A Faithful Witness

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King James Bible StudyAnd when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34

Date: Sunday, November 24, 2019
Chapters: Acts 15-16
Message: A Faithful Witness

Hello My Friend,

Saved, born again Christians, surely know the power of the Gospel, that moment when we truly understood exactly what Jesus Christ did, and why He did what He did for us, and accepted Him as our Saviour. The second we completely grasp the concept that we are saved by grace alone though our faith in Jesus Christ, is the second that we become a witness for Christ. And let me tell you, there is no greater motivation to tell the world of Christ than to feel the weight of your sin being cast on the cross with Jesus, buried with Him in the tomb, and removed it completely as He arose three days later. “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” – Romans 6:3-4.

even so we also should walk in newness of life.” The newness of life, I will never forget the day Jesus literally upbraided me, and told me that He did not bring me here to die from what was a reaction to mixing vitamin supplements. That was the day I discovered the newness of life, and we should never forget the day that one, Jesus saved us, and two, we gave our lives to Him, and the first step is public profession of water baptism after we are saved. We must understand that water baptism, or any other kind of work (obedience to God) is not required for salvation, we are saved by grace alone through our faith in the Gospel of Christ. And I will say it until the day the Lord brings me home, that religion is the worse thing to happen to the Church, it often mixes works with grace. We learn this as the believing Pharisee’s were telling men that in order to be saved they had to believe in the Gospel, and get circumcised.

And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question. And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them. But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses. And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.” – Acts 15:1-2,4-5,7-11.

which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?” There are two things wrong with this, one, we cannot enforce a law that we are not able to keep ourselves, and two, there was no mention of women and children. This is why Jesus made redemption possible for all upon their faith in His finished work (John 19:30). God knew the second Adam and Eve sinned that it was impossible for man to keep every command, and there were over six hundred. So, He made it possible with the sinless death, burial, and resurrection of His only begotten Son. “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” – Romans 5:19-21.

even so might grace reign through righteousness” Grace is the most powerful gift that God instills upon us, without grace we would all be in hell for grace is the unmerited favor of God. When you stop to think about grace, you can really understand that God gives much grace to all mankind, as with the snap of His fingers He would wipe out the entire earth. However, grace only goes so far for the unsaved, God only gives them a short amount of time to acknowledge Him, and receive His Son. And all are given the opportunity to know who He is and Christ. So, why do so many die and end up in hell, not having known Jesus Christ ever existed? Well, there are only two reasons people do not get saved. One; they never believed in the one and only living God in the first place as you cannot know the Son unless you first know the Father. And two; they trusted their religion over Christ. While all are given the opportunity to be saved, some will never hear the Gospel. In fact, God passes them straight by? This is proved as Paul and Silas were actually forbidden to go into certain cities.

Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not. And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them. And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither. And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.” – Acts 16:6-10,13-15.

but the Spirit suffered them not.” Why would God deny anyone the opportunity to be saved? He does not, but He does know each persons heart. Think about it, Satan is well aware of God, but will he ever get saved? No, because he believes himself to not only be God, but better than God. Every person born is born with the knowledge of God from the start, and are in fact predestinated to be saved (Romans 1:20-21), but freewill, and a corrupt world that believe themselves to be God, are what turns a person from having knowledge of to a becoming a reprobate, which means beyond the hope of salvation. Now, after some altercations and disputing, Paul and Barnabas separate, Paul takes Silas to assist him as he travels back to the towns he witness in to see how they were doing. They were traveling through Philippi where they ran into a woman possessed by an evil spirit, which enabled her to have physic abilities.

And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers, And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.” – Acts 16:16-19.

And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone,” Do you see by this how corrupt the world is, and why God does not give us those abilities? They will exploit them, and use them for their own personal gain. But let me tell you, God uses every opportunity to reach the unsaved who do believe in Him with the Gospel. Paul and Silas got arrested that day simply because these men were losing money as the girl was no longer useful to them, but God uses this opportunity to reach the prison guard, and his family with the Gospel. Now, here they were, dragged down to the deepest part of the prison and chained. Were they worried? No. In fact, they began praying and signing praises to God.

And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.” – Acts 16:23-34.

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,” There is only one way be saved, and it is as easy as A, B, C. A) Admit you are a sinner, and understand that the price for sin is death and hell. B) Believe that Jesus died to pay that price for you. C) Confess that you believe in and accept Jesus as the payment. To be saved, all you have to do is Ask Jesus to save you believing these three things, and it is that simple (Romans 10:9-10). if any religion or group states you need anything else for salvation, then you are not believing in Jesus alone by faith, and that means you are not saved. We who are saved, fully and undoubtedly knowing that we are saved by grace alone have been called to preach the Gospel to the unsaved. Why? Jesus commands it. “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 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.” – Matthew 28:18-20.

Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for Your grace, it is sufficient enough to save me from hell and from every trial I face. While I know cannot work my way to salvation, I can show You my love and thanks by living by life as a faithful witness of Your Son living in me. Lord, Lead me, and guide me in Your will, and help me to serve You in all You call me to with contentment, reverence, and respect for You. Let me not do anything or get around anyone that would cause a division, and let me be a fruitful witness that will lead others to Your Son. I love You Lord, and ask this in Your name, Jesus. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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