Blessed is the man who endures
temptation; for when he has
been approved, he will receive
the crown of life which the Lord
has promised to those who love Him.
Let no one say when he is tempted,
"I am tempted by God;" for God
cannot be tempted by evil, nor does
He Himself temp anyone. But
each one is tempted when he is
drawn away by his own desires and enticed.
James 1:12-14
There, there it is, man must "do" to be saved, to receive the "crown of life." Oh! How man misuses Scripture! Proof Scriptures are the crux of falsehood. Take a Scripture out of context, not only of the present chapter, but the book, the Bible as a whole and you can prove anything that a person desires to approve. This is the problem with man, they are totally depraved, they are fallen, sinful, in their natures, and evil does exist. Evil is outside of God, and God does not commit evil in order to promote His cause. Man, who is fallen, allows temptation, that is, to do other than what God has commanded, is "drawn away by his own desires." Approval is not salvation, it is God approving of your lifestyle, the very things that you say and are demonstrated in your life. To do good is not of yourself, and here I am not speaking of philanthropic works that even the pagans do, those who are atheistic do, for when God is loved, devotion to Him by means of faith, that which God has enabled you to have then your works are His works: "Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect" (James 2:22). This verse is speaking of Abraham, but this account was for us to give to us this rule, faith from God working in us produces works that are of God. Do you want to be justified before God? Then your works must be from God, due to your devotion to God, by means of the faith given to you by God: "You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only....For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also" (James 2:24,26). These Scriptures beg the question: "By what means is your works, that is if you have any." Oh! You say, I am a good person; I go to Church every Sunday, (Well, most of the time), and I read the Bible every chance I get, (Well, most of the time), and I give a 10th of my income to the Church (Well, most of the time), and I don't beat my wife, or kids, and I mow the lawn, and help my neighbors (Well, most of the time), so, I am a good person, I am working and by faith (Well, most of the time). Pride is a problem of sin, and pride will cause a man to fall from God's grace, it places faith upon the wrong thing, the wrong person, whether you know it or not. Maybe you will not admit to being a prideful person, that is pride to say that you are not prideful for man does little that he does not receive from man, adulations of self and which is adscititiously received. God states: "But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: 'God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble' (Proverbs 3:24). Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded....Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up" (James 4: 6-8,10). God enables you to draw near to Him, but God will not take you by the hand and draw you to Him, for He has given to man all that man needs to come to Him, therefore man is without excuse and God cannot be blamed for sin.
Cultural Christians are just that: cultural! They have allowed the culture of the secular world to be more important in their lives and are drawn to this culture due to their desires. These desires are placating their emotion, their feelings, and this can be seen by the practices involved in their Churches. Their theologies are not Scriptural, oh, they have some semblance of being Scriptural because they have some part of the constitutions, or writings for the Church that are Scriptural, but as a whole they do not follow Scripture. This I have been showing by those Churches that have allowed homosexuals to become part of the leadership of the Church, and have given to such abnormality a sense of normality which they teach to those who attend their services.
What are the basic truths of Authentic Christian Biblical Faith? Let me list them;
1. God loved the world so much that He sent His only son, Jesus Christ, to redeem us.
2. Jesus Christ willingly left the glory of the Father and became a man.
3. Jesus was despised by many people. He was rejected and experienced sorrow and grief.
4. Jesus suffered because of our sin.
5. Jesus went to the cross and took our sins with Him so that through His death we could have eternal life when we repent of our sin and accept what He has done for us.
6. Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to heaven whee He now is in the presence of the father and intervenes for us.
7. Because of what Jesus has done, we can come into the presence of God with confidence and get the help we need when we are in trouble.
8. God gives the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit to those who enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ.
9. It is the presence of the Holy spirit in our lives that makes us true Christians.
10. The influence and activity of the Holy Spirit in our lives works to transform us and make us the kind of people god intended us to be.
11. True believers will be raised form the dead and live forever in God's presence.
The appropriate response to these facts would be one of great excitement, true humility, hatred of sin, humble hope, firm in faith, heavenly joy, ardent love and unceasing gratitude. These responses can come only when a person comes to know how depraved and sinful he is and is in need of a Savior. A true believer has come to know the infinite value of what Jesus Christ has done and now responds appropriately. I pray that this is your response.
Let us hear the conclusion
of the whole matter:
Fear God and keep His commandments,
for this is man's all. For God will
bring every work into judgment,
including every secret thing,
whether good or evil.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
Remember Your Creator
Richard L. Crumb
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