The Biblical Path of Life

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  • A Departing from the Faith

    “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.”

    Hebrews 3:12

    We are warned of something that will happen in the “latter times”: A departing from the faith. “1. Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2. Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:1-2). The departing from the Christian faith is called apostasy. See what that word means: Apostasy is “a falling away… the act of a professed Christian, who knowingly and deliberately rejects revealed truth regarding the deity of Christ and redemption through His atoning sacrifice. It is different from error, which may be the result of ignorance. Apostasy departs from the faith, but not from the outward profession of it (see 2 Timothy 3:5: “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away”). Apostasy is irremediable and awaits judgment. Apostates apparently can only be professors and not actual possessors of true salvation…”

    This is not new. However, it seems to be more prevalent in these days. Jesus dealt with it when He was on the earth. Remember – Jesus knew what was in man’s heart (see John 2:24-25). “64. But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. 65. And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. 66. From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him” (John 6:64-66). Even many people who met Jesus (and even became His “disciples”) turned from Him. We have a warning of this behavior: “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God” (Hebrews 3:12). They did not believe in Jesus, departing from the living God that walked among them. For those who chose to turn away, that is apostasy.

    The Bible has much to say about those who become a “disciple” (what we might call a Christian today), but later chooses to turn and live that life contrary to what the Bible teaches. There is a great difference between one who professes Christ and one who possesses Christ. One must understand what a believing faith is. Faith means “a technical term indicative of the means of appropriating what God in Christ has for man resulting in the transformation of man’s character and way of life; i.e.: namely, Christian faith; a firm and confiding belief in Jesus and His gospel.” The Bible teaches that when one has true faith in Jesus, that old life passes away for they become a new creature in Christ. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). (See also Romans 12:1-2.)

    Read about one who professes Christ only: “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?” (James 2:14). Faith in James 2:14, 17, 18, 24, 26 means “simply a knowledge and assent to religious truths without good works and therefore, false faith.” So according to this definition, a person who says they have faith, yet there is no evidence (appropriating what God in Christ has for man resulting in the transformation of man’s character and way of life), that is not true faith; it is a false faith. “17. Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. 19. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” (James 2:17-20). These verses describe a dead faith. Saying one believes in God (or Jesus) does not make one a true Believer. Remember that the devils believe, but we know they are not Christians. The works (transformation of man’s character and way of life) is what reveals whether that one had become a new creature in Christ. Remember what Jesus said: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). One who does His will reveals the faith that is within.

    Understand the truth of Jesus Christ: His death, burial, and resurrection enabling one to gain a new life in Him: see 2 Corinthians 5:21 “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” If you are not sure, Jesus told you what to do: “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39). Go back and read what the Bible teaches about Jesus and why He came. To search the Scriptures and miss Christ would be a great tragedy. However, after one has learned the truth of Jesus Christ, then chooses to turn from Him, that is eternally fatal. For a vivid picture of this, read 2 Peter 2:20-22. It is a description of one who has heard the truth, maybe even having a temporary outward change, yet ends up turning from that truth. That one has no hope.

    Do you have only a professing faith?

    Or

    Do you possess a life transforming faith?

    How to become saved.

  • Forgiveness and Mercy

    “For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.”

    Psalm 86:5

    King Josiah was a good king. He chose to do what was right. We can read that he was even compared back to King David, and that Josiah “turned not aside to the right hand or to the left” (see 2 Kings 22:2). Turned not aside means “being faithful to God; to veer neither to the right nor to the left.” But see what other information we are given in Second Chronicles. “For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father …”(2 Chronicles 34:3). It is because he sought God while he was yet young that set the course for his life.

    The nation of Judah had just endured two of their worst kings: Manasseh and Amon. Because of the sins of King Manasseh, God declared the people would be judged, allowing only a remnant to be saved (see 2 Kings 21:9-16). However, because King Josiah sought God and led the people to seek after God, the judgment was delayed for a time.

    What was it about Josiah that spared him and caused God to delay his judgment?

    Josiah became king when he was only eight years old, and in the eighth year of that reign he began to seek after God. In the twelfth year of his reign, he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem (and even into Israel in the north) from the idol worship by destroying the idols and their places of worship (see 2 Chronicles 34:3-7). In the eighteenth year of his reign, he sent men to repair the house of the Lord (the Temple). While they were repairing the Temple, the priest “found a book of the law of the LORD given by Moses” (2 Chronicles 34:14b). When this book was read to the king, he rent his clothes. Read why he did this: “for great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD, to do after all that is written in this book” (2 Chronicles 34:21b). Although it was in King Josiah’s heart to seek after God, making many great reformations and even repairing the Temple, when Josiah heard what was written in God’s Word, he recognized they deserved God’s wrath. He wanted to hear from God. God revealed that Jerusalem and Judah would be destroyed for her great sin before God, but God had a special word for King Josiah because he inquired of the Lord. “27. Because thine heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou heardest his words against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, and humbledst thyself before me, and didst rend thy clothes, and weep before me; I have even heard thee also, saith the LORD. 28. Behold, I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace, neither shall thine eyes see all the evil that I will bring upon this place, and upon the inhabitants of the same. So they brought the king word again” (2 Chronicles 34:27-28). God spared King Josiah from the judgment to come because Josiah humbled his heart before God.

    Did you notice that the king was not spared because of all of the great deeds and reformations that he made trying to please God? The king was in the process of bringing the people back to the worship of God after eliminating the idol worship. However, when the king heard God’s Words from the Law of Moses (the first five books in the Bible), then he recognized the sin against God. Immediately, King Josiah repented: “humbledst thyself before me, and didst rend thy clothes, and weep before me; I have even heard thee also, saith the LORD.” It was then that God heard and spared Josiah.

    Understanding the importance of hearing God’s Word, King Josiah called together all of the people, great and small, and read to them God’s Word. “And the king stood in his place, and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book” (2 Chronicles 34:31). Josiah’s heart was changed. He walked after the Lord.

    Recognition of sin came to King Josiah when he heard God’s Word read, and he then displayed true repentance. Josiah then recognized what he must do. He had to seek God: “For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee” (Psalm 86:5). It was then he understood God’s forgiveness and mercy.

    Jesus taught the importance of God’s Word: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24). Without hearing the Word of God, no one would know to believe upon Jesus to have everlasting life or how to then please God in this world. Read what else Jesus declared. “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39). The Bible is all about Jesus.

    Read your Bible.

    Then you will be able to tell others what the Bible has to say.

    Have you committed to reading the Bible every day, recognizing the importance of God’s Word?

  • Search my Heart

    “23. Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24. And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

    Psalm 139:23-24

    The following is an excerpt from “The Biblical Path of Life – Year Two, Quarter Two” Lesson 4:

    “As David was addressing the people before Solomon became king, notice that he was able to proclaim that he had lived a life that was pleasing to God. As we have learned, David was not perfect, but when he sinned, he repented and God forgave. Because of that, he was in a position to be an encourager to all of Israel to seek God and obey His commands. We can read of many throughout the Bible who lived a life to the end that was pleasing to God. Read what Paul wrote to Timothy. ‘I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith‘ (2 Timothy 4:7). Just as David’s words were an encouragement to all of Israel as he addressed them, Paul’s words were an encouragement to a young preacher named Timothy. Our goal as Christians is to be able to make the same claim: to fight a good fight, to finish the course God has for our life, and to keep the faith until the end. By living a life pleasing to God, from beginning to end, we can be an encouragement to others that they, too, can live a life pleasing to God…

    “David understood that God saw the intent of man’s heart. See what David recorded that can be an encouragement to us today: ‘23. Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24. And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting‘ (Psalm 139:23-24) and’Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart‘ (Psalm 44:21). Also see what Jeremiah recorded about God knowing man’s heart: ‘I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings‘ (Jeremiah 17:10).”

    After reading this excerpt, understand the following:

    Remember that God knows man’s heart. Christians are not perfect, however we have instructions in the New Testament helping us understand how we reveal what is in our heart by living as a Christian: “22. That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23. And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24. And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. 25. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. 26. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: 27. Neither give place to the devil. 28. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. 29. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. 30. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. 31. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32. And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:22–32).

    Christians are not to live like the world. “17. This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, 18. Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: 19. Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness” (Ephesians 4:17–19).

    Stop and think about these verses. Be encouraged to compare your own life to these verses and see what kind of a life you live in comparison to God’s Word, and the kind of witness your life is to others.

    Read the warning Jesus gave to those who claimed to be righteous apart from Christ. “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness” (Matthew 23:27). Jesus knew their heart. He understood that they lived a life on the outside that appeared to believe, yet Jesus knew what was in their heart, “all uncleanness”. They could not hide from Jesus what was within their hearts. Jesus knew.

    After reading these verses, consider the following: Knowing that Jesus knows the heart, look into your heart and see if this verse is a picture of your life. “They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate” (Titus 1:16). This is a picture of a life that does not have Jesus in the heart (a Christian). If you do not really know Jesus, today is the day to meet Him. “9. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).

    Do you live a good life, yet with a heart that has not truly believed in Jesus?

    Knowing Jesus sees the heart, have you believed and confessed unto salvation only through Jesus?

    If you want to know how to be saved, click here: How to be saved.

  • Search the Scriptures Daily

    “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
    Psalm 119:11

    Christians know that God’s Word is the Bible. We must also recognize the importance of using it correctly. In order to understand the correct way to use God’s Word, one must first know what it says. Each Christian should have their own personal copy of the Bible realizing the importance of not only having it, but also reading it and knowing what it says.

    How do Christian’s learn what God’s Word truly says? “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11). Read the Bible, search it, and understand what it says. It is important to learn how to compare Scripture to Scripture. The Bible is the best commentary on itself!

    As one searches the Scriptures, one is to remember it and hide it in one’s heart. “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:11). When a Christian has the Word of God in one’s heart, what are they to do with it? “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105). One must allow God’s Word to direct their life. “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Colossians 3:17).

    Much as Christians are to learn how to understand God’s Word, they are to learn how to use the Word of God correctly. Christians are to recognize those who know Jesus, and to recognize true teachers of God’s Word. There are many teachers in the world. We are to listen to the ones who truly know Jesus (are Christians), teach the truth of Jesus, and live those truths out in their lives. “7. Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation … 17. Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you” (Hebrews 13:7, 17). If they teach the true Word of God, living those truths out in their lives, follow them.

    What is the most important thing we should understand about knowing and living by God’s Word?  “That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:5). It really does not matter what one thinks, it matters what God said in His Word. Once we understand this, we have a hope the world does not have. We know from reading the Bible that God promised Jesus from the beginning of time. God gave His Son, Jesus, to bring us to a relationship with Him. This can only be obtained by understanding the Gospel Message. “1. Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2. By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4. And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Why doesn’t everyone in the world understand the importance of the Gospel Message? “3. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4. In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4). Satan does not want anyone to know the simplicity of the Truth of the Gospel Message. That is why it is important for us to first live a life that reveals Jesus, and then tell the world what Jesus has done — so that they, too, may be saved.

    Do you search the Scriptures daily, understanding and sharing the Gospel message?

    How to be Saved

  • The Heart of the Matter

    “6. Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: 7. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”
    Isaiah 55:6-7

    Hezekiah was the greatest king Judah ever had (see 2 Kings 18:5). He was compared back to King David, the man after God’s own heart. Hezekiah made great reformations in Judah, eliminated idols and reinstated worship of the one true God. His heart was right before God. “And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered” (2 Chronicles 31:21). Hezekiah led the people to follow God.

    Hezekiah had a great sickness, and Isaiah told him that God said Hezekiah would die of that sickness. Hezekiah prayed. God healed. God did a great sign to show Hezekiah he would live. The Babylonians came when they heard Hezekiah was sick. He showed them all of the treasures of Judah. We can read that his heart was lifted up (2 Chronicles 32:25). He was prideful of all he had. He should have given God the credit for all of the treasures of Judah. He should have been a vocal witness to the Babylonians. “Howbeit in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to enquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart” (2 Chronicles 32:31). God knew what was in Hezekiah’s heart, but now all knew what was really in Hezekiah’s heart: Pride. “Notwithstanding Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah” (2 Chronicles 32:26). Hezekiah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem humbled themselves before the Lord, and God’s wrath was delayed.

    Hezekiah’s son, Manasseh, became the worst king Judah had. “But did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, like unto the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel” (2 Chronicles 33:2). One can read a listing of his wickedness in 2 Chronicles 33:3-9. One terrible thing he did was “to cause his children to pass through the fire,” which is child sacrifice. God went on to declare that Manasseh did worse than the heathen whom the Lord had removed before the children of Israel. God sent men to warn Manasseh and the people, but they would not listen. Isaiah was a prophet of God during Hezekiah’s reign and even into Manasseh’s reign. Read something recorded in Isaiah that we can still read today: “6. Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: 7. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:6-7).

    Because of the wickedness of Manasseh, God allowed the enemy to take him captive into Babylon. “And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers” (2 Chronicles 33:12). While in Babylon, Manasseh sought the Lord and humbled himself before Him. After calling upon the Lord, Manasseh forsook his way, and turned unto the Lord. God heard his supplication and had mercy on this wicked king. God pardoned him, allowed him to return to Judah, and even sit upon the throne once again. “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit” (Psalm 34:18).

    Manasseh proceeded to do much good: he reinforced the city, took away the strange gods, idols, and altars he built in the house of the Lord, and cast them out of the city. He repaired the altar of the Lord and commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel. “Nevertheless the people did sacrifice still in the high places …” (2 Chronicles 33:17a). In Hezekiah’s day, the people humbled themselves before the Lord with Hezekiah. In Manasseh’s day, the people continued in their false worship even after Manasseh turned his heart to God. God’s wrath would come.  

    Remember, God sees the heart. “20. If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god; 21. Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart” (Psalm 44:20-21).

    Do you understand God knows the secrets of the heart?

  • Be Not Deceived

    “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
    Galatians 6:7

    If you read the history of Israel (the Northern Kingdom) in the Old Testament, keep in mind that none of the kings of Israel was considered good because they led Israel to sin against God. They had established a religion worshiping golden calves in Dan and Bethel, not the one true God. The Israelites sinned against God when they forsook Him and worshiped creatures (golden calves, Baal, etc.) like the nations around them. They also walked in the ways of the heathen (the wicked and idolatrous nations around) instead of walking in God’s Laws and statutes they had been taught. At any point in Israel’s history, the kings could have sought God (remember the prophets constantly preached for the people to seek God!). Instead, we read that they continued in the sin of Jeroboam I, who made Israel to sin. Read what is recorded in Proverbs that they should have known: “He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him” (Proverbs 11:27). Because they sought mischief, they got it. (Mischief means: “bad; wicked; evil; of inferior quality.”) Remember the turning point in the nation Israel, the point from which they did not return: when they refused to hear the Word of the Lord from the prophets of God. At any point, the kings of Israel could have remembered God’s laws and commandments, kept them, and encouraged the people to keep them. They lived the way they wanted instead of the way God taught them. Because of this, they were conquered, losing their kingdom. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7).

    Since we are to learn from history, we must notice the progression of sin in the nation Israel. One of the best examples of this progression is in Psalm 1. First, one walks with sinners, then stops and talks with them, and finally sits with them. Desiring sin and walking with sinners begins with lust. Lust means “a strong desire; a longing; to satisfy carnal appetites.” Read what James 1:14–15 says, “14. But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” This is a great reminder to seek the things of God, not the things of this world. When we know what is right, we should do it. “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (James 4:17). If one is not sure, seek God. Remember Amos’ plea, “Seek the LORD, and ye shall live …” (Amos 5:6). We should never sin away our lives — as Israel did. For, “… There is a sin unto death …” (1 John 5:16).

    Notice that in the New Testament, Paul preached to people in the same condition. He warned that the wrath of God would fall upon those who knew the truth, but did not live it out in their lives: “18. 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. 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. 22. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23. And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 24. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25. Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen” (Romans 1:18–19, 21–25). Search your heart to see if you are guilty of knowing the way of righteousness, yet not living in the truth of it. This is an important question for each Christian to consider!

    Do you live out the truth of God’s Word in your life?

  • Why Not to be Afraid

    “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”
    Jeremiah 29:13

    There should be a definite contrast in the hearts and lives of Christians compared with those who have not yet believed in Jesus. Christians have a great confidence (a hope) as we live in this lost world. On the other hand, the lost (those apart from Christ) may be fearful as they live in this world. What makes the difference?

    There are Christians (those who have received Jesus into his heart and life and now live for Him), that have no fear of man or what they can do to him. Why is this? A Christian who is living for Jesus has placed his trust in Him. “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). One who received Jesus into his heart and life, becoming a Christian, had obviously come to the place in his life that he recognized he was a sinner who needed forgiveness that could only be given by Jesus. He feared the wrath of God upon his life (who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell). He understood that by faith, the salvation given by God was forever. Now this Christian spends his life following God’s commands (the Bible), not afraid of man and what they do or say – for he knows their end. “6. Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished. 7. Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. 8. For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation” (Isaiah 51:6-8). A Christian is to live a life set apart and different from the world (the lost). This is appropriating the faith he has in Jesus – for he is living his faith out in his life by following God’s Word and His commands allowing his life to be changed to become more like Jesus. (See also Psalm 37.)

    Some people have not made this decision to seek forgiveness for their sin. Because they do not have the surety of eternal life in heaven, they are still afraid. We are to understand the importance of telling others about Jesus. As we relay the Gospel message of Jesus, we should be cognizant as to when one has heard enough about Jesus for they begin to recognize the need of Him in their heart and life. We are then to be available to them as they begin to desire the answers to the questions that are arising in their own hearts and lives. Because, when they are seeking answers, they will find them as we point them to Jesus. They then can understand. “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

    Are you afraid?

    Or

    Are you appropriating your faith, able to share Jesus with others?

    How to be Saved

  • Choose to do Good

    “Seek the LORD, and ye shall live …”
    Amos 5:6

    ‘The Israelites sinned against God when they forsook Him and worshiped creatures (golden calves, Baal, etc.). They also walked in the ways of the heathen (the wicked and idolatrous nations around) instead of walking in God’s Laws and statutes they had been taught. Notice that in the New Testament, Paul preached to people in the same condition. He warned that the wrath of God would fall upon those who knew the truth, but did not live it out in their lives: “18. 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. 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. 22. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23. And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 24. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25. Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen” (Romans 1:18–19, 21–25).’

    Notice that Paul portrayed a progressive departure from the truth of righteousness they knew. It was not a sudden departure. Search your heart to see if you are guilty of knowing the way of righteousness, yet not living in the truth of it. This is an important question for each Christian to consider!

    ‘What should we learn from Israel’s obstinacy? Jesus should be our ultimate example. “21. … [B]ecause Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22. Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 24. Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed” (2 Peter 2:21–22, 24). 

    When we know what is right, we should do it. “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (James 4:17). Seek God if one is not sure — remember Amos’ plea, “Seek the LORD, and ye shall live …” (Amos 5:6). We should never sin away our lives — as Israel did. For, “… There is a sin unto death …” (1 John 5:16).’

    Have you chosen to do good and to seek the Lord?

    Excerpts from The Biblical Path of Life, Year Two Quarter One, Lesson 10; Shallum – Hoshea. www.biblicalpath.com