FAITH AND FAITH ALONE

Faith and Faith alone can save

In the book of Romans Ch. 1 verses 16 & 17, the Bible says, ” For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ; for it is the Power of God unto Salvation to everyone who believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the Righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the Just shall live by Faith.”
If a person is too proud to bend their spirit before God, then that person will never get to heaven. They may be a kind, gentle, loving person; they may even give to charity. But if pride keeps them from admitting their need for Christ, then they are not accepting His gift of salvation.

Many people are in hell today because their heart was too hard and they really believed that their mind was too smart for the God who created them. There is only one to make it to heaven. Holy God can not tolerate sin in His presence, and God decreed that the penalty for sin is death. ” For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is Eternal Life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23 declares… And Romans 3:23 is clear that ALL men are sinners. So, God has provided a bridge between Himself and mankind. Merciful God sent His Son Jesus Christ to die in man’s place. Jesus sacrifice is all that is necessary for a person to enter into a relationship with God.

A person does not work or reason their way into heaven. The bridge that spans the gap between each person and God is crossed only through an acts of faith. By acknowledging the need for a savior and by accepting Christ;s death on the Cross as the payment for their sins. The truly wise people of this world are the ones who have accepted this truth and have bowed at the feet of the worlds redeemer; Jesus Christ

ONCE TO DIE; THEN THE JUDGMENT

Hebrews 9:27 states ” And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment .”

One of the strange aspects of modern life is the way that so many wish to ignore the fact that death is the inescapable lot of every human being. People close their minds and do everything possible to forget the sure coming of the grim reaper.

Only the Christian, washed in the Blood of Jesus, can face the inevitable with the serenity of Dr. F. B. Meyer, one of the great saints of a bygone time. Just hours before his death, Dr. Meyer wrote to a friend: “ I have just heard, to my surprise, that  I  have only a few days to live.  It may be that before this reaches you I shall have entered the palace. Don’t trouble to write. We shall meet in the morning. With much love, yours affectionately, F. B. Meyer.

One reason men fear to face the fact of death is that we all instinctively realize that death is not the end. Death strips away all disguises and reveals us as we really are. Death does not change eternal destiny; it confirms it.

Please see our section on first steps.

NO TURNING BACK

“And Jesus said unto him, No man,having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God”. [Luke 9:62]

By the grace of God, I started out living for Jesus many years ago. Along the way I have stumbled and made many mistakes and missteps. Always and without exception, when I reached out for the Lord to pick me up, He did.
Never has there been a time when He left me to my own devices or to wallow in my defeat. Because of the finished work of Christ upon the Cross, I am saved today and preaching this glorious gospel. Whether on the mountaintop or down low in the valley, the object of faith has always remained the same; Christ and Him Crucified. There is no other solution for any of us nor do we need any other.

We live in a world today that is very, very different from the world at the time I received Christ. Today, political correctness is all the rage and tolerance is demanded. Compromise is on the lips of many top christian leaders these days. Nowadays, so many in the church are trying to mix Jesus in with the rest of their “stuff”. In the world of seeker-sensitive evangelism it is a crime to mention the word sin or to call men sinners. I never would have gotten saved had not a true man of God told me that I was a sinner that needed a savior. I did not receive Christ for life enhancement; I received Christ to escape the wrath to come. I have broken the laws of God, as we all have, and can do nothing myself to set it right. I need and in fact must have, a savior.
I did not receive Christ to merely “enjoy the trip”, I want to be saved from the judgement at the end of the trail. The Lord Jesus Christ is the only way that man-kind can become right with God again and though that is not popular today, I will never quit preaching it. It is the truth!

No power in this world [or in the church for that matter] can compel me to change my convictions just because a mob wills it.
Our enemy, satan, would love for us to stop preaching the true gospel and the message of the Cross. Because the moment the preaching of the Cross stops, people stop getting saved.[ 1 Cor. 1:18, 21-23]
When a preacher like Joel Osteen states that he never mentions the Cross or sin, how can people truly be saved?When we allow a man like Rick Warren to try and bring all religions together in our christian churches, what does that say about the significance of our faith in the Lamb of God? And by the way, isn’t Jesus enough purpose? Did not Jesus provide us with the real “Purpose Driven Life” when He went to the Cross?
Why do we seem to think we need some fad to take the place of what Jesus did for us at Calvary?

Just like David did, you and I need to stop hiding from the things we fear and go after them face-to-face. Shake no hands with the enemy. If you are a true gospel preacher, then do not negotiate with the powers of hell. Don’t flirt with your enemies and do not let them flirt with you. The enemy and his demons are not in charge of me. Refuse to allow anything or anyone to conform you to the spirit or the ways of the world. Do not be conformed, but be transformed into the image of Jesus Christ.[Rom.12:1-2] We need to boldly march into these last days and follow the path least chosen instead of following the path of least resistance.

The world and the modern liberal, seeker-sensitive church can do as it desires; But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. [Joshua 24:15]. Its high time to cease halting between two opinions and choose this day whom you will serve.
As for me, I will take the way of Calvary.

WHO WAS IT THAT REALLY CRUCIFIED OUR LORD ?

From scripture, we know who it was that cried for His Blood. We also know who nailed Him to the tree.  The Jews will say “it was the Roman soldiers that drove the nails into His hands.”   The Roman soldiers will say ” it was the Jews that cried out for His Blood.”  Pilate will say that he is innocent of this mans blood.  Who was it, then,  who crucified  our  Lord  ?

Isaiah gives us the answer: ” Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But  He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”  Isaiah 53:4-6

We are all guilty and we can all be saved; but only because Jesus died. We must receive His sacrifice Personally.

The Wages Of Sin Are Not Pleasant To Behold.

“The way of  transgressors is hard” Proverbs 13:15

No heart can rejoice in the sight of a man destroyed, even though it is by his own doings.  Sin is the fountainhead of all sorrow, and it is the mother of all tears. Sin is a mighty destructive force. Sin is never satisfied until a life is ruined, disgraced, and brought into shame.

Go through the Bible and look at the payday of sinning.  See Cain walking down the road, driven from the presence of God, saying, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.” [Genesis 4:13]

Then look at mighty Samson, champion of Israel, “grinding in the prison house” with his hair cut and his eyesight gone, having become the laughing stock of Gaza.  

Look at David, the sweet singer of Israel. No one could play the melodious tones of the golden harp like David could. See him, this great warrior of Israel, as he stands over the lifeless body of his ill-gotten son, unshaven, unkept, brought into open shame for his sin.

There is only one way to avoid the tragic consequences of sin, and that way is CHRIST.  

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” [Romans 3:23]

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” [Romans 6:23] 

by Len Paxton

GOD ON BOTH SIDES WITH US IN THE MIDDLE PART 1

GOD ON BOTH SIDES WITH US IN THE MIDDLE. Part One

Romans 6:1- ” What shall we say then?  Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?

6:2- God Forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

The finished work of Jesus Christ upon the Cross is our victory over sin, just as it is God’s method of salvation.  Salvation and victory over sin can only be brought about as one puts their faith one hundred percent in what Jesus did at Calvary. It was on the Cross where Jesus paid the penalty for sin and broke the power of sin.

Jesus victory there at Calvary becomes our victory when we place our faith in His finished work.

A simple outline would be as follows:  1- Jesus paid it all at the Cross; When we place 2- Our faith in what He did at the Cross, the 3- Holy Spirit will the help us and do His work within our lives.  So there we have it!  1- The Cross  2- Our faith  and 3- The Holy Spirit.

  This is God on both sides and us in the middle..  How could we possibly lose if we are surrounded by God ?  Glory to God!!!

The Christian life is a work of the Holy Spirit within us. [ Galatians 2:20]

We can never live this Christian life as we should without the help of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit only has the legal right to help us if our faith is in what Jesus did for us at the Cross.

If a believer places his/her faith in good works of any nature, the Holy Spirit can never honor that. That is flesh. The Holy Spirit will not anoint the flesh.  

The problem that each of us face in our lives is sin.  Sin comes in many complexities and forms.

Even though we , as believers have been freed from the old sinful nature, God has allowed it to remain dormant within us for some very specific reasons that we will not discuss  here.

One thing I will say about that though, is the Lord want us to continually look to Him for our daily walk of victory and, in fact, all that we need.  We need to learn to trust the Lord always. 

The Christian must always depend upon the Lord for everything. We must never place faith in self. 

Sin is serious and so severe that we cannot confess it away by positive confession. We cannot even pray it away. Jesus dealt with the sin problem at Calvary. We must exhibit faith in Him.

The devil will continue to tempt us but our victory is in the finished work of Christ upon the Cross.  We must always place our confidence in what Jesus has done and not in what we are doing. This is not to say that we don’t do proper works. As the Holy Spirit does His work within us; proper works on our behalf will be the result. [ Eph. 2:10 & Philippians 2:13]

Proper faith will always produce proper works in the child of God. But it will only happen if our faith is one hundred percent in the Cross of Christ. We must never trust in anything else. 

When we properly place our faith in the finished work of Christ on the Cross, the Holy Spirit will give birth to many good works within us— But our faith must never be in what we do, rather in what Jesus has done. 

There were those in the church at Rome who believed that sin didn’t matter anymore because they were under grace, but our text refutes that thinking.  Lets also look at Romans 6:14

” For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” See, grace is what gives us the power to stop sinning. Grace is not a license to keep sinning; it is the power to stop.  The grace of God doesn’t mean freedom to sin; it is freedom from sin. Hallelujah !!!

 ” Christ in you, the hope of glory:” [ Colossians 1:27]  produces Christlikeness and holiness in the true believer, but this will only happen if our faith is in what Jesus did at the Cross. Salvation, sanctification, holiness and whatever else is needed by the believer from the Lord, can only come to us by and through the Cross.  There is no other way. This is the message of the Gospel.

The way that the child of God is to obtain victory over sin and also, to walk free from sin, is the same way that they got saved.  Colossians 2:6 states,  ” As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him.”   Simple faith in what Jesus did at Calvary is all that is required. Then, the Holy Spirit comes and works His work within us.  Praise God!

by Rev. Len Paxton

GOD ON BOTH SIDES WITH US IN THE MIDDLE PART 2

GOD ON BOTH SIDES WITH US IN THE MIDDLE. Part Two

Romans 6:2 asks the believer this question: “How shall we that are dead to sin, live any longer therein ?”

The born again child of God has been, in the mind of God, crucified with Christ, buried, and risen with Christ to newness of life. [ Romans 6: 3-4]

When we are born again, there is a spiritual transformation that takes place within us. 

[ Romans 6:5]

Romans 6:6 tells us ” Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” Praise God, we are free from the dominion of the sin nature and we no longer have to serve the sin nature as slaves to it, all because of what Jesus did at the Cross and our faith in that.

Look at Romans 6:7  ” For he that is dead is freed from sin.”  If we are in Christ, we are dead to the sin nature as well as free from the sin nature and also, acts of sin in our daily lives.

Our old sinful nature, while remaining in the believer, should have no power over us.  We are dead to it. Hallelujah !!!

The way that the Christian can cause the sin nature to come roaring back to life in them is when they  commit an act of sin and then try to get victory over it by their own efforts. You will be defeated every time you do that. Keep your faith in the finished work of Christ upon the Cross and realize that, in the mind of God, you were crucified with Him. You were buried with Him, and you were raised to newness of life in Christ. 

The Expositors Study Bible notes for Romans 6: 3-4 says this “When Christ died on the Cross, in the mind of God, we died with Him; in other words, He became our Substitute, and our identification with Him in His death gives us all the benefits for which He died; the idea is that He did it all for us …….. Not only did we die with Him, but we were buried with Him as well, which means that all the sin and transgression of the past were buried; when they put Him in the tomb, they put all of our sins into that tomb as well. ……… we died with Him, we were buried with Him, and His Resurrection was our Resurrection to a ” Newness of Life”.

All of this is made a reality in our lives when we place our faith in what Jesus did at the Cross and that alone!

Galatians 3:13 tells us that Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. The law can never change our hearts, therefore, while it can and most certainly does, define sin; the law is powerless to give us victory over sin or make us stop sinning. It took the substitutionary death of Christ on the Cross to both pay the penalty for sin and to break the power that sin had over man. When we identify with Him in this; we can walk in a life of perpetual victory over the sin nature as well as acts of sin.

Jesus said, as recorded in the Gospel of John; ” And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” [ Jn 8:32]    That is why we preach the message of the Cross. 

God wants us free today.

by Rev. Len Paxton

GOOD WORKS

 

GOOD WORKS

by Rev. Len Paxton

Ephesians 2:10 tells us “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” This verse taken in context, tells us that we are justified, sanctified, and saved by the finished work of Christ upon the Cross. When we receive what Christ did for us at Calvary, we become “born-again”. Every born-again believer is the very workmanship of Christ. When our faith is properly placed in the Cross then we are assured of the help of the Holy Spirit as He conforms us into the image of Jesus. We are told in this verse that we should walk in good works. Good works do not produce faith. But, proper faith will always produce proper works. So, the believer, walking in good works birthed of the Holy Spirit in the believers heart, is proof of that believers properly placed faith in the finished work of Christ upon the Cross. [See James 2: 14-26] .My faith properly placed in the finished work of Christ upon the Cross will result in the help of the Holy Spirit in my life. Proper faith will produce proper works but proper works will never produce proper faith.Romans 8:29 tells us that every believer is predestinated to be conformed into the image of Christ. This can only be done by the Holy Spirit working in our lives. Good works, acceptable to God, will flow from our hearts and lives, when we place our faith in Jesus sacrifice on the Cross. That’s why this blog is Cross-Talk. Also check out our main web-site at acts2618.com by clicking on the link. You can get to our other blogs from there as well as listen to our pod-casts. We Love You in Jesus….

 

 

 

A WONDERFUL THOUGHT

SATURDAY, APRIL 26, 2008

“JUST A THOUGHT”

JESUS SAID: “IT IS FINISHED”

PRAISE GOD, THANK YOU JESUS!

IT WAS FINALLY DONE. THAT WHICH HAS BEEN PLANNED FOR BEFORE THE WORLD BEGAN, WOW. MANY LOOKED FORWARD TO THAT DAY, BUT NEVER SAW IT, OR EXPERIENCED THE RESULTS THE FULNESS OF WHAT WAS ACCOMPLISHED THAT DAY. 

BUT WE HAVE & YET WE TAKE IT FOR GRANTED. WE TRAMPLE OVER IT. WE HAVE NO REVERENCE FOR IT. WE LOOK TO SELF, TO OTHERS, TO THE WORLD, … 

WOW, JESUS SAID “IT IS FINISHED”. YOU CAN NOW GO DIRECTLY TO THE THRONE OF GOD. YOU ARE RECONCILED TO GOD, THROUGH WHAT JESUS DID AT THE CROSS. YOU ARE RECONCILED FULLY. OH PRAISE GOD. 

THIS IS NOT A LIGHT THING. WE PASS RIGHT OVER IT. WE WEAR IT AROUND OUR NECKS & HAVE NO FEAR OF THE LORD OR NO TREMBLING OF THE TRUTH THAT IS BEHIND THE CROSS. 

WE GO ABOUT OUR DAY AS IF… WELL YOU FILL IN THE BLANKS. 

OH AT THE CROSS, AT THE CROSS, WHERE MY SAVIOUR DIED…

… TO SAVE A SINNER LIKE ME…

… I WAS LOST, BUT…

IT WAS FULLY ACCOMPLISHED AT CALVARY. MY REDEMPTION. I HAVE ETERNAL LIFE THROUGH HIM. I HAVE BEEN RECONCILED TO MY GOD.

IN ONE MOMENT, VICTORY!!!!

NOW ME AND MY FATHER ARE ONE. I AM RECONCILED WITH HIM. I HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. I WILL WALK WITH HIM AND TALK WITH HIM, FROM THIS DAY FORWARD AND FOR ALL ETERNITY. PRAISE GOD!!!!!

JOHN 3:16 FOR GOD SOOOOOOOOOO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS SON TO DIE FOR ME!!!

I WAS LOST AND BLIND, BUT NOW I SEE.

WOW, PRAISE GOD!!!!

“IT IS FINISHED”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

POSTED BY ANGIE PAXTON AT 5:30 AM

Some Results of Deliverance from Sin

Lets take a look at Romans 8:14-16.    ” For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.  For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Ab’-ba, Father.   The Spirit Himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.”

We see listed here 5 immediate results of deliverance from sin.

1-We are led by the Spirit of God.

2-We are the children of God.

3-We no longer have the spirit of bondage.

4-We have received the Spirit of adoption.

5-The Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit to these facts.

       When the great Apostle Paul said that we are led by the Spirit of God, he was also saying that we are no longer led by our old sinful nature. Even though the sinful nature still abides within our lives, it no longer controls us if we are led by the Spirit of God.

We cannot be led by the Spirit and the flesh at the same time. It is one or the other at any given moment. We must learn to walk in the Spirit on a consistent basis. We do this by placing our faith 100 percent in what Jesus did for us at the Cross. If we look to our own ability, our own strength, our own efforts; that is walking in the flesh. Being led by the flesh is any system, rule, or law, that we or someone else originates that is intended to lead us into victory.

Most of the time, these little laws and rules sound very religious and appear very good. But God will never honor that which man devises. The Spirit of God will always lead us to victory. The flesh will always lead us to defeat.

When Paul mentions the spirit of bondage that causes fear, he is saying that when we resort to the flesh to serve God, we will be automatically placed in bondage to the flesh. We do not wish to be in bondage to religious rules, regulations, and man-made laws.  This brings fear because we will consistently fail if we attempt to live by law and walk in the flesh. To stay under man-made laws is an evidence of pride. Just like Cain, we want God to accept whatever we offer Him.  The proper offering is faith in the shed Blood of Jesus, not our religious shibboleths.

The very moment we came to the Lord Jesus Christ, we received the Spirit of adoption. We are to now walk in the Spirit by placing our faith in what Jesus did for us at the Cross. Whereas we were once the children of Adam’s fallen race; Now, by our faith in Jesus death on the Cross, we are adopted back into the family of God. We now can say, “Father God”… Hallelujah!!

The constant bearing of witness with our spirit by the Holy Spirit tells us and keeps on telling us, you are a child of God.

The key to all victory for a Christian is to put their faith in what Jesus did at the Cross and then, leave it there. Do not transfer your faith to any formula, ritual, law, rule, or anything else; Keep your faith solidly anchored in the Cross of Calvary and the work that Jesus there did. 

 

by Rev. Len Paxton