What Is Meant? Justified By Faith!

Therefore we ought to give the more

earnest heed to the things which we 

have heard, lest at any time we should

let them slip. For is the word spoken

by the angels was steadfast, and

every transgression and disobedience

received a just recompense of reward;

how shall we escape, if we neglect

so great salvation; which at the first

began to be spoken by the Lord,

and was confirmed unto us by them

that heard Him; God also bearing them

witness, both with signs and wonders,

and with divers miracles, and gifts

of the Holy Spirit, according to His

own will?

Hebrews 2:1-4

     This foundational truth of Scripture in regards to Jesus Christ, the angles, and the revelation that God determined to save from sin the world by sending Jesus Christ, His Wisdom to be the Only Begotten Son, then ought we to heed this truth? No angel performed miracles, or gave to men the Holy Spirit, nor justified men, only by Jesus Christ are men saved from eternal death their reward for not believing in Jesus Christ, for not converting to Him. You are not saved by believing: you come to the place whereby you realize that you are saved by believing. Repentance does not save you, for repentance is a sign that you realize what God has done in and through Jesus Christ: "For is, when we were enemies,we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life" (Romans 5:10). What has happened in too many Churches today is to be the emphasis on effect instead of the cause. So many who attend Churches that emphasize speaking in some gibberish tongue, to emphasize healing, to emphasize being "slain in the spirit" when none of these things are Scriptural, but they do make a person feel godly. Bo be titillated, to join in group euphoria, to dance around wildly, and to do the most harmful thing, say that all this is Scriptural and apply proof versed to give them warrant and do not use good exegetical and use the context to give understanding of what is being written for our faith. 

     It is obedience that puts a person right with God. It is your consecration. That is what is taught but this is wrong, it is never those things that put you right with God. It is not faith in those teachings that brings you closer to God. Never! You are put right with God because prior to obedience, to consecration, Jesus Christ died. You must turn to God and by belief and accept what God has revealed then you can accept, instantly, the stupendous Atonement of Jesus Christ and that Atonement rushes into you bring you to a right relationship with God. This brings you into a right relationship with Jesus Christ and by that right relationship you will be obedient and consecrate your life to Him. This is a miracle, God's grace causes you to stand justified, not be being sorry for your sins, not because you have repented, but what Jesus has done. Yes, you will be sorry for your sins, yes, you will have repented, but all this is due to your realizing that you need a Savior, and that Jesus Christ is that Savior and by His death you can receive God's grace to be saved. God calls, God enables (John 6) and by grace the Holy Spirit indwells you when you believe and convert to what God has revealed: Jesus Christ the Only Begotten Son who came to earth to live as a man satisfying the justice of God and by this propitiation you can receive salvation, eternal life. You are justified by faith. How does God do this? We cannot know for it is the work of God, but by faith you are saved.

     Human logic will never understand the salvation of God, it stand solely on the death of Jesus Christ. You can be born again because of the Atonement of our Lord. You can be changed from your sins, your sinful life, and become new creatures, not be some experience, not be their repentance or their belief, but by the marvelous work of God in Jesus Christ which is prior to all experience. You are justified, sanctified, in God alone. You do not have to work out these things yourself, they have been worked out by the Atonement. This supernatural work becomes natural by this miracle of God. Now, by faith, you believe, you convert and you come to the place where you realize what Jesus Christ has already done. All this according to the will of God. Will you apply faith in the truth of this faith? 

Your iniquities have turned away

     these things, and your sins

have withholden good things 

    from you. For among my people

are found wicked men: they lay 

    wait, as he that setteth snares;

the set a trap, they catch men.

               Jeremiah 5:25-26

Run from such men: Inspect what you expect

Richard L. Crumb

What Does It Mean: "Fellows" With Jesus Christ?

Thou hast loved righteousness,

and hated iniquity: therefore God, 

even thy God, hath anointed thee 

with the oil of gladness above thy

fellows. And, Thou, Lord, in the

beginning hast laid the foundation

of the earth; and the heavens are 

the works of thine hands: they 

shall perish; but thou remain:

and they all shall wax old as

doth a garment; and as a vesure

shalt thou fold them up, and they 

shall be changed: but thou art

  the same, and thy years shall

 not fail.

Hebrews 1:9-12

     In the beginning of this letter the writer sets forth the divinity of Jesus Christ. This must be done also for us for if we do not understand and declare the divinity of Jesus Christ then we have assigned Jesus Christ to be nothing more than an angel and as an angel He does not have the power to forgive sins. There is a comparison between Jesus Christ and the angels. Angels are servants of God with a mission set forth by God for them to exercise as ministers to do His pleasure, His will. The inferiority of the angels to Jesus Christ is plainly pointed out to us for Jesus is said to be greater, the Only Begotten Son of God and this Psalm is quoted here: "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows" (Psalm 45:6-7). If this Scripture is not set in context and is used only as a proof Scripture to prove the Jesus was created and only an angel no matter how superior then error is formed and heresy is promoted. 

     Jesus Christ, the Wisdom of God, took on the form of man to be the mediator between man and God. God anointed Jesus Christ qualifying Him to be the mediator. This office of mediator was confirmed, as reported that the Spirit of God descended upon in Him in the form of a dove at His baptism. Jesus Christ as man, sent by God to perform this ministry of redemption, to serve God in this manner abased Himself so that He might redeem us to God. This anointing was above others who too were servants of God doing God's will, but not as mediators between God and man. Jesus is said to have the anointing of the oil of gladness above His fellows. Now, if one does not take time to understand this account, that Jesus was above His fellows will lead a person to say that Jesus was only a created creature and an angel. So what is meant by "fellows?" Does Jesus Christ have equals? No! The word translated "fellows" or "companions" simply means those who share, and both the angels and Jesus Christ share in the service of God. They are sharing in a heavenly calling, and by this calling they are associates for each will have or have had a regal position in relation to the earthly, messianic kingdom. As a Man Jesus has "fellows", and as an anointed Person: but, and this is the difference we must understand: Jesus was and is the Creator of all things, that includes the angels, His fellow associates in the Messianic Kingdom, and Jesus Christ has an unction to be the Redeemer. Jesus Christ as Man, the Wisdom of God who came to be this One to Redeem man was also a partner, an associate with all prophets of God, priests and kings, and of the apostles, all who were and are employed as servants of God on earth and in any service given to God by angels who were created by God, Jesus Christ: "But to which of the angels said He at any time, sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies they footstool? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation" (Hebrews 1:13-14)?

     Think upon this: we have angels ministering for us, to us, and we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, and we have the resurrected Jesus Christ, the God/Man who died for your redemption sitting at the right hand of God making eternal intercession for us. So then, why are we not doing what God has commanded for us to do? Why are we so worried about the things of this earth? We do we desire to be prosperous, successful, to have some form of self-realization? Why? Are we not saved from this world and all it sinfulness? Yes! God did this, Jesus Christ God's Wisdom did this, the Holy Spirit applies all this to us, not some angel, but God. With so great a cloud of fellows in the service of God are we not to also be a fellow of God, of Jesus Christ? Yes! God has called you, not so that you can live apathetically, no, to be in service with Him, to be a witness for Him, to minister to others with Him. Will you accept this calling?

Arise, shine; for thy light is come,

    and the glory of the LORD 

is risen upon thee. For, behold,

    the darkness shall cover the

earth, and gross darkness the

    people: but the LORD shall

arise upon thee, and His glory

    shall be seen upon thee.

            Isaiah 60:1-2

Live as servants, fellows, with God

Richard L. Crumb 

Is Jesus Christ God, Or A god?

being made so much better than the angels,

as He hath by inheritance obtained a more

excellent name than hey. For unto which

of the angels said He at any time, 

thou art my Son, this day have I 

begotten thee? And again, I will 

be to Him a Father, and He shall 

be to Me a Son? And again, when He

bringeth in the firstbeotten into the 

world, He saith, And let all the angels

of God worship Him. 

Hebrews 1:4-6

     The writer of Hebrews is in the beginning of his letter teaching this fact that Jesus, not some other person claiming godship, but Jesus Christ is the Only Begotten Son of God and those who were teaching that Jesus was nothing more than and angel as do the Jehovah Witnesses are wrong in their Christology. In the early Christian Church various ideas and philosophies were fronted to explain Jesus Christ and from that time forward many others have attempted to do the same all are heretical as they do not follow Scripture and they attempt to infuse into theology their presupposition as to who is this Jesus. 

     An early heretical view was and is in some Churches today in some form, Gnosticism, that which has its roots just after the beginning the the Christian Church. Gnosticism may have actually predates the Christian Church and Gnosticism was something that the Bible writers attacked in their efforts to keep the Church holy (1John 4). Gnosis means knowledge and there were many faction of Gnosticism and I will not attempt to write on them. Gnostic theology taught that God was unknowable and to pure and perfect and could not have anything to do with the material universe which they considered evil. To settle this problem God generated lesser divinities, Wisdom desired to know the unknowable God and out of this desire the demiurge, or an evil god was formed and it was this evil god that created the universe. Jesus Christ was generated to be the divine redeemer to reveal the knowledge necessary for redemption. This is dualistic theology, a good and an evil spirit, in fact in some teaching of gnositicsm Jesus and the devil are brothers. Gnosticism is dangerous for it denies the incarnation of God as the Son. To do this then the efficacy of the atonement is denied, for if Jesus is not God, He could not atone for all of mankind and we would still be in our sins. 

     Adoptionism and error that appeared in the second century denied the preexistence of Jesus Christ and by this denied His deity. Adoptionists taught that Jesus was tested by God, and after passing the test and upon His baptism He was granted supernatural powers by God and adopted as God's Son. Due to the faithfulness of Jesus He was granted by God to be raised from the dead and adopted into the Godhead. This error was an attempt to understand the two natures of Jesus Christ.

     Th writer of Hebrews was addressing these false understanding of Jesus and His two natures. The writer asks as to who, what angel, is equal to Jesus Christ for God said that Jesus was His Son, Jesus was the creator, not the devil, and that furthermore, Jesus is to be worshipped by us, and by the angels: "And again, when He bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, He saith, and let all the angels of God worship Him. And of the angels He saith, Who maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire. But unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever an ever, a sceptre of righeousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom" (Hebrews 1:6-8). There can be no doubt as to the divinity of Jesus Christ for the Greek is clear, Ο θεός (the God) and the definite article "Ο" for the, makes the noun "θεός" definite, not "θεός" by itself whereby it could be translated "a god." There are not two thrones, one for the Father and one for the Son, no, there is one throne and Jesus is said to sit on the throne holding a special place and that place is called "the right hand of God." God is not just one God and Jesus another god, no, the Godhead consist of three Persons all are one and all are of the same substance and by this Godhead all things were created and held in place by God, the Godhead. Why is it said that Jesus sits on the "right hand of God?" It is because God came in the person of a man to justify and satisfy His justice and Jesus accomplished this in His manhood and His accomplishment is eternal and never to be repeated and being on the right hand of God is a Jewish idiom that means that it is right, for the left hand was considered unclean. 

     True, Authentic Christian Faith is a faith that believes what is written and does not attempt to improve or speculate upon Scripture. When speculation becomes determined to be factual then heresies rise up and confuse the people of God if one does not take the time to prove and test all things (1Thessaonians 5:21). Do this, pray about this, and you will be led to the truth.

For thou shalt worship no other

    god: for the LORD, whose name 

is jealous,is a jealous God.

               Exodus 34:14

Do not tacitly approve heresy

Richard L. Crumb 

The Book Of Hebrews: Increasing Authentic Christian Faith

God, who at sundry times

and in diverse manners spake

in time past unto the fathers

by the prophets, hath in these

last days spoken unto us by His

 Son, whom He hath appointed heir

of all things, by whom also He made

the worlds; who being the brightness

of His glory, and the express image

of His person, and upholding all things

by the word of His power, when He had 

Himself purged our sins, sat down

on the right hand of the Majesty

on high

Hebrews 1:1-3

     Yesterday I was unable to write my blog as I had to be out of time to see the doctor about surgery which fortunately I do not need at this time. Long trip, much time to think and to meditate upon God, Jesus Christ, and about faith. Sunday my good friend past away and before she fell into a coma and to receive only comfort care until death, I was able to speak to her about our faith in God and in His promises. Today I begin to continue to write according to the books of the Bible and about faith as this has been the thrust of previous blogs. Hebrews is a book much about faith and it will serve us to read this carefully and grow in our faith. So I begin this study on the book of Hebrews.

     Who wrote Hebrews, a question that has agitated various questions and answers. Another question is why should this book be placed into the canon of the Bible? The internal evidence of this letter gives strong evidence that it is an apostolic epistle, not a discourse or some dissertation. This letter was written to Hebrew Christians in Palestine and at this time Christians were undergoing persecution in various areas of the Roman Empire. Hebrews was originally written in Greek the language used commonly by people and has testimony from the early Church fathers. Was it written by Paul as some would say? Well, we have no name as to who wrote this letter. Those who say it was Paul state that the name was not given to be Paul due to prejudices against him by some Hebrew Christians. The composition of Hebrews is highly wrought and the language more finished than Paul's other letters, although there is some warrant that Paul wrote this letter due it the letter bearing some of the peculiar and distinctive feature of Paul's other letters. Also the Hebrews shows that the writer was very familiar with the Mosaic system, the treatment of subject by the writer, the same fullness of thought, the devotional spirit of the letter. All this may point to Paul as the writer but we must not get sidetracked into this rabbit trail to find out who the writer was, rather we must look into this book and see whether or not it can be considered inspired by God for us and all Christians. We must, if we consider this inspired by God to see what God has revealed so that we can deepen our relationship to Him and to Jesus Christ, to grow our faith. 

     God has spoken throughout history to men who revealed by this inspiration of God what God would have know about Him and His purpose and promises, the same is true of the book of Hebrews for God is revealing to us what He desires for us to known and to execute in our daily living, our our faith. Notice this, God has spoken in "theses last days," as all Christians throughout all history have been in the last days and looking for the coming of Jesus Christ. Yes, in time, we are in the last days, for God has promised to send to us Jesus Christ and to end this world and make a new world where there is no sin. Jesus Christ, the Wisdom of God, being found in the likeness of man, was appointed to be the Savior and by this salvation to appoint us to be heirs. Jesus Christ is not only the heir of all things it was by God's Wisdom that the world was made and is the manifestation of God, His brightness, His glory, and is the exact expression of His person, and by Jesus Christ all things are upheld by the power of His word and sits down as the right hand of the Father now that His work on earth is finished, the satisfaction of the Justice of God, and makes eternal intercession for all of God's children. The Greek word for exact expression is the where we get our English word, character, and character is the exact expression according to something or someone else. Exact, not similar, exact, for Jesus Christ is God, the Second Person of the Trinity, and as the Wisdom of God, the Only Begotten Son of God, we can know that our faith is built upon truth, and God has revealed this truth in all that has been inspired to be written. 

     Our Christian faith, Authentic Christian Faith is not some blind faith, some hope that it is true, for we are not agnostics, we are not one who wavers, we are not tossed around by the whims of this world. As some in the early Church did waver, and some taught heresy, false teachings, we have those in our present age, but by taking time to study His word we can come Authentic Christian Faith. We need not to worry if we can know, we can, we have the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth. That is, if we allow Him to lead us. That is our responsibility. Will you take charge of that responsibility? 

The wise in hearth shall be 

     called prudent; and the

sweetness of the lips increaseth

    learning. Understanding is a

wellspring of life unto him that

    hath it: but the instruction

of fools is folly. The heart of the

    wise teacheth his mouth, and

addeth learning to his lips.

             Proverbs 16:21-23

Faith comes by hearing the word of God

Richard L. Crumb

Authentic Christian Faith Leads The Knowledge Of The Son Of God, The Fullness Of Christ

He that descended is the same

also that ascended up far above

all heavens, that He might fill all 

things. And He gave some, apostles;

and some prophets; and some

evangelists; and some pastors and

teachers; for the perfecting of all

the saints for the work of the 

ministry, for he edifying of the 

body of Christ; tell we all come

in he unity of the the faith, and

the knowledge of the Son of God, 

unto a perfect man, unto the 

measure of the stature of the

fullness of Christ.

Ephesians 4:10-13

     The Church of God, the universal Church of God, has all the tools necessary to bring to the world the Gospel and for all of God's children to be built up in Authentic Christian Faith. A prophet is not necessarily one who fortells the future, he can be is not necessary to be a prophet for a prophet speaks for God, and this is to teach us about God by means of the word of God so that we come to a perfect knowledge of the Son of God. The Greek word translated prophet is formed by conjoining two Greek words: προφήτας: πρό: for or towards purpose for which an action is exerted:  φημί: to utter, to say, speak, affirm, or report. Not as some go about saying that they are a "prophet" of God and have some special revelation, this is heresy, for all we ever need to know is in the word of God and rightly exegeted we can come to the fullness of the knowledge of God and of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. 

     This unity of the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in time will receive in reality all the splendor that belongs to God. God has patience, but we not think that His patience is is permission. God as seen by the Great Flood will not forever allow sin the rule His world. We now can have in our effort to serve Him all the affection held in faith and in hope. Pastors and teachers, in Greek grammar each of the nominative nouns are anarthrous, so with Greek word kai, for and, conjoins the two to be the same, so our pastors are also to be our teachers, and there are some who are teachers and not pastors but must have working knowledge of the original languages and have Authentic Christian Faith or they will be teaching falsely, and heretical. 

     We are taught by Scripture that the mediation of the mediator between God and man, is our Lord Jesus Christ Who yokes every elect creature to the Father, so that by this ineffable unity of spirit there is no distinction or race, condition, or sex, but that the one household and city of God is made as well of angels as of men, and that of this great and marvelous unity the one head is Jesus Christ: "For as many as were baptized into Christ, you put on Christ. there cannot be Jew, or Greek: there is no slave nor freeman; there is no male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. and if you are of Christ, then you are a seed of Abraham, even heirs according to promise" (Galatians 3:27-29). Think upon this, the promise given to Abraham is your promise, the Law given by God is your law, and even while the old covenant was fulfilled by Jesus those two things are never ending, they are yours and by faith we accept and receive this promise and the Law. Acknowledge this fact God gave directly to Abraham this promise, and God gave directly to Moses the Law, therefore, these cannot be broken by God for it is His word to man. God does not go back on His word and God does not lie.

     True, Authentic Christian Faith leads to an Authentic Christian Life, all one has to do is be obedient to the Law, and the precepts set forth by Jesus Christ, and illuminated by the writers of Scripture under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Hard to do under our sinful nature, but, and this is most important: we have the Holy Spirit residing in us to lead us, all we have to do is allow Him to lead. We have a choice to make, to do this or to do that, to sin, or not to sin. We have a way out of sin if you are looking for that way and then apply that way in your circumstance of life. Example: a man walking home from school has to pass by a pornographic business and when walking by he allow himself to go in and look and then cries out for God to help him: He won't! That man can walk two more blocks away from that business and bypass this pornography, all he has to do is to choose to walk two blocks away, the way is provided, and  he can use his faith, that is if it is Authentic Christian Faith, to keep him from sin. We all have choices and we who are elect of God ensure our faith by choosing the righteous path. This is true faith, prepare now for this true faith to lead you. 

Wheresoever I have walked with all Israel, 

     spake I a word to any of the judges of Israel, 

whom I commanded to feed my people, 

     saying "why have ye not built me an house of cedars." 

                                    1Chronicles 17:6

You are the house of Israel 

Richard L. Crumb

The Sureness Of True Faith Revealed

I was looking in the night visions. 

And behold, one like the Son of man

came with the clouds of the heavens. 

and He came to the Ancient of Days. 

And they brought Him near before Hm.

And dominion was given to Him, and 

glory, and a kingdom, that all peoples,

nations, and languages should serve

Him. His dominion is an everlasting

dominion which shall not pass away,

and His  kingdom that which shall

not be destroyed.

 Daniel 7:13-14

     True Authentic Christian Faith is founded upon the truth of Scripture, a truth that cannot be dismissed for if one studies the Scripture he/she will find that the Scriptures  written by 40 men and in more than 1000 of years all agree and all have the same harmony. The promises of God except for those that are yet to be fulfilled have been fulfilled exactly as foretold. Daniel writes this vision given to him by God to foretell of the coming of Jesus Christ and of the kingdom of Jesus Christ so that we can have true faith. Jesus Christ came as foretold He would and seen by more than 500 people (1Corinthians 15:6) as He ascended bodily into heaven in the clouds to sit at the right hand of the Father sitting upon the throne with the Father, having equality with the Father tells not only of His coming but also of the great day of wrath whereby sin and all the consequences of sin will be abolished. 

     All people will go before Jesus Christ our God and Savior to give an account of their lives, their words, and to receive judgment, some to life everlasting, some to eternal death, but all even the elect are said to go through this judgment in the presence of the Lamb. We should be careful in all we do and say for God is watching us now and knows before we even do anything that which we say and do and when before the Lamb and truly come to know how great a salvation is granted to us we will sing a new song before Him: "And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb" (Revelation 7:10). There is one throne and One God, both the Father and the Son are said to sit upon the throne so that we must acknowledge that the Father and the Son are One, to be One even after He, when made less, became obedient unto death, the death upon the cross. Now God has exalted the His Only Begotten Son and bestowed upon Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus Christ every knee should bow, of things in heaven, on earth, and in the underworld, and that every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord in the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9-11). Not only will the bride of Jesus Christ, the elect of God acknowledge the lordship of Jesus Christ those who are condemned to eternal damnation will also come to know that Jesus is God, and the Lord above all things. 

     True faith, not just faith, but Authentic Christian Faith, is that the bride of Jesus Christ will be clothed with the garments of salvation and covered with the robe of righteousness, a bride adorned with her jewels. This is the promise of God and we can have true faith based upon Him, His word that is ever true. So then, do we have to wait until we are before Him to live in Authentic Christian Faith a true faith? No! We live now as His bride, we live growing in our faith by obediently living according to His commands and precepts. It is now that we live as one of the elect of God, we do not have to wait, we are His now, we are living eternally now with Him. All we are doing now is waiting for the bridegroom to come and take His bride home. This waiting is until the Father tells the Son to go and get His bride. We wait in eager expectation, not in apathy, not in doing little or nothing for the kingdom of God, no, we take the Gospel everywhere we go telling people of our Great God and teach them the words of God. This is our responsibility and we do in many ways, but we do it!

     People go to school, to Universities, to trade schools, to learn how to be a working in whatever vocation they decide to be involved in, so why not also take time to study God's word. We have been commissioned to speak the words of God everywhere until He returns (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8). We work to feed our families, to aid others in our generation to have a better life, so we then show them a better life, a better way to live, and when having the word of God their then faith comes to them (Romans 10:17). We have the truth that the Trinity exists and is God, the Godhead and by this Godhead God providentially rules this world, not taking away what occurs in this world, but causes all things to accomplish His purpose to have a people for His name. God has chosen you, live then as one of the chosen people. God has blessed you now with salvation, you need no other blessing for that blessing is eternal, any other blessing God may give you is for the moment, and may increase your faith, but this faith must not just enjoy a blessing, it must move forward in the commission of God to live as He has instructed. This is the truth of faith.

What man is he who fears Jehovah?

     He teaches him the way he should

choose. His soul shall abide in good,

     and his seed shall inherit the earth.

the secret of Jehovah is with those who

    fear Him; and He will make them know

His covenant. My eyes are ever toward Jehovah;

    for He shall bring my feet out of the net.

                        Psalm 25:12-15

Your salvation is sure: live it

Richard L. Crumb 

Building Up Your Most Holy Faith

But ye, beloved, building up

yourselves on your most

holy faith, praying in the

Holy Spirit, keep yourselves

in the love of God, looking

for the mercy of our Lord

Jesus Christ unto eternal life

Jude 20-21

     The attempt in these latest blogs is to aid you to build up your most holy faith, to pray in the Holy Spirit, and to keep yourselves in the love of God, and all the while to continue looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ Who has promised eternal life. This is the hope, true established hope founded upon the sure faith revealed in Scripture. Authentic Christian Faith is not blind, it is not some hapless hope, it is a building upon the truth of Scripture and our continued building upon our relationship with Jesus Christ, our God and Savior. 

     The Trinity, God in Three Person, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is our foundational truth as revealed in Scripture. The fact that Jesus Christ, the Wisdom of God was sent to earth to die for sin, and by His death and resurrection Jesus did what He came to earth to do, pay our debt for we cannot ever pay this debt, so God paid His own debt now we can receive the promise of eternal life. This is also our most foundational truth so that our faith in the unseen is not seen with our physical eyes but with our eyes of our minds, and by this our faith is established. This is the truth of faith and we can ensure ourselves that we have this faith by our obedience to the commands and precepts of God: "This is the will of God, even your sanctification" (1Thessalonians 4:3). This building up is work on our part, for in our nature is nothing good, oh, yes we can do good things but our good is selfish. The good we grow into in the Lord is a good that only comes by our obedience to Him and this is in opposition to our nature. We grow by doing! 

     Unfortunately, too often, when thing are going bad our faith wavers, or, we strive to do, to work out to overcome by our strength whatever is causing our faith to waver. Jesus did not allow panic, only a calm strength, no impulse, no wavering for He kept His eye on the Father. Some will point out that He was God, yes, but He was also fully man and met with the same problems we confront, only Jesus did not allow in His manhood to fall prey to sin. Jesus relied upon His Father by being obedient unto death: "And in figure having been found as a man, He humbled Himself, having become obedient unto death, even death of the cross" (Philippians 2:8). The temperament of Jesus Christ was on the line of God, and this we find is not always that of ourselves for in our natural life impulse, that trait of man, gets in the way of or life and relationship with Jesus Christ. This impulse that destroys, at least in some way, our faith hinders our development our life of a disciple. We must allow the Holy Spirit living within us to check this impulse, and this we do by continuing to build up our faith. This is done by study of God's word, by prayer, by association with like believers, to rid ourselves of self-realization and our attempt to vindicate ourselves when we do wrong or even think wrong. Impulse is disastrous for an impulsive man/woman begins to trifle in things of little significance, to do things that show to the world by his/her work that he/she is godly. We must train our minds, any impulse that is in opposition to God to be restrained before it gets a hold on us and this is done by discipline. 

     The grace of God given freely to His children to build them up in discipleship is not built upon impulsive people. We do not need the grace of God to stand crises, our human nature and pride are sufficient, we can face the strain magnificently: but to do it well requires the supernatural grace of God so that we can live 24 hours a day as a saint, to live a holy Authentic Christian Faith. We learn that we can live an ordinary, unobserved, ignored existence as a disciple of Jesus Christ. This is the truth of faith. This truth laying hold of our lives allow us to be holy in those means things of life, among mean people. To build up. and the Greek word for this is in the presence active therefore it is to be done daily, 24 hours a day, not just when trouble comes. This is not learned quickly, but it can be learned and practiced if one would apply the truth of faith to themselves. We have the truth of the Trinity, the truth of the Only Begotten Son, the truth of salvation, we have all we need, so then apply this faith to your lives and live. 

Call unto me, and I will

     answer thee, and show

thee great and mighty things,

     which thou knowest not.

                      Jeremiah 33:3

Apply true Authentic Faith to your life

Richard L. Crumb

 

Your Faith Made Sure: The Truth Of The Faith

And the city had no need

of the sun, neither of the moon,

to shine in it: for the glory of God

did lighten it, and the Lamb is the

light thereof. And the nations of them

which are saved shall walk in the light

of it: and the kings of the earth do

bring their glory and honor into it. 

And the gates of it shall not be shut

at all by day: for there shall be no

night there. 

Revelation 21: 23-25

      The city of God, that is, the total of all the saints (Read The City of God: by Paul Bunyan: worth the read); have no fear for the are blessed by God and have no need of sun or moon to shine upon it, for God has enlightened it, and its lamp is the Lamb. There will be no more injustice, not even heard of it, no more destruction; salvation will be overall the walls of the city, and praise your gates: "And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life" (Revelation 21:26-27). 

     True faith is that which believes this testimony of the Holy Scripture that demonstrate the unity and equality of the one sitting on the throne and the Lamb, that is the Father and the Son. Furthermore, there is said to be a day of great wrath. True faith, Authentic Christian Faith, has no fear of this great day of wrath rather has joy because of it for with it comes a time, eternity whereby no sin, no tears, no sorrow, nothing that is faced in our world today for God makes a new heavens and earth: "Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of person ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherein, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless" (2Peter 3:11-14). 

     It is not that God is willing to all that He has promised, to sanctify you, the question that must be answered is: Am I willing, is it my will? Are you willing to let God do in you all that He has made possible by the Atonement? Those words written under inspiration by the apostle John are words that we must inculcate in our lives for as God is willing to sanctify you, He is also willing to do all that He has said He would do, and for true Authentic Christian Faith, that true Authentic Christian Faith you will then live in the City of God forever, no sin, nothing to drive you away from Him. True faith is that you are willing to let Jesus sanctify you, and to let the life of Jesus be manifested in your mortal flesh. Do not long to be sanctified, you are not, stop, stop longing to be sanctified. It is like a person saying that he wants to stop smoking as he is putting another cigarette in his mouth. You can bring nothing to Jesus, you can receive Him to be made sanctified and this you can do in implicit faith, this great marvel, this great mystery is of the Atonement of Jesus and that Atonement be made real in you. True faith, Authentic Christian Faith, bring a person to a holiness, not based upon what a person does, rather from agonizing repentance and of unspeakable shame, degradation; and then the amazing realization is that the love of God commended itself to you in that while you were yet sinners Christ died for you, everything was completed that you needed for salvation and sanctification. You cannot be separated from the love of God. You become one with Jesus Christ, your relationship with Jesus Christ grows closer and closer as you manifest obedience to Him. 

     The truth of the faith is that God came to earth, and God before time began had already determined that He would do exactly as He did, bring salvation to those who will believe on Him, on His Son Jesus Christ. This belief is not some belief found outside of His Scripture that reveals all that He has and will do and our faith is made sure by the sure promises so that our faith is not a blind faith, rather a true Authentic Faith. 

Behold, thou shalt call a nation

     that thou knowest not, and

nations that knew not thee shall 

     run unto thee because of the

LORD thy God, and for the Holy One

    of Israel: for He hath glorified thee.

Seek ye the LORD while He may be

    found, call upon Him while He is near.

                       Isaiah 55:5-6

Hear now the call of God

Richard L. Crumb

 

Building Upon Our Faith

And when He had spoken 

these things, He was taken up

and a cloud received Him out

of their sight. And while they 

looked steadfastly as He 

went up, behold, two men

stood by them in white 

apparel; which also said,

Ye men of Galilee, why stand

ye gazing up into heaven? 

This same Jesus, which is taken 

up from you into heaven, shall 

so come in like manner as ye

have sen Him go into heaven.

Acts 1:9-11

     The Gospel is that God sent His Son to die upon the cross for the sin of the world: "The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Notice this: the word is "sin" not "sins" of the world, it is this inherited sin from Adam that needed to be done away with and until that would be accomplished the "sins," plural, your sins could not be atoned. Furthermore, Jesus had to rise from the dead and then ascend into heaven bodily, and present that perfect sinless body, man, to the Father as payment for sin, and God the Father applies that now satisfied debt to one who believes on Jesus Christ and converts to Jesus Christ. This is the Gospel and more to it is necessarily for our faith to be complete and that is Jesus is coming again and this time to end all the sin of the world, the sins of all people and to judge the living and the dead: "And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever" (Revelation 5:13). This day of judgment is to be feared: "And the kings of earth, and the great men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free men, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains; and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne,and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand" (Revelation 6: 15-17)?

     After this has been accomplished, all the elect from out of all nations, tribes, people, and tongues shall be standing before the throne in the presence of the Lamb, clothed in white garments and with palms in their hands crying: "And cried with a loud voice, saying, 'Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb" (Revelation 7:10). Once again Jesus is conjoined by the Greek grammar to be God, and God to be the Lamb, both in Unity, both of the same substance for after the word God, there is a comma, and then the word "Lamb." The Lamb is said to be sitting on the throne and God is said to be sitting on the throne, God is said to be our salvation and Jesus is said to be our salvation, it is before the throne we stand and upon that throne is the Unity of the Trinity, for God is there and Jesus is there, not as separate beings, rather as One. The angels worshiped God, the elders worshiped God, the One upon the throne. Jesus is God, not a god, and Jesus is worshiped as God, not as a god. The Greek grammar is clear, that when God is mentioned and then Jesus the two and both on the throne then both are the same, equal in all ways and this cannot be construed any other way unless there is an attempt to misuse the Greek grammar. 

    Faith, true faith is what I am writing about, and it requires faith to believe what is written about God, Jesus, and the future. It takes faith because we cannot see God, Jesus and we cannot discern the future (We can speculate, but not know the future), so then, faith is required but not blind faith, faith upon what has been revealed so that we are not left ignorant, we have sure founded faith from Scripture. Therefore, if the Scripture we are reading, or if someone is preaching and teaching that which is not consistent with truth then we will not have a faith built upon a sure foundation. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17), so then for faith to be manifested in our lives it must come by way of Scripture rightly exegeted and taught. 

    True faith is one whereby you and I get to know the universal sovereignty of Jesus Christ, and this means to get to know Him personally, how to get alone with Him, to take time to worship Him. Do you not bear His name? Scripture gives us what to expect from God, from Jesus Christ, how that the future of eternal life will not be as here now on earth for there there will be no crying, no pain, no hunger, and no thirst for you will be with Jesus from which flows springs of living water (Revelation 7:14-17). Joy should flood your soul, your very being because of all what God has promised you and this you can add to you faith. 

O my God, incline thine ear,

     and hear; open thine eyes,

and behold our desolations, and

    the city which is called by they

name: for we do not present our

    supplications before thee for 

our righteousness, but for thy

    great mercies.

                     Daniel 9:18

Grow in your faith: take time for God

Richard L. Crumb  

Who Is This Only Begotten Son Of God?

The former treatise have I made,

O Theophilus,or all that Jesus

began both to do and teach,

until the day in which He was 

taken up, after that through

the Holy Spirit: had given 

commandments unto the

apostles whom He had 

chosen.

Acts 1:1-3

     God, in order to have His justice satisfied, sent into this world His Wisdom to live and die as a man, His Only Begotten Son. To have His justice satisfied, paid, this debt owed to Him by man God would have to do that which would accomplish this payment. Would God send an angel? Would God create a being just so that this debt would be paid? What would be the requirements to meet this debt equally so that it would be accepted upon payment? To give to an angel this work is not to have absolute confidence that this angel would do this work and not become as did Satan: angles have volition, a will, and the ability to choose and might choose against the will of God so that His justice would be satisfied. To create a being, as some teach, to be the Savior is to create a being without volition, a will, and to be more as a puppet and this would not meet the requirements for payment. What is needed is for true salvation and only God can give true salvation due to the fact that God is Good, Merciful, Loving, and His will is to have a people who are devoted to Him by their volition and will. Furthermore, it was a man, Adam, who sinned, therefore, the other requirement was that the Savior had to be fully man. 

     God accomplished these requirements by Himself sending His Wisdom to be born of a woman, and He placed His Wisdom into Her so that that which would be born would be fully man, have all that man has in his creation. Jesus Christ is the Only Begotten Son of God for God is His Father, no other creation can say that they are Only Begotten of God. God use dirt to make man, the dust of the ground, and He did not put Himself into man, therefore man is made by God, but not the Only Begotten of God. God did put into man that which no other creation can say, His Spirit, this life giving entity that speaks to man's soul so that man can live for God. This did not take away man's volition to choose for man was not made a puppet, but fully man. Adam sinned, therefore, this Man, this Only Begotten Son as man must live this life and not sin and by this then the propitiation for sin is valid and acceptable to God the Father. 

     Our one Lord Jesus Christ, true God and true man, came therefore to the Passion, His death upon the cross to fulfill all that had been written about Him, foretold in Scripture. Jesus Christ live a sinless life although this life was not separate from all the circumstances of life, persecution, tiredness from walking, speaking, long arduous hours, then having to be arrested, not from doing wrong, but because the religious leaders hated Him and wanted Him gone. Jesus was upsetting their "apple cart," and they wanted Him gone. So as an innocent man He was arrested beaten, scourged, mocked, and then hung upon the cross along with two other sinful men as though He too was sinful. 

     What the Jewish priests did know was that it was Jesus who had come to die, and die as a sinless man, and it He who allowed this to happen: furthermore, Jesus was not allowing this, He would raise Himself up from the grave by His own power and then would ascend into heaven presenting this propitiation to God the Father and sit at His right hand and then come again for His bride. On that cross Jesus shouted this most famous of all statements: "When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, He said, It is finished: and He bowed His head, and gave up the spirit" (John 19:30). What was finished? The payment for our debt was not paid: but more was done, all that which was written to be done in the Old Jewish covenant was now eliminated for now the New Covenant established by Jesus is what is now required to be  a son or daughter of God. The New Covenant did not obliterate the Covenant made by God with Abraham, nor did it remove the Ten Commandments written by God, but it did remove the old system of certain feasts, and things to do when they came to the temple, and other requirements that were written so that His chosen people, the Hebrews, would live according to His will. Now we have the commandments of Jesus Christ and when examined we find that they meet the Abraham Covenant and the Ten Commandments, and then how to live out those commandments. We do not live as some teach, especially the Seventh Day Adventist who believe that not all the old requirements of the Old Testament are still in force, forget Jesus came and those requirements are finished and His new Covenant is not in force. 

     True, Authentic Christian Faith is a faith based upon this truth about Jesus Christ and His commandments. Authentic Christians live in this world until death or the return of Jesus Christ for His bride and even enjoy what God has created, but do so without violating the commandments of God. Jesus Christ is the Only Begotten Son of God, and is the Second Person of the Trinity, along with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one Godhead, all the same substance and this we can rest our faith upon. The question is: Will you do it? 

Then I said unto them, 

     Cast ye away every man

the abomination of his eyes,

     and defile not yourselves

with idols of Egypt: I am the 

    LORD your God.

                      Ezekiel 20:7

By your volition: Live for God

Richard L. Crumb

Growing Our Faith In the Unseen And Hard To Know

I beheld till the thrones were cast down,

and the Ancient of days did sit, whose

garment was white as snow, and the

hair of His head like the pure wool:

His throne was like the fiery flame,

and His wheels as burning fire.

A fiery stream issued and came forth

from before Him: thousands thousands

ministered unto Him, and ten thousands

times ten thousands stood before Him: 

the judgment was set, and the books opened.

 Daniel 7:9-10

     Faith has as its foundation tenent to believe in the unseen, or in that which is hard to know. God, the Trinity, is of that nature, unseen, hard to know, furthermore, there is in Scripture other creatures who are called angels, and are also unseen as they are spirit beings: therefore faith, if it is Authentic Christian Faith must also believe that there are angels; albeit unseen. Unseen is one thing, for something to be hard to know is another thing, yet, although hard to know or understand what is needed is proof that it is possible for the unseen to be known and this is done by the revelation in Scripture inspired by God so that we can know even if we cannot see. Is it hard to believe that God who created all things seen and unseen did create both? The apostle Paul reveals this: "for by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and by Him all things consist" (Colossians 1:16). To have faith in God who is unseen and revealed in Scripture that He exists, is the creator, and is the Godhead consisting of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit warrants our belief in angels and all that is revealed about them. 

     The narrative of Job a man revealed to us in the book of Job has been of some consternation to many, a hard to believe or understand narrative. God is revealed, Satan is revealed and what occurred to Job is revealed. Job is the pinnacle of faith for in all that occurred which we know was difficult, yet there is and has been something of lessor account that has caused some to forego their faith because they did not understand or have faith that God is in control even in hard times. As with Job our faith is in God, our trust is in God so that in any circumstances of life our faith is not shaken, destroyed. This is true faith. Let is examine this narrative.

     Job was apparently a holy man and was enviable, enviable by Satan the prince that left along with other angels their position and life with God who had created them. He desired to make Job proof that he was able to turn man from believing in God. Satan desired that Job to be surrendered to him by the Lord, not for the purpose of testing what was done by means of Satan while Job was unwilling, no, but to condemn what Satan sought in abundance of his own malice. Satan was aflame with envy because of Job's faith, this same flame of envy and desire to be worshiped instead of God being worshiped when he approached Adam and Eve, the first man who was made holy, well and good by our Good God, who then beguiled Adam, made him a liar, and subjected him to every manner of corruption, and by this man inherited this corruption of his soul and by this heredity pass this corrupt heredity to all of his progeny. Satan dragged Adam to become his companion, and dragged him from angelic light and subdued him to his own darkness, rendering him liable to eternal death and that liability was passed down to all mankind. By this narrative we can see that there are unseen creatures, angels, and the one angel Satan who is the ringleader for all those angels who follow him, the results of their life, and how they have affected the seen world. But we see more from this narrative.

     Man fell, due to believing the lie of Satan, a wound so great, a wound that seem that it could not be healed. So how can this wound be repaired? An angel could not repair this wound, man cannot repair this wound, a wound so great that only God is able to repair it. This God did by sending His wisdom to earth, His Only Begotten Son, the Second Person of the Trinity, God the word (John 1:1) to become flesh, meaning to become true man and to dwell among us in perfect humanity, that which He assumed for us from us, that is, from the Virgin Mary prepared and preserved for this purpose, to heal this great wound. The Only Begotten Son of God came to dwell corporeally, not spiritually, as with man who dwells now spiritually with God, and this only by means of the gift of grace, as it is written: "He who is united to the Lord is one spirit" (1Corinthians 6:17). Although we are united in spirit with God does not mean or come to pass that we are gods by nature. In Jesus Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, so that He is God in very substance. The humanity that Jesus undertook can be nothing other than God and the unique Son, since the Only Begotten became flesh in order to be true God, true man, one God. Although flesh is one thing and deity another, Jesus is not one person in the flesh, another in the Godhead, but one Christ in both, God-man, the reality and integrity of each nature remaining. Humanity was not changed into divinity, nor divinity converted into humanity. One Christ of both is thus God and is worshiped with the Father and the Son, just as He was worshiped before the Word was made flesh. For unchangeable Deity, who in His incarnation took our infirmity that He might die, could be neither diminished nor increased. 

     We must not allow ourselves to be led into error as was Adam by Satan, such as the error of Spanish Adoptionism that Jesus  was adopted as God's son either at His baptism, His resurrection,or His ascension. This doctrine came about because there were some, the Ebionites, who believed Jesus was adopted because of His sinless devotion to the will of God. This is a non-trinitarian doctrine and was declared heresy at the end of the 2nd century and rejected by the First Council of Nicaea and defined the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity and identified the man Jesus with the eternal begotten Son or Word of God. 

     Do not confuse Spanish Adoptionism with Christian Adoption theology. Christian adoption is the admission of a believer into the family of god. Adoption is a legal term by which a person is legally placed with a parent(s). there are three references in the New Testament to god adopting Christians as His own children (Galatians 4:5; Romans 8:15; Ephesians 1:5; and one reference to the adoption be god ,or the people of Israel (Romans 9:4). Adoption was an important feature of Reformation theology as demonstrated by article 12 of the Westminster Confession of Faith. 

     The truth of faith is being investigated, examined, so that we can ensure that what we believe, what we have faith in is true Authentic Christian Faith, a faith tested by men of old, and by men of this present age. Our faith then by this investigation and examination become solid, firm, and unchangeable.

Turn you at my reproof:

    behold, I will pour out

My spirit unto you, I will

    make known My words 

unto you.

                   Proverbs 1:23

 Call, seek, God and He will be found

Richard L. Crumb