"MAN THINKING STILL"

I pray these writings are of benefit to many as you read them. Let's begin. Question #1; What is it that separates man from God? What is it that keeps us from being in Christ? Only one thing; SIN!! Sin is, according to the Greek language, an offence or wrong of man against God and what He spoke. Sin, or rejection of God and Christ, is what separates us, and the removal of that sin will get us in the relationship we need and desire with Christ. Question #2; How is this sin removed or taken out of the way so we can honestly, biblically say we are in Christ? According to the Word as it is written, there is only one way that sin is removed, forgiven, taken out of the way by God for those initially outside of Christ. This is our topic of study for the lesson today.

According to the Holy Word of God, sin is removed, remitted or forgiven to the non-Christian when they are obedient in baptism or immersion by faith. In Colossians 2:12 the Holy Spirit speaks through Paul and says, "in whom ye were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with him in baptism, wherein ye were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead." (ASV)

All my life I have heard it said by some that baptism is a work. As I read this verse in Colossians, I see that it truly is, but it is a work of God and not man. When man is obedient and submissive to the teaching of Christ and God here, God does the most important operation for the one outside of Christ. HE removes or forgives that one thing that separates man from God; sin.
Let's notice something together in the scriptures that many do not see. In 2 Corinthians 5:21 the apostle Paul says, "For He (God) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
Think about that. God made, "declared" in the Greek, that Christ was ALL sin. HE became every horrible sin we can think of and even the ones we cannot. This is why God turned away from Christ as He was on the cross. Then, as we all know, He was taken from the cross and His body was buried. Then three days later He was resurrected to a new life. Most of us believe and trust that this took place.

The third question I ask is this; After Christ rose from the grave, where was the sin that was placed on HIM as He hung on that cross? It was no longer on Him. God had removed it. This is the picture Paul paints in Romans 6 for us to see so clearly. When we are obedient to Christ and are buried with Him by faith in baptism (immersion), God removes it from us. That is His promise by our faith in Him. By faith we are buried and trust Him to remove or forgive our sin or rejection of Him, and by that same faith we are resurrected trusting Him in that operation to give new life as we are faithful to His Word for our lives. We need a clear conscience toward God in our obedience. 1 Peter 3:21 says, " The like figure where unto even baptism (immersion) doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

Many believe and trust something that is nowhere found in the Holy Word of God. Many believe that all a person needs to do to be saved is to pray a prayer and 'ask Jesus into their heart." This is not founded in scripture. Jesus, however, stated very clearly that for a person to be "saved from sin", he must be a trusting believer and one who dies to sin and self, and then are immersed (buried) into Christ to put on Christ (Galatians 3:27). Sin is forgiven in the mind of God, not in the mind of man when man feels something special. As we are obedient to God's Word, by our faith in HIM, He does what no man made teaching could ever do, HE FORGIVES AND REMOVES THE SIN THAT SEPARATES US FROM HIM.

For those who have a problem with baptism or immersion for the proper and bible reason, I believe they do not have a problem with baptism at all. I see that it actually goes back to their belief in what Christ said to do in the first place. It is a faith or trust issue. Jesus said, "He that believes and, then, is baptised..." Believe first that what God and Christ have already stated in Their Word and simply do by faith what is written. God is so much wiser than man and his thinking. Man's standards will never replace the standards set down by God. I want to encourage you to listen to God, read His Word and do not listen to any teaching of man that contrary to what God has already spoken.

Believe on His Word completely, trust what He said to be absolutely true and right, repent of the sin of rejection of His teachings and commands, confess Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of God, die to those sins by repenting, and be buried with Christ in baptism trusting God to wash those sins away, and then rise with Christ to live a life of serving, growing and producing fruit for His kingdom.

God Bless until our next time together. Mark

" MAN THINKING; AGAIN"

Good day to all and I want to welcome you to this devotion on the subject of standards. There are so many subjects we could consider in the area of standards and study together. Today, however, we are going to begin to look at one of the most important standards set down in God's Word that man for decades has changed. Even worse, it has been accepted by the masses without much concern for study of what God said in His Word. If man wants to know how to get right with God, should he not go to God and find out HIS answer? What a novel idea.

If you happened to own any make of vehicle and you had a problem with it mechanically, you would never consider taking it to the local bakery to get it fixed. It may sound a bit ridiculous but is that not what man is doing when he steps in and changes the standard God has set already for THE CHURCH? He is the one who designed it and it should not be tampered with to make man feel better. This brings me to our subject for this devotion. Here we go.

Salvation, what a wonderful gift God has blessed all of humanity with in sending His Son to die and resurrect from the grave. Before Jesus left this earth, He gave what many call "The Great Commission". Let's read that together.
In Mark 16:15 & 16 Jesus, God's Son, the one who has 'all the authority' (Matthew 28:18), said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptised (buried, immersed) will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned." (RSV)

Remember, God and Christ are the Ones who designed The Church. They are the Ones who set everything down in black and white for us to read and study. So when They speak, and They have, all we should do is trust and obey and not make exception because of our man-made ideas. Jesus, The Son of God, spoke there in Mark 16 and said some important things we should not overlook. Let's look at them together.
First of all He said, "He" that believes...... It is an individual choice and not something you have because of family background or being born into a certain country. "He" that believes. This also would remove the idea or concept of infants being "baptised". They cannot believe and should not be expected to. This brings us to the second area. Let's go on.

Jesus says, "He that 'believes'". The word believe in the Greek language here means, "to put trust in". He who believes, puts his trust in the gospel of God and Christ and all they have said in The Word as written....... We either believe,trust, in God and His Word completely, or we do not. A person cannot and should not come to the Bible like to a smorgasbord and pick and choose only what they want to believe. It is either all true or all a lie. "He that believes", I doubt too many have a problem at this point but remember Jesus is not done speaking here. He goes on and says, "He that believes AND is baptised... It is not a choice of the first one and not the second or the second without the first. It is a combination of at least these two. "He that believes and is baptised shall be saved." According to Jesus Christ, who is The Authority, He says a person is saved from sin, that which separates us from God, when they "believe" and are "baptised". It is this salvation that all of us need and it is only by the way set by Christ that makes it happen. Man needs to be saved from sin and there is only one way that takes place according to God and Jesus Christ.

For man to disregard this teaching of Christ and claim his own way in his own mind to be saved, this in no way changes the mind of God. We are not in a saved relationship with God when we decide, but only when God says it takes place. I would rather do what God says in His Holy Word even if it goes against all men, than to go with the flow of man's teaching and be wrong in God's eyes. I am going to end our thoughts for today but next time we will take up more on this subject as The Word of God teaches.

My question for each one as we close is this; Do you trust what God has already said in HIS Holy Word and are you willing to obey HIM rather than the rationing of man and his thinking? God bless until we meet again.

MAN THINKING

I left you last time with a couple of verses to look at and ponder. These will be the springboard for our continuing thoughts on the thinking of man and his traditions.

As we begin today I want us to look at these verses very closely. This is very important as we need to know what the writer had in mind as he penned these words. In Philippians 1:27 and Ephesians 4:5 there are two great statements made by The Holy Spirit through Paul that are too often overlooked or not taken as importantly as they should.

First, Paul says in Philippians 1:27, " Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you stand firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel," (RSV).

Second, He speaks in Ephesians 4:4-5, "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, (RSV)

This brings up a subject we have all probably had come our way at one time or other. "To what "faith" do you belong?" When asked this question people are generally wanting to know what denomination a person follows. Denomination!? I was reading one of Ed Bousman's sermons on his website a few days ago and he made a great point. He said that if a person living in the first century were to go into a city looking for a place to worship and ask for the local Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Catholic or any other denomination, the locals would be at a loss as to what they wanted. There were no denominations until hundreds of years later beginning with the catholic denomination in A.D. 606. All the other denominations came as a result of disagreements over doctrine or one group following one man over another. In the first century, when the Church was established by Christ and His apostles, there was only one Church body though different cities, one faith, one Lord and all Christians believed the same thing.

In our world today we have come so far from what the Lord originally set up as HIS Church. His Word, as written, is still true today and in the verses we listed above it is very clear if we are only willing to see. There is ONE Lord, ONE Faith, ONE Baptism (IMMERSION), not many from which to choose. The Greek language of the New Testament speaks so clearly on this and does not offer differing "faiths" depending on where a person goes to worship. There is only One Gospel which is the death, burial, and resurrection of the one accepted sacrifice, Jesus Christ. When a person says they are of a particular denomination, they are stating their claim to a certain set of doctrinal practices that are so often not based on God's Word but man's ideology.

Picture the Church as a piece of beat up old furniture, say a dresser. You find it, you buy it, and you want to repair it. Now, do you reform it to be a something different like a tool chest and use it in a way different than it was originally intended? Or do you restore it to be as much like the craftsman meant for it to be in the first place. When it comes to Christ's church, it does not need to be reformed into something HE never intended, but rather restored to what the master craftsman, God and Christ, meant for it to be originally. He still knows today what The Church needs and HE has already set down in HIS Word what HE desires for HIS Church. Man should never step in and try to improve or change God's design. History shows us time and time again where this concept does not work. The Church as seen in the first century is THE STANDARD set down by God.

God is the architect of The Church and man should never try to redesign HIS structure. I would encourage everyone to put aside all doctrine of man and look to the Bible for the guidance we need as individuals and as the Church.

Thanks for the opportunity to share and I pray God will bless each one as you continue to read and study. As I close today, read Acts 17:11 and "see if these things be true."

Feel free to send questions or comments if you have any concerns or appreciation. God Bless until our next time.

"MAN THINKING"

Good day to all and I hope today finds everyone growing in Christ. We have been looking at standards in the last two writings and I want to continue with that thought today.

One standard that most of you reading here today recognize, is also one that is becoming less and less important as more and more people make their way to this country and bring their religious traditions and ideas, and also as our society constantly moves further away from the Holy Word of God. That standard is that Jesus Christ is The One Way for man to reach heaven and no other "god" will do. With different and varying teachings from different "faiths", many have the idea that it makes no difference what a person believes as long as they have a faith.

This is not the teaching of Christ at all. We have probably heard folks say something like, "We are all going to the same place, we just believe different things." This idea is never taught in the scriptures by Christ or His apostles. Christ did just the opposite as He condemned the religious leaders of His day for their man made traditions and worship. He did not tolerate false teaching or accept it as just another way to reach God.

If it makes no difference what a person believes, then we would have to accept Mormonism, Buddhism, even the Muslims who desire to destroy all infidels who believe differently than themselves. These are all false religions that have no interests in the things as written in the Holy Word of The Almighty. God's Word, from Genesis to Revelation, is the only true way anyone becomes acceptable to God and His standard as written.

These are man made religions and I believe it is time the true Christian stood up and spoke up for those things God holds as true and standard as based in His Word. God's people for too

long have given in to standards that are in no way what God intended for His church.
Over time some of these have become traditions that are not Bible based at all. The church of every generation needs to have the same faith that Jesus Christ had while on this earth.

This brings us to another standard that I will talk about in our next time together. I will, however, give you at least two scriptures to study in preparation for next time. Maybe as you read these and other passages you will see where we are going in our next lesson.

In Philippians 1:27 the apostle Paul by God's Holy Spirit says, "Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, that, whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your state, that you stand firm in one spirit, with one soul striving for the faith of the gospel;"
In Ephesians 4:4-6 Paul tells us, "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as you also were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in us all."

God Bless and I do pray these writings are a help to all who read. Send comments or questions to a new email address as I have moved. I can be reached at....... snowme1955@gmail.com


Just to let everyone know, I am currently working on a new project with Standout Studios.Net, an online Christian Studio that puts out a weekly broadcast on the Net. You can hear me and soon others preaching by, subscribing, downloading or just playing right there from the website. Go to www.standoutstudios.net to listen, read, comment and much more.

"MAN THINKING!!"

Good day to each one and praise The Lord!! We continue our study on The Thinking of Man and as we do, I pray it is encouraging as it is never meant to demean or offend anyone but always to tell the truth as God's Word portrays.From the very beginning of creation God has set standards in many areas. It is also true that as man developed over time and grew, he would almost always interfere with any one of those standards. For instance, as we look throughout the scriptures it is clear that God never intended for man to be involved in homosexual relationships yet man from early on has tried to change God's design. It is very clear from many passages in the Old and New Testaments alike that God does not tolerate this type of behavior but rather says those who engage in such activities shall not inherit the kingdom of heaven (Rev. 21 and Rom. 1).For those who hold to the fact of the Bible only being God's Word, there should be no variation from what HE has spoken by HIS Holy Spirit. The thinking of man does not change the mind of God as it is written.There is one more standard I want to mention in this writing that many people of our world would debate. That is the fact that God states very clearly that HE is The Only True God. In Matthew 4:10 it is The Lord Jesus Christ who speaks these words, "Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve." (KJV)

In the book of Hosea we see the very words of God Himself as He says, "Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no Saviour beside me" (Hosea 13:4). This same thought is expressed many times throughout the Word of God. God is THE ONLY God, there is no other. This means that all, ALL, other religions and their "gods" are nothing but false and will stand one day and give an account to The Almighty.
So at this point, as we look at standards, we conclude that there are standards set by God that were never meant to be messed with or changed or there will be consequences as a result. As this writer has said before, the Bible as God's Word is either true from "In the beginning" to "Amen", or it is the biggest lie ever brought before man. I believe it is God's Word as He meant for us to have it and we should not try to make it fit our lifestyle, but change our lifestyles to fit God's standard.
As God speaks through Paul in Philippians 2:9-11, "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (KJV).
We will not bow to Buddha, Confucius, Muhammad or any other false religion set up by man. Rather they will bow one day before the Almighty God of creation. God bless until our next time together. Feel free to contact me at the email provided. snowme1955@yahoo.com