I heard a verse recently that was very encouraging - nothing I do in Christ is ever in vain. Including this annoying Shakespeare in the Theater exit course... Let's go over this verse together:
1 Corinthians 15:51-58 (New Living Translation)
51 But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! 52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. 53 For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.
54 Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled:
“ Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is your victory? & nbsp; O death, where is your sting?”
56 For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. 57 But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.
If I die any time soon, please don't put a date on my grave. I don't want the year of my death on my tombstone, nor the date of my birth. I have eternal life through my faith in Jesus Christ. I'm not truly dead because Jesus is my Lord and Savior, and as long as He lives, as is in the Gospel, I shall live. He was crucified, and so I was crucified in Him. He arose from the grave and since then will always live, and so I arose with Him and will always live. I'm not saying that other Believers who have dates on their grave are in error or that this should become some great Christian practice, because it's irrelevant. Some may object to this idea and say that they would at least want a date marking the 'death of their body,' and you're free and welcome to have your date, but I for one refuse that right.
As far as I have any control of the matter, I simply refuse to have a date on my grave - it'd be a worldly, inaccurate representation of not only how I've lived this life these past 5.83 years of my salvation, but, for me, an insult to my Savior if I had any control of it. Peter was crucified upside down - I'll die without having a date marking my tombstone. And that's as radical as I'll get for now. If it were up to me, and if I didn't have anyone grieving my death, I wouldn't even put my name on it - only the name of Christ matters in the end. And if you disagree with me, or think that's too radical, then I adjour you to really perceive by faith the reality of the crucifixion of Jesus and the provision of the grace of God to give eternal life to His people. Study it in the Word. It's not radical at all if you truly believe what God's written down. Read 1 Thessalonians about how we don't mourn like the rest of the world when a Believer dies.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
"13Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14We believe that Jesus died and rose again and sowe believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18Therefore encourage each other with these words."
Listen to this awesome demonstration of faith in Christ, and His return. Do you believe God's Word? Do you think that we truly have eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord, as the Word of God describes? One wise person once observed that life is so short that you can measure the length of it by measuring the length of the little 'dash' between your date of birth and your date of death on your tombstone. Well, there's no line long enough to put on my tombstone now because I truly have eternal life in Christ.
Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Romans 6:22, "But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life."
There are so many exhortations in the New Testament to ‘love’ and to ‘love one another.’ This great commandment cannot be overlooked or substituted for. Loving other believers is one of the great indicators of someone’s salvation. Characteristic of the Christian is that they love other Christians and have godly desires to fellowship with one another.
Scriptural Foundation - Christian Behavior
There are 4 Greek words for love. All four are present in Romans 12.
Romans 12:9, “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.” (NKJV)
Agape – None of the other words for love came close to describing what the Apostle Paul wanted to communicate. Agape was chosen by Paul in 1 Cor. 13 to describe love, although it was relatively rarely used outside of the New Testament and obscure because this word describes a love that is based on the deliberate choice of the one who loves rather than the worthiness of the one who is loved. It goes against human inclination and requires a selfless giving, and an expectation of nothing in return.
This is self-sacrificial love. It involves an act of the will whereby one seeks the best for another.
Verse 9 declares that agape love, in this form, should be without hypocrisy. Another translation for this is, “without dissimulation,” or unfeigned, undisguised, sincere.
Romans 12:10, “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;” (NKJV)
Philos (φίλος ) – means ‘affectionate regard.’ This word for love suggested the esteem and affection found in a casual friendship.
A lot of people think that ‘philos’ means brotherly love. They are wrong: Philadelphia is translated brotherly love in this verse, which is derived from philos.
So, the full definition of just this one root word, philos, is “ friend, to be friendly to one, wish him well”
Philos carries with it the image of, “one of the bridegroom's friends who on his behalf asked the hand of the bride and rendered him various services in closing the marriage and celebrating the nuptials.”
Philadelphia – means, “love of brothers or sisters, brotherly love” and, “in the NT the love which Christians cherish for each other as brethren.”
Yet, there’s one more word derived from Philos here in this verse. Philostorgos
Philostorgos (φιλόστο&rho ;γος ) – This is also derived from another word, ‘storge’ which means “cherishing one's kindred, especially parents or children.” It means, “the mutual love of parents and children and wives and husbands, loving affection, prone to love, loving tenderly; loving affection, prone to love, loving tenderly: chiefly of the reciprocal tenderness of parents and children.”
In Romans 12:10, it says that we’re to honor one another. The word here means to hold reverence for, of the honour which one has by reason of rank and state of office of which he holds; it also means valuing by price paid or received for a person.
We’re also called to give each other preference. This is also an interesting word, proegeomai, which means to go before and show the way, or to go before as a leader.
Romans 12:11, “not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;” (NKJV)
Another translation for ‘lagging in diligence’ is ‘not slothful in business.’ We should make it our business to diligently serve the Lord by loving one another, with haste and eagerness.
Romans 12:12-13, “rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.” (NKJV)
Philoxenia (φιλ&omic ron;ξενία) – The word ‘hospitality’ here means a love to strangers. We should be getting to know each other and we should no longer be strangers because we’re taking the lead to love one another more deeply.
Thank you so much for your attention to this study. I hope and pray that God glorifies Himself through you as He reveals Himself to you through His Word. God bless you and keep you.
Ever notice that television shows a lot of grossly immoral things without any hinderance these days? If you watch old shows like 'I Love Lucy,' or the others, there was none of that at all. Everyone of the advertisers and people creating these shows will be held accountable for all their use and misuse of sexuality when they stand before God and are judged.
I stopped watching television 4 years ago. I'm 23 today. The large amount of unmarried, ellicit sexuality injected into the necks of Americans may be the root cause of many of our problems: broken marriages and broken homes, high divorce rates, abortion... Of course that's unresearched and based on a non-empirical cursory observation, but that by no means is a slippery slope. There doesn't appear to be any mechanism to slow it down or make it get any better. Companies use it to sell their products. Advertisers use it to spread their events. What should be intimately shared between a husband and wife, in private, is now put on gross display and is so flippantly public that no one seems to see it as a sanctified act between two who are married together as one, anymore. It isn't a sign of growing up into greater maturity. It's freely dispensed through television and internet, so why bother to get married? Because of this, I feel that the kids who watch this programming will remain just as they are...kids. Sex is for married people. Always has been, always will be. But the entire media's persuaded everyone of otherwise.
"You are to be, in a sense, a 'savior' of your wife. Her life, because of you, should be more godly, should be more joyful, should be more prosperous - that the work of salvation is advancing in her life. And it's advancing at a much greater pace because God is using you as an instrument. You're not an obstacle to the saving work of God in her, but you're an instrument. She's becoming more whole, more complete, more beautiful, more assured in Christ, because of her life with you. ...Could your wife say that she's becoming more whole because of her relationship to you? She's more complete, she's more like Christ? And let's not forget, the fruit of the spirit is 'love, *joy*...' There's more joy - she's just free-er. She's more secure - not in her self-esteem, but in the love of Christ and in the love of her husband. You see? We're to work. Now, this is not something that just kind of happens. We're to work. We're to work at being a leader. How can you be a leader, unless you know God's will? Because of the only roadmap is God's will - His Word. So, in order to properly direct your wife - in order to properly be a head - you have to saturate your life in the Word of God. And in order to be an instrument of salvation, you yourself must be constantly conformed more and more to the image of Christ, you see? ..."
I like to put a sermon on while I'm doing things in my room. I heard one on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?...;feature=related from Paul Washer. This could be by far one of the greatest things I've ever heard him preach (besides the 10 Indictments sermon) thus far from listening to maybe a hundred or more of his sermons.
"My dear friend, he [Paul] says that the Gospel is the power of God! ... Is there any of God revealed in your life? And I'm not talking about the power to heal, or the power to do miracles, or the power to call down fire from the sky. I'm talking about the power of a godly life! I am talking about the power of loving your brothers and sisters in Christ. I'm talking about the power of sacrificial generosity. I'm talking about the power of kindness. I'm talking about the power of covering over sensuality. Is there any power of God in your life, or is Christianity just something you do? Can you point to the power of God changing you? It is the power of God. Now here is the word for the day - the power of God for salvation, to everyone who believes. Not to *some* who believe, but to *everyone* who believes the Gospel there is a promise of salvation. ...Now what type of salvation are we talking about? Salvation, yes, from the condemnation of the law, the wrath of God - yes. ...It doesn't just mean that. ...It is salvation and deliverance from the power of sin in your present life! Is God manifesting His power in your life so as to deliver you from the sins, and the darkness, and the falleness of this age? ...Do you see an ever-increasing deliverance from the power of sin and temptation? Are you being conformed to the image of Christ? Are you being separated from the world? You see, that's what it means!"
Some people do not like to hear much of repentance; but I think it is so necessary that if I should die in the pulpit, I would desire to diepreaching repentance, and if out of the pulpit I would desire to die practicing it. -Matthew Henry (The Great Commentator)
I think he only came in to talk because the apartment has been empty for the past week and a half or so. He's barely ever here, but everyone else has gone off to different places. I've been in St. Pete most of the week, another roommate went off with his brother to another place, and the saved roommate's been in another part of Florida most of the week. It's hard to believe that sin-hardened hearts, like my old heart, can still feel things like this - loneliness, hurt over rejection, sorrow, etcetera. I'd sin and sin and I'd still feel lonely and sad sometimes. Praise the Lord Jesus for setting me free from my sins and my sin-hardened heart, for helping me, for always being with me so that I wouldn't be alone, and for taking the sorrow and pain away.
I was just listening to a John MacArthur sermon on the Will of God when suddenly one of my roommates came home. It's 4:30AM in the morning. It was the unsaved roommate, and he suddenly came into my room to talk to me. That's only happened 2-3 times in the past 5 months. He was stark drunk, and his eyes were red. He'd had too much to drink, but he tried to make conversation with me. It looks like they might be letting him go from his job. He said it sort of nonchalantly, but I know for a fact that it bothers him quite a bit, and may be why he chose to drink himself to the state he was in. He's been working there for 6 years and it's his dream job. He got a degree to get that specific one. He talked about moving to another state and making more money, but it's going to be tough to move somewhere else. Everyone he knows is here.
Anyway, he was talking about working for a church. This man isn't saved. And that's pretty apparent from his lifestyle. But he's probably been told that he is saved for quite a while. He's leading a sin-lifestyle that doesn't characterize salvation. He told me the Pastor of a Baptist church hired him. And that Al Sharpton is going to be speaking there soon. He was expecting me to react, but inside I was very unimpressed. What saddens me is that this Pastor as well as any of the ministers or the fellowship would never talk to him about sin or sit him down and ask him tough questions about his lifestyle. It's only me as his roommate who lives with him personally and can visibly see the way he lives that knows, and I'm disconnected from this body of people. There's no accountability. So, someone can work for their church and not have anyone confront him or enact NT-style church discipline and counsel him with regards to his sin lifestyle. This is so wrong... He left the room because he needed to lie down - he was starting to see things. I have a plaque on my wall with Hebrews 11:6 on it. He started seeing something over it.
The 10 Point Biblical Test to see if you're really saved.
1. 1 John 1:7 - Do you have fellowship and love fellowship with other believers? - You have Jesus in common with your believing friends and that's precious to you. 2. 1 John 1:8 - You realize that you're a sinner who *deserves* the wrath of God for your sins. - Your conviction of sin is personal, not just general (Romans 3:23, 6:23). 3. 1 John 2:3 - Do you live like a Christian? 4. 1 John 2:15 - Do you love the world? Then the love of the Father isn't in you. 5. 1 John 2:13 - You need to understand who Jesus is, or you don't have the Father either. 6. 1 John 3:2 - If you're a Christian, you can't wait to see Jesus. You can't wait to be in heaven and to see His return. - You have a longing to be with the One who is the single greatest affection of your life. 7. 1 John 3:8-9 - If you're marked by a life of sin, you're not saved. - Are you convicted every time you come close to sinning, and have a realization that your sinning is against God? 8. 1 John 3:14 - You love hanging out with the brethren. 9. 1 John 4:6 - You like to hear teaching about God. You like preaching, you like theology, you like listening so you can know more about your Savior. 10. 1 John 4:15 - You can freely confess that Jesus Christ is God. - This confession is not just in Church, but to a loved one or someone who is lost and doesn't know Christ. You confess Jesus by witnessing and sharing your faith.
Ask yourself: Am I growing in Holiness? Do I see fruit of repentance in my life? If the answer is no, you may not be saved. Please go to: NeedGod.com and take a quick test to find out.
