What we must do

 What we must do.

  The apostle Peter said,

"Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." 

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" 

Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  

The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call." Acts 2:36-39.

The Apostle Peter makes it clear that Jesus is both Lord and Christ.

He goes on to say that everyone of us must repent of our sins and be baptized.

The best definition of sin I have found is, “sin is falling short of Gods ideal for your life.” Something we all do everyday. Thus our need to ask Gods forgiveness. 

The apostle Paul states,

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.  Romans 3:23,24.

Will you acknowledge that you have sinned, that you fall short of the glory of God?

Are you willing to go to God now, ask for His forgiveness and receive by faith Christ as you Saviour?

Here’s a simple prayer that you might want to consider praying.

Dear Heavenly Father

I admit that I fall short of your glory. I admit that I am a sinner. I repent of my sins. I acknowledge that Jesus paid the price for my sins. 

Please come into my life this day.

I ask this in the name of Jesus.

Always remember that the prayer does not save you. It is you faith in Christ Jesus that saves you.

So if you have prayed this prayer and meant it. Please consider finding a church near you that truly teaches the Bible.

As this blog is read all over the world. It is impossible for me to recommend a specific church. But I do recommend the Mennonite-Brethren or Baptist churches.

All I would ask is that you pray believing that God will lead you to the right church.

Ultimately however, when it come to Jesus, salvation and the way to heaven it is up to you to decide if what I am saying is true.

I would however encourage you to read for yourself the New Testament and see what the writers who knew Jesus believed Him to be.

Please think about it.

A Call to Repentance

  A call to repentance

In the book of Revelations we read,

"To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: 

These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.  

I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives. 

Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality.  

Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.  

Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. 

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.” Revelations 2:12-17.

Here we have Christ speaking to the church at Pergamum a city that was full of emperor worship among other things. A church surrounded by paganism. 

Christ points out that one of the things He has against them is they tolerate the teachings of Balaam. A reference to the old testament were Balaam advised the king of Moab to seduce the Israelites into sexual sin and spiritual adultery.

At the same time the Nicolaitans while opposed in Ephesus, were spreading sexual and spiritual adultery in Pergamum.

Christs call is to get rid of such teachings or He will intervene.

There are many churches here in the western democracies today that tolerate false teaching in their midst. The call to the church at Pergamum is a call to those churches who allow false teaching in their midst without correcting it.

Thus the question becomes to anyone reading this; Take a few minutes to assess the church and denomination that you are part of. Do they allow false teaching. Teaching that is not from the bible. Teaching that is not from Christ?

Is there a need for the church or denomination that you attend or support to repent? 

Do you need to repent of false teachings?

Please think about it.

The compromising Church

The compromising Church
The book of Revelations states,
“To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:
“These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.  
I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives. 
Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality.  
Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.  
Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. 
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.” Revelations 2:12-17.
As I have said in previous blogs many scholars say that the churches in Revelations can be taken several ways. They can represent symbolically, various churches or denominations throughout history and even today. They can also be seen as speaking to individuals.
Here Christ realizes that the Pergamum church “where Satan has his throne”. That they did not renounce their faith even when Antipas a member of their congregation was put to death.
Still this church has a problem they had people in their midst that believed the teachings of Balaam and the Nicolaitans both heretical groups.
As believers in Christ Jesus we cannot compromise our beliefs. We must live by what the scriptures teach. Not what we or anyone else wants them to say.
Today in the twenty-first century the Nicolaitans and believers in Balaam are not much of a threat to the church. They are however symbolic of false teachings that have entered the church quietly. As someone once said,
“Satan is not fighting churches; he is joining them. He does more harm by sowing tares than by pulling up wheat. He accomplishes more by imitation than by outright opposition.” Author unknown
It is the duty of church leaders to make sure false teaching does not continue in the church. To speak out against false teaching. The apostle Paul stating.
"What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?  God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked man from among you." 1 Corinthians 5:12,13
I firmly believe we are in the time the apostle Paul warned against when he wrote to Timothy saying.
“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  
They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” 2Timothy 4:3,4.
It is very easy to use the Bible to say what you want it to say. To take things out of context which is what the Nicolaitans were doing.
The call of Jesus to the church at Pergamum and to any who would call themselves followers of Christ Jesus is to turn away from false teaching. To as the apostle Paul said,
“expel the wicked from among you.”
To stand firm on the teachings of the scriptures, of the apostles and of Jesus. To heed the warning of Jesus who said,
“Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.”
Thus the questions for all those who would call themselves believers in Jesus Christ is:
Am I listening to false teachers?
Am I standing up to them?
 Are we expelling false teachers from among us?
Please think about it.