For He Himself is our
peace,
who has made both
one, and has
broken down the
middle wall of separation,
having abolished in
His flesh the enmity,
that is, the law of
commandments contained
in the ordinances, so
as to create in Himself
one new man from the
two, this making peace,
and that He might
reconcile them both to God
in one body through
the cross, thereby putting
to death the enmity.
And He came and preached
peace to you who were
afar off and to those who
were near. For
through Him we both have access
by one Spirit to the
Father.
Ephesians 2:14–18
When I
speak of keeping the commandments of God I speak in regards to the Ten
Commandments that were never taken away by the death of Jesus Christ. Jesus took away those ordinances that the
Israelites were to keep and all who came to be associated with them. By doing so all peoples were joined now
together as one in Jesus Christ; there is no separation. God did this through His Son, His very
Wisdom clothed in flesh to reconcile people to Himself, those people who He has
enabled to know Him, drawn by Him to Himself.
This is the wonderfulness of God!
This is the Gospel! This is the
mystery in a few words, like a picture set out for all to see and only those
enabled by God can truly see it, and it is in His word, the Scriptures, not in
some man–made ideologies that are so often preached in some churches
today. So often when I have attended
other churches I feel as though I entered into a Dr. Phil show with all the
New–Age philosophy being preached and not the Gospel. Sound good to the ears, it tickles the ears but it is not what we
are to preach and teach. We are to
preach the redemptive power that comes through Jesus Christ in our
preaching. So often we are drawn to a
church because the preacher is so eloquent.
It is not some excellency of speech that draws people to Jesus Christ;
it is Jesus Christ who draws people to Himself, and this is done as did Paul: “My
speech and my preaching was not with enticing words” (1Corinthians 2:1–5). This
creative reconciliation by God for His people never comes through some
personality of a preacher, it comes by the preacher fasting upon the gospel and
not from some impressive manner of preaching. It is this eloquence we desire,
it is this desire to celebrate by making people to be celebrities; i.e., movie
stars, music stars, and even scientist who may or may not adhere to the truth
of God’s word. We, the preacher, us, are to be the representative of God, an
ambassador for Jesus Christ and this is that we do what we have been commanded
to do: preach the Gospel, Jesus Christ crucified. We are to teach that we are to put God, Jesus Christ, the Holy
Spirit as a priori in our lives.
We are to pick up our cross and follow Him. We are to deny ourselves.
Whoops!!!! I went to preaching,
for you may say; “You went too far now!”
Listen! Anything that hinders
our witness, our preaching must be destroyed, removed from us for if not then
what we are believing and teaching is only going to hinder the truth, the
Gospel. We are then, a traitor to the
cause; which we have been called. You
think that you are called only to go to heaven? Is this all that you are waiting for? If so, you are not all that God has done for you, for He saved
you, allowed you to remain here in this world to be His arms and legs to take
His message to the world so that His children may respond to the message you
bring. What message are you bringing to
our world, that world that you influence?
God has promised us eternal life, so what are you waiting for and why
are you not, me too, living for Him no matter the consequences? God has performed all that is needed to
ensure and set forever salvation: it cannot be changed and by means of His
performance through His Wisdom, His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ
reconciliation is not only fundamental to the Gospel, it is the Gospel. Furthermore, God sent to His children
Himself, the Holy Spirit, not some separate entity, some power as the Jehovah
Witnesses teach, but Himself, for the Holy Spirit is Him, and having within
Himself, the Holy Spirit has personality, and is of the same essence as the
Father because He is God. Our
reconciliation to the Father is due to His mediator Jesus Christ, and think
once again, Jesus Christ, God Himself, as the Son of God, His Wisdom in Flesh,
the same essence as the Father, the Holy Spirit, all One, the Godhead; and we
are reconciled to Him by the death of the God/Man, Jesus Christ. The Son brings
us to the Father so that we have access to the Father and that wrong against God
was paid by Himself so that you, the one called by God can be not only
reconciled to God, but to live forever in a world that God has prepared for all
His children. We are directed to God
through the Son, and led to the Father by the Holy Spirit in all we do; if we
allow the Holy Spirit to lead us and not be led by someone who is teaching what
we consider to be eloquent, impressive, but not the Gospel. People, we, all, need the Gospel, not some
ear–tickling words. We run to and fro
looking for help when all the help we need has been given to us by God in His
word. We just don’t want to do what He
has said so often and we are led to follow after other philosophies.
Think upon
this: God has appropriated for Himself a people, separated no longer by nationality,
all under one head. Jesus Christ by God
the Father has forgiven you: “And be kind to one another, tender hearted;
forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). My
prayer is that you are moved by that fact and that your live will change from
the Inside/Out, becoming all that God desires from you.
See then that you walk circumspectly,
Not as
fools but as wise,
Redeeming the time, because
The days
are evil.
Therefore do not be unwise,
But understand
what
The will of the Lord is.
Ephesians 5:15–16
Be Today That Witness For God
Richard L. Crumb
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