What Is The Cause Wherefore You Are Come?
He Shall Tell You What You Ought To Do - Part Four
As the church sinks deeper and deeper into apostasy and false doctrine, Satan has never made a greater push to quench the only light and hope for mankind’s deliverance and salvation – the message of the Lord Jesus Christ and Him Crucified. The souls of men are why the Holy Ghost was sent - "to convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of Judgement." The gospel always seeks to reach individual hearts because the criteria of all Judgement will be individual accountability before God. No man, boy, woman, or girl will be able to stand upon some one's else's salvation merit when we stand before God - we must all come ONE Way, which is the same for all- through Jesus Christ and the Cross.
By Chris McDonald
Acts 10:20-27 - Arise therefore,
and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them. 21
Then Peter went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius; and
said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek: what is the cause wherefore ye are come? 22
And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God,
and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by an
holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee. 23 Then
called he them in, and lodged them. And on the morrow Peter went away with them,
and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him. 24 And the morrow after they
entered into Caesarea. And Cornelius waited for them, and had called together
his kinsmen and near friends. 25 And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him,
and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him. 26 But Peter took him up, saying,
Stand up; I myself also am a man. 27 And as he talked with him, he went in, and
found many that were come together.
We continue the series this week on the Holy Spirit and the Gentiles by taking a deeper look at a powerful phrase the Spirit speaks through Peter to the men sent by Cornelius "what is the cause wherefore you are come?" This is the statement of the Holy Ghost to the modern church in these last days before the rapture of the Church.
As the church sinks deeper and deeper into apostasy and false doctrine, Satan has never made a greater push to quench the only light and hope for mankind’s deliverance and salvation – the message of Christ Crucified - than he has today. The souls of men are why the Holy Ghost was sent - "to convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of Judgement" and if we reject the operation of the Holy Ghost we reject the only power that can confront men with their sinful wicked ways before it is too late. The gospel always seeks to reach individual hearts because individual accountability is the criteria of all Judgement one day when we all stand before God. No man, boy, woman, or girl will be able to stand upon some one's else's salvation merit or experience at that great and fateful day when eternity beckons us all to give an account for the life we live here on this Earth. We must all come ONE Way, which is the same for all- through Jesus Christ and the Cross.
Peter came to the house of Cornelius not at the bequest of three men, but by the bequest of the Holy Ghost which must accompany ALL true gospel ministry. Whenever the church seeks to separate the proclamation of the gospel from the anointing of the Spirit it promotes "another gospel," driven by "another spirit," pointing me to "another Jesus." This type of gospel may sound good to the hearer's ears but it will produce spiritual DEATH to those who embrace it!
2 Cor. 11:4
For if he that cometh preaches another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if
ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which
ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.
There is a cause wherefore we have been
called to in this perilous hour before Jesus comes and that is to preach this
mighty gospel of Jesus Christ under the anointing and unction of the Holy Ghost!
That is why Peter was sent by God to the house of Cornelius and open the
ministry of the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles.
For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. [18] For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
The message of the Cross is not just part of the true church’s doctrinal message – it is THE message of those washed in the blood of the Lamb, filled with the Holy Ghost, whose names are written down in the Lamb’s book of Life! Let the reader be sure of this one fact – ALL false doctrine, no matter what root it springs from, will always be doctrine that takes men AWAY from the power of the Cross instead of pointing men TO it. False doctrine is also any doctrine that seeks to “add to” the finished work of Christ, which needs NOTHING added to it!
Jesus Christ did not come and die on a cross 2,000 years ago so that Adam’s fallen race would need rehab centers, 12-step programs, Celebrate Recovery seminars, or any such like to be set free from the ravages of sin. Jesus Christ and His blood ALONE can set the captive free! It is an INSULT to the Holy Ghost when we add something to the Finished Work of Christ and seek deliverance in man-made efforts to bring freedom to people’s lives.
He that the SON has set free is FREE indeed!
If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
Jesus didn’t say “if you attend Alcoholics Anonymous,” or “Narcotics Anonymous,” or “Celebrate Recovery,” or any such program you would be free. He said if THE SON, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of Glory, the Living Water from Heaven, The Way, the Truth and the Life, sets you free then you are free indeed! Millions of dollars are spent every year on cigarette nicotine patches to help people quit smoking. Jesus Christ doesn’t need a nicotine patch to set you free friend – He has already paid the price for your freedom at the Cross of Calvary 2,000 years ago through the shedding of His precious BLOOD and by sending back the HOLY GHOST to those who will accept and receive His work! Your freedom is in CHRIST, not some 12-step program or your weekly trip to the rehab center every time you get the urge to do drugs, alcohol or whatever addiction you indulge in because you're bound. I don't say that with malice or self-righteousness - but I say it under the anointing of the Holy Ghost - you can be free today through the power of the blood of Jesus Christ.
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage
The Cross of Christ the only source of man’s
salvation and deliverance from drugs, immorality, lust, drink, cigarettes,
crack, stealing, anger, and any other bondage humanity faces. The Cross is where
man is BORN again, and made ready for heaven so he can live eternally with God
and not be separated from God confined to an eternal hell, originally made for
the devil and his angels, but the abode of all the wicked who reject God’s
prescribed order of salvation and victory!
John 3:8
The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst
not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of
the Spirit.
Col. 2:14-15
Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was
contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; [15] And
having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly,
triumphing over them in it.
Galatians 6:14
But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
1 Cor. 2:2- For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ,
and him crucified. [3] And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much
trembling. [4] And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of
man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: [5] That your
faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
Romans 1:16-17
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto
salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
[17] For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it
is written, The just shall live by faith.
The
reader must first fully grasp that Jesus Christ is the ONLY Way for man to reach
and know God and the only mediator between God and man. There is no way
for one to know God or reach God the Father outside that individual coming through
Christ.
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
The only way one can come to Christ is through the Holy Spirit drawing that individual to the Cross, where the demands are to take up the cross, deny one’s self and follow after Christ! The Holy Ghost works hand in hand with what Christ did at the Cross in this great salvation process!
No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
One MUST be drawn by the Holy Spirit and convicted of their sins to be saved - just as this great story of Cornelius' salvation shows. Many today attend churches where conviction is never felt because the Holy Spirit has been pushed aside or relegated to a doctrinal statement instead of having free reign to do what He must to bring souls to Christ. Some even come down and repeat a prayer without being truly drawn by the Holy Ghost only to walk out the same way they came in – LOST. Our church growth seminars make a big deal about how many people come to our programs or join our membership rolls; the HOLY GHOST is concerned about who comes to CHRIST! The modern church world worries about what type programs we can scheme and develop to get the "numbers," while the Holy Ghost is concerned about individual HEARTS who know Christ and are truly born again! True salvation does not save one “in” their sin, but true salvation brings a change of heart and brings men OUT of their sin!!
Many who profess they are saved, have never been truly born again!!!!! Others have felt because their parents or grandparents were saved they too then must be saved; but friend salvation is not something one inherits from their parents or grandparents! True salvation must be experienced by every single individual on a personal, one on one enoucnter with Christ, and that is only affected through repentance, and faith in the Lord’s finished work on the Cross! The Holy Spirit will always point the seeking sinner to the Cross, for it is the Cross and the Cross alone that stands between man and eternal hell.
It is also important to realize that we cannot separate the Cross of Christ from the Holy Spirit! Many want to preach the message of the Cross without the power of the Holy Ghost which will avail NOTHING because it is the HOLY GHOST who makes the power of the Cross REAL in the hearts and lives of those who come to Christ.
There is nothing worse than listening to a preacher preach a dead sermon of facts “about” the Cross, without the anointing of the Holy Ghost which draws sinners and changes believers! When one truly embraces the Cross of Christ, one will also embrace the fullness of the Holy Ghost.
On the flip side of this coin, there are many in the Body of Christ, especially in the Charismatic, Pentecostal world, who seek and want to preach the Holy Ghost without preaching the requirements of the Cross; this type of preaching will always leads to fanaticism and false doctrine as well. This writer writes that as a Spirit-filled believer, who was gloriously baptized in the Holy Ghost in 1987 with the evidence of speaking with other tongues.
I’m not ashamed to proclaim that glorious testimony - not to point to tongues per say - but to point to the fact that a PRICE was paid that men not only be saved - but be FILLED with the POWER of almighty God with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. Tongues are a sign to the unbeliever, a supernatural utterance, help for the believer wanting to energize their prayer life, a source of building up one's faith and direct communication to God. If you don't want to believe in tongues, don't believe. Most don't and reject one of the most glorious experiences God wants to give His children. Listen to the devil's stupidity he speaks through backslidden preachers and those who know enough of their Bibles to be dangerous. Many go out and find one or two scripture to defend their unbelief and when confronted with their stupidity get angry and upset as if you've stepped on a cat's tail. That's the ugly nature of religion!
I have seen both spectrums where the Holy Spirit is shunned and rejected as well as the spectrum where the Cross and its message is shunned; neither WORK and are grievous to God!!!! Let the reader be clear that no matter what extreme one goes to, unless the Cross and the Holy Ghost work together and are embraced equally and as vital components of one’s salvation and deliverance, there is going to be false doctrine and error!
The Apostle John declares under the anointing of the Spirit that the Spirit, Word (water) and Blood AGREE, as it relates to one “overcoming” the world and believing that Jesus is the Son of God. The Spirit never contradicts the Word of God and the Word of God will never state anything contrary to the Spirit of God!!
This is the foundation for which we want to discuss part four of this ongoing series on Cornelius- the cause to which the Church has been called - the gospel of Jesus Christ which always includes the message of the baptism and outpouring of the Holy Ghost. We discussed the vision the Lord sent to Peter concerning eating things "common and unclean," in the previous journal so we won't elaborate on it here. We do want to re-state it again "what God has cleansed, don't call it common."
Wherein Is The Cause Wherewith You Come?
The cause of the modern day church is one cause and one cause alone - the preaching of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ under the unction and anointing of the Holy Ghost! Our cause is not the Purpose Driven Life, 12-step programs, rehab centers, or any other program man's carnal mind can conjure up; our cause is CHRIST and CHRIST alone. Christ did not come and die for the church to offer the Cross as just another "part" or one of many "options" for man's deliverance. Christ and Him Crucified is not an option neighbor, it is the ONLY OPTION and the ONLY WAY and the ONLY MESSAGE that can set the captives free. It is the power of God unto salvation - to the Jew first then to the Greek. We preach Christ Crucified. Peter was not sent to Cornelius to sit down and have a chit chat about Cornelius' education background or his religious background. This man was seeing angels and having visitations from God unlike most in the church world today would ever dream of in a million years but the man was LOST and without God!
The souls of men are the CAUSE why we come and "go" to the entire world with the gospel. That is why we give to missions; that is why we send missionaries; that is why if called we go ourselves; that is why we do ALL things for the gospel's sake! That is why we preach and cry and intercede and moan and groan in the Spirit - to see the souls of men saved and set free. The souls of men are the cause of why we write. The souls of men are the cause of why we pray, worship, sing, dance and praise God in the HOLY GHOST. The souls of men is why we kneel down in Holy Ghost prayer and with utterances that cannot be made in English allow the Holy Ghost to move heaven and shake the powers of hell over the souls of men.
Are we that arrogant in the modern church to think that we in our own pitiful human strength can do one single thing to move the heart of God because we utter words that are not supernaturally birthed but just uttered to be uttered? That is how most prayer gatherings are today in the modern realm of religion.
When the church rejects GOD to begin with - and when you reject the operation and moving of the HOLY GHOST - you are rejecting the moving and operation of the Third Person of the GOD HEAD - neighbor - GOD IS NOT GOING TO BE PRESENT IN YOUR GATHERING! We need more than just a gathering or an event - we need an outpouring of HOLY GHOST power to come upon our lives, our homes, our churches, our inner most beings - we need PENTECOST once again. We need the HOLY GHOST to renew the CAUSE in our hearts once again to see eternity as God sees it. We need the Holy Ghost to renew the CAUSE of the church once again to be first - SEEK GOD and GET ENDUED WITH POWER - FIRST - THEN, go and preach the gospel. A gospel preached without the HOLY GHOST anointing upon it is NOT the gospel. It may be a sermon, but neighbor sermons come a dime a dozen. Men need more than a sermon. They need the anointed word of Almighty God to reach down and confront their sinful hearts and in some cases religious hearts that do not know God!!!! Peter came preaching the message of Christ to Cornelius under the inspiration and power of the HOLY GHOST. In doing so, the door was being opened to ALL GENTILES who would follow and believe this glorious gospel that does not need to be tinkered with or adjusted as so many try to do.
Our cause is the GOSPEL - Jesus saves, Jesus heals, Jesus is coming again and JESUS BAPTIZES IN THE HOLY GHOST. You can't separate the gospel message from the message of the Holy Ghost. "Well, Brother McDonald, we can preach so many other things without talking about those tongues can't we? That is just so divisive when people do that?" It's amazing how people wrestle with scripture to hide behind their unbelief and hardness of heart. The message of the baptism in the Holy Ghost is not what causes division- those who don't believe in this glorious experience are who cause division and are divisive! GOD is not the author of confusion, which is what most who don't want to believe in this gift hide behind often as well, but confusion in God's eyes is not the same as confusion in men's eyes. God's word sometimes takes a sword and cuts a line in the sand between the unbelieving and the faithful. If that is confusion then God is ALL for that. What God is not in are things that are done in disobedience to His Word; if the church don't preach the Word then what we do will be done either in ignorance or unbelief.
UNBELIEF and HARDNESS OF HEART will always cause the gospel to seem divisive! THE TRUE GOSPEL MESSAGE CAN NEVER BE VOID OF THE MESSAGE OF THE BAPTISM IN THE HOLY GHOST! When Peter preached to Cornelius the message of Jesus, the HOLY GHOST took over and did the rest!
Yes we can preach "other things," and not get the religious feathers of the unbelieving ruffled. Yes we can "preach other things," and not get the devil's crowd upset at us. Yes we can preach "other things," and not get the religious Pharisees of our day ranting and raving mad and claiming all sorts of stupidity but neighbor this writer would care less about ruffling the feathers of the religious and proud. He cares about the CAUSE of this mighty gospel - the souls of men - and he knows that the ONLY THINGS that can change hearts and set men's soul free is the POWER OF THE HOLY GHOST!
No power - no conviction; no power - no healing; no power - no salvation; no power - no anointing; no power - no deliverance; no power - no people being baptized in the HOLY GHOST with the evidence of speaking with other tongues. Isaiah cried 3,500 years ago that "with stammering lips and unknown tongues, I will speak to this people 'yet they would not hear or listen.'" One lady tried to tell me that because "they would not hear or listen," is exactly why all of this "tongue" stuff is not relevant to today because as she put it "people just don't listen and won't accept it." That's how stupid religion makes us sound! God does not change His ways because men do not listen! The HOLY GHOST does not act on queue or march to orders by those who think they know more than Him! He is a perfect Gentleman, as portrayed as the dove, but He is also the FIRE, which burns away all that is not of Christ; He is also the WATER, which flows and removes everything not of Jesus among us.
Wherewith is the cause?? The cause is the souls of men; the answer to the ills of man's soul is one thing and one thing alone - the full gospel of Jesus Christ, which includes the anointing of the Holy Ghost! There is but one message the Holy Ghost anoints and that is the message of Jesus and Him Crucified.
Cornelius Was Called To Hear The Words of The Holy Ghost Through Peter
Acts 10: 22 And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by an holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee. 23 Then called he them in, and lodged them. And on the morrow Peter went away with them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him. 24 And the morrow after they entered into Caesarea. And Cornelius waited for them, and had called together his kinsmen and near friends.
The word "just," here in this passage refers to the fact Cornelius was "right," but not "righteous," which is a state only given by God. Cornelius "feared God," and had turned his back on all the paganistic gods and had adopted totally toward the God of Israel i.e. "he had a "good report among the Jews," but yet this man was not saved! We've covered this ay times already during this sermon series concerning the Holy Spirit and the Gentiles but I need to state it again.
Most of the world believes there is a God. Their interpretation of Him is mostly jaded or 180 degrees from reality, but still, they have some type of belief in some type of "god." Some, especially those involved in humanistic organizations that promote humanistic deliverance programs, refer to God as a "higher power," or "the force, or "the man upstairs," or a number of other names that make religious man feel at ease in his conscience that he somehow understands or knows God. Millions have a mystical idea of who God may be but outside the revelation of Christ the Son there IS NO TRUE revelation of God to be found! Millions foolishly believe that in some way the human being is even god, hence the continued effort to drag out the "deity" in all of us, as they would say. That is the root of all humanism that because man was created in the "image of God," hence man must have God in him and thus be inherently "good." The problem with that theory is it does not take into consideration the state of man AFTER man disobeyed God and fell in the Garden of Eden.
Most operate on the premise that all mankind is somehow judged by certain good deeds they perform, or certain bad things they have not done. Most think of their lives as having two columns, with the good in one column and the bad in the other. When they come to the end of their life, if the good outweighs the bad, they are saved, or so they think, or else they will receive some type of reward of some nature, etc. This was the state of Cornelius perhaps, we'll never know I guess but he shows us the reality of the fact that this is all that mortal man can hope to attain to.
"And to Hear Words Of Thee."
Cornelius, like the entire world, had to hear the gospel to be saved! Peter had been chosen to deliver those words and now it was up to Cornelius to "hear them." The "words" needed for men to be saved are terribly missing in the House of God today. Most churches have preachers who preach very little truth if any truth at all. Some attempt to preach truth but reject the Anointing of the Spirit, which in effect will destroy the truth. Jesus declared the "SPIRIT OF THE LORD" is UPON ME, for He hath "anointed," me to PREACH the Gospel to the Poor (meek). (Luke 4:18). The Truth simply because it is the Truth, is NOT automatically anointed by the Spirit. The anointing comes as a result of the preacher of the gospel being FULL OF THE HOLY GHOST and having a strong prayer life and knowledge of the Word of God.
The modern church world boasts of its "experts," but these experts don't know God and His power! We don't need experts of doctors trying to solve the spiritual issues of man's wicked and sinful hearts! We need HOLY GHOST FILLED preachers preaching the Word of Almighty God under such an anointing that sinners will tremble in conviction and run to the altar in horror of dying at any second without God. We need such preaching that believers will get so hungry for more of God they will run to the altar and cry out to God to receive the baptism in the HOLY GHOST with the evidence of speaking with other tongues. Oh, Neighbor, we need a PENTECOSTAL outpouring that will shake the very foundations of our lives and hearts so. This is this writer's prayer for 2007.
The Bible has a lot to say about us "hearing" what the Spirit of God would say to the Church. It's not that God is not talking, it's we're not LISTENING! As I stated earlier, even when God speaks to His church through the glorious gift of speaking in tongues, the church DOES NOT LISTEN.
Isaiah 28:11-12
For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. [12]
To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and
this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.
During our weekly Bible studies one of the most asked questions we get,
especially from non-Christians, is, "What happens to all the people who never
hear about Jesus?" That question in phrased in a variety of forms, but basically
it is the expressed concern of many because most, even the unbelieving,
understand that Jesus is Lord and it is only through Him that men come to
God. If one does not hear or know about Christ that raises the stakes of
eternity quite a bit don't it?
The call of the gospel is to the individual soul - the cause of why we preach the gospel of Christ under the anointing of the Holy Ghost.
Peter's message on the Day of Pentecost included prophetic passages from the Old Covenant Holy Ghost prophet Joel:
Acts 2:16-22- But this is that which was
spoken by the prophet Joel; [17] And it shall come to pass in the last days,
saith God,I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your
daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men
shall dream dreams: [18] And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour
out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will shew wonders
in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of
smoke: [20] The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood,
before that great and notable day of the Lord come: [21] And it shall come to
pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Joel 2:32
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord
shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as
the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.
For men to hear the gospel and believe, the heart must be involved, that is, the
inner consciousness, the deep conviction of a man's will. God does not hand out
salvation like some free coupon that comes in the mail. One must hear the
gospel, be drawn by the Holy Ghost, then believe from the heart in repentance in
what Christ did for us at the Cross!
It is not enough to come and sit under the hearing of the gospel. Some people
think that if they go to church regularly and hear the gospel they will be
saved. No, there has to be a time when one personally calls on the name of the
Lord. I want to stress that, as the Apostle Paul does here. But behind the call
is belief. Paul says, "How, then, can they call on the one they have not
believed in?" So many times today we think it is enough to get the
emotions stirred up and that in itself is salvation. It is NOT. I am certain
that if we'd had experienced the angelic visitations and tremendous work of God
involved in Cornelius' life prior to his actually receiving salvation, we'd been
pretty "emotional." But Cornelius had to have more than just emotions - he
needed to HEAR THE WORD OF GOD and believe!
Romans
10:18
But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth,
and their words unto the ends of the world.
Acts 14:16-17
Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways. [17]
Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave
us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and
gladness.
Acts 17:30-31
And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every
where to repent: [31] Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will
judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he
hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
Romans 1:18-21
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and
unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; [19] Because that
which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
[20] For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly
seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and
Godhead; so that they are without excuse: [21] Because that, when they knew God,
they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their
imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Titus 2:11
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Romans 2:12-16
For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as
many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; [13] (For not the
hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be
justified. [14] For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the
things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto
themselves: [15] Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their
conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or
else excusing one another;) [16] In the day when God shall judge the secrets of
men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.
Col. 1:23
If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the
hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every
creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;
The message of the everlasting gospel, that has been present in the world since
the fall of mankind in the garden of Eden, has been revealed by God through an
ever increasing revelation through the ages and dispensations. No matter the
dispensation - the message has remained the same - the CROSS OF CHRIST and the
power of the blood of Jesus! The true gospel, in its fullness, has always been
revealed through the grace and truth of Jesus Christ. The fullest revelation
will be demonstrated in the consummation of the ages with the eternal New Heaven
and New Earth.
Before Messiah Jesus came in the flesh, there were those who looked forward to
the salvation of God that was to come as the seed of Eve that would crush
Satan's head. This one came to be known as the Messiah, the Saviour of the
World. He appeared in the garden, walking with Adam and Eve appearing many other
times also throughout the ages, frequently referred to as "the Angel (Messenger)
of the Lord". He was later manifest in the flesh, being born of a virgin, and
known by the name Jesus of Nazareth.
And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith,
preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, "In you all the nations shall
be blessed." So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.
Galatians 3:8-9
Those who believed in Him to come, having not
yet seen Him incarnate, when they died descended to a place of comfort in Sheol
called "Abraham's Bosom". This is where the righteous dead went. This place is
also referred to as "paradise" in the Bible by Messiah when He was on the cross.
The unrighteous dead, who did not trust God so as to look forward to the
salvation He would provide, descended to Hell, a place of torment in Sheol. Both
sections of Sheol, Abraham's Bosom and Hell, are visible to each other, but
could not be crossed from one to another due to the great chasm between them.
This is testified in the New Testament account of "The Rich Man and Lazarus".
Please note that this event mentioned by Jesus is NOT a parable. The narrative
is a case example Messiah provided after He spoke a parable. The renown ancient
historian Flavius Josephus writes of this place as real and existent, describing
it similar to the way Messiah did.
"Therefore, the righteous, who had faith in God for salvation before Messiah
came, saw Jesus in the place of Abraham's Bosom in Sheol when He descended there
after He died. Having now seen their expected Messiah, when Jesus rose from the
dead, these righteous dead also rose to ascended to Heaven. Thereafter, Sheol is
no longer inhabited as a place of comfort for the dead. "
The true gospel has always been and has never changed but has over time been
more fully revealed. Salvation has always been through faith in Christ and Him
Crucified. Before Messiah came, the righteous looked forward to His coming; in
the current church age, the righteous look back to the time He came, dying on
the cross to shed His blood and save us. He is also looked forward to regarding
His second coming to fulfill all the purposes of the Kingdom of God.
What about this present age? Again, the question needs to be asked... What about
those who never heard? God judges based on what people have and know, not on
what they do not. This goes for those such as infants, mentally disabled and
also those isolated from the full gospel. Their consciences will either justify
them by faith in what knowledge God has imparted to them about salvation, or
condemn them for rejecting that knowledge.
Even an ignorant person may come to know that there is but one God and that they
can only trust in Him to send and be delivering help. The heart of someone may
approach God with what faith in Him that God has already imparted. God will not
despise such and makes Himself available to all. Yes, the law helps people to
come to this greater knowledge. Still yet, God may be made more even readily
received by hearing the preaching of the gospel of Messiah.
As God's law has been introduced into the world, mankind has stood all the more
accountable with even greater awareness of the love of God and Him to trust as
the only way of salvation. No one is justified by God's law but people received
justification by God Himself, trusting in His Son Jesus Christ and what He
accomplished for us at the Cross. God is the only one who can condemn or
justify. Just as Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for
righteousness.
It is urgently important for the ignorant to hear the full gospel so that
they may be saved, just as Cornelius heard this glorious gospel so long ago
through the mouth of Peter. No man should ever judge that such people
should not hear the gospel, when it is commanded by our Lord for it to be
preached. There is no one that can receive eternal life without Jesus
Christ, yet God will choose to reveal His Son as the Spirit of God deals with
hearts and lives through the anointed Word! That is why we preach; that is why
we write; that is why we pray and intercede for the lost.
In John 14:6, the Bible says... Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and
the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." That is no one, neither
those who came after Him into the world, nor those who were born on the earth
before Him. The so-called ignorant know more than many may think and if
they reject the knowledge of the light of the gospel they will wind up in
eternal darkness! Light rejected is darkness accepted! Mercy rejected will
always ultimately bring judgment - be it a nation, individual or a church.
Because of the Fall, man's conscience is not a good barometer for man to live by when it comes to eternal matters. It may tell us something is wrong but it will never ultimately point us to true Bible salvation. We must all be drawn by the Holy Ghost who brings ALL to the same PERSON - the Lord Jesus Christ - and the same FINISHED WORK - on the Cross of Christ. That is how one is born again.
John 3:3-8
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man
be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. [4] Nicodemus saith unto him,
How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his
mother's womb, and be born? [5] Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the
kingdom of God. [6] That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is
born of the Spirit is spirit. [7] Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be
born again. [8] The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound
thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every
one that is born of the Spirit.
No one has ever, does ever, or will ever come to the Father except through the
Son. Believe in God's Son Jesus and receive the free gift of eternal life. Also,
share this good news, as He is the only way for anyone to be saved.
The Word of the Lord To Peter: "Go Without Doubting."
Acts 10:20-23
Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I
have sent them. [21] Then Peter went down to the men which were sent unto
him from Cornelius; and said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek: what is the cause
wherefore ye are come? [22] And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man,
and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews,
was warned from God by an holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to
hear words of thee. [23] Then called he them in, and lodged them. And on the
morrow Peter went away with them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied
him.
In closing, I want to add one quick thought about the warning of God to Peter and the men sent by Cornelius to get him "go with them, doubting nothing, for I have sent them."
The word "doubting," means to "not waver or hesitate to obey," meaning the Holy Spirit carried out this entire scenario between Peter and Cornelius from the get go. If the individual or Church refuses to deal with the Holy Spirit however, the church world will ALWAYS hesitate and refuse to obey God! Sadly, most of the church does not understand His manner of working, and thus are left with nothing bu human devices. Tragically, most of the major Religious Denominations have denied the Working and Operation of the Holy Spirit, simply because of not rightly dividing the Word of Truth, and are, therefore, bereft of anything which is of God.
Sadder still, many if not most, of the so-called Pentecostal Denominations, have forsaken the Holy Ghost, whose fate, unless there is revival, will be even worse than their denominational friends. The believer MUST understand that the Book of Acts, which is the story of the Early Church and the Working and Operation of the Holy Spirit in that church, is meant to serve as the pattern for all Churches from then until now. Consequently, if our lives and Churches are not patterned after this example, which the Holy Spirit intends, we may call ourselves "believers," and refer to our gatherings as "church," but the TRUTH is, God refers to such as "unbelievers," and unto such Churches, they are "churches" in name only! I don't care if 10,000 are coming; I'd rather have three on the front row who are truly filled with the Spirit of God, anointed by God and on fire with His grace and power, than to have 20,000 in a building and the building be void of the glory of Almighty God!
In Closing, "Being Warned By God" By An Holy Angel
Acts 10:22-24
And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God,
and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by an
holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee. [23] Then
called he them in, and lodged them. And on the morrow Peter went away with them,
and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him. [24] And the morrow after they
entered into Caesarea. And Cornelius waited for them, and had called together
his kinsmen and near friends.
The word "warned," in this passage means to "be strongly admonished." That is what the Spirit is doing to the church world at this hour - "strongly admonishing" it through the Word of Almighty God to return to the preaching of the Gospel. The souls of men are our cause - the gospel our message - the Holy Spirit our power - eternity our focus - Jesus Christ our standard - the Word of God our foundation. It's getting late friend. As stated earlier - mercy rejected always brings on accepted judgment. That is the state of our nation as we write these words. When we reject the LIGHT the only alternative is darkness and how great is that darkness we accept! The HOLY GHOST will not be tampered with nor will He be pushed into a box and told how to act and what to do. We either obey GOD and allow the freedom
The Holy Ghost has always moved usually right prior to a great outpouring of wrath and immediately after. That has been the history of the Spirit of God in His dealings with Israel since the time of the judges and will also be the pattern during the Great Tribulation period. Joel's prophecy on Pentecost was tied to "great and notable day of the Lord." In relation to the church age it sends a chilling message to us all. If we don't repent SOON and come back to the CAUSE of the Cross - the preaching of Christ Crucified - we are going to experience judgment upon this nation because of our failure to preach the gospel and the outright rejection of the Holy Ghost. When Israel rejected the Holy Ghost she went into captivity. Millions in the church world today are in captivity because we've rejected the message and operation of the Holy Ghost! We are "being warned," by God the Holy Ghost in these last days to REPENT just as God sent an angel to warn Cornelius in this passage of Acts.
It's getting late friend. Child of God, if you've been born again, you need the mighty baptism in the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking with other tongues; the issue is not tongues, it's the power of Almighty God. Just because one speaks in tongues does not in itself that one will be zapped into Christian perfection. However, if we will pray in the HOLY GHOST we are literally "building up" our faith as Jude 1:20-22 tells us.
For the sinner - there is a need TODAY for you to come to Christ! TODAY is the appointed day of salvation and friend the time of day is getting late. I had a friend tell me this week that the hour on the clock is 11:59 and 55 seconds concerning the coming of the Lord. I cannot help but agree whole heartedly with her. Getting people saved and then getting them filled with the Holy Spirit - that is the pattern of what the Early Church in the Book of Acts embraced; there is not any other pattern in the world that will save souls and set captives free than that pattern! Come back to the Cross, repent and believe the gospel. It's the CAUSE wherewith we've been called to in this perilous hour before the rapture of the church. God bless.
