Embracing the Providence of God

 https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-8rmkk-16ea1f0

Bible Study: The Holiness of God Part 2

Attributes of God Part 2: The Holiness of God

 Today, we continue our series on the Attributes of God. While our LORD has many attributes, we will focus on seven. Last week we studied "The Sovereignty of God." Now, we will teach on "The Holiness of God." The whole world is in revolt against God and is rushing headlong toward hell without brakes. Everywhere you turn the God of the Bible is held in utter contempt by men and women in the pulpit, the pew and the world. There is a spreading over this country a false revival which Satan is using to try to make the world religious without Christ. Satan's masterpiece is an imitation that looks like, smells like, walks like and acts like the original, yet at heart knows not the God of the Bible but worships a god of their own creation. You have heard the words, "God is love, He loves everybody, He is too loving to send someone to hell unless they are a murderer, rapist, or child molester." Poor blinded humanity cannot tell the difference between the God of the Bible and the god of this world. The old paths of Holy Spirit Conviction, Bible repentance and the New Birth are practically unknown. Man has lost his way and is looking for the easiest, fastest and least intrusive method to avoid hell. Man wants fire insurance without transformation. Today's message on the Holiness of God will expose Satan's and man's attempts to compromise the truth contained in the Word of God.

Section 1: The Holy God

If you take a concordance and check the books of Isaiah, Psalms, Kings, Job, Jeremiah and other books of the Old Testament, as well as the Gospels of the New Testament, you will find that God is frequently called "THE HOLY ONE." Even the devils call Him "Thee Holy One." In Revelations 15: 4 reads: "Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? For Thou art holy."  This is because the sum of all moral excellency is found in Him. 1 John 1: 5 states: "God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all." This shows there is no shadow of sin connected with Jehovah God. In Exodus 15: 11, we are told the great God is "glorious in holiness." Habakkuk 1: 13 says: "Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity."  

His Name is "THE HOLY GOD." There is no blemish or defilement in Him. The Scriptures command us to praise Him for the beauty of holiness (Psalm 9: 2; 96: 9; 110: 3). An old Puritan divine put it like this:

"Power is God's hand or arm, omniscience His eye, mercy His bowels, eternity His duration, but holiness is His beauty." It is the great attribute of holiness which makes Him appear so lovely and beautiful to those who are delivered from the power and dominion of sin. The Prophet Nahum cried out, "The LORD is good." (1:7) Why? Because He is Holy. Every born-again believer knows that he should praise God for the beauty of His Holiness. His Holiness is His beauty. Now, we cannot begin to grasp His Holiness. I believe in our human bodies; we would be struck down because of His Perfection in Holiness. Think about if you could step into heaven's throne room you would hear the redeemed and the angels celebrating His Holiness by constantly saying, "Holy, holy, holy, thou art God; Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts."

God's holiness is set forth probably more than any other of His attributes. It is His attribute of attributes even more than love. In Psalm 89: 35 God said, "Once have I sworn by my holiness." You may ask, "Why does God swear by His Holiness? The reason is that His Holiness is a fuller expression of Himself than anything else. In Psalm 30: 4, we read: "Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness."

In Psalm 27: 4 we read of "the beauty of the LORD." And then we are told what this beauty is--listen--it is the "beauty of holiness (Psalm 110: 3)." As His power is His strength, so His Holiness is His beauty. Listen to this: The power of God is YOUR strength. But the holiness of God is OUR beauty. Most of the time we pray for power. How often do you hear people pray for the beauty of holiness of God to be upon your life? What good is strength without beauty? What good is power if you do not have God's holiness showing in your life? Make sure you hear this: WHEN YOU LOSE OUR PURITY AND OUR HOLINESS AS GOD'S CHILD, WE LOSE OUR STRENGTH AND OUR WISDOM AND OUR POWER." THINK ABOUT THE PROMISE OF PENTECOST. THE DISCIPLES WERE PROMISED POWER (Acts 1:8). What did they get? Read Acts 15: 8-9. They received a purified heart. That is what happens when you receive the Holy Spirit! You get a new heart, a purified heart. A heart that has the Holy Spirit dwelling in it. When you have a holy heart, you will also have a hatred for sin. 

May God give us a hatred for sin, an abhorrence of evil and give us grace to turn our backs upon sin and flee from it. 

Our God is a Holy God. If He is our Father, we should reflect His Holiness.

Section 2: God's Holiness Manifested 

 First, God's holiness is manifested in His works. Psalm 145: 17 reads: "The LORD is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His works." Not one thing can proceed from God that is not holy. Holiness is the rule of all His actions. When God saves a person and makes him a new creation in Christ, He gives him a holy nature that hates sin, that revolts against sin, that abhors sin; and this holy nature cannot sin. It is the nature that loves the holiness of God, that longs after the holiness of God, that sees the beauty of the holiness of God.  Is that your experience listening friend?

Personally, there are two things I know:

1. I know what a sinner I am; I know the old sin nature; I know how sinful it is.

2. I know the holiness of God. I hate sin. I long after the holiness of God. I hate sin. I long after the holiness of the Lord. I do! I want to be more and more like the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Is that your desire?

God has saved His children from the penalty of sin, and He breaks the power of sin in the believers' lives now. One day, He will save us from the Presence of sin, and we will be like our blessed Lord--holy and perfect. Until that day, we are to resist the devil, resist sin and draw closer to our Lord every day.

Second, God's holiness is manifested in His law. In Romans 7: 12, we read: "The law is holy, and the commandments holy, and just, and good." Psalm 19: 8-9 state: "The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether." 

The Law demands perfection, the Law does not and cannot bargain with an individual. Ezekiel 18: 4 says: "The soul that sinneth, it shall die."  But you can't keep the Law, can you? You can be perfect only by the grace of the living God in your Substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Third, listen to this great truth: God's holiness is manifested at the cross. We see the holiness of God on display as we look to the cross of Calvary. As we gaze upon the Son of God dying for our sins, we see the holiness of God on display. The cross shows God's hatred for sin. A hatred so intense that He sent His Son to die for those sins of His elect. The death of Christ displays God's infinite holiness and His abhorrence of sin. Oh, how hateful must sin be to God, how He must hate sin to punish it to the utmost after having imputed it to His Son.

As we look at the cross, we see the sins of God's elect imputed to Him--counted to Him as His own sins! That is the thing which should break your heart. To know that God imputed your sins to the Lord Jesus Christ. He so hated them and loved you that He laid your sins upon Him--Him who knew no sin! (II Cor. 5: 21) The greatest demonstration of God's hatred for sin is seen, not in His casting the sinner into a devil's hell to be punished for ever and forever, but when He poured out His wrath upon His Son. Listen to me, I want you to get this: Never did Divine holiness appear more beautiful and more lovely than when the countenance of the Lord Jesus Christ was marred than any (Isaiah 52: 14) in the midst of His dying groans.  We see this in Psalm 22 when God turned His face from our Lord Jesus and thrust His sharp knife of sacrifice into His heart, which forced His lips that terrible cry, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" 

It is here we see a Holy God hating sin, so abhorring sin that He is suffering the punishment of it in His own body.  on the tree that He might put it away. (I Peter 2: 24) This is why born-again believers can see in Christ such beauty and glory of His perfections, that we are made to cry out as the bride in the Song of Solomon, He is "the chiefest among ten thousand;" He is the "Rose of Sharon," He's the "Lily of the valleys." How glorious He is in His beauty of holiness. We have been made to exclaim: "If only the world knew the beauty of our Lord and the beauty of holiness in Christ Jesus!" Hear me those who are unsaved, if you only knew the beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ in all His holiness, as He manifests the holiness of God! Oh, I wish you knew Him. The Son of God was never more beautiful than when He bowed His head on the cross and became our sin substitute by bearing our sins in His own body and receiving the stroke that was due us. 

Let me make a statement that will most likely offend your theology: GOD NEVER FORGIVES SIN!!! You let that sink in. God never forgives sin. His holiness will not allow Him to. God cannot forgive sin. God must punish sin. God doesn't bargain with sin. God doesn't compromise with sin. God doesn't overlook sin. However, GOD DOES FORGIVE THE SINNER, BUT HE NEVER FORGIVES SIN. Sin must be punished. Sinners need a substitute. Blood must be shed, Hebrews 9: 22 reads: "Without shedding of blood is no remission." In other words, God must punish sin in you or your substitute. God cannot forgive your sin; it must be punished. But He will forgive the sinner who repents and has faith in the Lord Jesus Christ because Christ died for the believer. 

Awakened sinner, this is your only hope. You have no righteousness that appeals to the LORD. There is nothing in you that He finds attractive. Your only ground of pardon, your only ground of forgiveness is that Christ died for you. God cannot forgive your sins, but He can forgive you on the ground that Christ paid your sin debt in full. Every one of your sins were punished in Christ. The greatest thing in the world is to stand before God forgiven in Christ Jesus.

GOD IS SO HOLY THAT HE WILL NOT FORGIVE SIN. SOMEONE HAS TO PAY THE PRICE. FRIEND, DO YOU HAVE A SUBSTITUTE? I DO AND HIS NAME IS THE LORD JESUS CHRIST!

 Section 3: The Beauty of Holiness

Let's talk about the beauty of Holiness. A holy God hating your sins; a holy God abhorring your sins and mine to the point that He came down and took upon Himself the form of a servant, and in your place and mine He became our Substitute, pouring out His own wrath upon Himself until Justice cried out, "I'm satisfied!" He will come to you sinner and say, "I've paid your sin-debt in full, sinner. Now I can forgive you, because I died for you." The old preacher would say, "Down, down at His feet pleading for mercy on one basis--that your sin debt has been paid in Christ Jesus. Believe it and be saved; disbelieve it and be damned.

Nahum 1: 2 reads: "The LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and He reserveth  wrath for His enemies." Sin is awful in the sight of God, and He says in Hebrews 10: 30-31: "Vengeance belongeth unto me, i will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." 

Don't discount the number of sins. One is dangerous. One sin removed Adam and Eve from the Garden. For one sin damnation fell upon the entire human race. For one sin, the descendants of Ham fell under a curse. For one sin the servant of Elisha was smitten with leprosy. For one sin Ananias and Sapphira were stricken dead. God hates sin! God being holy hates sin! If we could just understand this. The central theme of the Holy Bible is the cross of Christ and how it establishes His Holiness. You will never know the meaning of the cross of Christ until you come to know God's hatred of sin as He opens your heart and lets you see that you are a sinner and deserve hell and you come to know the hell in your bosom. 

The unsaved, whether in the pulpit or pew or the world, do not believe in the holiness of God. Friend, do you see the connection between the Holiness of God and the wrath displayed at the cross of Calvary? The unsaved have some kind of hope that God's mercy somehow or in some way will be applied to them and that He will not let them go to hell. This is one reason why most preaching today is so soft and weak. Most modern preaching today does the following: 

1. Emphasizes the love of God for all to the exclusion of the wrath of God.

2. Doesn't talk about specific sins and the consequences of dying in sin.

3. Eliminates any talk of hell.

4. Redefines sin as a mistake, error in judgment or indiscretion. 

These approaches deny the Holiness of God. To understand the Holiness of God you must embrace the wrath of God. When you begin to understand how much God hates sin, the lengths He went to provide a way of salvation and deliverance from sin, you will begin to see the beauty of His Holiness. His Holiness is beautiful because it hates sin and gives us a substitute that we might be saved. God cannot forgive like you, and I forgive. Sin must and will be punished. We must face the fact that the Holiness of God provides only one way to escape His wrath. God forgives our sins upon one basis only, and that is, that they are paid for in Christ Jesus. 

I don't care how religious you are. You may be a Reverend, Sunday School Superintendent, district leader, layman or deacon in the church, it does not matter. You may pray faithfully, but listen friend, you and your prayers will go to hell if you don't have a substitute. God hates your abominable prayers unless they are saturated with the blood of Christ. God's holiness is manifested and demonstrated in His utter hatred of sin. 

Do you know what the average person's idea of sin is? It is what the world calls crime. Everything else man looks upon as a defect, or a mistake, or a weakness, and whenever sin is acknowledged or owned, they make excuses for it. Man today in his totally depraved state will not face the fact of sin. We live today in a world that calls good evil and evil good. What used to be right is now wrong and what was wrong is now right. We are living in the times of Romans 1. People with reprobate minds control the narrative. You can cancel me, but you cannot cancel my Lord Jesus Christ. 

Do you know that the "god" which the vast majority of professing Christian's love, and worship today is looked upon very much like a feeble old man, who himself winks at sin. No! God's Holiness requires Him to hate sin and punish it. Otherwise, He would not be holy if He tolerated sin. Listen to God's Word:

1. Psalm 5: 5: "Thou hatest all workers of iniquity."

2. Psalm 7: 11: "God is angry with the wicked every day." 

Let me be clear, darkness cannot dwell with light. The Holy One will not overlook sin. Sin will not be forgiven. It must be punished. If you have a substitute in the Lord Jesus Christ, you can be forgiven. Praise God for this truth!

Conclusion

God's grace has provided in Christ Jesus our Lord a basis for us to escape the wrath of God's Holiness against sin. That which a Holy God demands, His grace provided in Christ Jesus our Lord. My friend, are you ready for a day when you will stand at the judgment bar of God? Are you ready to face the Holiness of God? There is only one way you can be ready. Cry out to the Lord, ask the Holy Spirit to awaken you to your lost condition, repent of your sins and have faith in the blood sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ to save you. 

My friend, time is running short. Are you ready?

Forgiveness

 https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-9f5rf-1046165

Another Gospel Part 2

 https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-cjv2t-1078350

Another Gospel Part 1

 https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-h4jf9-106f570

Know Your Enemy Part 2: Satan’s Imitation Ministry

 

Know Your Enemy Part 2: Satan’s Imitation Ministry

 Know Your Enemy Part 2: Satan’s Imitation Ministry

If you deny God’s Word about Satan, and you will deny it on salvation! My purpose in this series is to tell you what the Word says about Satan as the god of this world, because what we know about Satan is revealed in God’s eternal Word, the Holy Bible, which is the only true source of the revelation of SATAN HIMSELF.  I had spent years in charismatic churches that developed a theology about Satan and how to fight him. All sorts of extra-biblical practices were developed, e.g., naming demon spirits not in the Bible, telling people that deliverance is found in giving offerings to pastors, etc. When we study our enemy, we want to focus on, “Thus saith the Lord.” Today, we will examine Satan's Imitation Ministry.

Introduction

We are living in a day when the personality of Satan is denied and laughed at. This is one of the ways of concealing himself in order to be able to carry out his work of destroying the souls of men. Satan is a living personality, and the Bible teaches this. We discussed this in detail in Part 1 of this series last week. The awakened sinner knows that Satan is a living personality. The awakened sinner has experienced the Holy Spirit’s showing him his lost ruined condition, ruined condition, and has given him a hunger after Christ. The very moment the Holy Spirit begins to draw the sinner out of Satan’s family, the devil will turn earth, sea and sky to hold onto the lost sinner. The Bible, God’s Word, is our only authentic source of information regarding Satan, the old devil, the old serpent, and the old dragon (the four names by which he is known throughout the Scriptures). We will learn today about Satan’s imitation ministry.

Section 1: Satan’s Roles

There are two roles under which Satan operates today in attacking and deceiving the hearts of men: the first is by INTIMATION, and the second is by IMITATION. 1 Peter 5: 8 reads: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour (intimidate). 

Intimidation is one of Satan’s old tactics of keeping individuals under his control. He will cause them to be afraid to make a stand for Christ, or to admit they are lost and undone. He will cause them to be afraid of what folks may say about them, or think about them. He will put a fear into their hearts that they might lose friends, business, and such like, all for one purpose: to keep individuals under direct control, so that they may never get saved. No sinner ever comes to know the Lord until he in his heart crowns Christ as Lord and seeks the honor that comes from God only. The trusting believer cares more for Christ than what his friends or family will think about him. 

The second role is IMITATION. Satan likes to successfully deceive the hearts of men and women and we see this in II Corinthians 11: 13-15: “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” 

So Satan transforms himself into an “angel of light,” and his ministers transform themselves into “ministers of righteousness” to deceive the hearts of individuals, and blind the minds of sinners. In his role as imitator, Satan is at his best. NOTICE THAT SATAN HAS MINISTERS! He can imitate almost every experience that a believer can have , except life, Satan cannot impart spiritual life to a sinner. He can cause every unbeliever to believe that he is saved and that he will ultimately get to heaven. Let us look at Satan’s kingdom to understand how Satan imitates in the mind so as to keep the unbeliever blinded. 

In Ezekiel 28, we see that Satan was the highest created being of all the celestial angelic hosts. He was known as Lucifer, the morning star, and anointed cherub. The word “anointed,” refers to the priesthood. This indicates that Satan was the priest that led the worship. The Scripture tells us that Satan was the most beautiful of all the angelic hosts, for he was clothed in a robe of precious gems that made him stand out as the leader, as the priest who walked in the presence of God. 

Because of his beauty and his exalted position, pride entered into his heart. Rebellion was the result, and sin entered into the Universe. Therefore, God had to cast him out. One third of the angelic host followed him in rebellion (Revelation 12: 4). Satan set up his “kingdom of death.” In this kingdom, sin rules unto death, according to Romans 5: 21: “That as sin hath reigned unto death.”

Satan understands how fallen men think. He was full of pride and so is the unsaved unawakened sinner. Satan will play to a lost person’s pride to hold in his kingdom of death. Satan will give a person a bit of religion that falls short of true conversion to keep them ensnared. He will substitute a decision for Jesus, a profession of faith, joining the church, or in the old days, shaking the preacher’s hands, instead of a true conversion experience. Satan is a liar and a thief! We, as ministers of the Gospel, must be true to the gospel message. Satan must be exposed for the intimidator and imitator that he is. Now, we look at his kingdom.

Section 2: Satan’s Kingdom

Satan’s kingdom is a KINGDOM OF DEATH, and Satan with all his subjects live and move and have their being in the realm of Death.  I want to review some expressions the Bible uses to describe this kingdom of death:

1. COURSE OF THIS WORLD: Ephesians 2: 2 reads: “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the COURSE OF THIS WORLD, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.” The course of the world is the realm of Death, which is controlled by “the prince of the power of the air,” and it is inhabited by the children of disobedience. Ephesians 2: 3 says that they have their CONVERSATION IN THE LUSTS OF THE FLESH, and they FULFILL THE DESIRES of the flesh and of the mind, and by nature they are the CHILDREN OF WRATH, having the wrath of God resting or abiding over the whole kingdom of Satan, which is the KINGDOM OF DEATH. So, every person born into this world is born into this Kingdom of Death. The Bible makes this very clear in Psalm 51: 5 (conceived in sin, born in iniquity). 

2. KINGDOM OF DARKNESS: There is no spiritual light in Satan’s kingdom. Not one spiritual truth–not one ray of spiritual light! This truth is further set forth in Ephesians 6: 12: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against THE RULERS OF THE DARKNESS OF THIS WORLD, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” So you see it is a kingdom of DARKNESS! Let me emphasize this fact: there is not one spiritual truth in Satan’s kingdom.

3. KINGDOM OF LIES: John 8: 44 says: “Ye are of your father the devil, and the LUSTS OF YOUR FATHER ye will do. He was a MURDERER from the beginning, and abode NOT IN THE TRUTH, because there is NO TRUTH IN HIM. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: FOR HE IS A LIAR, and the father of it.” So Satan’s kingdom is a kingdom of lies, a kingdom of falsehood. Satan’s kingdom is one of death, no spiritual light, and where there is nothing but darkness, where everything is a falsehood; therefore, this whole kingdom is filled with unbelievers who lie in the lap of Satan, according to 1 John 5: 19. 

4. KINGDOM OF DECEPTION: Satan wants to deceive the entire world (Revelation 12: 9). Therefore, it is a kingdom of unreality, a realm where everything is make believe. Nothing is viewed in its REALITY, because everyone is deceived. Therefore, they are living under a delusion of first one thing or another. It is a kingdom where there is no peace, no harmony, no happiness, because everyone has gone his own way, and is going his own way. They are unhappy because they worship their own will and opinion.

5. A RELIGIOUS KINGDOM: Satan moves in the REALM OF RELIGION. The word, “religion” means one opinion, and everyone has his own opinion, and he worships his opinion, or his religion. The infidel is a member of Satan’s kingdom, and he has his own religion; he worships his infidelity. The atheist worships his atheism. The agnostic worships his skepticism. Then you have Buddhism, Confucianism, Mohammedanism, Judaism, and a false Christianity divided into many sub groups. They each worship their opinion. You never hear them say, “This saith the LORD!” Satan works in the realm of religion, which is one’s opinion, he does it by controlling the minds of individuals. The will of man is depraved and he is held in bondage by his old depraved nature. Satan working in and on the individual’s mind introduces religious ideas and concepts similar to (or even contrary to) the Scriptures, giving the individual an IMITATION GOSPEL. Satan doesn’t care how close you get to the truth as long as you don’t get there. He will try to satisfy the sinner with a little religion to make him feel better. That is one reason why we must proclaim the entire gospel truth without compromise. 

Satan cannot pierce through into the spirit of man and unlock the hidden chamber of the sinner’s spirit, because the spirit of the unregenerate man is sealed in the tomb of death, dead in trespasses and sin (Ephesians 2: 1). Only the Holy Spirit can roll the stone away from the sinner’s heart and make alive a dead sinner who is a member of Satan’s kingdom, but get this fact: Satan can and does work in the realm of the MIND. He can give a sinner religious conviction, religious feelings, or religious impressions in the mind and lead the individual into the realm of religious emotions and experiences. He does this by throwing around that individual his presence which is real to that individual. The presence of Satan is just as real as the presence of Christ; the difference is that whereas Christ moves and lives in the realm of life, Satan moves and lives in the realm of death. When Adam sinned, he opened the door into the REALM OF DEATH, and thereby sold the entire human race into the slavery of sin. Praise the Lord that when the Lord Jesus Christ came, He opened the door into the REALM OF LIFE, and every individual who is saved is translated from the kingdom of Satan into the kingdom of LIFE. 

Satan will take the kingdoms of DEATH, DARKNESS, LIES, DECEPTION, and RELIGION and work in the sinner’s mind to give them some religious experience to satisfy them with some good feelings and keep them bound in his kingdom. These will take several forms:

1. Creating man made extra-Biblical rules to evidence holiness and righteousness: These provide people with “proof” that they belong to God, but they also in turn cause the people to become critical of others that don’t obey the same rules, e.g. women dress codes, movies, television, bowling alleys, ball games, reading a newspaper on Sunday, etc. The theme is recurring. Satan wants to move people away from the truth of the Scripture to get them following man and man’s rules. 

2. Using experience to trump Scripture truths, e.g. sexual sins aren’t sins if we know people that “love Jesus” but are LGBTQ+. 

3. Focusing on the “presence of God” which is presented as a warm happy joyous feeling (notice the pleasing of the flesh), as opposed to the Bible truth that the Presence of God causes people to have a reverential fear of the LORD.

4. Substituting a false salvation, e.g., decision for Jesus, say the “sinner’s prayer,” make a profession of faith, getting baptized, joining the church. True salvation comes from the Holy Spirit regenerating the sinner and showing him his lost condition and bringing him to the foot of the cross and he understands the necessity that Christ died for him. Repentance and faith is made and the soul is born again.

Section 3: Satan’s Imitation of the Holy Spirit

Satan will imitate the Holy Spirit in the realm of religion to make the individual believe that he is worshiping God. In this present time, Satan is imitating the Holy Spirit as never before, leading people to believe that they are worshiping Christ when they are not. The following represent some areas of imitation:

1. PRESENCE:  Satan will lead people to believe that they are in the presence of Christ when they are really in Satan’s presence. How can you know what is the imitation? One manifestation of this Satanic presence is that the individual is always talking about faith, or constantly praising “Jesus.” The person being deceived courts a feeling of “presence” and he looks to that presence. He is void without feeling presence. When the presence leaves, he feels empty. Personally, I know a “pastor” that actually said the following: “Reading your Bible is good but what you really need is to experience His presence.” This man never talks about Holy Spirit conviction, blood redemption or the need to repent. Satan will throw his presence around the one being deceived until the individual feels that he is so near to God or that God is so near to him. 

2. PRAYER: Satan will give an individual a great LOVE FOR PRAYER. He will drive the individual until at times he will spend many hours in prayer. Frequently, the person will speak in an unknown tongue for hours thinking he is talking to God when in actuality he isn’t. Prayer is vastly different to a born-again believer. The believer knows he is not being heard because of the multitude of his words, but rather he is heard because of the blood sacrifice of Christ that paid for his sins. The believer will pray from a heart that is seeking after Christ. There will be a continual confession of sin, repentance and confession of his sin nature. To the born-again believer, prayer is thanking the Father for what Christ means to him. The believer is constantly going over and over in his heart and mind what Christ is to him in His life, in His death, in His resurrection, in His ascension, and what He is as his Surety, as his Mediator, and his Righteousness as his High Priest. Prayer to a believer is breathing forth the Word of God. Satan will desire to cause the one being deceived to focus on anything but Christ. Instead, Satan will deceive the unsaved to see prayer as a way to get what the individual wants in this life (pleasing the flesh). Think of the following: Osteen, Copeland, Hagin, Duplantis, Price, Wommack, etc. The unsaved person under the power of Satan believes he is heard because of his much speaking, because of his earnestness, or his sincerity, or because of his great need, or because he is loud and emotional. His prayer is never based upon the shed blood of the Son of God. 

3. WORD OF GOD: In the Garden of Eden, Satan said, “Hath God said?” Satan is doing the same thing today. Satan wants people to use their experiences to trump the Bible. If Satan can get your eyes off the Word and onto your experiences Satan knows that he will make you your own “god.” Many of the cultural issues of today are easily dealt with when you apply the Word independently of your experience. The late Dr. R.C. Sproul said, “You have to reach what the Bible says, not what you want it to say.” Satan is replaying the Garden of Eve attack over and over again because it has been most successful for him over thousands of years. The imitation here  is to supplant the Word of God with experiences and emotions and feelings. 

4. SALVATION: Salvation is the result of Holy Spirit conviction leading the lost sinner to the foot of the cross to see the blood being shed by the Lord Jesus Christ. The seeking sinner (who is only seeking because the Holy Spirit has regenerated his heart and given him spiritual life) responds with faith and repentance. Satan has spent over 100 years getting people to say a “sinner’s prayer,” making a decision for Jesus, or a profession of faith, or seeking the Holy Spirit for gifts instead of repentance. 

DON’T ALLOW SATAN TO DECEIVE YOU. GET IN THE WORD OF GOD AND STAY THERE. READ IT, STUDY IT, MEMORIZE IT, AND MEDITATE ON IT EVERY DAY!!!

Conclusion

May the Lord open your eyes  to see the difference between Satan’s method of religion and God’s method of grace, which is the difference between true and false conviction and true and false repentance and faith.

Knowing God's Will Part 3

 https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-r6fct-13d1723

Knowing God's Will Part 2

 https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-uxiiy-13c7cc6

Encore Presentation: The Churches in Revelation

 https://youtu.be/HxS_REF8PpU?si=UfuqW3uCbUz8BuFB

Bible Study James 5: 1-20

 

A Commentary of the Book of James

By Dr. Barry L. Jenkins

Text Used: Legacy Standard Bible

Bible Study James 5: 1-20

Text:

Miseries of the Rich

5 Come now, you rich, cry, howling over your miseries which are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and your silver have rusted, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. You have stored up such treasure in the last days! 4 Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields—that which has been withheld by you—cries out against you; and the outcries of those who did the harvesting have reached the ears of the [a]Lord of [b]Sabaoth. 5 You have lived luxuriously on the earth and lived in self-indulgence. You have [c]fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous man; [d]he does not resist you.

Patience and Perseverance

7 Therefore be patient, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the soil, being patient about it, until [e]it receives the early and late rains. 8 You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9 Do not groan, brothers, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged. Behold, the Judge is standing [f]right at the [g]door. 10 As an example, brothers, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold, we count those blessed who persevere. You have heard of the [h]perseverance of Job and have seen the [i]outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.

12 But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let [j]your yes be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, [k]anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer [l]offered in faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, [m]they will be forgiven him. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective [n]prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed [o]earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. 18 Then he prayed again, and the [p]sky gave rain and the earth produced its fruit.

19 My brothers, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, 20 let him know that [q]he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

Verse by verse commentary:

Verse 1: “Come now, you rich, cry, howling over your miseries which are coming upon you.”

The Bible does not condemn wealth itself. It condemns greed and covetousness. Sometimes wealth is seen as the blessing of God. However, the wealthy, as a social class, are often guilty of exploiting and taking advantage of the poor. God will bring severe judgment for this. 

Verse 2: “Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten.”

It has been said that it is foolish to try and keep what you can’t in exchange for something you can't lose. James points out the foolishness of hoarding food, expensive clothing, or money, all of which decay and rot, or be lost due to theft, or disaster. Sometimes I will see a person driving an old luxury car that is no longer luxurious and think, in its day that car was a sight to behold. The only true things of value are the things which you can’t lose. What are they? They are your treasures in heaven that will last for all eternity.

Verse 3: “Your gold and your silver have rusted, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. You have stored up such treasure in the last days!”

The “last days” is the period between Christ’s first and second coming. James rebukes the rich for living as if Jesus were never coming back. He is coming back and I believe very soon. What does He find when He comes back for you? What will you have for Him?

Verse 4: “Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields—that which has been withheld by you—cries out against you; and the outcries of those who did the harvesting have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.”

It was a violation of God’s Law to withhold wages when they were due. Wages were not only to be paid, but they were to be paid on time. God has always had a special place in His heart for the poor. Today, we have many working poor. If you are an employer, and call yourself a Christian, you are to treat your employees with respect and do right by them.

Verse 5: “You have lived luxuriously on the earth and lived in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.”

Just like animals are fattened for slaughter without their knowing what was going to happen to them, the rich are unaware of the disaster awaiting them because of how they have treated the poor and lived their lives wasting their wealth on their selfishness and lusts.

Verse 6: “You have condemned and murdered the righteous man; he does not resist you.”

This verse continues revealing the sinful progression of the rich. Refusing to pay laborers led to fraud, which led to self-indulgence. Finally, that overindulgence has consumed the rich to the point that they will do anything to sustain their lifestyle. “Condemned” comes from a word meaning “to sentence.” When courts are biased because of the parties involved, it brings a sense of hopelessness. We need our courts to be based on the law as evenly applied to all parties. James is exposing the power of some wealthy to satisfy their carnal desires.

Verse 7: “Therefore be patient, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the soil, being patient about it, until it receives the early and late rains.”

James is making the point that Christians need to wait patiently for the glorious Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a time that God’s promised vindication of His people will occur. God promises justice to correct and punish  all forms of injustice in this world. As the song goes, “What a day that will be….”

Verse 8: “You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”

To “strengthen your hearts”  is a call for resolute, firm courage and commitment. James encourages those about to collapse under the weight of persecution to strengthen their hearts with the hope of the second coming. He is coming again! Will you be ready?

Verse 9: “Do not groan, brothers, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged. Behold, the Judge is standing right at the door.”

James pictures Christ as a Judge about to open the doors to the courtroom and start His court. Knowing that the strain of persecution could lead to grumbling, fear, and worry, James warned his readers against that sin, lest they forfeit their full reward. They would not lose their salvation, however.

Verse 10: “As an example, brothers, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.” 

The prophets are an example to us. They suffered, and they were patient. We should follow their example. They were men with the same passions and weaknesses as us today. If they could do it, so must we.

Verse 11: “Behold, we count those blessed who persevere. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.”

Job is the classic case of a man who patiently endured suffering and was blessed by God for his persevering faith at the end. James comforts his readers that God had a purpose for their suffering, just as He did for Job’s. We stand on a foundation that is based on the fact that the “Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.”

Verse 12: “But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your yes be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.

“Above all” is an emphatic exhortation signals a weighty priority for godliness. “Do not swear” is not a prohibition against cursing or the use of vulgarity. It concerns taking oaths by appealing to objects as witnesses. You don’t swear “on your mother’s grave” or use expressions like “I swear to God” in an effort to prove your point. Letting your “yes be yes, and your no, no” means the Christian is expected to be a person whose word can be trusted. If you are living a Godly life, people should respect your word on its own without an appeal to a higher authority. 

Verse 13: “Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises.”

The answer to the suffering caused by evil treatment, the world, the devil or persecution either religiously or by the government, is seeking God’s comfort through prayer. When you do, you should become cheerful and that will lead to singing God’s praises.

Verse 14: “Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.”

James instructs those who are “sick,” meaning weakened by their suffering, to call for the elders of the church for strength, support, and prayer. Notice there is no reference to any spiritual gifts such as healings or miracles. To “anoint” someone with oil meant to rub the oil on their body. This could be a ceremonial anointing like you see in many churches today or an actual application of medicine to the bodies of those sick. I think the best view is that both could be correct interpretations. 

Verse 15: “And the prayer offered in faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.”

There is no special “prayer of faith” that has healing power. Many Bible versions translate the verse as “prayer of faith.” The Legacy translation correctly interprets the Greek as “offered in faith.” The power of trusting and faithful prayer is the point here; the Christian community should be regularly in intercessory prayer for the sick. Healing and forgiveness while they may be connected are not necessarily connected. Sin and illness are not unrelated. Forgiveness is beneficial to the body as well as to the soul.

Verse 16: “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.”

We do not confess our sins to each other to receive forgiveness. That only comes from God through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. However, mutual transparency and sharing of struggles will enable believers to uphold each other in spiritual battles. We should be humble enough to admit our shortcomings to others in the body of Christ. Others may be struggling with our same issues and this could lead to mutual encouragement in the Lord. Prayer coming from a righteous person will bring positive results. The consistent, passionate prayers of godly men have the power to accomplish much. Prayer should always be our first response to challenges in life.

Verse 17: “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.”

Elijah provides one of the most effective stories in the Old Testament of the power of prayer. His prayers both initiated and ended a 3-year, 6-month drought. His example should be ever before us as we pray for our country, government, and lost loved ones. There is no problem so vast and challenging that prayer will not help. 

Verse 18: “Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the earth produced its fruit.”

Consider that Elijah for three and a half years he held back the rain. The drought did not end until he prayed. We are the same type of person Elijah was. Elijah wasn’t Superman; he was “a man subject to like passions as we are.” However, he was a man who prayed with passion, and that is the kind of praying we need today.

Verse 19: “My brothers, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back,”

To “strays from the truth” means to stray into sin. James is closing his book with a focus on holy living. He makes clear that we have an affirmative duty to be in the lives of those that claim to be part of the body of Christ. There should be no looking away from those in the church if they began to act in a manner unbecoming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Verse 20: “let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.”

The care and concern of the souls of the community of faith is a matter of interest of every member, not only church officers or the ministry. Mutual help and encouragement, and sometimes rebuke and correction are required. To “cover” means God’s covering of sins with forgiveness after repentance.