Відео

Let's imagine you had a time machine and went back in time to the East-Roman area (around Jerusalem, Constantinople, and Athens) from today, first to the 1500s and then back before the Reformation, year by year. At which year would you join "the Main Church" of that particular town or county, instead of establishing a "True Biblical Christianity" church on your own, and realize: "Whew, this is when that darn Eastern Orthodox church got established. From now on, I don't need to establish my Evangelical ministries anymore with the intention of independently spreading the gospel and warning about the dangers of the Orthodoxy cult, but can join the very same Church that the folk of the New Testament also belonged to!" I tried to answer such a thought experiment, but after reading Church history and the Apostolic Fathers of the first centuries, I soon realized there never was such a year or period, and I had every reason to join that same Church back in 2012. As a former evangelical Protestant, I can say this journey has only deepened my love and relationship with the Lord, Jesus Christ. And yes, I do still consider myself evangelical. 😊

Rapture Rev 3:10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. Rapture was taught by some early Church fathers. Ephraim said this in his work "On the Last Times V. 2" around 300AD: "For all the saints and elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins. " Why did Irenaeus (John's Disciple) say this in 130 AD; "And therefore, when in the end the Church shall be suddenly caught up from this, it is said, “There shall be tribulation such as has not been since the beginning, neither shall be.” (2)" Rapture or Caught Up: *Jesus meets us(the Church) in the air, 1Ths 4:17 *The Lord comes by Himself, 1Ths 4:16 *the Day of Christ, 2Ths 2:2/Phi 1:6,10/Phi 2:16 * The Day of the Lord 1 Ths 5:1-9 (9For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ) 2nd coming: *Jesus sets foot on the earth, Zec 14:1-5/Rom 11:26,27 *The Lord comes with His angels, Mat 25:31/Mat 24:29-31/Mat 16:27 *the Day of the Lord, 1Ths 5:2/2Pet 3:10 >>>Mat 24:36-44 is the 2nd coming, the Day of the Lord as a thief in the night.<<< In verse 40,41 --the one taken are the tares. They will be taken to the furnace of fire by the angels. This is Israel's judgment for not being ready. Cross reference with Luk 17:34-37/Mat 13:30/Mat13:40-43 The other left which is the wheat or to say= believing Israel will be taken by the angels into the barn cross reference with Isa 4:2-6 I'm supporting Luk 17:37 more, cross reference with Mat 24:28/Rev 19:17-21 Future Israel believers will go through the great tribulation and be saved out of it = Jer 30:7/Dan 12:1/Mat 24:21

if you don't do a tie in to the logos...but I have this against You, You have eaten swine's flesh...still, some remedial exercise (notice) what hearing The Spirit Says To The Churches Does Inside You? The Soil Living Then Sons And Daughters Living, While All Living Yet Lived Kiving, And First Works Then began to seem put on hold...For Time Of The End, Where Afresh First Works Give Us Purposed Works og was the them so recentl blessed, told go multiply and replenish the earth....if God Were To Leave But One, Of All The Ever Lived, To Begin His Proven Process A New Heavens, And New Earth, Condition Set By His Own Get Him Glory Task, And Spirit Is With That Witness. Life, The Truth And The Way, Is: God My Savior...the meaning of the name We Are To Profess Before Men...So how then hear Sons And Daughters of Men, Figure while blessed, going, and multiplying And Replenishing the earth, the "how to" comes perfectly worked between Our Lord And Us Face To Face..We With Emmanuel...It Only Fits. Everlasting Kingdom

ITS not correct to say something is unbiblical until you have examined the plain statements of text. we are not to draw opinionated conclusions .

PLEASE.. the words SECOND COMING are not in the bible either. Nor is the word RAPTURE. or Trinity. yet they are all true doctrines. It isn't the idea of "different periods of time during which God reveals and dispenses different aspects of his nature to man. It is the idea of TWO DIFFERENT PEOPLE groups that bother some intellectual Christians. they always try to conflate Israel and the Church, Even though the Apostle Paul makes a clear distinction between the Church and Israel. For Christians who have difficulty understanding the Word of God or seeing clearly the so-called hidden mysteries of God, I suggest following Jesus' Example and returning to the Old Testament Stories. I would refer you to the story of Jacob and his service toward Laban. He spent 7 years laboring for Rachel however at the end of that time he went into the wedding tent and wound up waking the next day, married to LEAH. Isnt this EXACTLY what happened to Jesus. He served his earthly ministry 100% FOR ISRAEL but woke up from the resurrection, basically bound to the GENTILE CHURCH. the "excuse given here by Laban is extremely relevant and important. he said the CUSTOM or L A W of the land had to be fulfilled FIRST. This law REQUIRED the firstborn daughter to be married before the younger ones. In the pattern it isn't actually important what the custom or law was, just focus on the revelation that the LAW stood between Jacob and his chosen bride. The law had to be FULFILED first and gotten out of the way. This fulfillment of the LAW in an ironic twist, made a way for LEAH to be GRAFTED into the position of Rachel. Is that what happened at the Cross? Jesus came to ISRAEL. Worked His entire ministry for ISRAEL. Then surrendered Himself on the Cross to remove the sting of the Law, to fulfill the Law and thus open the door for GRACE to be DISPENSED to the GENTILES. And what's more, in the PATTERN story, the hidden, prophetic mystery, JACOB as a type and Shadow of Christ, VOWS to RETURN and serve for ANOTHER 7 YEARS specifically for the hand of RACHEL. I believe this is a clear reference, pointing ahead to the Tribulation period. The time of Jacob's trouble. the Bridal Week, Daniels 70th WEEK. the ten plagues in Egypt. the 7 lean years of Pharaoh's Dream. the fiery furnace, heated up 7 times hotter, and a few other prophetic patterns. In other words, Jesus WILL return (somehow, in some form,) to serve another 7 years for His bride ISRAEL. She WILL be redeemed AFTER the CHURCH and the two shall become one. The details of this story are many and details. And other stories hide the exact same message. Joseph is a type of Christ. Thousands of sermons have been taught on this. He was SENT by the FATHER, COVERED in a RAINBOW colored ROBE ( LIGHT, 7 colors), to check on his brothers, ISRAEL. They were supposed to be in Shechem but had wandered off to Dothan ( the exact place where Jesus would one day be offered. They hated him even before he arrived because of the DREAMS he shared with them about his KINGDOM and their ultimately having to bow to him. When he arrived they plotted against him, UNCOVERED HIM. and threw him into a dry well. This is a picture of Jesus coming to his own. Being violated and placed into an empty tomb. The next day they remove Joseph, ( the resurrection) and SELL him to traders ( GENTILES) for a few pieces of silver. He is carried to EGYPT, ( the world) and becomes a servant there. This is the CHURCH AGE. The brothers kill a lamb, eat it, and place the blood on the robe, returning it to the father as a COVERING for their sin. At the same time, Joseph is in EGYPT and there marries a GENTILE BRIDE. He also has SONS. Ephraim and Manasseh. Joseph goes through this THREE-STAGE PROCESS from Pit to PRISON to the PALACE. This represents Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. or 30 fold, 60 fold, and 100 fold. While in the Prison, he becomes the servant of ALL. serving the servants in the lowest place. At the END of this phase, he meets a butler and a baker, A bread man and a wine steward. The BODY AND BLOOD of JESUS. He RIGHTLY divides the word. After 3 days, the Breadman dies and the Wine man lives and is ascended back up to the PALACE (heaven). Where he places the cup in the FATHER's hand and once again serves in the palace. This marks the Cross, Death, and Resurrection. INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT. While His Soul descended to Paradise. The point is, it was TWO YEARS LATER (I believe this represents the two days or two millennia of the CHURCH AGE, that Joseph was seemingly forgotten in Prison. Then comes the RATURE as Joseph is instantly called up, changed, raptured from the bottom to the top. translated. Taken from prison to palace. There he hears the twofold dream or PROPHECY of Pharaoh. 7 fat years followed by 7 lean years. The great tribulation. Watch closely. FIRST, THE EGYPTIANS ARE SAVED. They come to Joseph in three steps. They bring a little, then a lot then ALL. They bring their money, then their flocks and herds then their lives and their land. Ultimately being saved from the judgment and famine. Now Pharaoh owns EVERYTHING including them. Yet they are cared for and provided for. then AFTER THIS, and in a totally DISTINCT EVENT, ISRAEL is saved in THREE STEPS of STAGES. They bring MONEY. Later they bring BENJAMIN. and finally they bring their FATHER wives children and ALL . They are thus SAVED from the judgement, famine and wind up DWELLING in the BEST OF HTE LAND! This is as clear of a pattern as you will find. I could go on for many pages but that should be enough for any honest Bible believer to open your eyes and yoru hearts to see, God is not finished with Israel yet. They will be saved during hte Tribulaiton period. Whichhas NOTHING to do with the Gentiles or the Church. It is rather a culmination of the unfinished work He has with Israel. The 70th week of Daniel, Decreed upon ISRAEL and hte HOLY CITY, JERUSALEM. Disensations in the Bible were there THOUSANDS of years before John Darby????? was ever conceived . The RAPTUER is portrayed and foreshadowed LONG LONG LONG before Jesus was even born into the world. Enochwas RAPTURED BEFORE the Flood. ELIJAH was Raptured. Jesus was Raptured and the CHURCH WILL BE RAPTURED , BEFORE the Tribulation. Moses was sent to ISRAEL while they were in bondage in EGYPT. They REJECTED HIM when He killed a man while protecting them and becoming sinon their behalf. The REJECTED him and he LEFT EGYPT, type of hte world of Pharaoh (a type of hte God of this world). He went to the wilderness and married a GENTILE BRIDE. PLEASE dont tell me he was FINISHED with Israel . Or that Israel and Zipporah were the SAME . Israel was his first love. They were LEFT in bondage for 40 years while he acted as the Husband and Good Shepherd for ZIPPORAH! . Then he LEFT HER SAPARATE and BEHIND and R E T U R N E D to EGYPT where he performed 10 escalating PLAGUES or JUDGEMENT on PHAROH. Why? to SET ISRAEL FREE. This had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with Zipporah. or her sons. They were with her F A T H E R. and didnt return to Moses until AFTER the tRIBULATION of the ten plagues. Note the 10 and final plague , the most devastating for Pharaoh and he world, was the PASSOVER. Israel was SAVED by ultimately , at the END of teh Ten Plagues ( tribulation Period. ) SAVED by illing, eating hte lamb and putting the blood of hte lamb on the door posts. The door represents Jesus and hte posts represent teh CROSS. For them and Against Pharaoh and Egypt, the lost world. Again. If you cannot see the parallel, patterns, hidden mysteries here, you need to pray and look again.

grammar point 1 of 2 thessalonians. the verb used is a verb of request not of telling or teaching. the wrong exegesis reads let us teach you about the rapture Grammar point 2/ in the clause we beseech you by the coming of our Lord. the preposition is huper in the greek not Peri. they should not be confused.

Ive thought this for a long time....its always in your hand and held up to your forehead. We use them to pay etc etc etc

NOT 🏳️‍🌈...having s*x with humans, would be like having s*x with your pets🤢🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮

The Antichrist is with us right now. Ever heard of a fat orange tyrant called trump?

the 24 elders in revelation pictured before the opening of scrolls can only be the rewarded church in heaven

Every child out of wedlock is born cursed. It’s a living hell. Until you find Jesus

What is the difference between an object existing and and object being percieved to exist

God said to Adam you shall surely die but the devil said to Eve you shall not surely die but you will continue to live and even ascend to heaven to be like God. So now the false preachers are telling us exactly what the devil said that when we die we are not really dead but alive. Think twice

People today are marked in their hearts because there are many churches all over the United States that are under the umbrella of Freemasonry Symbolism and they are members of Sororities and Fraternities which comes from the root of Greek Mythology and this is an Abomination unto the Lord this is idolatry. Christians that are worshiping the Creature more than the Creator they proclaim that they know the lord but their Deeds are corrupt everyone that says Lord Lord will not make it in these Christians are deceived by their generosity within the community but their works will be in vain this is an example of the spiritual mark of the beast God bless 🙌 🙏

Here's a quick answer the book of Revelation is not to be applied to the entire Kosmos or World in the Greek the word Earth is the word Ge or ghay which means the inhabited region or country which is Jerusalem and the Roman Empire and the word World is the Greek word Oikoumene which means the inhabited land which is Jerusalem and the Roman Empire. The book of Revelation is God’s judgments against Jerusalem and the temple and the Roman Empire because Jerusalem was a province of Rome. God bless 🙌 🙏

The constitution! Amendment I Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Appreciate the discussion. I wish all of us were civil with each other again when we talked politics.

I live in El Salvador and very concerned about this attack on children. The woke madness os happening here too.

Jesus drunk wine I think you can drink just don't get drunk.

All life starts as a seed, a principal set forth on day three of creation. John 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit....the principle of death and renewal finds its root there as well. (pun intended) ❤💕

Cell structures do evolve in microevolutions. There seems no doubt about that. If the cell itself is subject to change that can have ramifications over very long periods of time, it stands to reason the changes could be quite big eventually. And so the question of evolution is predicated on large amounts of time passing coupled with the age of the earth and the rest of the stars in space, which are actually already factually known to be extremely old. The Cambrian explosion is not a theory that posits that life forms didn't evolve at all but somehow suddenly appeared fully formed and spread very quickly; rather, it is simply just saying that when there were sufficient levels of primitive evolution of lifeforms that when given the correct environmental conditions these species started to populate with greater speed. It wasn't an "explosion" like a bomb instantly going off from fully formed animals like bears suddenly evolving extremely quickly into monkeys or some such fanciful speculation. Nobody in their right mind believes that is what the Cambrian explosion means. You really would have to be extremely stupid to think the word "explosion" in evolutionary terms is a literalism. Having said all that, it's true that there are atheists, skeptics, agnostics and fanatics that always want to denigrate the Bible and God and try to make out as if anybody that believes in God is stupid and comparable to a redneck growing up in some primitive tribe in the Amazonian basin. So it cuts both ways in terms of stupidity.

Other related recent articles and podcasts by Lindsey Medenwaldt : Episode 376 Jeff and Shaleia Divine and Escaping Twin Flames Universe: ua-cam.com/video/O5hEJxdsQYc/v-deo.html T.V. Series Review-‘Escaping Twin Flames’: Why People are Falling for the Love Cult: www.equip.org/articles/escaping-twin-flames-why-people-are-falling-for-the-love-cult/ Episode 244: Falun Gong: How the West Was Won: ua-cam.com/video/hIfAW0_6gRM/v-deo.html Falun Gong: How the West Was Won: www.equip.org/articles/falun-gong-how-the-west-was-won/

I just wanted to add in my studing of those passages of scriptures in Matthew 24 That says as it was in the days of Noah so shall the coming of the Son of man be when they were eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage until the flood came and took them away Jesus is describing a time of peace on earth and not a time of war throughout the history of Jerusalem during the first Temple and the Second Temple period there were always wars . But Jesus here is describing a regular day business as usual and then he says that one will be taken and the other left and in this particular verse there are some misconceptions within this context of scriptures many are teaching that the one that is taken is the one that is taken to suffer but this way of believing is not true and to get a better understanding of this we have to go to the Old Testament and study God's judgment in his different scenarios of judgment and also the Greek translations Left ! LEFT TO SUFFER ! - Lexical: ἀφίημι - Transliteration: aphiémi - Part of Speech: Verb - Phonetic Spelling: af-ee'-ay-mee - Definition: (a) to send away, (b) to let go, release, permit to depart, (c) to remit, forgive, (d) to permit, suffer. LEFT / Ezekiel 33:27-28 27 Say thou thus unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; As I live, surely they that are in the wastes shall fall by the sword, and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be devoured, and they that be in the forts and in the caves shall die of the pestilence. 28 For I will lay the land most desolate, and the pomp of her strength shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, that none shall pass through. Taken ! Taken to receive reward ! - Lexical: παραλαμβάνω - Transliteration: paralambanó - Part of Speech: Verb - Phonetic Spelling: par-al-am-ban'-o - Definition: to take from, receive from, or: to take to, receive (apparently not used of money), admit, acknowledge; to take with me. Those that are taken are those that will meet the Lord in the air in the clouds and we shall forever be with the lord Taken to heaven. LEFT ! Ezekiel 22:20 / Left to suffer judgment ! 20 As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you. My approach to interpreting scriptures is to first seek out how the scriptures describes God's judgment not taking the scriptures literally God bless 🙌 🙏

Excellent explanation of faith and works. THANK YOU! However, I was a Greek Orthodox and became an evangelical Christian 50 years ago, because the Evangelicals taught the Word of God and brought me out of the darkness. The Orthodox church did not preach the gospel effectively, and even now, when I visit, I understand little of what they say in the Orthodox church's liturgy, in spite of my more advanced Biblical knowledge. I feel that most Orthodox people going to church are in the dark- biblically speaking. Unfortunately the Evangelical churches are going into spiritual darkness for the most part, and most deliver a "performance" on a stage with little reverence for God. One day many will hear the worst words one can ever hear: "I never knew you". I think Christendom is going into a great Apostasy, and there is a strong drive for interfaith Ecumenism as you should see unfolding, and eventually will lead to the Man of Sin being revealed. God bless you my brother Hank.

We are in the new age now. Where we find spiritual enlightenment.

The correct exegesis of 2 Thessalonians clearly sates a pretrib

Some people think that God's wrath begins when the 6th seal is opened. They base this on the following two verses: "They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?” But the reason they understand that God's wrath has come is because of what is taking place in the previous seals. Notice what we see the fourth seal ... "When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth." (Revelation 6:8) ... and compare this with what Ezekiel writes here: "For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: How much worse will it be when I send against Jerusalem MY four dreadful judgments - sword and famine and wild beasts and plague - to kill its men and their animals!" (Ezekiel 14:21) and here ... "One who is far away will die of the plague, and one who is near will fall by the sword, and anyone who survives and is spared will die of famine. So will I pour out MY WRATH on them." (Ezekiel 6:12)

Well the Jews are going to build a third temple and will again sacrifice red hefers. Sooo... what about that?? It has already started.

I believe it was an archeopteryx. And Satan spoke to Eve through it, either he possessed it, or invisibly spoke near it and made it appear to speak.

Jaguar wright just talked about this

Horns always represents Kings in Scripture... Always... Even when Ahab's false prophet made the horns of iron... They represented King Ahab and King Jehoshaphat...

So God answer people that Goes to the Devil for answer? Hmm no bible support

The point is, Eastern Orthodoxy is not Christianity, and is thus heretical.

The Bible says the 10 Kings rule one hour with the beast... So how could those 10 Kings be Rome? That does not make sense...

Amen brother Hank 🙏

I went to read that artical on Revelation 17 but it does'nt tell us who the 10 kings are... If Hank does'nt know or can't explain it please just say so...

I started listening to Hank on the radio in 1995 as a new Christian at age 21. I called him and asked about John macArthur book Charismatic Chaos! Now we need a book on reform Chaos!

As always, placing scripture in context grabs me and probably what is meaningful in Mr Hannegraaf's ministry. I have frequently had both Mormons and JW''s in my home to discuss the Word send share Jesus. The same ones never come back. I think they must have a way of designating such a home as "untouchable"? 😊 By the way have had both Dr Walter Martins and Mr. Hannegraaf's books on the cults. Recommended reading.

Corey Good as a grifter.😆🤪 Just terrible.

I almost fell out of my chair when I saw this question but in a way it makes sense. Out of the mouth of babes or the innocent. 🤔 I'll have to think about this one instead of dismissing it out of hand.

ACCEPTING JONAH'S EXPERIENCE THAT HE WAS SWALLOWED BY A WHALE Though most scholars do not credit Jonah for having much historical value, Jonah is written in the genre of historical narrative. Anytime we read God's word, for what it is really worth, God has done a work in our hearts, in that Christ stood at the door and knocked, and we let Him in. Christ then has the answers to our Biblical questions. Jesus Christ, in Matthew 12: 40, tells us that Jonah was in the belly of a whale. The ancients had made no distinction: All marine animals were considered fish. Before modern science, scientific foreknowledge, which was possessed by the prophets, can be found throughout the Old Testament: Earth's shape (Isaiah 40: 22/Job 26: 27) and horizon's circle (Job 26: 10), and entire cosmos created in six days (Exodus 20: 11). All miracles are neither founded nor unfounded, and this differs from myths. A conclusion of unfounded can be the resolve of all myths. The miracle in Jonah contains a conclusion of neither founded nor unfounded; this is consistent with all of the Biblical miracles. In the case of Jonah, God knew that Jonah needed transportation back to land. Other animals involved in God's miracles includes the donkey (Numbers 22: 28-29) rescued from abuse by an angel of God, the temple tax money found in a fish's mouth (Matthew 17: 27), and swine that carry away demons (Matthew 8: 28-33). All miracles are based on experience of them. For example those of us who are awaiting our deaths and resurrections, have not yet experienced it, so the transport between here and there, remains mysterious here. If an attempt to give a natural explanation to the type of marine animal, that is read about in Jonah, the Sperm whale, which inhabits the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, would be the only animal (Larger than the dinosaurs) with a throat that measures the size of the shoulder length of a person. The first, out of four stomach chambers, has no gastric juices, but animals or humans who stay alive there are dealing with crushing muscular walls. Regurgitation, which is especially common activity of whales, would only occurr from the first stomach chamber. Recently (Three years ago), a man claimed to have been sucked into a Humpback whale's mouth, in Cape Cod, for 30 seconds, and then he was spit out. Being in a whales mouth for 30 seconds hardly compares to Jonah's experience, because Jonah was actually swallowed, and his experience seems to have lasted much longer than 30 seconds.

I like lost my wife, my house, my job and my children…I have no where to go and I have been holding to Gods promises…seems God is not listening and I feel it’s time to let go…I don’t want to be here anymore. Thoughts of suicide is so intense now. Nobody helps you even family…

He went to paradise and preached to the “prisoners.” If we remember, Jesus told the repentant thief beside Him on the cross that he would be with Christ in paradise that very day. Reading the parable of the rich man and Lazarus we discover that Abraham is in the same place as the rich man, only there is an uncrossable gulf that separates this place into two sides. The rich man can see and talk to Abraham but cannot cross the gulf. This, I believe, is Paradise, where all go after the death of the flesh. Some are on the side with Abraham, whom we know overcame, like Lazarus. But the rich man is on a different side of Paradise where those who did not overcome are being held. The Bible does also say that the spirit returns to God who made it.

Doesn’t the Bible say Satan will be turned to ashes from within?

Is this church preparing it's members for heaven or elsewhere? Read Ecclesiastes 12:13,14. John 14:15.. Proverbs 28:9 James 2:10-12. Exodus 20:8-11. Ezekiel 22:26.. Isaiah 8:16, 20 . Revelation 22:14.. Read these texts and see whether this preacher is preparing folks for heaven or elsewhere.

🌹✨ Amen ✨🌹🙏🌹✨

Religion is a mental illness 🤒

O no.. that's not all! God wants us to co-operate with him . Read Ecclesiastes 12:13,14. John 14:15. Proverbs 28:9 James 2:10-12. Exodus 20:8-11. Ezekiel 22:26. Isaiah 8 :16, 20. Revelation 22:14. FOLKS WAKE UP .TIME IS SHORT AND JESUS IS COMING SOON . JESUS WANTS US TO CO-OPERATE WITH HIM. JESUS IS COMING FOR A COMMANDMENT KEEPING PEOPLE . PEOPLE WAKE UP .

SHARED UNDERSTANDING ABOUT FREE GRACE AND FREE WILL THEOLOGY COMMENT (PART ONE) Free Grace Theology (FGT) tends to diminish that man's will is enslaved to sin. Man's will can only be regenerated by the grace of God's will. Apart from this truth, Free Grace theology can make it easier to arrive at Pelagius, who believed in the free will of man; he believed the human race possesses a free will to do that which is good. Free Grace theology can also arrive at antinomianism, which says "We are saved by grace and all our sins are forgiven, so why not sin all we want?" It is from Free Grace advocates that we get the teaching of "Once saved, always saved." Free grace advocates teach one can apostatize without forfeiting one's salvation. This is not something Martin Luther or any of the Protestant Reformers taught. Luther believed that the only sin that would cause a man to lose his salvation was the sin of unrepentant unbelief (If someone permanently turned from Christ). Luther said: Faith must of course be sincere. It must be a faith that performs good works through love. If faith lacks love it is not true faith. Paul presents the whole life of a Christian. Inwardly it consists in faith towards God, outwardly in love towards our fellow-men. FGT also doesn’t accurately reflect the Reformation teaching of justification by faith alone, which was often summarized in the formula "We are justified by faith alone, but the faith that justifies is never alone." Even though faith is the only human act God responds to in justification (It’s alone in that sense), faith never exists alone in the believer since it always brings with it certain other graces. We can also agree with W. E. Best's observation, in his book "Free Grace Versus Free Will (1977)," who rightfully understands that absolute freedom of the will can belong only to God. W. E. Best (Now deceased) pastored Baptist churches that were associated with the Southern Baptist Convention, in Missouri and in Texas, but he left this alliance to continue as pastor of Kingwood Assembly of Christ. Lutherans rightfully confess that good works is a necessary fruit of salvation, but it does not cause nor sustain salvation, because that is the work of our Lord Jesus Christ, which we trust in. We are saved by faith alone, apart from works, namely, trust in the person and works of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, adoption, and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Obedience, then, is a fruit of salvation, not a cause or a sustainer of it. A good summary in the Bible, for how good works and salvation fits together, is found in Ephesians 2: 8-10, where it reads: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. We are saved by grace, and salvation is apprehended by faith, we do not merit grace or conjure up faith, but both grace and faith are God's free gift. It's the work of the Holy Spirit through God's Word. For emphasis, we see that God's grace and faith are not a result of our works. We are created in Christ - we do not work to create ourselves in Christ. We are created for the purpose of good works, which God prepares for us. Believers can and do apostatize, and thereby forfeit their salvation. Luther, Calvin, and the other early reformers taught that we can have assurance of salvation, as long as we remain in the faith. Pelagius believed in the free will of man; he believed the human race possesses a free will to do that which is good. Synergism and semi-pelagianism each teach some collaboration in salvation between God and humans, but Semi-pelagian thought teaches that the beginning half of faith is an act of human will. The Council of Orange (529), Lutheran Formula of Concord (1577), and other local councils each condemned semi-pelagianism as heresy. Synergism is upheld by the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox Churches, Anabaptist Churches, Anglican Churches, and Methodist Churches. It is an integral part of Arminian theology common in the General Baptist and Methodist traditions. Synergism stands opposed to monergism, because monergism rejects the idea that humans cooperate with the grace of God. Reformed Protestant as well as Lutheranism confesses a monergist salvation that rejects the notion that anyone is predestined to hell. Arminians, on the other hand, assert that the will causes the inclination. That would indicate that the will is both cause and effect. The Arminian concept leads men to believe they must first ascend to God before God descends to them. Ministers and others who follow this notion appeal to men to come to Christ, telling them that if they will come to Christ, Christ will come to them. This contradicts Scripture. The Lord Jesus Christ left heaven and all its glory to come into the world to save those the Father gave Him in the covenant of redemption: "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19: 10)." No law restrains God’s will, because He is His own law. Since God is sovereign, no power can overcome His will. He is omnipotent. A will self-determined to absolute holiness - God’s will - is marked by the highest freedom.

The Holy Spirit alone has the prerogative to command people to come to Jesus Christ. He gives them power to come by regeneration. A minister who commands his hearers to leave their seats and come forward, giving the impression that they may come to Jesus Christ by their faith, assumes the prerogative of the Holy Spirit. No person can usurp the official work of the Holy Spirit to effectually call people to salvation. Ministers can only proclaim the Word of God, pointing men to the Lamb of God (John 1: 29). Man has no ability to call others from darkness to light. Since the fall, man's will acts according to his sinful nature. God's will is freedom marked by unchangeable (Immutable) self-determination. Absolute freedom of the will can belong only to God. Adam’s uprightness was righteousness and holiness in a sense, but it was not absolute. Adam’s holiness, righteousness, or uprightness was mutable, because God cannot create God. Whatever God creates must be less than Himself. Man's will, before the fall, was freedom marked by changeable (Mutable) self-determination. Adam went from an inclination (Understanding) toward God to an inclination toward evil. Adam's will did not cause inclination (Understanding), since will is the last of the three ordered faculties of the soul. It was what appealed to Adam's understanding (Inclination) that his affections (Second faculty of the soul) are influenced, and his will acts accordingly. Man has the power to discern, discriminate, and express himself. The intellect perceives what shall be done; the conscience instructs the mind in what should be done. Therefore, the understanding is the stationary faculty of the soul. It can be perverted through improper instruction, but it cannot be radically changed. Adam retained his intellectual capacities after his fall, and continued making natural choices. Every sinner chooses natural things. Nevertheless, he cannot make spiritual choices because he is depraved, is an enemy of God, hates God, and his will is not inclined toward God. He hates the light and will not come to the light lest his deeds be reproved (John 3: 19-21). Since the fall, man's will acts according to his sinful nature. As Adam’s will acted according to his nature after the fall, so every sinner’s will is free only to act according to his nature. The apostle Paul dealt with the issue of antinomianism in Romans 6: 1-2, "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" The most frequent attack on the doctrine of salvation by grace alone is that it encourages sin. People may wonder, "If I am saved by grace and all my sins are forgiven, why not sin all I want?" That thinking is not the result of true conversion because true conversion yields a greater desire to obey, not a lesser one. God’s desire - and our desire when we are regenerated by His Spirit - is that we strive not to sin. A second reason that antinomianism is unbiblical is that there is a moral law God expects us to obey. First John 5: 3 tells us, "This is love for God: to obey His commands. And His commands are not burdensome." What is this law God expects us to obey? It is the law of Christ - "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments (Matthew 22: 37-40)." No, we are not under the Old Testament Law. Yes, we are under the law of Christ. Salvation is "Easy" in the sense that God does all the work and simply calls on us to receive the salvation He has provided (John 1: 12/ 3: 16/ Acts 16: 31). Believing unto salvation is "Easy" in that there is not a long or complicated series of actions to perform before salvation will be granted. Believing is not easy in that it is not possible unless God does a work in our hearts (John 6: 44). Salvation is not easy in the sense that it has a powerful and progressive impact, utterly transforming the lives of those who receive it. Adam came into the world inclined toward God. That holy inclination was at once the Creator’s product and the creature’s activity. Adam did not find himself in a position to choose either the Creator or the creature as an ultimate end. He was inclined toward the Creator. His very uprightness was God-given, and did not proceed from his own ability. In fact, Adam’s mutable self-determination led to his fall, and after the fall his will was enslaved to sin. Since the fall, man by nature can do only evil. When a person is born again, however, he has the potential to do good. Although he is strongly inclined to good, he is still tempted and sometimes does evil. In a state of glory, this will no longer be the case; and man will be inclined only toward good. Man did not lose the faculties necessary to make him a responsible person in the fall. He did not lose his reason, conscience, or freedom of choice; but he did lose his moral freedom, the power to make spiritual choices. Conversely, the radical change that occurs in regeneration is self-determination prompted by the Spirit of God. In regeneration, the hardness that prevents the will from acting in the direction of God is removed (Ezekiel 36: 25-27). Therefore, by the power of grace, the will that was once inclined to evil is now inclined to God. God’s operation on the enslaved will is not forced from without. He makes the will tender and pliant from within. The Holy Spirit is the efficient cause, and the human spirit is the recipient of the Spirit’s involvement in the will’s inclination toward God. Free agency is the power to decide according to one’s character. Free agency belongs to every man, but the power to change one’s character by the exercise of the will does not belong to mankind. Man is not a free moral agent because he cannot choose between good and evil. He chooses only evil. The Reformers taught that free agency belongs to God, angels, saints in glory, fallen men, and Satan himself. The Puritans affirmed that man does not have the ability to change his moral state by an act of will. The Reformers were correct in their assertion. God is a free agent, but He cannot do evil. He does as He pleases but can do nothing contrary to His nature. Choices can be made only according to one’s nature. Therefore, man outside of Jesus Christ can make no positive spiritual choices. A person may improve his circumstances and environment, but without a change in nature, he can not improve his spiritual status. In fact, his end will be worse than his beginning (Matthew 12: 43-45/2 Peter 2: 20-22). Satan cannot recover lost blessing by an act of his own will; neither can man. No provision was made for Satan’s recovery, and no provision is made for the recovery of fallen angels. Fallen angels are reserved in chains awaiting punishment (2 Peter 2: 4/Jude 6). When God elected some of the angels, He kept them from falling. He did not, however, prevent all mankind from falling in Adam. Some from among fallen mankind were chosen to be saved. Therefore, there is hope for the elect in Jesus Christ from among mankind, but there is no hope for the fallen angels. Satan had the power of self-determination. He was not tempted from without as Eve was (Or as Adam was tempted through Eve). There was nothing outside of Lucifer to tempt him. That is the reason his fall left him without hope. Before the fall, Adam was a free agent. Man is a free agent now, and he will be a free agent in eternity. But he is fallen now and cannot cease from sin: "Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin (2 Peter 2: 14)." Man in grace has conflict with sin (Romans 7), but he may confess his sins and thereby be restored to fellowship with the Lord. The general course of man in grace is always up: "The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day (Proverbs 4: 18)." In heaven, man will have the liberty to do good, but he will be unable to do evil. Throughout eternity he will use his free agency to praise and honor the Lord.