The Warning of Zephaniah
by Lary R. Hale
“The word of the Lord which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah. I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the Lord. I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked: and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the Lord. I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with the priests; And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship and that swear by the Lord, and that swear by Malcham (Hos. 10:2; Amos 5:25,26); And them that are turned back from the Lord; and those that have not sought the Lord, nor enquired for him. Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord God: for the day of the Lord is at hand: for the Lord hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests (Ezek. 38:17; Rev. 19:17,18). And it shall come to pass in the day of the Lord’s sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king’s children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel (Mat. 22:11-13; Rev. 3:18) … And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil (Prov. 18:9; Ezek. 8:12). Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof. The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers (Isa. 2:11). And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land” (Zeph. 1).
What a powerful and sobering passage of scripture from the prophet Zephaniah! To get a clearer picture of what is being said in parts of this chapter, be sure to read up on the reference scriptures that are placed in the text. Other than that, the only thing I want to add to this fear-worthy passage of scripture are a couple of passages from the new testament writings that say the same thing: “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them… And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them” (Eph. 5:1-7,11). And this one also: “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear” (I Pet. 1:13-17). And so it is very easy to see that the new testament scriptures give us the same picture of what it takes to be saved from the wrath of God. And in fact what it takes is holiness, meaning pureness of heart; as the Bible plainly states (Mat. 5:8; Heb. 12:14; II Pet. 3:14). Amen.
Original Post at By One Spirit Ministries Facebook page April 26, 2013
![God Is Only Goodby Lary R. Hale
“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth” (II Jn. 1:2). This is quite a statement by the beloved apostle, through inspiration of the holy Ghost. It is quite a statement of God’s invariable goodness toward his people, and really toward all men; as he would “have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (I Tim. 2:4). What this means is that God’s will is for us to have our needs met in this life, and to not be sick and afflicted in body. And what THAT means is that we can and should believe God for these things if we are doing our best to keep his ways in our life. If we are continually NOT having our needs met, and are always going around downtrodden physically, then one way or the other we are not availing ourselves of God’s will being accomplished in us. If this is the case, it could be that we are NOT keeping his commandments, which the scripture says is our love for God and for one another (I Jn. 5:2,3). If that is the case then we should “repent, and do the first works,” so that we may prosper and be in health as the apostle stated (Rev. 2:5). But sometimes it happens that we are just not believing God’s goodness fully enough, and are not assured in our hearts that he DOES really want us to prosper and be in health. Allow me one short note here to mention that “prospering” does not mean living in luxury and lasciviousness, but rather that we have what we need to live a normal life. When Jesus told us, “Behold the fowls of the air,” he did point out that they have all that they need to live, and that God would do the same for us if we “seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness” (Mat. 6:26,33). The apostle Paul said the same to the Philippians: “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philip. 4:19). Peter, in citing Isaiah, clearly said of Jesus; “by whose stripes ye were healed” (I Pet. 2:24). Not only so, but the biblical record we have of Jesus shows that every single soul who came to him, or was brought to him by someone for healing, indeed WAS healed. And when those whom Jesus ministered to were hungry, and not in a position to do anything about it themselves; he multiplied what little food that was available in order to feed the multitude (Mat. 14:14-21). These things fully confirm our text scripture, for it is certain that “Jesus Christ [is] the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8). God is just that good my friend, and even better in fact! He is ever ready and ever willing to supply our needs and to heal our infirmities. If we truly love his righteousness, and are doing our very best to walk therein, we have the God-given right to believe him fully to preserve us and restore us in these things. Any feeling, thought, excuse, influence of others, or any other variable that is contrary to these simple truths about God’s vast and glorious goodwill toward us; is absolutely a lie and should be totally shunned in favor of unshakable faith in God’s promises to his children. And remember this very integral element of our faith also: “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (II Cor. 5:7). This is such an important thing to keep in mind because there are always going to be times when circumstances, symptoms, and other things seem to indicate something contrary to God’s promise for our healing and our needs being taken care of. But that is why it is called faith, and faith is our calling. We cannot have faith in the promise of God and have our focus on our undue circumstance at the same time. Keep your eyes on Jesus my friend, and do not accept defeat; “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us” (II Cor. 1:20). Amen.
Original Post at By One Spirit Ministries Facebook page April 19, 2013](http://25.media.tumblr.com/817e7853d940be7a37cb731783959fbf/tumblr_mm5m3fFV8A1qkyp48o1_500.jpg)
![Have An Honest Heartby Lary R. Hale
“A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue” (Prov. 17:4). It really is just that simple my friend. Anyone with and honest heart is going to take to the truth when it is presented to them. Everyone who is looking for a reason to refuse the truth would just rather be a liar. Whether truth or error, everything has a compatible counterpart in all men. Sadly the counterpart for most people is error. And why would that be? Well, Jeremiah tells it just like it is: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 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” (Jer. 17:9,10). The truth of the matter is that man does not know his own heart, and the reason for that is because he was born into this world with a perversely distorted spirit, thanks to sin. David, by the inspiration of the holy Ghost was in full agreement with this assessment: “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psm. 51:5). But thanks be to God, he has made a way for us to escape that condition, and this is it: “And God, which [alone] knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, PURIFYING THEIR HEARTS by faith” (Acts 15:8,9). Peter was speaking here of the first Gentiles to have the gospel preached to them, and of the experience that they obtained from God through their faith; which experience, as he stated, “purified their hearts:” “While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God” (Acts 10:44-46). That experience which alone purifies the perverse hearts of men, was and is the baptism of the holy Ghost, which is always initially evidenced by speaking with other tongues. In fact this experience is the ONLY reason that Jesus came to this world to suffer, die, and raise from the dead; even as his forerunner simplistically stated: “I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost” (Mk. 1:8). And though there is an experience with God by faith in Jesus before being baptized with the Spirit, that experience is NOT the remission of sins and purifying of the heart [from sin]. There is a conception before birth in the natural realm, and the same is true concerning the new birth experience (Jn. 16:21; Rom. 1:20). So we can have our hearts, which Jeremiah, or God actually, said are “deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked;” purified from that depraved state through the baptism of power that Jesus himself baptizes with (Acts 1:4,5,8). But in order to receive that experience one must fully agree with God, that they indeed ARE IN a depraved state of spirit, and desperately need to be cleansed and changed by the power of God (Rom. 6:3,4; II Cor. 5:17). Without total honesty of heart, calling everything just like it is, you will get nowhere with God. Not now. Not ever. Period. It is an insult to God to call sin anything other than sin, and to try to make an excuse for one’s own faulty condition. And not only does it take absolute honesty of heart to get STARTED with God, it also takes KEEPING absolute honesty till the end in order to be saved, as David clearly realized: “Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth IN HIS HEART (Psm. 15:1,2). So then, our hearts can be cured of their condition of deceitfulness and wickedness, simply by coming fully clean with God, being baptized with the Spirit, and continuing on the same exact path that we start on. The apostle Paul understood this reality and wrote the following: “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him” (Col. 2:6). Most people who receive God’s Spirit, sadly do NOT continue on the path that got them started, and subsequently they do not grow in the Spirit or produce much real fruit. Much of that is due to the overwhelming prevalence of erroneous traditions and doctrines that dominate the entire landscape of Christianity. But many are honest enough with themselves to know that something is seriously wrong in the environment that they worship God in. These are the people that can heed God’s call to forsake these erroneous, spiritually toxic environments, and boldly come unto Jesus to find HIS word: “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the [congregations]” (Rev. 3:13; Rev. 18:4). Finally, Jesus put the cap on this whole matter of the importance of remaining completely honest in heart, when he told the parable of the sower and the seed. Most people do not realize that the first three conditions that he described were indicative of God’s people who will NOT be saved in the end; but it’s what he said about the fourth condition that I like, because that is the one condition that will be found worthy of salvation: “But that on the good ground are they, which in an HONEST AND GOOD HEART, having heard the word, KEEP it, and bring forth fruit with patience” (Lk. 8:15). God’s Spirit speaks nothing but truth, but the only people who can truly hear it and continue in it are those who keep and honest and good heart (Jn. 8:31,32). If we do not keep total honesty of heart then the original condition of deceit and wickedness returns, and as our text scripture points out, those who are NOT fully honest do NOT hear or keep the truth. No wonder one of my most valued scriptures in all the Bible is this: “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23). And for the flip side, another sobering verse is also one of my favorites: “The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding [truth] shall remain in the congregation of the dead” (Prov. 21:16). I think that about covers it for now. Amen.
Original Post at By One Spirit Ministries Facebook page April 18, 2013](http://25.media.tumblr.com/2b7714862a5ae2a221fba2d10691e4d6/tumblr_mm5lyqaztX1qkyp48o1_400.jpg)
![What You Take With Youby Lary R. Hale
What are you after in this life? I mean really after? If it is this life then you are on the wrong road and are bound to end up in the wrong destination. I’ve always said that the highest form of insanity is to live for this present life. Why? Because it doesn’t last. None of it. Nothing. You really and truly “cannot take it with you.” There simply is nothing about this life that you get to take with you when you leave, and you ARE going to leave. Job put it down just like it goes: “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither” (Job 1:21). Solomon was in perfect agreement: “As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came , and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand” (Eccl. 5:15). The apostle Paul was also in harmony with two of the wisest men in the history of the world: “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out” (I Tim. 6:7). And last, but certainly not least, Jesus put the finishing touch on this sobering consideration of truth: “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mat. 16:26). Friend, there really isn’t any explaining to do here, except for this one note: There is ONE thing that we are going to take with us, and because of that fact I believe it is obvious that this is the thing that we should devote our top priority to while we’re in this world: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Eccl. 12:13,14). There it is, the keeping of the commandments of God is what this life is ALL about, because we will be judged one day for whether we did exactly that, or whether we did not. Yes, that is old testament scripture, so we should bring it up to date and see if anything has changed with that: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men” (II Cor. 5:10,11). So there we have it again, the fear of God and keeping his commandments. There’s nothing quite like repetition of facts to confirm what is true. When we leave this world we will take with us a report card that is recorded in heaven, that shows exactly and precisely all that we have done, said, thought, and been motivated by, while in this life. Yeah, I’d say we should fear God, wouldn’t you? From a legalistic point of view, this looks kind of like looking up the side of Mount Everest, and knowing that we have to climb it on one leg. But the beauty of the truth is that keeping all of God’s commandments is not a hard thing to do, as long as we have what it takes to keep them with, and we keep it alive in our lives. “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous” (I Jn. 5:3). And this; “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another” (Jn. 13:34). And this is the key: “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” (Rom. 5:5). So all of the commandments of God are really wrapped up in the simplistic package of loving our fellows with the same love that Jesus loved us with. And that can only be done if we have received the holy Ghost into our lives, because it is the holy Ghost that imparts the love of God into our hearts. Not only so, but it is also the holy Ghost that will teach us HOW to love one another with the same love that Jesus loved us with, which by the way is HOLY love (Jn. 14:26; Jn. 16:13; I Jn. 2:27). All we need to accomplish these things is a heart that stays honest, a willingness to labor in prayer, and a love for the righteousness of God. And all of these tools are given to us liberally by the same Lord Jesus who died and rose again so that he COULD give us these things, so that we could “save [ourselves] from this untoward generation” (Acts 2:40). The real beauty of this gloriously simplistic and pure gospel that Jesus has made available to us, is that it is all obtained strictly BY FAITH in him alone. That is ALL that you and I will ever need, but we will surely need to depend on that in all things (Rom. 9:30; Rom. 16:26; Gal. 3:7,9). So friend, don’t look to the left, or to the right; but just stay perfectly focused on Jesus himself, and you will never be led astray. Not only that, but you will be in good shape at the final judgment as well. If your dependency however is on men, or on “church,” you will certainly be on the wrong path, and heading to the wrong destination with a wrong report card (Mat. 7:13,14; Psm. 118:8,9). Amen.
Original Post at By One Spirit Ministries Facebook page April 16, 2013](http://24.media.tumblr.com/c9bfb0f61fae0b2e07f4b071d3bd032c/tumblr_mle5t1rUHd1qkyp48o1_400.jpg)
![The Sheep and the Goatsby Lary R. Hale
“When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal” (Mat. 25:31-46). For the most part these powerful words of Jesus are self-explanatory, but there are just a couple of things that can be pointed out here that may clarify the passage even more. First of all, it is evident that both the sheep and the goats did or did not do what they were noted for, simply because it was just the way they naturally lived their lives. Neither were minded of the things that they were said by Jesus to have done or not done in their lives, again, because it was just their automatic nature of living. And that noted fact leads to the second point, which actually is the explanation of the first point. The apostle Paul I believe said it best: “And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not [holy love], it profiteth me nothing” (I Cor. 13:3). The sheep at the judgment obviously received and kept the love of God thriving in their lives, and were naturally motivated thereby to do those things that Jesus praised them for. They were not calculating to do things that they figured they would be rewarded for, but rather they were doing what they loved to do because those are the things that God’s love is minded of. On the other hand, the goats either did not receive the love of God into their lives, or they DID receive it but let it “wax cold” along the way (Mat. 24:12,13; Mat. 25:8). Therefore they just naturally did the things that accompany NOT living in God’s love, and did NOT do those things that accompany having God’s love present in one’s life. And the final point that I would like to make is exactly what the apostle Paul stated in the above quoted scripture. Even if one DOES do those things that the sheep were credited for doing, and it is not motivated by the pure love of God; as Paul noted, it will do nobody any good at all. And since we are talking about the highest of all stakes here, I believe it is a very good idea to make doubly certain that our hearts retain nothing but God’s holy love, which is “shed abroad in our hearts by the holy Ghost” (Rom. 5:5). Amen.
Original Post at By One Spirit Ministries Facebook page April 15, 2013](http://25.media.tumblr.com/c71dd3850c45f5f24cf230c8c72d6060/tumblr_mle5rmATVW1qkyp48o1_1280.jpg)
![Micah’s Testimonyby Lary R. Hale
Would you like for your faith to be challenged today? Okay, then try this passage of scripture on for size: “Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grapegleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the firstripe fruit. The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net. That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up. The best of them is as a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity. Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house. Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me. Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me” (Mic. 7:1-8). First let’s consider that the new testament writings tell us that the old testament writings and events are for US (Rom. 15:4; I Cor. 10:11). And before someone ignores that reality and says, “Well, I don’t think that was for us TODAY;” consider again that Jesus related this very passage of scripture from Micah to those who would be under the new covenant (Mat. 10:36). There is no doubt my friend that these things are more than relevant to EVERYONE who has ever had true faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The real consideration to ponder is that if we are “in Christ” by means of his Spirit baptism, then we are going to be on one end of that stick or the other (I Cor. 12:13; II Cor. 5:17). I can tell you that if you cannot readily identify with the testimony of Micah here, then you had better hunker down and get seriously real with God. It’s easy to SAY we identify with a testimony like that, but there is also a reality of truly doing so. And the only reality of that is to be “led by the Spirit of God,” out of sin and into holiness, literally (Rom. 8:13,14). There simply is no such thing as being persecuted for the sake of Jesus, if we “cannot cease from sin” (I Pet. 4:1,2; II Pet. 2:14). Jesus did not live after sin, and the scripture says, “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked” (I Jn. 2:6). That in fact is the ONLY way that one can be “persecuted for righteousness’ sake,” as the apostle Paul confirmed: “Yea, and all that will live GODLY in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (II Tim. 3:12). A lot of folks have some ridiculous ideas about the terms godliness and holiness, like dress and hair codes, and various other commandments of men. However their is only one defining of these things in the Bible, and that is to “walk in the Spirit, [and] not fulfil the lust of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16; I Jn. 3:3; Mat. 5:8; Col. 3:5-10,12-15; Eph. 5:3-7; etc.). If we fulfill that calling, then and only then will we begin to understand and identify with what the great prophet of God was actually saying in our text passage. Amen.
Original Post at By One Spirit Ministries Facebook page April 14, 2013](http://25.media.tumblr.com/9cb271130ba279bae1b0e9a26fce834a/tumblr_mle5psVUGy1qkyp48o1_500.jpg)
![Just Believe the Loveby Lary R. Hale
There is a great plague upon mankind, and it has been prevalent for six thousand years. It is called unbelief, and it may be more clearly stated as disbelief. Disbelieving God is what started the whole downward spiral for mankind in the garden of Eden. The serpent suggested to Eve that God was withholding something good for them, and in doing so called God a liar (Gen. 3:1-5). She leaned on her own understanding, decided to believe the serpent’s report rather than God’s word, and the rest is history; very sad and unfortunate history. That sin of disbelieving God in favor of believing a lie of the devil is still the ONLY thing wrong with fallen man. Everything else is just a symptom of the root disease of disbelieving God. I know what I’m talking about; I see it up close and personal every day with a myriad of folks. Most people are just living in abject unbelief, going about living their lives for this present world’s sake, and depriving themselves of the glorious love and peace that God has for them. Many however are living partly after “the kingdom of God, and his righteousness,” and partly after unbelief. Either way is a losing formula, and will deprive you of being in harmony with God, and either one will leave you with fears, apprehensions, and all the rest of Satan’s tricks. Let me lay down the only formula that results in “righteousness, and peace, and joy, in the holy Ghost:” “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (Rom. 14:17; Jn. 3:16,17). That’s right, it really is that simple. Jesus came to this world to make a way for us to be reconciled to God, and he IS that way (Jn. 14:6). If we fully trust in his love for us, he will quite simply, and quite powerfully “shed abroad [his love] in our hearts by the holy Ghost, which is given unto us [if we truly believe]” (Rom. 5:5; Jn. 7:38,39). The problem is that a whole lot of folks choose to believe the devil’s lie, that Jesus DOES condemn us for some reason or another. I see it all the time, people who HAVE received the Spirit getting turned around in confusion by the tricks of the devil, telling them that they are condemned. Friend it is the DEVIL who is condemned by God, NOT US! That is why he is so masterful at his art of deception, because he is SO CONDEMNED HIMSELF. But we dishonor God by not believing HIS report, and believing instead the false report of Satan and his horde of liars. This is a serious issue my friend, and in fact it is the ONLY issue at hand. If we fully believe God’s love and power toward us, we are going to bear the fruit of that faith. If we DISBELIEVE his love and power toward us, we are going to bear the fruit of unbelief. Jesus made it clear what the source of condemnation is, in his words immediately following those from John 3:16,17 quoted above: “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (Jn. 3:18). John echoed this simplistic reality for us as well: “For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God” (Jn. 3:20,21). The only legitimate reason for condemnation is sin, meaning disbelieving God’s love. John makes the point even more clearly: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I Jn. 1:9). If we have fallen short, what do we do about it? We believe God’s love for us, that he WILL forgive us and renew us in his righteousness, just as the beloved apostle said. If we do not earnestly repent of failure, it can only be because we are NOT believing God’s love for us, but rather we are believing the devil’s condemning report that we need to just stay right where we’re at, meaning in sin. That is a lie, and if we believe that lie, guess where it leaves us? That’s right, in sin, right where man has needlessly been for six thousand years. And it is abundantly needless now, seeing “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: [who] is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (I Jn. 2:1,2). Dear friend, there is absolutely no reason under God’s sun for any of us to remain under condemnation or in sin. God’s love in the Lord Jesus Christ has the power to free us from all sin and condemnation, and in fact that is EXACTLY WHY Jesus came to this word, as noted from the scriptures above in this article. If you are confessed up, and repented up, DON’T BE CONDEMNED; for Jesus is NOT condemning you for anything that is past. Let the devil keep all of his condemnation for himself, and for those who would rather believe his report and live under his harsh dominion. God has a pasture of joy and peace for his sheep to graze in, and his sheep are those who believe HIS report: “And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers” (Jn. 10;4,5). So rejoice my friend, for God loves you. Not only so, but we are assured that he NEVER CHANGES! Not convinced yet? Well, let’s try one more time then: “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? … For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:31-35,38,39). Amen, and God bless!
Original Post at By One Spirit Ministries Facebook page April 13, 2013](http://24.media.tumblr.com/1e8fc8b341dd36c59dddd20609950919/tumblr_mle5o3sIFa1qkyp48o1_400.jpg)
![Faith Does Somethingby Lary R. Hale
“What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? … 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. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” (Jas. 2:14,17,18-20). James was making an integral point here about real faith in Jesus Christ, that almost all of the Christian world needs to take heed to today. Modern day Christianity has taught a mystical, whimsical “faith” that requires nothing of the would-be believer, and in turn produces nothing beyond human endeavor and fortitude. It most assuredly is NOT “the faith that was once delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3). The faith taught in the Bible however DOES require something more than a think-so believing from the believer, and James spells it out in no uncertain terms. He goes on to give us a few examples of those who truly had faith in the living God, and he points out the glaring reality that the faith of THOSE people required some doing, and produced the desired results, which was favor with God: “Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought WITH his works, and by works was faith made perfect [complete]? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God” (Jas. 2:21-23). The apostle Paul was in absolute agreement with James on this topic of faith is not faith unless and until it is coupled with deeds OF faith. In the great faith chapter, Hebrews 11, we are given even more examples of those who demonstrated true faith in God, and every single example shows that those with faith DID SOMETHING WITH their faith that produced great and miraculous results. There are too many to list here, but I will pick up with the message toward the end of the chapter to show the point. The remainder you can read for yourself. “And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions. Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens” (Heb. 11:32-34). And again I note that all of these deeds of faith were DONE BY those who HAD the faith in God to do them. There was no “take it by faith” mentality with ANYONE who wrote the scriptures, or anyone whom the scriptures were written about. To punctuate this point, we do not have a book in the Bible called, “The Assumptions of the Apostles,” but we DO have one called, “The ACTS of the Apostles.”It’s not as though James and Paul were the only people who were privy to this evident truth as to how faith always results in someone doing something with their faith, and procuring results that otherwise could not have been obtained. There is no such thing as a non-miraculous gospel, which is to say that there is no such thing as a gospel apart from the supernatural power of God in the lives of those who believe: “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you” (Acts 1:8). “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth” (Rom. 1:16). “For the kingdom of God is not in word [only], but in power” (I Cor. 4:20). Anyone who truly believes on the Lord Jesus Christ is going to experience miraculous things in their lives through the power of God that is released to them THROUGH their faith. It’s just that simple, and there is no way around it. Anyone who CONTINUES to truly believe on Jesus, is going to CONTINUE to experience results by the power of God in their life. First and foremost, someone who believes on Jesus is going to be supernaturally baptized BY JESUS for the remission of their sins, through the power of his Spirit, even as he himself stated (Jn. 7:38,39; Jn. 16:7; Acts 1:4,5; Rom. 8:9; I Cor. 12:13). Those who continue in the true faith of Christ after receiving his Spirit, will follow him BY his Spirit in the same holiness and divine love that he walked in (Col. 2:6; Rom. 8:13,14; Eph: 5:1,2; I Jn. 2:6). That my friend is “the faith that was once delivered to the saints,” pure and simple. And that is also the only true way of “grace” that exists, as the apostle Paul confirmed to us: “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” (Tit. 2:11,12). And I make the point about grace because it has received the same treatment from Christianity today as faith. Grace has been turned into a mere license to continue in sin and get away with it, as though Jesus died for us to remain sinners, as in “sinners saved by grace.” Nobody can live free from sin except by the real grace of God, through faith, by means of the power of the holy Ghost which we RECEIVE BY FAITH! And on the flip side of that coin, there is NOBODY who is continuing in sin that is doing so by faith OR by grace! That would be, and in fact WAS classified by the writers of the Bible as follows: “Faith, if it hath not works, is DEAD, being alone.” And that saying goes hand in hand with this one, which completes the point of truth being made here today: “For the wages of sin is DEATH” (Rom. 6:23). Amen.
Original Post at By One Spirit Ministries Facebook page April 10, 2013](http://25.media.tumblr.com/04897ae07e5abbf92ac196dd9b80cee6/tumblr_mle5k5b6wW1qkyp48o1_400.jpg)
