join a denomination, church, cult, or movement and perform rituals, rites, recitations, and ceremonies, but that’s not conversion. All other associations exist for the sake of Christianity and not Christianity for the sake of performances; the object of our faith is not ceremony; it’s Christ.

God, in His grace, may reveal to a lost sinner his sin, allow him to see that he’s headed to hell, or leave him fearful without excuse knowing he will stand before the God of creation. All these things are true.

The scandal is this; there’s nothing any man can do but surrender his whole being to the One who made him, accepting that God does that which He will. There’s no way but the cross, and unless God, in His mercy, shows you your need, you’ve been condemned already, a helpless soul headed to an unknown death and an eternity of darkness and separation from God. Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost; until the soul of a man knows it’s lost, in need of Jesus, he is unlikely to be found. Here’s the offense, those dead in their sin, except God quicken them through faith in Christ, are damned; all men have sinned against God, and only Jesus can save them.

Except God calls you, there is no heaven for you. You deserve the eternal torture of God for your sin, and until you face this fact, under the power of conviction from the Holy Spirit, the Christ of the Bible is just an imaginary being. Every man’s salvation testimony is unique, but every man who’s been converted has one. A testimony of Christian ceremony is not a conversion covenant with the holy Creator. If your testimony relies upon a ceremony of any kind for eternal life and not upon Christ, why are you waiting? We suppose a man could reject the call of God, but having shown Himself to them, it’s unclear how or why he would. Reading this, God is offering you the way by faith in Christ alone; if you’re feeling helpless right now, you are being called; Jesus is the way!

God doesn’t force Himself on a man; that would not bring love and mutual fellowship but resentment in the man. But in His lovingkindness, our merciful God shows the man his need for Christ. By a thought, God could make all men little robotic automatons of obedience, but that’s not love; that’s tyranny leaving God little better than a petty despot, which He is not. Faith in God’s love and trust in Him through His Son brings salvation!

Starting a discourse about preparing a home in heaven for His followers, Jesus said, “ye believe in God, believe also in me.” Elsewhere, a forewarned seeker, whose child was possessed, cried out in faith with tears unto Christ and said, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” You must receive the Christ of God.

And so we begin to see a more complete picture of the offense of universal damnation for sin and the scandal of the exclusivity that is the cross of Christ.

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” – John 14:6

With God, there is no doubt allowed as to who is the Saviour and who is the way to heaven. Contained therein is the very right of Christ set forth before all men: He claims to be the sole path to heaven for meeting the Maker (Romans 9:21), the Father of us all by faith; if you would be forgiven and made His son being condemned no more and welcomed into eternity.

But you must face some facts; no man comes to God but by Christ. That is the most offensive claim ever made, and they killed Him for it. For we are designed to seek a god, as religious beings, to have a god, and Jesus, being the only way, destroys all the imaginations of the hearts of men, leaving them helpless at the mercy of He who says, “I Am.” Salvation isn’t merely through Christ, but only through Christ. Other means are hereby resolutely rejected, leaving a man helpless and thus deeply offended in his pride.

If Jesus weren’t the only way, but just another way, He would have been gladly added everywhere to the list of fine men who’ve benefited history with excellent teaching on lofty living, and there would be no persecution of His followers. But being the only Saviour, exclaimed by those in Christ who must abide by their new nature never to deny Him, brings hatred from all corners to the Christian man. The name of Jesus is hated the world over by those that remain in their sin, but unto us that are saved by His grace, we know, neither is there salvation in any other. The religious despise Jesus most of all, even today, and two thousand years ago if He had been just another teacher of good things, they would not have tortured Him to death.

If the offense of the cross is done away with by inclusiveness, so too is the glory in Christ’s power by the resurrection gone. The simple question remains, do you believe in the power and authority of Jesus Christ to save your eternal soul; will you be converted through faith in Jesus Christ? Christ has bound all men’s hope of peace, faith in God, love, redemption, forgiveness, grace, new birth, soul salvation, and eternity in heaven to His person. Jesus isn’t only a good life, He didn’t teach merely another truth, and He isn’t only a way; He is the way, the truth, and the life.

The offense of exclusivity and the scandal of the cross is the beauty of Christ to those who belong to Him by faith.

“Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” – Romans 2:4

Often spoken of is the condition of man in sin against His holy Creator God, but an understanding of the glories of heaven to be had through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour may also come through a concrete hope in God’s patience.

Those who despise God reject the riches of goodness He sheds upon all men. The basest of creatures receives his sustenance, and the wicked rulers have wealth beyond imagination. The forbearance of God in longsuffering toward man is a measure of His grace, but it’s not eternal.

Required for eternity is repentance by the realization that though you have broken every command, flaunted His holy law, rejected His innumerable mercies of goodness and patience, He remains the God of peace in the loving hope of you forsaking your own understanding and seeking that which is higher than the mere daily sustainment that He provides.

The Almighty provides all good things, and you repay Him how? It’s not that you ever could repay, for all things are His, but you ought to acknowledge and repent of falsely accepting as permanent those things which can be taken in a moment. Hard times make hard men, but they also make soft hearts toward Holy God.

Difficulties will come, but they needn’t make a man bitter; seeing the goodness of God requires a proper perspective. You will know He is God, look at all He gives, and pray ye to accept Him in life and not meet Him in the horror of eternal death when the damned of all the world shall be judged, for every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. In the simplicity of acknowledging the favor He has shown, please don’t harden your heart, considering yourself worthy of your own ends.

“5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; 6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds” – Romans 2:5-6

It’s the callousness of the heart, the pride of life, unrepentant of sin, the assurance of reliance upon only that which may be seen or touched that brings upon a man the wrath of God, who in His mercy, day after day, has fed you and given blessings generations past could only dream. Knowing the goodness of God, you store up barns full of provision, all the while accumulating wrath against the day of judgment that hunts down all men, for one day the stores will empty, even if the Almighty in His patience forbears until the day of your death; the wrath of God abides on all who reject the mercy of God’s forgiveness through Jesus Christ.

Riches will not save you. So few accept the revelation of the righteous judgment of God before it’s too late, and the day comes upon them when they are left without excuse, naked and helpless before God who knows your deeds. But to all men is God evident, whether having been reckoned by faith being made dead unto sin but alive in Christ; or you who have not obeyed the truth of God what will become of you? So devilish is the lie, ‘be your own man,’ no man is his own or ever has been. Two permanent events level the field for every living soul: death and the truth of the cross where Christ was nailed, crucified for your sin.

Without Christ, death mocks you and will take all that you are; hell’s calling is so subtle that you pretend it doesn’t hold sway.

There is no question mark in verse 6 above. It’s the Mighty God, who is the Lord most high, that will render to every man according to his deeds: to the man who surrenders to Christ our King everlasting life and to the disobedient man, having rejected the truth you will arrive at the indignation of the wrath of God heaping an eternity of tribulation and anguish upon your head. The Lord God knows if you are in rebellion or in transgression; which will it be, heaven or hell?

Therefore by faith in Jesus Christ, who died to pay the horrible debt you owe, your ledger can be wiped clean of the wrath of hell, having your name changed from among the damned to be numbered with those who reside in the hope of eternal life that abides in Christ. Because He rose again from the grave the third day, the covenant in the blood of God’s only begotten Son is now offered, seeing that the resurrection is the validation of His life-giving power; He will put the seal of God on your soul that the time of death would no longer grip you.

“To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life” – Romans 2:7

So having been added to the body of Christ, if you will, rightly fit for service, just like our God in patient continuance, always going about in well doing, for what would a son of God do but try to be just like his heavenly Father? But not of your own power but altogether, having the Holy Spirit of God and backed by the throne of God who goes before His servants making their way straight, you can see the Kingdom of God, by the grace of God, brought to bear at the workings of your own hand.

Every man wants glory and honor now but also to keep the gift of eternal life in Christ to come. But the glory of treasure we seek is for our King to have, and the only possible honor to bestow must be upon the judge of all the earth, the Lord of lords, Jesus Christ. In salvation comes the service of God, who seeks a different treasure, as His pinnacle creation, the mind-heart-soul of man; your mind, your contrite heart, offer your soul back to the One who created it.

The recent case in New York about the defense of others on the subway will undoubtedly be politicized, and the laws will be abused for those purposes with no respect of persons but to discriminate wrongfully, trashing God’s ordained laws of justice. It would be quite remarkable if any just application of the law were found in this case.

The Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution comes from the ancient biblical legal foundation of not treating persons differently in matters of law as a magistrate or juror. It’s respect of persons, which is not respect for persons. Respect for persons requires discernment and, yes, discrimination in the classical sense of the word.

Though not about firearms, the case concerns the defense of others, something every CCW should consider carefully and pray about. You must know the laws in your state about using deadly force to defend others. It’s biblical to protect those less able from unlawful harm of all forms by the use of arms or other means. If we are commanded to rescue our neighbor’s Ox from the ditch, how much more important, made in the image of God, is the defense of our less capable neighbor?

Here are two articles concerning the matter.

Defending Law And Order Is Social Justice

Rewriting the Parable of the Good Samaritan

The parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37 is considered.

But first, as background, respect of persons in the Holy Bible applies only to law. It stems from Leviticus 19:15 and has nothing to do with outcomes of equality or equity among men and surely not forced results. See also Proverbs 24:23.

Proverbs 28:21 perfectly makes the application as to why any person representing the law of the land must show non-bias. “To have respect of persons is not good: for for a piece of bread that man will transgress.” What would a judge do for a bit of bread? Some areas of the world operate on “greasing the wheels.” Christendom was supposed to be different (Acts 24:26), but look no further than Congress receiving bread to bias the law, and here we are. There’s a reason money is sometimes referred to as bread and now you know why. Anyone in a position of authority is bound to this Bible truth and will be judged by the Almighty, including parents with their children, teachers, pastors, supervisors, civil leadership, business owners, etc. It’s the Law of God. And James 2:9 says failing to adhere is a sin.

Next, respect of persons in the law of salvation is considered. God is no respecter of persons; all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God by breaking His law and all will be judged rightly on that terrible day. But neither does salvation in Christ grant license to sin. Salvation in Christ is a judicial matter before the courts of heaven as to how you will make restitution to God for your transgressions against Him.

Romans 2:11 mentions respect of persons, and verses 12-16 explain why in God’s law, all men need Christ Jesus, both the Jew and Gentile: if you sin in the law (of Moses / 10 Commandments), you’re judged by that law and die in hell without Christ. If you sin outside the law of Moses (a Gentile), your conscience bears witness, through God’s law written on your heart, about your sin against Him; without Christ, you also burn in hell. That’s God’s law concerning soul salvation without respect of persons; you must have Christ Jesus, as your mediator before the Judge, by faith to enter into eternal life.

That’s how Jesus completed the law by making the final necessary offering, and that of Himself, to God so you might be found not guilty if you place your faith in His payment to God by believing His sacrificial death on the cross is sufficient to cover your sin debt. Christ rose again the third, proving He has the power to go to God for you as your intermediary, or great High Preist proclaiming you to be His by right of payment; by faith in Him, you make this covenant to become His purchased possession, a bondservant of the King, no more bound to death and hell, but an everlasting heir with Christ in the household of God. I say to you, my friends, it’s a far better gig than being trapped by sin under the law of either Moses or conscience; He says: “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Much lighter than a life mired in the horrors of sin and its ever-worsening consequences and so much more, for liberty in Christ eradicates the law where men were bound to a set of rules they could never attain. Praise be to God.

Now, the precursive conversation that leads to Jesus’ parable and some application. Context is king. Understanding the parable correctly requires understanding its purpose. Here’s the beginning of the exchange between a lawyer and Jesus that sets the parable’s intent and meaning.

“25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? 27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. 28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.” – Luke 10:25-28

So far, so good, but then comes the tempting in verse 29.

“But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?”

If your church skips discussing justification and goes straight to an explanation about who your neighbor is, I’ll caution that you may be in a liberal church. No man will justify Himself before God.

Remember, the question before us is one of law: be it the law of Moses or that which God wrote on your heart. The lawyer is confronted with a matter of Bible law from which comes our now-ending system of jurisprudence that began to mold and then guided Western Civilization since the Gospel went into Europe.

Next, this bit of commentary from the second link above (Rewriting the Parable of the Good Samaritan), though essentially right in its assertions, has glaring results of the dumbed downed churches in America.

“This was the story of a man who was robbed, beaten and left for dead. A priest and a Levite both saw the beaten man and walked past him, crossing to the other side of the street. But the Samaritan stopped to help the injured man, attending to his wounds, bringing him to an inn, paying the innkeeper to care for the injured man until he was well.”

I realize that article is about current events, but some necessary background would be helpful. Why did the Preist and Levite walk by, even crossing to the other side of the street? They were trying to follow the letter of the law and not become unclean by touching a sinner, getting blood on themselves, or helping a man that might die in their arms. Remember the context, Jesus is talking to a lawyer about Bible law. The Preist and Levite should have violated the immediate letter of the law concerning purification to save the man, then gone through the ceremonial tasks of making themselves “clean” again under the law. It would have burdened them more to take the time to separate themselves from family, fellowship, and work to be purified again than it would to have helped the man. They used the law as an excuse for not doing the right thing; beware the leaven of the Pharisees.

And finally, here’s the parable:

“30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, 34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.”

And Christ’s necessary final exchange with the lawyer whose question was, who is my neighbor?

“36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? 37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.”

It’s a merciful duty to defend yourself and others.

Concluding statements. Some states have had statutes on the books where a citizen must help somebody whose life is under threat, making it criminal to do what the Preist and the Levite did. That’s taking Jesus at His word and applying it seriously as a people, as it should be again. In post-Christian America, the law of Christ is fading fast. In much of Europe, it’s now illegal to defend yourself from murder, let alone somebody else under threat. That’s not at all Christian.

Atheists, Agnostics, and mushy Christians declare there is no need for God or His law in government or society; keep your religion private they demand. Look around at the darkening landscape: behold, injustice and violence in all quarters in the absence of the Law of God.

That’s some background to help you understand what’s at stake as a result of the recent event in New York on the subway and the case in Austin, Texas with Daniel Perry. The overall trend in Western law as America comes under judgment is an outright abuse of hundreds of years of Western jurisprudence by removing the biblical foundation of the law including that of having no respect of persons and considering rightly the duty of defense as a good neighbor in light of understanding proper application of the parable of the Good Samaritan.

Under the Old Covenant, men were put to death if certain criteria were met. First, the sin had to rise to the standard of such a wicked act specified in the law of God. Secondly, two or more witnesses were needed to corroborate the accusation. Also, importantly, those worthy of death were not shipped off somewhere to be put to sleep with clinical precision some years or decades later, but the accusers would throw the stones of judgment in an hours-long gruesome death. It’s not the purpose of this writing, but as one might horridly imagine, the effect on crime was dramatic when family, friends, and neighbors were called upon to kill their own in such a brutally sobering affair.

“At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.” – Deuteronomy 17:6

John Baptist, as a witness of the truth, told of Christ’s coming. John said; there standeth one among you, whom ye know not. Jesus would, shortly after, begin His work revealing Himself. Jesus later would exclaim His witness is the most significant, not only for the miracles seen by hundreds of thousands but that He and the Father are witnesses together of the Son of God. This is a pronouncement of death upon the first-century keepers of the old law, and it extends into the New Covenant for us today.

“Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?” – Hebrews 10:29

Jesus is the witness, and ultimately by His command, the soul that sins shall surely be put to death in hell. Jesus shed His own blood; in effect, though all men are guilty of breaking the law of God, making you therefore worthy of death, He took upon Himself this condemnation, as the true and faithful witness, that He would pay by blood for your sin. You are guilty of sin, your own conscience bearing witness against you, but the Saviour has cast the first stone upon His own head for you.

Are you counting the blood of the covenant that God has made as an unholy thing? Is God not holy? Christ was sanctified, set apart for this purpose, that your sin might be forgotten, the law satisfied being revealed to you today. Vengeance through God’s wrath belongs to He who rules heaven and earth; He has declared these things as the sole arbiter of your debt for sin and how it must be paid. Please don’t spitefully rebuke the Spirit of God that comes to you through grace and truth. Would you pay with eternal damnation when God has already offered to transfer that debt through His own Son, making it settled in full?

You, who have rejected the Christ of God and have decided to take the full force and brunt of the law of God, deny the wonderful gift of Jesus’ death for your sin. How much greater shall the wrath of God be for not only accepting your guilt and admitting hell is your destination but, in so doing, the depth of the offense toward God is immeasurable; it’s a personal affront. You heap wrath upon wrath on your head. Christ already died, and you declare His death was not worthy to reckon you among the living, forgiven at last. Not only has sin powerfully condemned you, but you indicate to God that He offered His own Son in vain. How much sorer punishment suppose ye is the price upon your eternal soul! You have valued God’s perfect sinless sacrificial forgiveness through the cross as naught! He is King of all; what have you done?

And that’s it, a concise post in which is the truth of the price on your head under the law, a price you could never pay. Jesus died the death of a sinless sacrifice for you and rose again so that you both might live. That’s how much He loves you. Christ is alive, so your life may be in Him, made like brothers before the Father.

“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” – John 3:36

Believe the witness of Christ; accept it. The value of Christ, for He is all-sufficient, will by faith, change your worth from condemned in eternal death to not only forgiven, but because you have accepted by faith the price of Christ, God will receive you, counting your faith as righteousness for trusting so thoroughly, so completely in Him. God smiles upon all who say in their heart, I believe; thank you for your Son. Take the offer to walk away from death, not guilty; turn toward Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. He paid the terrible price you never could; go, God, having recast wrath to peace during your few remaining days on earth and changing your final home to everlasting life with Him; do you believe?

Part 1

Ecclesiastes 8

Ecclesiastes can be somewhat disheartening, but we should know that reading it will set the proper perspective about our station in this world. Though good men should leave a legacy for their children’s children and teach the brethren about Christ while seeking the lost, Christians do this not for any expectation other than heaven. If this book bothers you, and at times it does me, though all may be vanity, ask yourselves, what is my purpose here, and what God do I serve? “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” – Matthew 6:21

“4 Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?”

Ecclesiastes 8 refers to a human king and his subject’s obligations. It may refer to Solomon and the king’s oath. Gifted with wisdom beyond any mortal man only eclipsed by that immortal One, Jesus Christ (Matthew 12:42), and from that position and wealth, the writer knows a thing or two about that which he speaks. But understand that the object of the lesson isn’t the king or his governmental decrees.

This is incredibly important in these times that grow alarmingly dark. As verse nine would indicate, there is a time when a man would rule over another to his own hurt: today, our leaders destroy trust at every turn, damaging the people; our rulers only sabotage themselves in the long run. All America is a people with an indignant frame toward the truths set before us in Ecclesiastes 8; its many warnings have roots in verse two.

“2 I counsel thee to keep the king’s commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God.”

Keep the king’s commandment, and that, regarding the oath of God. A just government honors the word of God and not with its lips but in the execution of its laws. When government and the rule of God conflict, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” particularly in matters of evangelism by the body of Christ because the Almighty will prevail.

You could read verse two as a command to keep the laws of men where they are agreeable with God, knowing God’s law is higher. Or you could read it as keeping the king’s commands staying within the scope of God’s law. God’s law will prevail. The rulers of America swore an oath, apparently, beyond their understanding. God, in His wrath, will visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes (Psalm 89:31-32) to the ruin of our nation for its disobedience.

To us who are saved through the blood of Jesus Christ, He is the prince of the kings of the earth, our heart is always set “Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”

We have a high King, Christ Jesus. Keeping our oaths to Him, for He will not repent of the blood He shed to make us His purchased possession, our allegiance and fidelity belongs solely to the Almighty; do all things according to the will of God, found in His writ. Where the word of our King is, there is power; no evil can stand against it.

God’s love toward us demands reciprocal love in obedience to follow Christ. “We love him, because he first loved us.” Salvation comes with responsibility. Wisdom is the fear of the Lord in outward manifestation as obedience to Christ; departing from evil, the wisest thing a man can do is to follow Jesus.

“3 Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him. 4 Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?”

America is at a fall, and not even Christians know the degree of what’s transpiring because if they did, they would be shedding every unnecessary impediment to saving America. So few today comprehend that the God of the Bible is the God of covenants. He makes oaths that shall not be broken except on pain of destruction. Don’t go out of His sight chasing after some evil thing, for God will glorify Himself in Christ Jesus.

We have a duty to keep the King’s commandment concerning the oath of God that we took, which is the law by contract that we, all those chosen in Christ Jesus, must follow. Christians everywhere waste time and energy blaming the objects of our judgment instead of the source, which resides in the mirror.

If Christians were absolutely about the Father’s business, with love for Christ as their sole motive, believing that the word of our King is power, they would face down every evil. Accepting the truth that nobody can fix Western Civilization except Christians, by the oath of God, which is to keep all that Christ commands; if God in His grace would bless our effort, we, by the power of our King, can save America.

We say we love Him, but our hearts are far from Him. Before you object, Jesus says in John 14:15: “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”

I’m guilty too; cowardice, sloth, failure to go to the appointed place at the specified time. When I was on active duty in the Navy, you could do almost anything and get a comparative slap on the wrist, but if you missed the ship’s movement as it left port headed to sea, that was about the worst thing you could do to fellow crewmates who then were on the hook for your job. The number of men on a ship is finite, with jobs specific; some things just wouldn’t get done to the detriment of the entire mission. Failure to be where God commands us is rampant today, and the few serving with all effort in the Kingdom of God suffer as millions deny the work for Christ or do little at all; “Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here?” But don’t wait for them; stand up; lead by following Jesus. If one man fails, the mission of Christ in this generation is in jeopardy.

Have you ever asked, ‘what is the appointed place, oh God, where I must tell of the great things you’ve done?’ At any rate, start right where you are today; we are without excuse;  Every Christian, man, woman, and child is to be a witness for Jesus Christ in the Kingdom of God, a beacon of light and truth and hope, salt in the first place to prevent rotting and feted churches and country, and a righteous rebuker of the wicked. Too few are willing to pay the price to serve in truth and righteousness. Friends, there is no discharge in that war; you’re going to lose it all; you might as well lose it now for Christ instead of waiting for the power to go out, the food to get cut off, or the knock on the door for that last train ride.

Though He compels us to approach strangers with the Gospel, He will not physically force you to demand of your Christian brothers that we “…Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” which is the beginning from the end and all that lands between, the conclusion to all righteous duty and holy living is to keep the commandment in regard of the oath of God.

The assurance of God for us is that Christ died for our sins to secure us unto Himself for a people to serve Him, which brings glory to the Father. Jesus kept His word under the will of the Father, fulfilling the Holy Scriptures, but too few of His disciples do.

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Part 2

“5 Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man’s heart discerneth both time and judgment.”

God made an oath, a covenant when His own Son was crowned with glory and honor, suffering death by the cross; He tasted death for every man by the grace of God. And He rose again to take His kingship, His station above all. Like it or not, it’s a covenant in blood, in the only immaculate blood that was or ever shall be, keeping the commandment of Jesus Christ, He will keep you from the evil. Keeping the commandment of God to heed the call of Jesus Christ unto eternal life, in death, you will feel no evil thing. You who are afar off, weary in sin, failing God almighty, your nation, your family, your children’s children, and wrecking your covenant by forsaking adherence to the Sovereign of all things, make your oath with Jesus Christ today.

Who shall stand for good in the day of evil? If not God’s people, then none at all.

Jesus warned, “…ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?” Where is wisdom but in the Holy Bible: have you not read in the prophets and the law what travails begin at the outset of civilizational destruction; the wise man’s heart can discern both time and judgment – look around – do you know what time it is?

“6 Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him. 7 For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall be?”

Who can tell us anything but God, who gave us His word so that we can know Him and His love and hope toward us that keep His word? He has revealed to us what horrifying things befall the disobedient nation. It’s why history repeats or at least rhymes, as the saying goes. Time and judgment catch us all and, sadly, often unawares. But we don’t think America is unaware; it just doesn’t hurt enough yet. That’s what the judgment of God is upon a people, pain until they return to the oath, open His commandments, and do them, knowing the pain of death is otherwise in the offing, we must cry out, “Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.” Return ye unto God.

“8 There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.”

No man can keep his soul. Instantly at death, you pass to one of two final abodes; there’s no moment of decision upon departing, no interval to plea your case to the Judge. You are powerless over the moment as agency leaves you; a foreign force quite beyond your control effects your soul’s departure; the journey and the end thereof are in the hands of God alone. There’s no discharge, no escaping the draft of force; all men are appointed once to die, but you don’t have to die in hell. God owns the day “Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” The day of death is coming for us all. The many efforts you make without Christ, any work of wickedness: not by force of arms, not by governments of men, not by works or wishful thoughts at all; no evil can deliver those given over to it: call upon His holy name, only Jesus Christ will save.

“12 Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him”

In His patience and longsuffering, the Almighty sends warnings, sometimes by men, sometimes by circumstances, but read His word; the hour is late, fear your King before the sinners of this world.

What is your desire toward Christ? Answer Him! Though you’ve sinned a hundred times or more, Jesus paid your sin debt on calvary’s hill, dying there and rising three days later, offering victory over hell to you. Don’t take your chances on tomorrow; Jesus Christ will save your soul, forgiving your sins, and setting you before His throne, a brand new son of the King: neither is there salvation in any other; it’s Jesus. He will save you from your sin, save your marriage, save your children, save your household if you seek Him carefully by the covenant He made at the start. And through those that are His, He can save our nation from eternal ruin. Undoubtedly, America is lost, but we have Christ: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” – Luke 19:10

Don’t hold fast to the wayward life; let Christ change you. Salvation is beautiful; it’s a restorative life-giving work of the Almighty to those who believe by faith, trust in His holy name, and pray for forgiveness. Then, as brothers in Christ, who is Lord of all, act upon every word of His sacred Scripture, which He commands. This, too, is an act of belief by faith, trusting God to restore our right standing.

“13 But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.”

This life is but a shadow, and when you come into the presence of the Light, there will be no more shadow, only truth laid bare. Ending here with a warning in verse 13, Ecclesiastes can be dark but don’t let the vanity of this world sow despair; praise the Father, determine in your heart toward the holy Redeemer to walk in the light, as he is in the light, seeking fellowship among the saints of God to build that which He desires; “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”  The day is short; fear God, knowing the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. Christ is King and does whatever pleases Him; who shall question?

The book of Romans is often cited as a road to building faith in God and how to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. So too, the book of John seems to have as a primary purpose telling of forgiveness for sin through Jesus Christ by faith in His death, burial, and resurrection from the grave. And many example verses and sections of Scripture show the truth about the hopelessness of the works of man’s own doing, the consequences of sin, and the pain of death and hell for men who reject Christ. But what did Christ say about these things, including trusting in Him alone to have faith to enter into life everlasting with the Holy Creator?

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” Jesus Christ

Whether building initial faith or as a self-education tool for sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, this post is presented to increase men’s faith in Jesus. Faith comes by hearing the word of God, which He has magnified above His own name (Psalm 138:2), so we’ll look at several verses in the word of God, primarily from the book of Luke.

It seems that Luke, though he was a believer, recorded Christ’s time on earth and the times of very early Church history from the approach of a dispassionate observer. Luke, inspired by the Holy Spirit of God, is the penman of the Book of Acts. He also penned down the Gospel According to Luke, from which the verses below are taken.

“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” – Luke 19:10

This verse sounds very simple at first glance, and you may think it doesn’t apply to you. Jesus is seeking you, but what does it mean to be lost and then saved, and why is Jesus seeking you?

Salvation is from sin, and admitting you are a sinner is often a hurdle. So a lost sinner must understand why corruption from sin is harmful and, most importantly, how it has damaged your relationship with Holy God. And you must know that Jesus is the way to have your sin not only forgiven but removed altogether from the presence of Father God. Without shedding of blood there is no remission. Here is the requirement to enter heaven: having your sins purged by the blood sacrifice of a perfect and sinless living offering to God. There is only one such offering, the Christ of God, Jesus.

A man is lost because he’s wandering alone without God, and Jesus is seeking you to save you from hell, like a shepherd looking for His sheep that’s gone astray.

“4 And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.” – Luke 12:4

We were designed to fear death, given an innate desire for life by our Creator God. You can try to prolong your life with great effort, but eventually, your body will expire. Your fears won’t save you, and no amount of wealth, doctors, or good things you’ve done will stop the day from coming. Everyone must die. Death is the result of sin. It stalks every man; we are all sinners. If there was no sin, if you were not a sinner, then you could have no fear of death. But you are a sinner.

“2 For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. 3 Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops. – Luke 12:2-3

Nothing is covered or hidden from God. There will be a judgment of all men. No sin will be allowed into heaven. All that’s been done in darkness; lying, stealing, cheating, slandering, every word and every evil thought and desire of the heart and lusts of the flesh will be judged.

God knows all your secrets, and everything you’ve attempted to keep hidden from view will be brought to light; there can be nothing private at God’s great judgment. Secrets are kept due to shame of oneself or malice toward another man, all of which God rejects. God is holy, perfect, and sinless; He won’t allow sin in heaven because it would defile His holiness. He won’t have unforgiven sinners in heaven with Him.

It’s excellent that Jesus calls us friends and He teaches us who to fear in the following verse from the Holy Bible. The Bible is God’s holy word; do you trust it to tell you the truth? It shows Christ’s loving kindness and desire for you to know and entrust Him with your soul in eternity.

“5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.” – Luke 12:5

You know that you have sinned against Holy God, and the judgment of God requires payment for your sin, which is death and hell. You must fear God, understanding that He alone has power and authority over whether you go to heaven or hell, and His decision is final. There is no higher power over you than the Almighty, who created you and gave you life.

You must know that you are a hell-bound sinner, fearing God Almighty. When you meet God, you will finally realize what holy is and how awful your sins have been.

God holds the number of your days in His hand; at the appointed time, you will die. He’s a just judge and will have an accurate accounting, but He’s a merciful God who also wants rest for your soul in heaven. Not only is Jesus your friend who loves you, but God loves you so very much that He knows your name and sent His Son Jesus to warn and to call you to Him. God is warning that there is no other way but Jesus Christ as payment for your sin. Nobody wants to die and go to hell, and with Jesus as your Saviour, you needn’t fear death.

Therefore, we understand, thus far, that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God; none can get to heaven on merit or ability. You will die and face the judgment of God for your sin, which is hell. We’ve hinted at it already, but what can a man do? It’s essential, this thing of avoiding the wrath of God in judgment. Deciding to trust Jesus and serve God is the most pressing decision you will ever make.

Let us now look at two important things that Jesus said.

“I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” – Luke 13:5

Jesus leaves no room whatsoever for discussion or argument over the matter. There’s no other way; if you do not repent, changing your mind about the sinful condition of your eternal soul and admitting that God is the Judge of the living and the damned, you will perish in eternity, which is eternal death in the damnation hell.

And this next verse, again spoken by Jesus Christ, says that He didn’t come to call the righteous.

“I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” – Luke 5:32

He didn’t come to call pretty good folks. He didn’t come to call those doing good things for their neighbors, or those following the law, or keeping some religious ceremonies or church rituals. He didn’t even come to call people who’ve kept the Ten Commandments or people being faithful church members.

No, He came not to the righteous man but is calling a sinner like you to repent toward God by putting your faith in the power of Jesus to save you.

So what can you do?

Jesus Christ is the sinless Son of God and lived in bodily form as a man, yet without sin. He, being innocent, accomplished for you what you could not do on your own. Being perfect, Jesus satisfied God’s judgment on the cross against sinners and was raised from the dead.

“Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.” – Luke 9:22

You must believe, by faith, that Jesus Christ was slain; crucified on the cross, Jesus paid your sin debt to Holy God. This sacrifice occurred two thousand years ago and stands good with Holy God today as payment for your sin. And He was buried, but He was raised again on the third day. He proved that He has command over life and death when He rose from the dead. This shows you that He can give you eternal life.

“And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.” – Luke 5:20

What does Jesus say; thy sins are forgiven thee! If you have faith and believe in the power of Jesus to save your soul, God will forgive you eternally, which means forever. He’ll make you a son of God, welcomed into His loving kindness.

And, here comes the best part. Jesus has the power of life and makes the offer of life everlasting to take you to heaven with God for all time. Do you believe it? Jesus can change your life now, and you can meet God and be friends with Him!

It’s all about life everlasting in heaven. If you will follow Jesus in the Kingdom of God and be His disciple above anything else, then pray to Him.

Nobody can tell you what to say to God. It’s between you and God through faith in Jesus Christ. But you have learned the essential things to pray about while reading this discussion; you know what Christ said in the verses above. Pray to God from your heart if you would.

In prayer, seeking to be saved from the offenses you’ve committed against Holy Father God, ask forgiveness from Him; tell Him you’re sorry for your sin. Tell Him you know in your soul that He has the power and authority to save you from hell. Explain that you believe Jesus paid your price for entrance into heaven. And explain to Holy God, in prayer, how you will serve Jesus in the Kingdom of God.

God is faithful and true; He always honors His word. When He makes a covenant, you can count on Him. He says you will receive eternal life in the glories of heaven with Him if you believe.

“I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.” – Luke 15:7

There shall be joy in heaven for you who call upon God through faith in Jesus, seeking in prayer everlasting forgiveness and life eternal. You, just one sinner seeking Holy God, bring all of heaven to tremendous jubilation for your trust in Jesus Christ. Salvation is of the Lord.