ARE WE ASHAMED OF OUR LORD, EVEN IF WE WERE THREATENED WITH DEATH?
See the words of Jesus in Luke 9:[26] For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels.
We know that many persons in the early church gave up their lives for their love of our Savior. How strong is our faith in this time of our lives?
See also the words of Paul and Silas to the jailer at Macedonia in Acts 16:[31] And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
I believe the words in Eph. 2:[8] For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: [9] Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Timothy Keller in his book, THE REASON FOR GOD, Belief in an Age
of Skepticism, wrote that,"Good works may produce a great deal of
moral behavior in your life, but inside you are filled
with self-righteousness, cruelty and bigotry. You are always
comparing yourself to other people and are never sure you are
being good enough - by trying to be a good person through an act of will. You need a complete transformation of the very motives of your heart." +
He wrote that the devil prefers Pharisees, who try to save themselves, rather than trusting Jesus to save them.
See also Luke 18:[9] And Jesus spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:[10]Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. [11] The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. [12]I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. [13]And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. [14] I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
Jesus said in Luke 11: [13] If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? See also Matt. 7: [7] Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
The parable above makes it clear that all our natural, good works, even if we profess that we believe on Jesus Christ as the son of God, will not save us. We are saved when we accept his free gift, and ASK FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT TO COME INTO OUR HEARTS.
The followers of Herbert Armstrong, also members of the Shiloh Truelight Church in Mint Hill,NC, in the last 30 or 40 years, have abandoned their claims to be the only ones who preach true doctrines. See the words of Jesus in Mark. 9:[36] And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them,[37] Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me. [38] And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. [39] But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. [40] For he that is not against us is on our part.
Those who teach that they are the only one who preach true doctrines are seriously tempted to compare themselves over others like the pharasee above but the publican who prayed, "God be merciful me a sinner," went to his house justified.
See Matt. 7: [21] Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. .
See also 1 John 4:[8] He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. . . . [20] If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
If you have accepted Jesus as your Savior and have the Holy Spirit and truly desire to do the will of our heavenly Father, that Holy Spirit will do good works in and through you, and you will have nothing of which you can boast. And you can enter the kingdom of heaven when you die.
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Bible talk
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