That Which Dwelleth In Us

2 John 1:1-4  The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth;  (2)  For the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever.  (3)  Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.  (4)  I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father.

               

                Consider our Salvation: God has given to us the gift of eternal life.  We sometimes cannot grasp the entirety of eternity, eternal, and forevermore.  Our minds are finite.  We have no apparent ability to stretch our paradigm (the box of our imagination) to allow such a massive object within.  But we can stretch our paradigm enough to allow new wonders to abound.

                (I believe our problem is:  we were born, we have seen others born, and we have seen those who have been called into eternity.)  In other words, “we know of a beginning and an ending.”  (Eternity is a realm of no beginning and no ending.  It is, always has been, and will be forevermore.)

Revelation 1:8  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

To those of us who believe that Jesus The Christ is their Saviour, God has given an eternal existence with Him our Father, and with His Son Jesus. 

John 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

God wants us to know we have eternal life, and that when we are called into eternity, it will be with Him in Heaven for eternity.

1 John 5:13  These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

God wants you to know “ye have eternal life” and know it is “eternal.”  For years I fought to grasp the immensity of eternal, everlasting, and forevermore.  (I finally realized I will never grasp it until I see it, and then it will be okay.)  Until then, I have accepted it by faith, believing The Word of God. 

                The second portion of these verses, “which dwelleth in us” can be another paradigm problem.  (I know that God, His Son, and The Holy Spirit reside within me.)  My body has become “the temple of God.”

1 Corinthians 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

I know that when I accepted Jesus as my Saviour, I did not feel God installing Himself through The Holy Spirit.  Yet, somehow I knew I had changed.  (My attitude changed.  My thinking changed, and not because my Pastor told me to change my ways.  (He did indirectly through his preaching, which allowed The Holy Spirit to convict my heart to change.) 

                I imagine many people have a “hard time” believing that their body is “the temple of God.”

                Accepting Jesus creates a new you.  We become new, afresh, something Godly, a “new creature.”

2 Corinthians 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

We are a new person with the “old you” still a part of us.  We must spiritually feed the “new creature,” otherwise the “old you” (spirit) will again become dominate.

Colossians 3:7-10  In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.  (8)  But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.  (9)  Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;  (10)  And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

We are a “new man.” As we grow spiritually, all that we were before will begin to fall away.  Some people will attempt to tell us that “now we can do what ever we want.”  This is true.  However, as a “new creature,” and a “new man,” our lives should be following a new path.  What I “want to do” and our “want to’s” should have changed with our Salvation. 

                I no longer want “anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication” as a part of my life.  I want what God wants me to have.

Galatians 5:22-23  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,  (23)  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

This is the definition of my “want to’s.”  “Have I successfully integrated all 100% into my life?  No, I haven’t.  The “old man” rears his ugly head on occasion.  Because of the “old man,” I spend much time in my prayer closet repenting for those sins.”

                As Christians, regardless of the days, weeks, months, years of our salvation, we must walk “a walk” that honours God and His Son Jesus.

Romans 12:1-2  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  (2)  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Paul is speaking to Christians, the “brethren.”  He lays out for us what we must do.  We are to pattern our lives from these verses.  We are “the temple of God,” The Holy Spirit “which dwelleth in us.” 

                Find your “reasonable service,” which is whatever Glorifies God.  Turn yourself from the “world,” and with a sincere willingness look to the “renewing of your mind.”

                Today is the day to begin improving your walk with God.  Tomorrow is not guaranteed, as tomorrow never comes.  (It becomes today,) and tomorrow could be too late.

Bro John R. E Chastain

Baptist Evangelist

Wylie, Texas              

<www.johnchastain.com>

The Watchman

Ezekiel 33:2-7  Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman:  (3)  If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;  (4)  Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.  (5)  He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.  (6)  But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.  (7)  So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.

                God set Ezekiel as a “watchman” over Israel while they were in captivity. (Historically the “watchman” stood above the gates of the city and watched [as a security camera] for the city’s safety.  (However, in these verses God had not sent Ezekiel to watch from the towers.)  Ezekiel’s duty, as the “watchman,” was to warn those in captivity.  Israel (The Northern Tribes) were in captivity because they had turned their backs on God, (created images to worship, and worshipped other pagan religions.)  God used Ezekiel to bring them back to Him.

                (God is a loving God but His love has boundaries.  When those boundaries are reached and exceeded, a time of judgment will be coming. ) 

                Israel was captive in Babylon, and they had just received word that Judah had exceeded God’s bounds, (because they had sinned like Israel, not learning) and were now in captivity.  (Judgment Day had come.  God’s love always has boundaries.)

Ezekiel 33:11  Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

God tells us His Judgment is not a pleasurable thing.  He wants us all to turn toward Him.  Consider what this “watchman” (Ezekiel) means to us today.  We can see at least two applications for the “watchman” in these verses.

                (The first and most obvious is for the Pastor of the Church.  His task is to warn his people, the flock.  He is to  continually warn (and show) the flock God’s warning (from the Word.)  (The one warned has only himself to blame if he dies in his sin.)  Conversely, if the Shepherd [Pastor] fails to warn, and someone dies in his sin, his blood is on the Shepherd’s hands.

                Secondly, this application applies to the “spiritual leader” of the home and family. 

1 Timothy 3:4-5  One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;  (5)  (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)

(The spiritual leader is the “man” of the home.)  God has set the “man” as the “watchman” over his family.  It is his duty to keep his family under The Word of God.  (He must either take them where they can hear God’s warning, or do the warning himself.)  Their blood is on the spiritual leader’s hands if they have not been given the opportunity to hear.

                When God gave us His commandment:

Matthew 28:19-20  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

“Teaching them to observe all things” includes this warning that God has given us. 

                There is also a dire warning in The Book of John:

John 3:36  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

                Through our believing in God’s Word, we attain salvation.  Our faith is based on our belief.  Without this belief, we will die with the “wrath of God” (abiding on us.)

                Our first task is to insure that our family has accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.   Our duty is to set our family under a “warning” preacher, a King James Bible Preacher.  You must be assured that your family has been led to The Lord.

                If you are not under a Preacher [Shepherd] that warns, but are willing to hear only love, prosperity, and nothing about sin, [who failed to warn you?]  Whose hands will your blood be on?   Consider: you have failed your wife and your children if they die in their sin.  Their blood is on your hands. 

                If you are not willing to be a “man” and honour God and your family, how is it you call yourself a Christian?

                If there is no “man” in the house, (then dear lady, you are the “watchman” of the family) and all these responsibilities rest on your shoulders.  Pray for God’s wisdom and direction.   Find, and get your family under a King James Bible Preacher.  Tomorrow is not a guarantee for any of us. 

John 14:15  If ye love me, keep my commandments.

                The question is, “If You Died Today, Would Heaven Be Your Home?”  Today is The Day, and if you don’t know Him, Seek Him Now.

Romans 10:9  That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Confess your belief that God raised (His Son, Jesus,) from the grave.  Then, tell others, and then know that God has saved you. 

                Do It Today.

 Bro John R. E Chastain

Baptist Evangelist

Wylie, Texas              

<www.johnchastain.com>

The True God

1 John 5:16-21  If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.  (17)  All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.  (18)  We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.  (19)  And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.  (20)  And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.  (21)  Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

               

                Reading (v 16), we may be concerned regarding the statement:  “There is a sin unto death.”  We must also concern ourselves with how the word “brother” is used.  Whom is John referring?  We know from other scripture verses that once God gives salvation, it is eternal.

John 10:28-29  And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.  (29)  My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.

So, to whom is John referring?  I have read many writings by theologians.  (There are many different thoughts and interpretations.)  The most “common opinion” is that when salvation is accepted, it is a forever gift, an everlasting gift, a gift given of God.  (It cannot be returned, [“no man is able to pluck them out.”] It can’t be cashed in at Wal-Mart.   It is a forever gift.) 

                My opinion as to whom John is referring rests with many theologians. The word “brother” refers to one who has made a false profession of faith in Christ.  He may come to Church, and the fellowships. (In some extreme cases may even be the Pastor.)  He plays at being a Christian, (never realizing his situation is deteriorating from “bad to worse.”)  He may also claim he has professed Jesus, (but refuses to honour Him by going to Church.)  He never prays, and his walk and his life have no Christ like values.)

                (V 16) (“he shall ask”) is a dire warning for Christians to pray for those that we presume to be Christian when we see them in sin.  (“All unrighteousness is sin.”) We are not to accost them or be judgmental, but simply pray that God will convict their hearts to repent of their sin and turn to Him.  (V 17) John defines “sin” as “All unrighteousness is sin.”  So, what is “righteousness?”

Webster’s 1828 defines righteousness as: 

1.             Purity of heart and rectitude [uprightness of mind] of life; conformity of heart and life to the divine law. Righteousness, as used in Scripture and theology, in which it is chiefly used, is nearly equivalent to holiness, comprehending holy principles and affections of heart, and conformity of life to the divine law.

2.             Applied to God, the perfection or holiness of his nature; exact rectitude; faithfulness.

From this definition, righteousness is our holy walk in faithfulness with God.  We as Christians must strive to be as righteous as possible, as Holy as possible.  We cannot be perfect; however, we need to strive to be righteous.

Romans 3:10  As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

God through Paul didn’t write this verse as an excuse to be unrighteous.  (He wrote it for our knowledge.  None of us can be 100% righteous.)  God commands that we pray for those that we see being unrighteous.  (We are never to pray that a person commit a sin unto death.)  God knows that we will sin, we will covet.  We are not righteous, yet our task is to “walk the walk and talk the talk” that will help us approach a state of Holiness [total separation]. 

                Until God calls us home into eternity, we are sinners saved by grace, and we must realize our condition.  John tells us, “whosoever is born of God sinneth not,” which means we are to follow The Ten Commandments, and stay away from besetting sins.   People who murder, rape, all pedophiles, whoremongers (and the list could go much longer,) are not Christians regardless of their profession,   But, they can become Christians by honestly accepting Jesus and repenting (not going back to those besetting sins).  However, they will still face the consequences of their sin.

                As Christians, we are to keep ourselves as clean as we possibly can.

Hebrews 10:22  Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

To obtain a closer walk with God, we are to walk in a “full assurance of faith.”  It will not be a perfect walk, but it must be a walk with the intent of perfection, (fully intending to “draw near” to God.)  Our intent must be with a repentant heart, all evil thoughts removed, and knowing that we are washed with a cleansing repentance. “This is the true God, and eternal life.”

                It is a wonderful walk when we know (by “faith”) that we have The Holy Spirit within us (given by God.)  We have access to Jesus, and our Father God in Heaven.  Jesus’ Father, our God in Heaven, is The only God.  There are no other.        Graven images whether stone, wood, or plastic are not gods, nor are they anything real.  We are commanded to “keep yourselves [ourselves] from idols” and (any thing that someone would worship or pray through.)

                The God Jehovah, His Son Jesus, and The Holy Spirit are the only true God.  There are no others, regardless.

Exodus 20:3-5  Thou shalt have no other gods before me.  (4)  Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:  (5)  Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

Stand fast in your “faith” and walk with The “True God.”

Bro John R. E Chastain

Baptist Evangelist

Wylie, Texas              

<www.johnchastain.com>

Do You Know?

1 John 5:13-15  These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.  (14)  And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:  (15)  And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

                                                                                                                                                           

                As a Christian, I have knocked on many doors seeking souls for The Lord.  (I have never done as much as I could or should.   This isn’t meant as a braggadocios’ statement.)  At most of those doors, I generally asked one specific question:  “Do you know if you died today, would Heaven be your home?”  A few answered they knew and told me how they knew.  (We then moved on to the next door.)  However, many had doubts, or certainly “hoped” heaven would be their eternal home.

                Our scripture (v 13) specifically tells us that God wants us to be assured and know that we have an eternal life with Him.  For the Christian, these verses are our assurance that we KNOW Jesus Christ is The Lord and our personal Saviour.  It is our “confidence” in our knowing where our eternity will exist. 

                It is also our “confidence” (in knowing) that if we are within His “will,” and regardless of our petitions “according to his will” He will hear us.

                By the grace of God, He has given us a wonderful legacy.  We are no longer sons of the devil; we are now sons of God through the blood of Jesus.

John 8:44  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.

It was a scary thought when I realized what I had been before I was saved.  (God led my wife and I to the point where God’s saving grace was shown to both of us.  We both accepted Jesus the same hour.)  God, through His Son and The Holy Spirit changed us.  He moved us away from the devil, and guided us down a new path that has been unimaginable.

                I don’t remember the verses Bro Tom Huntress used to lead us.  I just know that on January 19, 1993, around 3:30 in the afternoon, my wife and I accepted Jesus.  Our lives changed, (though slowly at first) and our fruit for The Lord started appearing.

                Reader, “When God calls you into eternity, do you know where you are going?  Do you know Jesus as your personal Savior?  Do you know how to insure that Heaven will be your destination?”

                God has given us in His Word, (The King James Bible,) the means for Salvation. 

                He first wants us to know we are sinners.

Romans 3:23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

He also tells us there is none righteous.

Romans 3:10  As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

Knowing we are sinners, we can now see the penalty for sin.

Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death;...

But, God gave us a path to avoid this death.

Romans 5:8  But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

“God commendeth” or exhibited His love to us because He loves us regardless, (but He does NOT love our sin.  We deserve hell, nothing less.)   He put His Son on that “Old Rugged Cross” (to bleed and die for us,) in our place.  In that love, He has given us His Gift.

Romans 6:23  …but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Ephesians 2:8-9  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.

All God asks of us is to believe Him.

Romans 10:9  That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

God tells us that if we will “believe” that He (God) “raised him” (Jesus) from the grave, and will willingly confess that belief to others, He will save us from our sins. 

                Now is the time to look into your heart, ask Jesus to save you, and He will.  Bow your head, and sincerely seek Him.  Salvation can be yours.  Eternity in Heaven with Jesus can be yours.

Romans 10:13  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Remember, tomorrow NEVER comes, today is the time.

Bro John R. E Chastain

Baptist Evangelist

Wylie, Texas              

<www.johnchastain.com>

This Is The Record

1 John 5:6-12  This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.  (7)  For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.  (8)  And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.  (9)  If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.  (10)  He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.  (11)  And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  (12)  He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

                When we read (v 6) we must remember that the “water” was Jesus’ physical birth whereas the “blood” is our spiritual birth.  Both were required.  Jesus had to be physically born for Him to physically die and shed His blood for you and me.  In (v 8) we see the testimony of The Spirit (Holy Spirit,) “the water” and “the blood,” and we are told they “agree in one.”

                We can then see “the record” that through “the water, and the blood” we, those who have chosen Jesus Christ as our Saviour have been given “eternal life” through His Son Jesus.

John 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

When we decipher words, we look at their similarities:  eternal, everlasting, and forevermore.  These are synonyms.  (They each have the same definition.)  Reading (v 11) we find God telling us “this is the record” I have given.  He has given us eternal, everlasting, and forevermore life and He wants us to know that we can have this everlasting, eternal life.

1 John 5:13  These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

God placed His eternal Son Jesus on that “Old Rugged Cross,” and allowed that the man Jesus be murdered.  (It all happened for the atonement [paid] by our sins.)   God knows who will accept, but we have the ability to choose.  It is our option to believe or not to believe.

                However, the “NOT” believing has undesirable consequences.

John 3:36  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

The “wrath of God abideth on him” is not a good thing.  In the context, “abideth” is an everlasting, eternal, and forevermore wrath.  In the song, “Amazing Grace” is the line, “When we’ve been there ten thousand years...we’ve no less days…” which is referring to those who have avoided the “wrath of God.”  The problem is when the “wrath of God abideth on him [you]” and you have been under that wrath for ten thousand years; you also have “…no less days….”

                Now is the time to accept Jesus, before it becomes eternally too late.  (Your decision must be made while living here on earth.)  Once death occurs, your selection for eternity has been made.  (Eternity without Jesus is and always has been hell, which is what we might call our “default” choice.)

                God teaches us that to get close to Him we must:

Hebrews 10:22  Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

We can go to Him with a “true heart” [sincere] knowing we have the “faith” to accomplish our drawing near.  Yet, in that sincerity, we must wash ourselves through a repentant heart.

Romans 10:9  That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

God doesn’t require a lot from you.  He just wants you to “confess with thy mouth” Jesus and “believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead.”   With a “true heart,” call on His name, and confess aloud that you do believe that God raised Jesus from the grave.  Salvation is a “gift of God” because you believe in His Son Jesus, who is that eternal, everlasting, and forevermore life.

Ephesians 2:8-9  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.

                Now is the time.

Bro John R. E Chastain

Baptist Evangelist

Wylie, Texas              

<www.johnchastain.com>