"Consider the goodness and severity of God on them which fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness: otherwise you also shall be cut off," Romans 11:22. In this passage, Paul is speaking about the Jewish people who were driven out of their promised land due to disobedience to the Lord God, therefore suffering strict discipline. Then he compares these conditions to Christians who do not practice the faith which was once delivered to them by the Holy Spirit.
Understand a believer in Jesus can be separated from Jesus by practicing deliberate disobedience of His Word and the Commandments. Read verse 21, "if God did not spare the natural branches, (the Jewish people) take heed for He may not spare you," (speaking to believers in Jesus). Let's consider the metaphor of "the branches." Jesus reveals in John 15:2, "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it that it may bear more fruit." New read verse 6 which is sobering, "If a man abide not in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and men gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned."
Brethren, we need to know the whole truth when it comes to the Lord's instructions for salvation. We have been called out of this world and have received His Spirit, but we must continue to feed off the Word of God to develop a Godly lifestyle. Beware of pit falls that cause laxity in your study of God's Word, for therein lay instructions which lead to eternal salvation.
Colossians 1:21-23, "You were once alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled you through the body of His flesh, through death, to present you holy, and blameless, above reproach in His sight." How beautiful is that? Now, continue, "If you continue in the faith grounded and settled, not moved from the hope of the Gospel, which you have heard, and which was preached." By being humble and submissive to our Lord, the Holy Spirit will direct you into all truth, if you allow it, leading you to live a righteous life, bringing glory to our Lord.
Don't be deceived and take that wide road which leads to eternal death. This wide road has many names that appeal to our nature, progressive or enlightenment sound good, but aren't these teachings humanistic? Remember, we are to try or test the spirits whether they are of God. Satan, or the serpent, said to Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit so she and Adam would be like God, their eyes opened. The reasoning appealed to both Adam and Eve, therefore disobeying what God instructed.
Satan uses the same tactics on us, destroying so many because they are ignorant to what the Lord expects of them. Paul warned in in Peter 2:18-21, "For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the weakness of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who had actually escaped from those who live in error. While they promise them liberty (from God's laws), they themselves are slaves of corruption, for by whom a person is overcome, by him also they are brought into bondage (or sin.) For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the ways of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning."
Now, heed the warning in verse 21, "For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the Holy Commandment delivered to them."
Strive each day to be a "doer" and not just a "bearer" of God's Word. Study, pray and meditate on the Word of God so you know the mind of God and won't be easily deceived. It's time, my dear friends, to get busy doing the Lord's business while it is yet day. There will be no false sense of security if we abide in Him, letting Jesus shine through us and being a good witness of truth and sincerity in this darkening world of hatred and greed.
Craig Joyner has worked and served in the Hot Springs area for more than 20 years. He has a passion for studying the Word of God and sharing with others his findings. His objective is for believers to draw closer to the Lord, cleaving to the truth of the Word and not be deceived during these end-times.
Religion on 06/24/2017