Garments of Salvation

by Scott Rossy
“I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness.” - Isaiah 61:10

In scripture, our spiritual condition is often described by the garments we wear. God refers to clothing to describe what we are inside, of how He sees us and how He views our standing before Him. Our clothing is seen as an outward manifestation of what’s truly inside of us. For instance, this was certainly the case of Jesus Christ during the “Transfiguration” when “Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them.” (Mark 9:2-3.) Matthew’s account of this spectacular event adds that “His garments became as white as light.” (Matthew 17:2). This was a rare, spectacular glimpse of Jesus Christ being shown in His glory while still here on earth. Both Peter and John would later say in their epistles that what they were witnessing was Christ in His glory. The whiteness of Jesus clothing is described as a whiteness that has never been seen before. A whiteness that is like a radiant light and exceedingly white. No launderer on earth can whiten clothes as this. This whiteness is descriptive of what Christ is inside. His exceedingly white clothes are a manifestation of what He is in His divine nature. They show His absolutely complete Holiness and perfect righteousness. He is without spot or blemish. He is completely pure, through and through. His purity emanates from within Him and shines through Him. He alone is sinless and spotless.

Man’s Garments

Similarly, what is inside of mankind is also depicted as clothing. But in God’s eyes man is seen quite differently than His Beloved Son. God says through the prophet Isaiah that “all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment” or as the NIV translates it “filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). That’s God’s evaluation of man. He sees us as spiritually clothed in polluted, filthy, rags. This is true of “all of us”. Man in his inner spiritual condition is clothed in filthiness. It’s what we are in the core of our being. He says this of “all our righteous deeds”. The most righteous, good deeds we perform are viewed as nothing but filthy garments, filthy rags before the Lord. It’s what we and our works are. This is because our deeds are a product of our true, spiritually dead, inner condition. Whereas Jesus’ true inner condition is of complete purity and holiness manifested in His exceedingly pure white clothing, our true inner condition is of polluted, sinful, spiritual deadness manifested in our filthy rags. Jesus who “Himself knew what was in man” (John 2:25) said that we are evil and defiled within saying “ For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.” (Mark 7:21-23).

Hopeless condition

Humanly speaking, God’s evaluation of man leaves us in a hopeless condition. He is holy, pure, white, spotless and righteous. He is our Judge and knows full well that we are completely polluted, evil, filthy and defiled within. He’s declared we are unfit to enter into His glorious presence. “Who is able to stand before the LORD, this holy God?” (I Samuel 6:20), whose “eyes are too pure to even look on evil.” (Habakkuk 1:13). The prophet Isaiah, after seeing “the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple” , was completely aware of his own filthy condition when in the Lords’ presence and declared “Woe is me, for I am ruined! because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.” (Isaiah 6:1, 4)

Clean Clothes Provided by God

In order for man to enter into the Lord’s presence he needs to be properly clothed. The dirty clothes will have to be removed and the necessary clean white clothes will have to be given to him from God. This is exactly what God has done for those who are His. Man can’t change his own condition. “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil.” (Jeremiah 13:23) The evil within us can’t be changed by self effort. The salvation we need must come from God. “Salvation is from the LORD” (Jonah 2:9). It’s He who provides those who are His with the spotless “white robes” (Revelation 7:9) that are necessary to enter into His presence.

Jesus illustrated through a parable the need to be properly clothed in order for us to enter into the presence of God. Jesus taught this lesson in Matthew 22:1-14 saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son.” (Matthew 22:2). The king in this parable is God the Father. He is giving the wedding feast for His Son, who is Christ. The wedding feast is representative of future glory in the presence of God (heaven, the millennium). The king “sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come.” (v.3). For various reasons, those who are the invited guests are unwilling to come. The king responds by calling others. He orders his slaves to “Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.’ Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests.” (Matthew 22:9-10). The slaves are successful in their efforts to fill the wedding hall with guests. The hall now being full, the king now arrives to the feast. “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless.” (Matthew 22:11-12). Upon arriving, the king notices this one man who was not wearing the proper clothes. He is not wearing wedding clothes but is still in his dirty street clothes. This man is not fit to enter into the kings wedding feast. Apparently, all the other guests were clothed properly. Since these guests were last minute invitees, having been gathered in directly from the “main highways” and “streets” they wouldn’t have been able to get their own clothes to change into but instead needed to be clothed by the king himself upon arriving at his feast. The necessary clothes would be provided for the guests from the king. All the guests comply except this one man. He remains in his own clothing. In pride and self righteousness he does not accept the kings’ provision but tries to enter the feast on his own terms. When confronted by the king, “the man was speechless.” The man does not know what to say. He has no defense. He now realizes the consequences of his decision. The king shows no mercy. “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:13-14). Earlier, the king showed mercy by providing these unworthy guests with the necessary clothes to enter into his presence. But now, this proud, self righteousness man is shown no pity. He is cast away from the kings’ presence. He is banished, unfit to be with the king. He is cast into a place of darkness and weeping.

This is a picture of the salvation that God has provided and what happens to those who reject it. It shows man’s need. It shows that man in himself is unfit to enter into the presence of God. It shows man’s need to be clothed properly and that he must receive clean garments from God in order to enter heaven. In Jesus Christ, God has made the provision for filthy, sinful man to be able to appear before Him as righteous. On the cross, Jesus became sin for us; “He (God) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (II Corinthians 5:21) He did this by bearing our sins in His body on the cross (I Peter 2:24) while the Father in heaven poured out His wrath and hatred for sin on Him. The guilt and debt of sin has been taken away in Christ. Those who come to God in repentance and faith, confessing their own personal guilt and spiritual depravity before God, who see themselves as impure and filthy in God’s presence are the ones who will be clothed in the proper clothes. Those who truly can say from the depth of their heart; "I know that nothing good dwells in me" (Romans 7:18) and can only cry, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner!” (Luke 18:13) will be clothed in the “white robes” (Revelation 7:9) necessary to enter the presence of God. The white robe that the repentant sinner receives and is clothed in is the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. He clothes them in His righteousness. As stated earlier, He is in His entire Being, “radiant and exceedingly white.” He is completely Holy. When the Father looks at them, He sees them as perfectly righteous. He sees them clothed in His perfect Sons righteousness. They are wrapped in His Holiness. It’s given to them by the command of God. He says; “Remove the filthy garments from him…See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes.” (Zechariah 3:4) The exchange has been made. The dirty, filthy rags have been taken away and the clean white garments of salvation have been given. Those who have been clothed are the children of God and can worship God saying:

“I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness.” (Isaiah 61:10)

They have a righteousness, but it’s not of their own doing “but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith” (Philippians 3:9) They’ve given up all hope and desire to reform their inner corruption and defilement. They’ve given up hope of trying to do things to gain God’s approval but instead gladly receive the perfect righteousness that He clothes them in.

Are you attempting to enter into the presence of God still dressed in filthy garments? Will you be like the man at the wedding feast who the king said “throw him into the outer darkness”? We already know that the Lord calls our righteous deeds “filthy rags”. Are you trusting in your own goodness? Your own works? Are you hoping that church attendance or serving in a church or partaking of church sacraments will gain God’s approval? If so, you aren’t trusting in Christ for your salvation. You haven’t seen your need to be washed of sin and clothed in the righteousness of Christ. How can we come before Him clothed in our own self righteousness which He views as mere filthy rags and expect Him to accept us? It’s an affront to Him. It’s a rejection of the cross of Jesus Christ. It’s a rejection of the only salvation that He has provided. Salvation is in Christ and Christ alone.

“He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior” (Titus 3:5)

“There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

“The testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.” (I John 5:11-12)

“WHOEVER WILL CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED”

Romans 10:13

Sons of Korah - Psalm 148

Click link below to learn more about Sons of Korah:

 Sons of Korah

Sons of Korah - Psalm 125

Click link below to learn more about Sons of Korah:

 Sons of Korah

Slide show for GSA 2012

Sons of Korah - Psalm 144

Click link below to learn more about Sons of Korah:

Sons of Korah

Slide show to promote Grace Tabernacles' 2012 Blue/Green Softball game

Sons of Korah - Psalm 130 Live

Click link below to learn more about Sons of Korah:

 Sons of Korah

Sons of Korah - Psalm 93

Click link below to learn more about Sons of Korah:

Sons of Korah

Do Christians and Jews worship the same God?

by Scott Rossy
A friend once asked me: “Since both claim to be worshiping the God of Abraham, do Christians and Jews worship the same God?”

I told her no, and gave her my reasons. She asked a bible teacher at her church and he responded by saying yes. He backed up his point by quoting the story of Paul while at Athens when he said “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects.  For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.” (Acts 17:21-23). His (the bible teacher) point being that the Athenians were worshiping God, but they were just doing it in ignorance.

Notwithstanding his point, I still believe the answer is no.

I think the question should really be; “Does God accept their worship?” Many people “claim” to worship God, whether they are a Jew or a Gentile but does God accept or is He pleased with their worship?

When speaking of whether we worship the same God, I understand the question to be all encompassing, concerning our entire life offering, meaning; do we serve the same God? Do we pray to the same God? Do we have faith in and are we trusting in the same God?  Do we know the same God and are we known by Him? Do we all have equal access to Him? Are we all a part of His family? But even more importantly, does He accept or receive our worship, our prayers, our service, our life? Is He pleased with it? We may claim to be serving, worshiping, and praying to Him, but is it on His terms?

I believe the answer to this question is clearly, No. Reason being that Jesus Christ is the only way of access to the Father.

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6)

“For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (I Timothy 2:5)

There is no other way to come to the Father. All access to the Father is in and through Christ. Access to the Father not only for salvation, but also for prayer and worship as well. It is not possible to come to the Father some other way, to side step Christ and then expect Him to accept our worship. Only those (both Jew and Gentile) who have been adopted by the Father and have born into His family are at peace with the Him. Those who are outside of Christ, whether Jew or Gentile, are still abiding under the wrath of God. They have never been reconciled to the Father. Man may claim that he is worshiping the Father and that the Father is pleased with or accepts his worship but that is not the case.

“The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.” (Proverbs 15:8)

“He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, even his prayer is an abomination.” (Proverbs 28:9)

Scripture is filled with examples of God rejecting the worship of man. This was particularly true of the covenant people of Israel and Judah. God rejected their worship in Isaiah 1:11-15 saying:

“What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” Says the Lord. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle; and I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. “When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts?  “Bring your worthless offerings no longer, incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and Sabbath, the calling of assemblies—I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.  “I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, they have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them.  “So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.”

This is an example of people coming to God based mostly on the fact that they are the physical descendants of Abraham and assuming that He will be pleased with and will accept their worship. They overlooked the fact that their hearts were not right before Him. They still had hearts that were evil and corrupt. They possessed hearts of stone. They were never forgiven, cleansed, washed and purified. God will never accept worship from such a vessel. Even we as His children today will have our worship and prayers rejected if we cherish sin in our hearts, so how much more those who are outside of His family?

Being a descendant of Abraham wasn’t enough. John the Baptist said to the Jews of his day, “Do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.” (Matthew 3:9). Jesus said to the Jews who claimed that they were Abraham’s children, “You are of your father the devil.” (John 8:44). All who are outside of Christ are children of the devil, whether they are a Jew or a Gentile. So in what way can it be said that God accepts their worship? It can’t.

Old Testament saints

So what about the OT believers? Since Jesus had not yet come, was their worship, etc. accepted by the Father. Was it pleasing to Him? Where they coming to Him on His terms? Yes, it WAS accepted by Him. It was accepted by Him because they also were coming to God based on the cross of Christ. There is only one way of salvation. The cross of Christ is the way of salvation under both Covenants, the old and the new. Humanly speaking, they were looking ahead to the cross just as we look back to the cross. It was necessary for Christ to step into time during the incarnation but from God’s viewpoint, Christ’s atoning work was already accomplished. “For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you.” (I Peter 1:20). He does not exist in time. He does not see “history” and “time” as we do. He sees as one, what is to us the past, present and future. Because of this, God accepted Abel, Enoch, Abraham, Moses, David, etc. because from His viewpoint, their sins were already atoned for. Christ’s atoning work was a done deal. These godly men of faith understood that “the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.” (Romans 4:5). They had placed their faith Him and understood that salvation was to come from and be provided by Him. They may not have had the understanding that we do today but they were trusting in the One who is to come, just as we trust in the One who has come.

Those who are outside of Christ (Jew and Gentile) are separated from God and still have their debt of sin remaining. It’s still between them and the Lord. It hasn’t been dealt with. As a result, God’s wrath is abiding on them.

”Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.” (Isaiah 59:2)

“He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” (John 3:36)

There is simply no other way to the Father than through Christ for both Jew and Gentile. Claiming to worship the God of Abraham without faith in the Christ (Messiah, Anointed One, Branch, Servant of the Lord) wasn’t acceptable in the OT and it is still the case today.

Worship in truth

Concerning worship, Jesus said, “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23-24). To worship in truth is to worship in and through Jesus because He alone is the truth.

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6)

“truth is in Jesus” (Ephesians 4:21)

The Holy Spirit

It is necessary for the Holy Spirit to be present for all true worship to take place. At least worship that is pleasing to the Lord. It’s only what the Holy Spirit produces in us that is pleasing to the Lord. Apart form the Holy Spirit, no good indwells us. There’s nothing but our wicked, corrupt flesh. And since the unbelieving, unregenerate do not have the Spirit within them, all that’s left is their wicked flesh and the wicked flesh cannot produce a life that is pleasing to the Lord. “The mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:7-8). Those who are outside of Christ, whether they be a Jew or a Gentile possess neither the Holy Spirit or know the truth. They are still abiding in darkness. In fact, those who have never been born again with the Holy Spirit don’t even have the ability to understand the truth. “ The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (I Corinthians 2:14)

Regarding the Gentiles in Athens, Paul never said that the Father accepted or was pleased with their worship. He claimed that what they were doing was done in ignorance. That’s not a commendable place to be spiritually. I’m not sure why someone would use this verse to prove that those who are outside of Christ are presenting worship that the Father accepts.  Paul proclaimed the truth to them. He didn’t want to leave them where they were, in ignorance. He wanted them to convert. The same with the Jews of their day.  Peter, James, John and the other Apostles took the gospel to them because without it they were still rejected by God. If God accepted their worship, why would the Apostles have endured all the suffering and persecution that they did in order to try and persuade them to turn to Christ?

 “Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.  Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.” (I John 2:22-23)

Salvation is available to all today, no matter what our ancestry may be. No matter where we are born or where we live. We may be born a Jew or we may be born a Gentile. The salvation that God has provided for man is in/through and by His Son. The message that Paul proclaimed to those in Athens is still true to man today. He concluded by saying:

“God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness  through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” (Acts 17:31)

Jesus says: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

Jesus on Homosexuality

by Scott Rossy

There are those within professing Christianity who support and defend the homosexual lifestyle and homosexual marriage. Among them there are those who are practicing homosexuals as well as those who although they themselves are not homosexual, are of those who give “hearty approval” (Romans 1:32) and support to those who are. This may sound strange since homosexuality is clearly prohibited in the bible, but in recent years there have been more and more Christians who gradually adhere to this view. So how then, does someone who claims to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ defend a lifestyle and an act that the bible calls an abomination?  

There are two lines of argument behind their reasoning:

1) Jesus never spoke about homosexuality, so therefore He never condemned it. They attempt to find support for their view from Jesus supposed silence on the matter concluding that He would support and condone homosexual marriage.

2) It was Paul (and Moses) who condemned homosexuality and since Christians are to be followers of Jesus, we don’t need to obey what Paul said. He was just a man and his words aren’t authoritative to Christians today. It’s only what Jesus spoke that matters.

Neither of these arguments are valid. Concerning the second argument about the authority of the Apostle Paul, please see the previous post titled, That's Paul, not Jesus  where I give some thoughts on the authority of Paul. 

But what about Jesus? Do we know His view on marriage and sexual relations? Did He ever speak on these matters? Yes! He absolutely did. Jesus did reveal His will on these matters. He spoke clearly on God’s will for marriage and sexuality. He clearly upheld and affirmed that marriage is to consist of one man and one woman. He states that this has always been God’s purpose and plan for marriage. He did this in a number of ways:

First, He speaks directly about marriage. “He[Jesus] answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female,  and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?  So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” (Matthew 19:4-6).  Of these 3 verses that Jesus spoke, the first 2 were quoted directly from the Genesis chapter 2 account of the creation of man and woman on the earth. The third verse was added directly by Him. He states clearly that marriage is between one man and his one wife. He upholds the Genesis account of creation and marriage. The institution of marriage has been created by God, not man. He states; “What therefore God has joined together…”  It’s a man and a woman joined together in marriage by God. This is exactly what happened in the Genesis account that Jesus quoted. After creating the first man (Adam), “Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” (Genesis 2:18).  The helper that God created for the man is the first woman (Eve). Genesis 2 continues; “The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.” (Genesis 2:22).  The bringing of the woman to the man was done by God. He brought her to the man to be his wife, uniting them in marriage. This was His plan, His will and His purpose in creating marriage. The idea of marriage and the definition of marriage were not conceived by man. Again, this is what Jesus meant when He said; “What therefore God has joined together...”   It started with God, in His mind. Marriage exists by the work and will of God. It exists for His purposes. Man is not at liberty to change what God has created. He created the man and then created the woman as the corresponding helper for the man. He then brought the woman to the man and joined them together in marriage. Adam understood this and responded joyfully to what the Lord had done. The Genesis account ends with the words that Jesus quoted; “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24). The two become one in the union of marriage. This would prohibit the idea of polygamy as well.

Secondly, Jesus spoke more of the marriage/family unit saying, “‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother is to be put to death.’ – (Matthew 15:4).  These two quotes are both contained in the books of Exodus, Deuteronomy and Leviticus.  Here, Jesus again affirms that the family unit is to consist of both a father and a mother. He does not say to honor “your parents” which is quite different and would have left it open for a mixture of family units, but instead He reveals that in His mind a child is to have both a father and a mother. Not a father and a father or a mother and a mother. In fact, Jesus quotes some 7 times the “father and mother” unit. Obviously, from His perspective, He considered this to be the norm.

In the Old Testament Moses speaks against and prohibits homosexuality saying,

“If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them.” – (Leviticus 20:13).

“You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination.” – (Leviticus 18:22)

These 2 verses are from the book of Leviticus.

Some attempt to pit the words of Jesus against the words of Moses or Paul, claiming their words don’t have the same authority as Jesus. It’s important to note that Jesus quotes Moses. In fact, Jesus quotes from the book of Leviticus, the very book in which Moses clearly condemns homosexuality. He (Jesus) affirms that what Moses spoke was scripture, the very words of God. Moses didn’t make these things up. This is what God revealed to him.

Man, who loves darkness, may choose to pervert God’s purpose and plan for marriage but man certainly CAN’T use Jesus to support his rebellion. For sure, those enslaved to homosexual sins can be cleansed and purified of their defilement and rebellion just the same as those enslaved to heterosexual sins can be cleansed and purified of their defilement and rebellion. But it is utter blasphemy to claim that the Holy Son of God who was without sin and obeyed the Law of God perfectly would in any way condone and approve of what is clearly prohibited in scripture.

There are countless matters that Jesus never spoke directly to. He never spoke directly of embezzlement, bribery, arrogance, rape, bestiality, etc., etc. His silence in these areas should in no way be taken as Him somehow supporting such acts.

Professing Christians who are not involved in the homosexual lifestyle yet support homosexual marriage may think they are being Christlike, loving and charitable but in reality they are of no help to those enslaved to this sin. Why not share the truth of the gospel with such folks, showing them that God has a better way and a better life for them where they can be reconciled to Him, cleansed and forgiven of all unrighteousness and defilement? Then will they experience His peace and joy, saying with the rest of the redeemed, “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me!”

That's Paul, not Jesus

by Scott Rossy
"Well, that's Paul, not Jesus.  Jesus never said that!"  Have you ever heard someone say this? People often say this when confronted with something in the bible that they disagree with or with something in the bible that they don’t like. It’s said in response to something the Apostle Paul said in one of the New Testament epistles. Since they don’t like what is said, they make the claim that since it was said by Paul and not Jesus, they can dismiss it. They claim that Paul’s words are not on the same level and don’t carry the same weight as Jesus words’, therefore, the words of Paul as recorded in the New Testament are not authoritative to Christians today.

But is this a valid argument? Are Paul’s words as authoritative as Jesus’ words? After all, Jesus is the Lord and Paul was only a mortal man.

No, it is not valid. It is an attack on the inspiration of scripture. Paul’s words as recorded in the bible are equal with the words of Jesus. They are equally authoritative. The reason being, the words that Paul spoke are the very words given to him by Christ. Paul did not write letters to churches to give his opinion. He was a called Apostle who was given direct revelation from the Lord.

“For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:11-12)

“By revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit” (Ephesians 3:3-5)

The truth that Paul taught was not “discovered” by him, but was revealed to him by the Lord. His New Testament epistles are scripture themselves, equal with the Old Testament scriptures. The Apostle Peter refers to Paul’s letters (epistles) as scripture saying “just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.” (II Peter 3:15-16).

Paul’s letters are scripture as the “rest.” Whose writings are the “rest” that Peter is referring to? Moses, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Daniel, Zechariah, etc., and the rest of the Old Testament prophets. Those who distort scripture are described as untaught and unstable because all scripture originates from God. He is its source. It does not originate from these men themselves “For no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (II Peter 1:21)

It originates from Him and is given to His holy apostles and prophets. Scripture is as the very breath of God. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (II Timothy 3:16-17)

Jesus frequently quoted Moses and the Old Testament prophets. He referred to their prophecies as the word of God. Like Paul, these were all mortal men. But Jesus affirmed that although they were mere men, they were speaking the very words of God. God revealed truth to them. He spoke through them. The Holy Spirit moved them to speak the very words of God. In like manner, Paul was given revealed truth as he was moved by the Holy Spirit. Paul’s words are as authoritative as the “rest” of scripture (Moses and all the Old Testament prophets).

The inspiration of scripture is one of the non negotiable cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith. To attempt to find a division or disagreement between the words of Christ and the epistles of Paul is to do so to ones own destruction. To discard the words of Paul is just as equal to discarding the words of Christ. You cannot pit one against the other. As Jesus said, “Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35)

Either, Or

by Scott Rossy
We live in a postmodern world. It’s a world that hates absolutes. It’s a world that rejects the idea of knowing anything for certain. It hates clarity. It despises the idea of seeing things as either black or white. It despises being absolutely sure or certain in our faith and in our beliefs. Instead, it loves the idea of gray, of not being completely sure of anything. It loves the concept that in spiritual matters, we really can’t know anything for certain and to claim certainty is a sign of ignorance. Unfortunately, this kind of thinking has also spilled over into the church. While there are things in scripture that are hard to understand and leave room for honest debate and discussion, man’s eternal destiny and standing before God is not one of them. The Bible is very black and white on this. Every human being on the face of the earth is in either one category, or the other. We all fall into either this or either that.

For instance, we’re all:

Either saved or we’re unsaved

Either born again or we’re not born again

Either a child of God or we’re a child of the devil

Either a child of light or we’re a child of darkness

Either a sheep or we’re a goat

Either wheat or we’re chaff

Either spiritually alive or we’re spiritually dead

Either in Christ or we’re in Adam

Either a slave of righteousness or we’re a slave of sin

Either have a mind set on the Spirit or we’re have a mind set on the flesh

Either married to Christ or we’re married to the Law

Either we’ve entered through the Narrow Gate or we’ve entered through the Broad Gate

Either we’re traveling on the Narrow Path or we’re traveling on the Broad Path

Either we’re clothed in the righteousness of Christ or we’re clothed in self righteousness

Either we have the Son or we don’t have the Son

Either we’ve been reconciled to God or we haven’t been reconciled to God

Either we’re on our way to heaven or we’re on our way to hell

In all of these, there is no middle ground. There is no 3rd option. In every case, we all are in one of the two. There is no situation where someone is neither saved nor unsaved but is in the middle, trying to be saved. The same with being born again. Nobody is in the middle, hoping, working on or trying to be born again. Either we are or we aren’t. To be in the middle would be like being sort of pregnant. It can’t be. Either you are or you aren’t. The same with salvation. Either you’re in Christ or you’re not. If you’re in Christ, you’re saved. If you’re not in Christ, you aren’t saved.

The good news is that God does want us to know for certain. He doesn’t want us to be uncertain about our eternal destiny, but to know Him and to have an intimate relationship with Him. He wants us to be able to live a fruitful and productive life for His glory and to have the joy and assurance of our faith. He says in 1 John: “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.” (I John 5:13). It’s those who believe in the name of the Son of God who already, right now possess eternal life. They are the only one’s who can know for sure. Believing in the name of the Son of God is to believe fully in the Person and work of Jesus Christ. To trust in Him and Him alone for forgiveness. By coming to Him in faith and repentance, we no longer place any hope in our own self effort and goodness as a means to gain approval and acceptance from God. It’s to truly believe that if it weren’t for Jesus Christ and His work on the cross, then no one could be saved. We’d all be consigned to an eternity in hell. Forgiveness would not be possible.

“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:3)

“And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.” (I John 5:11-12)

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” (I Corinthians 15:3-4)

“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

Jesus says; “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

The concept of grayness or finding the middle ground is not admirable. It’s not a virtue and it doesn’t come from God. It’s spiritual poison, don’t drink it. Know for sure! You can know for sure. God wants you to know for sure. His salvation in Christ is certain, sure and complete. “He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” (Hebrews 7:25)

Do you know for sure? If you don’t know for sure, could it be that perhaps you are placing your trust and hope in something else other than Christ? Are you trusting in your own goodness? Thinking that you’re not that bad and that you’ve done enough good to outweigh the bad, hoping God will understand that even though you’re not perfect, you meant well? If you think this way, you’re still on what Jesus called the road to destruction. You’re not trusting completely in Him.

“Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.” (Isaiah 45:22)

“Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near.” (Isaiah 55:6)