WHY I LOVE GES~!!!

Why I love GES~!!!

Someone may be asking... "What is GES?" GES stands for Grace Evangelical Society.

The PURPOSE of GES as stated on their website says...

"The aim of GES is to promote the clear proclamation of God's free salvation through faith alone in Christ alone, which is properly correlated with and yet distinguished from issues related to discipleship. www.faithalone.org

I would like to give you a little background as to how I became acquainted with GES and why I grew to love them.

Back in the 1980s my husband and I listened regularly to a very popular Bible teacher on the radio whose ministry we supported financially and whose taped messages we purchased on a regular basis. We loved him because of his emphasis upon holy living. Then one day I was listening to him and heard him say that salvation was not by just believing, but that one must repent, commit to follow Jesus, etc. We had been in a good church that got us well grounded in grace, and we knew that salvation (eternal life) was a free gift of God by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. So when this teacher said what he did, I was shocked, but I thought it must just be a matter of semantics. But it wasn't until he mentioned other Bible teachers by name as being wrong on salvation and preaching an easy believism that I realized that this favorite radio Bible teacher of mine (at the time) was the one who was wrong. It upset me very much. That started me on my journey of searching everything I could find on the subject of salvation. It never made me doubt my own salvation, but I wanted to know why this popular preacher of mine would say such a thing.

The first book I found after that happened was a book by Charles Ryrie called.... "So Great Salvation." It was very helpful.

But then I found another book in a book store that caught my attention. It was a book written by a man named Zane Hodges who I had never heard of before. The name of this book was "Absolutely Free". I found out that it was written in response to the series... "The Gospel According to Jesus." which was taught by my radio Bible teacher. I had a hard time putting the book down. I was reading every line very slowly and carefully, checking everything he said by looking up the scriptures myself. I was finding it so very biblical. The pieces were all fitting together so perfectly, and I was chewing on every single detail to see if it fit the rest of the Bible.

I remember that I was captivated by chapter 12 on Repentance, and I read and reread many times that chapter to see if what he was teaching was accurate. All the pieces started fitting together perfectly, and I was convinced that God had opened my eyes to learn truths in His Word that supported the teaching that eternal life is truly a free gift, received by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone apart from works. I had already believed that years earlier and was a child of God, but now many of the passages were opening up to me so that I was gaining more understanding of how all the pieces in the Bible support this truth. I came to see that the passages that spoke of a free gift were salvation (eternal life) passages, and whenever works were involved, it was discipleship passages. I came to recognize two different distinctions, and it was the beginning of a wonderful journey into opening up in a bigger way God's Word to me. I'm still on that journey and loving it~!!!

It was during this time that I was introduced to GES by a friend at church. Zane Hodges was a big part of GES at that time and I started reading everything I could that was in print from them.

HERE'S WHY I LOVE GES. They have shown me how to be a Berean. (A Berean is one who searches the scriptures to see if what is taught is so.) GES doesn't tell me what to believe. No man is the final authority at GES. The authority truly lies on the pages of scripture. They are "biblicist." Here's what I've come to realize about GES. Pastors, elders, deacons, lay people, evangelist, men and women from all over the country and world (from different denominations) come together in agreement that eternal life is a free gift of God by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. On that everyone who is a part of GES agrees. They also agree that there is a distinction between the FREE gift of eternal life and the COSTLINESS of discipleship. But there can be disagreements on the interpretation of specific passages.

GES identifies itself as "free grace believers." It's true that grace is free, but they use the two words together to distinguish themselves from those who believe in Lordship Salvation... (those who believe more is required than faith alone in Jesus Christ to have eternal life. There must be works present to be "REAL SAVING" faith in Lordship Salvation thinking.)

GES Conference speakers present the fruit of their studies to the rest of those who are in attendance. Everybody in that room does not necessarily have the viewpoint of the speaker. The speaker is there to lay out what he is seeing from his studies on a particular subject or passage of scripture. It is then up to those in attendance to search the scriptures and check it all out carefully. The scriptures, not the speaker, is the final authority. It's a GREAT way to learn. It's the ONLY way to learn~!!!

Most people just accept what they're taught without ever checking it out for themselves in the scriptures. They've not learned how to be Bereans. As Zane Hodges once said to a friend who was questioning him about something in the Bible.... "Have you ever noticed THIS?" His friend said... "No, I never noticed that before." Zane said... "Isn't it worth seeing that we are wrong when God's Word shows us something we never NOTICED before?" That's what we all should want, and that's what GES is all about.... being a Berean to see if what is taught is so. The Bible alone has the answers. All the speakers and members and attendees do not agree on everything presented. But they're there to learn and check it out so that God can teach them. I love being corrected when it leads to seeing something in God's Word that I never saw before.

That's why I love GES.

Also, my husband and I have come to love the people there as friends. We've been attending the yearly conferences for 15 years now, and it's always the hi-light of our year. Coming together with good friends who love the Lord Jesus Christ and His free gift of eternal life is something that can't be beat~!!! That's why I love GES.

My prayer for GES is that God will keep this ministry always true to His Word NO MATTER WHAT, and that He will be glorified through all that is taught and lived out.

GES' website is found at.....

www.faithalone.org

"Thank you Heavenly Father for this wonderful ministry and group of people who come along side the local church to encourage them and share the fruit of their studies with each other. May they continue to be used for Your glory until Jesus returns."

That's why I love GES~!!!

Diane

"ILLUMINATION is the BULL-EYE"

"Illumination" IS the BULLS-EYE"









Being illuminated to the truth that Jesus has eternally saved you through faith alone in Him alone apart from works......
IS the BULLS-EYE~!!!




God has been so good to give me a wonderful life that included knowing Him. I came from a family where my parents didn't themselves attend church, but they always dropped me and my brothers off at Sunday School. I learned all the Bible stories and foundational truths that most kids in Sunday School learn. My parents instilled in me a reverence for the Bible as the Word of God. I grew up in a time where people of faith were respected. I loved God in the only way I knew how. Yet I wasn't eternally saved.

In my sophomore year in high school I met friends who attended a club called "Youth For Christ." They invited me to their club meetings after school, and it actually had a teacher as the sponsor. We even had our club picture in our High School Year Book. All the clubs from the different high schools around our town would come together on Saturday evenings for rallies. It was my exposure to these friends that caused me for the first time to think about what it meant to be "saved."

From my youngest days as a child I had always believed that Jesus was the Son of God, died on the cross for my sins and rose from the grave. But lots of people who are NOT saved believe THAT but still are not trusting in Jesus ALONE as their only way to heaven. Their trust is in Jesus PLUS their own good works. I don't remember up until this time thinking about what it meant to be saved. But because of God's great love for me (and the world) He used those truths that I believed about God and enlightened me to His PROMISE that must be believed to be eternally saved.

James 1:18a... "Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth...."

God is the revealer of truth, and He uses His Word (the Bible) to enlighten us to His saving message. I believe that God gives light to everybody along their journey of life, and those who CHOOSE to respond to the light He gives them will get to the place where the truth of God's saving message found only in His Word is recognized and believed. But that's a subject for another time.

The meaning of John 3:16 came alive for me, and it was like a "light bulb" going on in my head. For the first time it dawned on me WHY Jesus died!!! It was so that He could give me everlasting life just simply by believing in Him for it. That's the moment I believed in Him and past from death to life. FAITH HAPPENED~!!! I like to call it... hitting the BULLS-EYE. I was illuminated by the Holy Spirit to the truth that must be believed to be eternally saved.

Everybody who is born again into the family of God has been illuminated to the truth that Jesus is the only way to God. People can believe all kinds of truths about God and yet miss the bulls-eye. The moment a person is CONVINCED that Jesus HAS eternally saved him just by believing in Him ALONE (apart from any works) is the moment he past from death to life.

It's very common for believers not to know the date of their new birth. The mind works very quickly, and a person who believes God's promise can quickly have questions soon after they believe. They may even fall into teaching error that confuses them and makes them doubt their salvation. But a birth can never be undone, and the person who believed in Jesus alone (apart from works) for his eternal salvation WILL BE WITH GOD FOREVER~!!! That person HAS eternal life. That person HAS hit the bulls-eye~!!!

2 Cor. 4:3,4... "But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do NOT believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should SHINE on them.

NOTICE in that verse that it is NOT God who blinds people to the truth that Jesus is the only way to be saved. It is the "god" of this age. That would be Satan. But also notice in the verse that it is God who shines the LIGHT of the glory of Christ on the one who looks at Him. Those who look to Christ will be saved. Those who choose not to look will be eternally condemned.

Here's a good way to think about it.....

Believe in the GIVER (Jesus) for His free GIFT (eternal life) and you have it.
BULLS-EYE~!!!

If you have believed the promise of God about eternal salvation as recorded in John 3:16 and other places in the Bible, welcome to the Family of God. You have been enlightened by the Holy Spirit and you hit the bulls-eye~!!!*
:-)

EXCELLENT ARTICLE - Published in 1871

The following article appeared in the....
GES "Grace In Focus Magazine"... March & April 2012*
It can be read on the Internet at the following link...

http://www.faithalone.org/news/y2012/12B2.html


(Permission was given to post the following article on my blog.)



A Voice from the Past:

James Hall Brookes on Assurance

From Salvation: The Way Made Plain

Originally published in 1871 by
American Sunday-School Union, Philadelphia.

Emphasis in bold (below) mine)

You know whether you are trusting in Him alone for salvation, or whether you expect to enter heaven on any other ground; and if you can truthfully say that your trust is in Jesus, and in none but Jesus, you may know that you have passed out of death into life, because it is written, “He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life” (John 6:47).

The question here is not whether you are a sinner, for it is certain that you are a sinner, and that you will remain a sinner as long as you live; but it is simply this, Do you believe in Christ as your Saviour? If you do, although the flesh is still in you, “ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit” (Rom 8:9). In other words, although you are a sinner, you are not a sinner; and if you say this is a contradiction in terms, so it is a contradiction in terms to say that you are mortal and at the same time immortal, and yet both statements are strictly true.

As the great Bacon has described the believer in one of his striking Christian “paradoxes and seeming contradictions,” “He hath within him both flesh and Spirit, yet he is not a double-minded man; he is often led captive by the law of sin, yet it never gets dominion over him; he cannot sin, yet can do nothing without sin.” Or, as saith the Holy Spirit by John, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8); but the same apostle says, “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God” (1 John 3:9).”Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened.” If the Christian had not leaven in him, he could not be told to purge it out; and yet the very reason assigned for purging it out is that he has not leaven.

The truth is, our “old man” is essentially corrupt, but our “new man” which is created in Christ Jesus is essentially holy; and the moment we are in Him by faith alone, twenty things are said of our sins. First, they are blotted out (Isa 43:25); second, they are borne by another (1 Pet 2:24); third, they are cast behind God’s back (Isa 38:17); fourth, they are cast into the depths of the sea (Mic 7:19); fifth, they are washed away with cleansing blood (1 John 1:7); sixth, they are covered (Rom 4:7); seventh, they are finished (Dan 9:24); eighth, they are forgiven (Col 2:13); ninth, they are not beheld (Num 23:21); tenth, they are not imputed (Rom 4:8); eleventh, they are not remembered (Heb 8:12); twelfth, they are pardoned (Mic 7:18); thirteenth, they are passed away (Zech 3:4); fourteenth, they are purged (Heb 1:3); fifteenth, they are put away (Heb 9:26); sixteenth, they are remitted (Acts 10:43); seventeenth, they are removed (Ps 103:12); eighteenth, they are subdued (Mic 7:19); nineteenth, they are sought for and not found (Jer 1:20); twentieth, they are taken away (Isa 6:7). The believer in Christ may know upon the sure testimony of God that all this is true as it respects both the sin of his nature and the sins of his life; and hence the believer may know in the same way that he is saved.

But it may be asked whether there are not certain evidences of conversion found in the Scriptures. Undoubtedly there are, but they are not given that we might derive from them the assurance of salvation. It was never intended that we should receive assurance by believing ourselves to be Christians, but by believing that Christ is our all-sufficient Saviour. Look at any of the evidences of regeneration mentioned in the Bible, and a moment’s reflection will convince you that they were not designed to furnish assurance, for which so many sad hearts are longing and striving. Take, for example, the text, “Every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God” (1 John 4:7). This cannot give assurance, for there is not a Christian in the world whose love does not fall far below the measure of his desire and his duty.

Take the text, “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren” (1 John 3:14). This cannot give assurance, for there is no test to decide who are the brethren, and no standard to determine how fervent our love must be, or how far it must extend in covering the faults of those who claim to be Christians. Take the text, “He that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in him” (1 John 3:24). This cannot give assurance; for every true Christian, unless deluded by Satan, will confess that he fails to observe them in many particulars; that when he would do good evil is present with him; and that “no mere man, since the fall, is able, in this life, perfectly to keep the commandments of God; but doth daily break them, in thought, word, and deed.” Whatever purpose, therefore, these evidences may serve, it is a selfrighteous and fruitless task to look to them for assurance.

Still, it may be urged that we are commanded to examine ourselves. But not, I reply, to discover whether we are Christians. Self-examination is right enough, and daily should we consider our ways: not, however, to find a ground of assurance, but to confess and forsake all that is evil as judged by the Word of God.

It may, however, occur to the reader that there are numerous passages in the Scriptures which warn us against the danger and deception of apostasy. Want of space forbids an examination of these passages, but without going into details, it is sufficient to state that Scripture cannot contradict itself; and having already shown by the abundant testimony of the Holy Ghost the safety of the believer in Jesus, it is certain that the same Spirit cannot teach a directly contrary doctrine. Such passages are sometimes given to expose hypocrites, and sometimes to put true Christians on their guard “against the wiles of the devil” (Eph 6:11), but never to shake the confidence of the believer. “To all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi” (Phil 1:1) [the home of the redeemed and rejoicing jailer], the inspired apostle writes, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Phil 2:12, 13). In other words, God had worked salvation in them, and now they were commanded to work it out—to work, not for salvation, but from salvation already received; to work, not for life, but from life already bestowed. And if anything can arouse us to ceaseless activity, to sustained enthusiasm, to practical holiness, and to personal love in the service of our Divine Master, it is the knowledge of the fact that through His pitying grace and precious blood He has freely, fully, and forever saved us. Then we will understand the deep meaning of the words,

I’m a poor sinner, and nothing at all,
And Jesus Christ is my all in all.

James 2:14-26

Reading a very practical book~!!!











One of the hi-lights of my week is having friends come over each Tuesday morning for ladies discipleship class. It's not the typical Bible Study where we're limited to certain time restraints. We visit, laugh, eat, pray, and then get into our study time. We're all Bereans, checking out everything in God's Word to see if what is taught is true. We want to understand the text as God meant for us to understand it. The girls are wonderful friends, and the joy of being with them makes my week~!!! We'll soon be finished with the study we've been in for many months on end time events. Then we plan to start the book of James.

Today I was visiting one of my favorite theological blogs by Don Reiher at...
(copy and paste)

http://www.faithaloneradio.org/


I was clicking through the different categories at the top of his home page and came across this one....
"Most Misunderstood Texts"*
I clicked into it and was pleasantly surprised to see the subject matter...
James 2 - Part 1, 2, 3

Don posted an audio file mp3 message on James 2:14-26 by pastor Paul Carpenter of Jansen Bible Church in Nebraska. It was given at a GES regional conference in 2006 in Omaha. I had heard Paul give his testimony a number of years ago and really liked what I heard, so today I made a copy on CD of the message on James 2 and spent the afternoon in my "special spot" listening. It was EXCELLENT~!!! I took lots of notes and will be giving you some of the hi-lights of the message below. But if you really want to get a good grasp of James (especially chapter 2), I recommend that you listen to the audio message. It will be well worth your time in my opinion.
:-)

Here is the link directly to the message which is about 49 minutes long.....
(copy and paste)


http://colsem.palcs.org/~gesmedia/faithaloneradio/GES2006OMW01_pcarpenter_Believe_in_Jesus_and_Be_Lost_fix1.mp3


*NOTES taken from Paul Carpenter's message on James 2:14-26*


James says ADDING works to faith makes faith alive.
Paul says in Romans 7:8,9 that ADDING law to sin makes sin alive.

An Objector says in James 2:18,19... (paraphrased).... "You can no way show me what affect faith has on works than I can show you from my works the affect that works has on my faith.
You start with faith and work outward to your works. I'll start with my works and work inward to my faith.
That's the challenge the OBJECTOR is making.
The Objector tries to show that faith and works have NO connection at all.

James disagrees with the Objector. James goes on to say that Abraham DISPROVES the Objector's comment.
Abraham was justified in the COURT ROOM of men. But he was ALREADY justified in the COURT ROOM of God in Gen. 15:6 (30 years earlier).
Faith was PERFECTED when it was acted upon by works.

James is primarily interested in the affect that WORKS have on FAITH and NOT vis-versa. James is NOT primarily interested in the affect faith has on works, but the affect that works have on faith.
That's the thrust of James discussion here.
This great faith of Abraham that was shown by his works brought his faith to maturity, and it was not dead or useless on earth but was nourished and healthy.

Gen. 15:6 -In order for Abraham to offer up Isaac, he had to believe the gospel again. For through Isaac the seed, Christ, was to come.
[Paul Carpenter has a special paper on this subject where he discusses Heb. 11. He MAY still have it available for those who are interested in getting it.]*
Abraham knew that the only way the Christ could come was through Isaac, so he knew God would raise Isaac back up (Gal. 3).
This motivated him to obey God in action. He took action based upon the promises of God.
For this reason Abraham was called the friend of God. First by God Himself in Is. 41:8 and then by men in 2 Chron. 20:7.
BECAUSE of his obedient life, people saw him as the FRIEND of God because he obeyed God... and that caused his faith to go on to maturity.*
Faith was working with his works, and as a RESULT of the WORKS, faith was perfected (came to maturity).

John 15:14 - Jesus says... "You are My friends IF you do whatever I command you." So a believer may or may not be a friend of Jesus.
If we befriend the world, we make ourselves an enemy of God... (James 4).
That's exactly what his readers have done.
Are we a friend of God, or do we befriend the world like those in James were doing - discriminating against people because of the way they look or how influential they are, etc.?

James 2:24 - To all of James readership~!!!
Two kinds of justification...
A. The COURTROOM of God - justified by faith alone*
B. The COURTROOM of men - justified by works

James 2:26 - This verse seals the argument for James.*
James matches.....
body with faith and...
spirit with works

James is saying - "As the spirit gives life to the body, so also works gives life to faith."*

Without spirit the body dies.
Without works faith dies.

Most commentators see just the opposite. They see the affects that faith has on works. But James is talking about the affect that works has on faith.
THAT'S THE THRUST OF JAMES~!!!

If a body is dead, it needs the spirit to return to make it live again. If the spirit returns, the body will be animated by the spirit and the person will be alive again.

Like this metaphor - The spirit animates the body and works will animate faith... and faith comes to life again.

Believers who are out of fellowship and their faith is dead need a resurrection of the faith by the addition of an obedient life style. When they are obedient their faith will come alive and flourish, grow, and go on to maturity, and they become friends of God. They will become the people that God wants them to be.

Paul Carpenter ends his message by repeating someone's comment from the audience...... "You can't have a dead nothing~!"*

END OF MY NOTES

I just wanted to make an additional comment here. I remember Zane Hodges saying that James was not teaching that every time a believer obeyed God through good deeds, that it was justification by works. Justification by works (before men) is rare. Men can't always see our faith through our works because unbelievers also do the same good works. God always sees and knows when we're doing something out of obedience to Him, but men can't always see and know that. His point was that there are those rare exceptions when works show that our faith is alive by certain actions such as Abraham and Rahab. Nobody would have done what they did unless they believed what they believed. But all works of a believer will cause us to go on to maturity as we walk by faith.

A Conversation With a Friend

I remember having a conversation with a Christian friend years ago who told me that 1 John taught that a true Christian loves his Christian brother. If he doesn't love his brother then that is evidence that he's not a true Christian.

She also told me that if you're truly saved you'll keep God's commandments as 1 John says.

This friend went on to tell me that after she became a Christian she got into sin, and it caused her to doubt her salvation. She lost her assurance (not her salvation) at that time. She told me that once she gave up her sin she got her assurance of salvation back. She believed that it is sin that causes a Christian to loose his/her assurance of salvation.

I totally disagreed with my friend. I pointed out that Christians don't always love their Christian brother. And Christians do not always keep God's commandments. In fact, Christians can live in total disobedience to the Lord's commands. Some even die while in the process of living this way. But they NEVER loose their salvation. Christians need to know that sin will cause them to loose their joy, experience discipline from their Heavenly Father, and suffer the consequences of their sin in this life. Sin will also cause them to lose rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ (believers judgment... NOT the Great White Throne Judgment for unbelievers). But if a Christian understands where his confidence comes from, he will not loose his assurance of salvation. His confidence comes from the PROMISE of God in His Word to give everlasting life to the one who believes in Jesus Christ ALONE for it.

John 3:16... "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life."

Friends, never look inward to self for assurance of salvation. You won't find it there. There's only one place to find assurance. Look to the promise of God in His Word. Keep your eyes on Christ and His promise. Believe what He is offering you as a free gift and you will KNOW that you HAVE everlasting life (God's life... life with God forever) because God does not lie.

If you have lost your assurance (NOT your salvation) it's because you stopped believing the promise of God in His Word. You stopped believing the testimony of God.

1 John 5:11-13... "And this is the testimony that God has given us eternal life, and this LIFE is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may KNOW that you have eternal life, and that you may believe in the name of the Son of God."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


Pictured above is the cover of a wonderful book written on this subject of ASSURANCE by Robert Wilkin. I think it's the best book ever written on this subject... the best I've ever found.
Also pictured is the top portion of the back cover of the book. Just click on the picture and it will enlarge so that you can read what some had to say about the book.
You can purchase this book, if interested, by clicking into the following link and scrolling down the page to find the book.
Just copy and paste into your browser....


http://www.faithalone.org/bookstore/books.html


If you have believed In Jesus Christ alone for eternal life... life with God forever, then enjoy each day with confidence that God will keep His promise, and you will be with Him FOREVER~!!!

AWESOME~!!! :-)

One of the most IMPORTANT verses in the Bible

1 John 2:2....

And He HIMSELF is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.







1 John 2:2 is one of the MOST IMPORTANT VERSES in the entire Bible....
right up there with John 3:16~!!!

Here is just a short paragraph expressing what I've come to see in this verse and other verses recorded in scripture.

"Jesus is the propitiation (satisfaction) for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD. Everybody's sins ARE paid for in full whether they believe in Jesus Christ, or not. People don't go to hell to PAY for their sins BECAUSE Jesus already paid for them. Because He did THAT, He offers everybody eternal life as a free gift simply by believing in Him ALONE for it. When people reject His free gift of LIFE, they go to hell IN their sins, but that's different than saying they go their BECAUSE of their sins. One cannot pay for something that has already been paid. The reason they go to hell is because they don't HAVE eternal LIFE.... God's LIFE in them. People go to hell because their name is not written in the 'book of LIFE.' They rejected His free gift that He purchased with His blood on the cross."

I never understood it this way for many years. I always thought that Jesus paid for our sins, but only IF we believed in Him. If not, then we had to pay for our own sins in hell. But through an article I read, and a message I heard by that same author at a GES Conference, I NOTICED in the bible those passages that clearly said that Jesus paid for the sins of the WORLD on the cross. He removed the sin barrier that kept us from God. I saw that NOW He offered us the free gift of eternal LIFE to all who believe. The issue was receiving LIFE. Everybody's sins were already paid in full. This thinking was new to me although I had been eternally saved for many years before I understood this truth. Here's a sentence by the author who wrote the article that I am going to paste below....

"Fortunately, one does not have to have a perfect understanding of the cross to be saved. If that were the case, probably no one would be saved."

Both my husband and I agreed that we wanted our adult children and young grandchildren to grasp this truth and see how all the scriptures come together. By understanding this truth, one comes to see that nobody has to worry that their sin is too great to be forgiven. Nobody has to worry that some sin (or sins) committed in life will keep them from going to heaven when they die. Nobody has to worry that they could loose their salvation because of sin. Sin has 100% been taken out of the way by Jesus Christ and is not the reason that anyone goes to hell.

THE ISSUE IS *LIFE*~!!! Possessing God's LIFE.

We need to take the message of LIFE to people. They need a new BIRTH. Without God's LIFE in them, nobody can live with Him. They need to be born of incorruptible seed.... eternal LIFE (God's life).

So this article that I'm attaching here is one of the most IMPORTANT TRUTHS you will ever grasp.

If you study this article and check out all the verses that are presented here, you will NOTICE this truth, and you will be more in AWE of God's grace than ever before in your entire Christian life. His grace is so much greater than I ever realized before. I always knew that I couldn't be saved without His grace, but I never knew just HOW BIG His grace reached.... to the world..... EVERYBODY~!!!
ALL SIN HAS BEEN PAID IN FULL AT THE CROSS whether a person believes or not~!!!
That is MAGNIFICENT~!!! His grace is so much bigger than I ever realized before~!!!

I hope you take the time to read this article and check out all the scriptural evidence for yourself to see if what I just said is so~!!! That's called being a Berean.

THEN SHARE IT~!!!!! Especially with your kids and grandkids~!!! They make GREAT evangelists~!!!
:-)


COPY AND PASTE this link to read the article

http://www.faithalone.org/journal/2006i/4_hodges.pdf

(For those who may not be computer savvy (like me), you have to make the pages of the article bigger by using the + sign.)
:-)


If any of my friends who visit my blog have questions or scripture they want to share here concerning this teaching, you are welcome to comment. It is God's Word that we want to see. That is the place of protection from error, and that is the ONLY place we can go to rest in the truth.

Powerful Truth: Becoming Overcomers

Our Ladies Discipleship Class has been enjoying going chapter by chapter through John Claeys' book, "APOCALPYSE 2012 - The Ticking of the End Time Clock... What does the Bible say?"*

We're being Bereans. We're checking everything out in the scriptures to see if what is said is so. It's a fun journey to be on. I've heard it asked before, "WHY does it matter that we learn these things about end time events? What will be will be."*

We ladies believe that everything God has recorded in His Word is something worth learning because He put it down in writing for us to find.

Heb. 11:6b.... He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.


This week I received John Claeys' newsletter, and towards the bottom of it he had an article that really reached deep into my heart. I wanted to share that article with you here because it has to do with NOW (in this life) but with a focus on eternity. The name of the article is...
Powerful Truth: Becoming Overcomers*

Before I post that article, I'm going to first post a few words written by Bob Wilkin (Founder and Executive Director of Grace Evangelical Society near Dallas, TX) from an earlier "Grace In Focus" newsletter, found at this link...

http://www.faithalone.org/news/y1995/95B1.html

"All believers are overcomers the moment they believe. The very act of believing overcomes the world:
'Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?"' (1 John 5:5)
. . . . . . . . . . .

Quoting from Zane Hodges now in "The Grace New Testament Commentary" (pictured above)...

"John is thus saying that 'the overcomer of the world' is one and the same as 'the believer in Jesus Christ, God's Son.'"

Continuing now from Bob Wilkin's article above... (quote).....

1 John 5:5 teaches that our faith overcomes the world. It is a mistake, however, to conclude that because John so used that expression in one place, he must have used it the same way in all other places. The contexts in which the expression is found in Revelation 2-3 are greatly different than the context of 1 John 5:5.



Powerful Truth: Becoming Overcomers

By John Claeys

I have discovered that many people shy away from reading the book of Revelation because either they do not understand it or are afraid of it-or both. However, it is the one book of the Bible that pronounces a blessing to those who read it and respond to it in obedience. So it is not a book we should avoid. In fact, Revelation has a very practical purpose and message. The purpose of Revelation is to challenge believers to remain faithful to Christ through difficult times in order to experience glorious, eternal reward. And the message of Revelation is this: Christians who endure faithfully through difficulties will experience glorious, eternal reward.

One statement of Jesus summing up this purpose is presented in Revelation 3:21, where Jesus makes this grand announcement: "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne."

Notice that the promise is to the one who overcomes, which is defined in 2:26 as one who finishes faithfully for Christ (who "keeps My works until the end"). This does NOT refer to someone who lives a perfect life, because that person does not exist (other than Jesus, of course), and it does not even refer to someone who does not sin very much. After all, King David was one who finished faithfully for the Lord, though he committed adultery and murder earlier in his life. This promise of Jesus is to the Christian who, though he still sins, is still seeking, at the end of his life, to follow Jesus.

The one who finishes his life in that way will be invited by Jesus to rule with Him in God's eternal kingdom! In fact, this picture is not only one of sharing in the highest honor with Jesus, but it is also one of very close intimacy with Him-sitting WITH Him ON His throne! This privilege of working intimately with Jesus will be one that will last forever! It will be a reward of immense fulfillment, joy, and pleasure! And it will make all of the struggles and suffering we encounter now well worth those difficult experiences.

Notice that the verse implies struggle and suffering. The implication is in the word overcomes. After all, how did Jesus overcome? It was through GREAT struggle and suffering that He overcame by remaining faithful to His Father to the end-by enduring the cross. We overcome by remaining faithful to our Lord through our trials and sufferings-but not by our self-effort. We can only overcome by clinging to the Lord and by crying out to Him for His enablement. We only overcome by realizing we can't do it, but Christ in us can (see Philippians 4:13). As we submit to His word and His strength, He will overcome through us and make us overcomers.

Properly understood, this verse makes sense of all of the trials, difficulties, and sufferings that we endure after having believed in Jesus for eternal life. For it is through these tough times-as we rely on God-that we become overcomers. After all, this statement of Jesus reminds us that we are not living for the comfort of this world but for the awesomely rich fulfillment Jesus longs to award us in God's eternal kingdom.

END OF ARTICLE
Permission given to post this article on my blog.