Strong Man Of God Blog

On April 27, 2014 in The Faith by Robert Kelley

“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea,” (Matthew 18:6, NKJV, emphasis mine). In the event some arrogant person thought I was only giving an opinion in the warning of my last blog that God will hold “whoever” accountable for hurting any soul that has believed on Christ with a heretical doctrine, Matthew 18:6 (with 7) is among many in Scripture to give similar warning. Do you not fear God? The churches are not commanded to destroy heretics, but God surely will! Therefore, no so-called “theologian,” pastor or teacher has any authorization from Christ to invent and disseminate any other doctrines but His!

Just because the Lord has not swooped down and cleaned out all of the offending churches and institutions of Christianity the religion of men as He did the first century money changers at Jerusalem’s temple (John 2:13-17), does not mean He is postured in the same academic niceties of worldly tolerance and is pleased with all of the compromised and heretical doctrines they teach. I laugh at the irony with great sadness when I think about how diligent pastors are ostensibly seeking to be in protecting their sheep by keeping me out of their pulpits to preach the uncompromised Word the Chief Shepherd has commanded; the Chief Shepherd who is going to deal with them in accord with their arrogant corruptions of that same Word (1 Corinthians 3:5-17; 1 Timothy 5:24-25).

In their quest to portray their theological system as plausibly biblical, like all other heretical teachers from history many of today’s Calvinists are disingenuous in not telling their hearers that they are processing the Bible through their system. They stand and read a Bible verse and acknowledge how if the passage were interpreted as it is plainly written, it would be understood. But immediately they either change the plain sense of the text or misapply it to conform to and support their theological system. The gift of faith is one example. There is such a gift in the Bible, but it is not tied to men receiving it from God to be saved as Calvinists contend--some of whom even deny God still equips the saints with spiritual gifts. Learn more about this in my final blog repost of the month.

Originally Posted August 12, 2012

In a two-part blog entitled, The Faith That Saves back in June this year (see the category, “The Faith”), the Lord led me to write contending for Christians to faithfully keep to His biblically recorded instruction on the exclusive place of common faith in saving human beings. Now, in this offering today, I am led to briefly discuss the place for faith as a spiritual gift in God’s dealings with His people. Such times have only occurred in biblical history when the Lord called mortal men through whom to display His mighty power and to trust Him in extremely difficult situations. Immediately Old Testament figures such as Moses, Joshua, Samson, David, Elijah and Elisha come to mind. As impossible as the miracles done through and for them was their amazing faith in God!

Every miracle of our Lord Jesus before His death, burial and resurrection was done out of His mortal Humanity by the Holy Spirit as an example of faith (trust, confidence, reliance) in God to us (Matthew 3:13-17; Luke 4; John 14:12-18; Philippians 2:5-8). Indeed, this is where the famous instruction to His disciples concerning “faith as a mustard seed” gets its traction in reality--He was operating in such faith (Matthew 17:19-20)! To our Lord Jesus this faith was very small; for us--even with the outstanding accomplishments of men using common faith, trusting God for in the moment impossible, supernatural miracles and deliverances are beyond our normal pedigree as fallen, mortal men. Nevertheless, it was (and still is) the will of God that redeemed mortals; aspiring strong men of God in the image of Christ be vessels of His power following the Master’s example (John 20:19-23; Acts 1:4-8)!

The coming of the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts made it strategically possible for redeemed men in this New Testament era to exercise the power of God in various ways proportionate to their developing common faith (Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:11). In accord with His will, the spiritual gift of faith is selectively given to some aspiring strong men of God in the image of Christ to enable them to believe Him for impossible works of power in miracles and healings outside of and in the local churches (1 Corinthians 12:9-10, 28-30, 13:2). Outside of the church for example, the apostles did the miraculous works of Christ as authenticating signs for the Gospel (Acts 3:1-16, 13:4-12). Within the community of believers they ministered His healing works in mercy (Acts 9:36-41, 20:7-12). Nonetheless, without faith gifted persons to be vessels of God’s miraculous power, the saints are to pray for each other in their common faith to see His power displayed in their cause (James 5:13-18).

God nowhere in the Bible declares an end to any spiritual gifts until Christ returns (Zechariah 13:2-6; 1 Corinthians 13:8-12). And why is this the case? His purposes of equipping and enabling His people to serve His will through spiritual gifts continue until then. When so-called “expert” professing Christian scholars of this age declare God did not intend for the Church on earth to operate through all of the spiritual gifts resident in and beyond its first century infancy, they consign her to a spiritually weakened and inferior state to Satan’s delight and advantage. They assert knowledge of the Word is all that is needed for Christians and their churches to thrive. But clearly, this is not what Jesus and His apostles taught. Somebody is lying and it is not Jesus or His apostles empowered by the Holy Spirit (Romans 7:14-8:1; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, 4:19-20)!

Many Western Christians and their churches are withering having in large measure by arrogance of scholarship and proud ego (1 Corinthians 1:18-31), along with sin driven self-sufficiency, spiritual blindness, worldly compromise, manmade religion and toleration of sin cut themselves off from Christ, the true vine and the Holy Spirit; fulfilling to the letter the apostle Paul’s prophecy about them in these last days (2 Timothy 3:1-5). The only hope for a reversal is Holy Spirit fired revival not to come on a wide spread basis without confession, repentance and heartfelt petition beginning with the leaders (Jeremiah 29:13). Then the simplicity of Christ and the foolish message of His cross as well as the spiritual gift of faith and all of the spiritual gifts will again become to you the power and wisdom of God not to be abandoned again in the short time that is left!

Tagged With: The spiritual gift of faith for Christians

The Faith That Saves, Pt. 2

On April 13, 2014 in The Faith by Robert Kelley

The teaching gift’s aim with the leading of the Holy Spirit is to give men the ability to explain and make plain the Word of God for the simplest hearts. Quickly straying from the reform intent of Martin Luther, European Protestants set aside the simple Gospel and the precious teachings of salvation revealed to the apostles by the Holy Spirit in Scripture and began inventing all manner of heretical and complicated schemes they attempted to support with Scripture. In that free for all and volatile environment Catholics and Protestants were killing folk who did not hold to their respective theological positions. Even so, the schemes and divisions have just kept coming to this very hour.

Those that align themselves with the teachings of John Calvin have taken his theological point of view and thinking about salvation namely that only persons handpicked by God are given the faith needed to believe the Gospel and persevere in it. Many Scriptures are corrupted to prop up this very confusing theological system including Ephesians 2:8 where in context, the emphasis that salvation is “the gift of God” is purposely replaced with faith as the divine gift (NKJV). With Calvinists, “the sovereignty of God” covers a multitude of indefensible suppositions in their system which stands primarily on a blatant misapplication of Romans 9:6-24. They contend the passage communicates God’s approach to saving all men when in context, Paul is beginning to teach us Gentiles how it is that Israel continues to hold a special place in the sovereign God’s program (Romans 9-11).

If I did not make it plain enough previously, let me stress again that heretical doctrines impact and hurt real people. As a son of slaves and a people mercilessly oppressed by white men claiming to be conducting themselves out of the permissible theologies of Scripture, I now write pleading in the name of Jesus Christ that professing Christians from all hues repent where guilty and come back to the Word of God as it is written (Ephesians 4:1-6)! Otherwise, know that you--whoever you are--will give an account to God for every soul hurt in any way by your proud and haughty teaching of doctrines not drawn directly from Scripture. I will take some time off to celebrate my Lord’s finished work to save sinners like me and post the next blog on Sunday, April 27th. A glorious Resurrection Sunday to the redeemed of the Lord!

Originally Posted June 10, 2012

“The just shall live by his faith” was first spoken by God to the 7^th century BC prophet Habakkuk (Habakkuk 2:4, NKJV) and is quoted several times in the New Testament. In spite of the often meticulous and stringent efforts of the religious to be righteous before God, His singular means of connecting to men and making them righteous is through their placement of common faith in Him and His Word! Salvation from sin and its consequences is a gracious promise offered by God to every person on earth that will by faith receive the Gospel; the good news heralded since the 1^st century AD that Jesus Christ the Son of God died in our place on the cross, was buried and on the third day after rose again from the dead. In doing these things He made it possible for God to forgive the sins of those who believe and declare them righteous or just (Romans 1:16-17, 3:21-26)!

Please note the consistency of God in that just as from the beginning with the ancients, He gives His Word (in this case, the promise of salvation through the Gospel) and men are expected to exercise common faith in response. Implied in the transaction is a rudimentary faith in God who makes the promise. God has only made a promise of which absolutely nothing happens until a man accepts it on faith. Thereafter, however, God begins to fulfill His promise by forgiving the sins of the faith filled, repentant heart (Romans 10:6-13). Then God the Holy Spirit indwells that heart and brings the spiritually dead person to new spiritual birth and life (John 1:12-13, 3:3-8, 7:37-39, 14:16-20). The freshly forgiven, declared just spiritual newborn now lives and is expected to live every moment by the same common faith he exercised to enter salvation and relationship with the triune God.

Ideally, as the spiritual newborn develops in much adversity, his faith enlarges, strengthens, matures and is joined by love for the God that brought him into His promised salvation (John 14:21-24; Romans 5:1-5). Still, salvation as a completed promise which includes resurrection from the dead and immortal glory awaits the Second Coming of Christ. We do not yet have salvation as a finished work but as a hope by faith in God and His Word (Romans 8:23-25; Hebrews 11:1). So, what has God done to assure our hearts while we wait in faith on His promise? He gives a guarantee and has sworn an oath (2 Corinthians 1:21-22, 5:1-7; Ephesians 1:13-14; Hebrews 6:9-20). The same Holy Spirit who gives us new birth and spiritual life is also our living guarantee from God that what He has started in us of His promised salvation, He also for His part intends to complete (Philippians 1:6).

It is not some complicated, human invented doctrine of irreversible salvation as some teach that serves as our secure assurance of God’s completed promise, but it is the Person of the Holy Spirit! While that may not be enough for the religious educated elite and flesh driven religionists who are always trying to go beyond God if somehow they might impress Him with what they think they know (Matthew 22:23-33, 23:15-22; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, 8:1b-3; Colossians 2:18-23), the Holy Spirit is God’s tangible guarantee to those who live by faith in Him (Galatians 5:5-6). It is He who wields the power of God in us to assure, guard and protect the hearts of the willing in our persevering faith while we wait for salvation’s completion (Romans 8:12-16; 1 Peter 1:3-5; 1 John 3:18-20).

If we continue and stand firm in faith until death or Christ’s return, we will receive the fullness of the salvation we have waited for (Mark 13:13; Hebrews 10:32-39; 1 Peter 1:6-9; Revelation 2:10). But if in unbelief, we give up and turn back to willfully embrace sin again without repentance or quit on God in apostasy, such ones “cast away” their hope of salvation without the possibility of renewal (Ezekiel 18:24-26; Matthew 24:45-51; Luke 14:25-35; Romans 11:19-22; Hebrews 3:12-14, 6:1-8, 10:26-31). It is not that God lost or failed to keep from snatching predators anyone that desired in faith to be kept. These individuals--as Adam among many biblically named others--chose of their own, God-given volition to no longer put faith in Him and His Word and receive the consequences. The faith that saves as all of Scripture bears witness is common faith in God and His Word held firm until death or fulfillment.

Tagged With: Men are saved by grace through common faith!

Strong Man Of God Blog

Robert Kelley's weekly instruction, observations and reflections inspired by the Lord posted each Sunday night.

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