King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 And 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.]
Date: Tuesday, December 06, 2022
Chapters: II CORINTHIANS 5-8
Study: For The Love of Christ
Hello My Brother/Sister/Friend,
As I was reading the chapters for today, I admit that I actually see them differently than I have ever seen them before. We know that we are saved by the grace of God through our faith in Christ alone, and nothing can take away our salvation, [Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:] However, once in a while we come to these passages that make it sound like it can, especially when there are false or unlearned preachers and teachers teaching those things. Well, there is one rule of thumb that we always need to remember when reading the Bible, never let one obscure passage take away the truth of the Gospel, [Galatians 1:6-7 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.]
What usually happens when we read something that sounds like it contradicts something else, we need to go to the beginning of what was said to understand why it was said. Most of the time we will figure out, well, the Holy Spirit will show us, that there was a very good reason for the way it was said, the Bible never contradicts itself. We need to understand that when these books were written they were referring to their present state. When Paul wrote these letters to the churches, he was referring to what he had heard was going on in them, but keep in mind also the only thing difference between now and then is technology, which is why it can seem as though he is talking about right now. As we continue in the reading of 2 Corinthians, we are reminded that we have put on the one and only garment that we will take with us when our souls leave the earth.
[2 Corinthians 5:1-4 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: 3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. 4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.]
[being clothed we shall not be found naked.] We shall be clothed with the Holy Spirit, in while we are in the body we have put on Christ, and shall not be found naked of the wedding garment needed to join Him in His kingdom. Those who are not clothed with the wedding garment will be cast into hell, [Matthew 22:10-13 So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. 11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: 12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.]
Never doubt that there is absolutely nothing that we could ever do once we get saved to lose our salvation. Now, if we were never saved to begin with, that is another story, which is the reason why Paul wrote this in the letter, [2 Corinthians 5:8-12 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. 9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. 11 Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. 12 For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that ye may have somewhat to answer them which glory in appearance, and not in heart.]
[For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ;] To be honest, this passage was obscure to me for years as I kept thinking what was the point of our being saved by grace if we go to heaven for a time only to be resurrected and judged according to our works. Well, that was the devil putting that lie into my head, in while that it is true that we must all appear before Christ, we will not judged the same as the dead. This judgment Paul is referring to here has to do with whether or not we were true to Christ to begin with, and really are clothed in His righteousness, which was confirmed in this statement, [that ye may have somewhat to answer them which glory in appearance, and not in heart.]
Remember what Jesus said happens to those who only appear to be saved, or as He put it, cleaned their house for a time, [Matthew 12:43-45 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. 44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. 45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.]
Here is the truth, those whom have accepted Christ as their Saviour have the witness of their salvation within themselves, Him being the Holy Spirit. We will never lose our salvation because it is our soul that is saved, not our flesh. I have said it before and I will say it until the day that God brings me home (because Jesus said it), those whom have honestly and sincerely accepted Christ as their Saviour will never let go of their faith as Jesus who will never let them go, [John 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.]
Oh, we may get caught up in sin and dangle there on the edge of our salvation for a time, but the judgment we receive happens while we are still here. As you continue reading you will understand that it is the Holy Spirit that convicts us to the knowledge of our sin, and actually constrains us from doing things that we thought were once acceptable, fully understanding that in while we are saved by grace, we still want to maintain good works.
[2 Corinthians 5:14-18 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: 15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. 16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. 17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;]
[For the love of Christ constraineth us;] If we have truly accepted Christ as our Saviour, then we will want to live our lives through Him, and while we may mess up a thousand times a day, it is the effort that counts with God. However, those who are saved and not living their lives through Him will face a lot of sorrow on this earth until they get to heaven, that is their judgment, unless they repent, [2 Corinthians 5:20-21 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. 21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.]
Let me tell you, the just fall and get back up time and time again, and that is what grace is for, but we must never receive the grace of God in vain. Everything we do after we are saved does have an impact on our lives, and an even bigger impact on the lives of others.
[2 Corinthians 6:1-5 We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. 2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) 3 Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed: 4 But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, 5 In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings;]
[But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God,] We cannot blame God for every bad thing that happens to us, sometimes we deserve it, sometimes we do not. Since we cannot avoid all suffering, we can endure it and find the purpose in it by giving thanks to Jesus for what He has done for us as we live the rest of our lives through Him.
[2 Corinthians 6:6-10 By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, 7 By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, 8 By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; 9 As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; 10 As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.]
[As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich;] No, we are not going to be perfect, no, we are not going to ever be without sin again, and no, we are not going to avoid all suffering even when we are faithful. Yes, Christ, will perfect us as we walk with Him through these afflictions, yes, Christ, will wash us clean from every sin when we sincerely confess them, and yes, Christ, will see us through every bit of suffering.
[2 Corinthians 7:1-4,8-9 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 2 Receive us; we have wronged no man, we have corrupted no man, we have defrauded no man. 3 I speak not this to condemn you: for I have said before, that ye are in our hearts to die and live with you. 4 Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my glorying of you: I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation. 8 For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season. 9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.]
[for ye were made sorry after a godly manner,] Do you see what this is all about? It is not to keep our salvation, nor to punish us for every wrong that we do, nor to tell us that we need to just sit there and take every bad thing that happens to us without complaint. It is to keep us in the grace of God, knowing that no matter what we face, we face it with Christ, and God in turn is pleased with our efforts.
[1 Peter 2:19-21,24-25 For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. 20 For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. 21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. 25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.]
I have to admit that I had a hard time writing this this morning, I had a million things going on in my head, Scripture keeps popping up, scenarios, and what I need to be doing today. Let me tell you, when we think of all the things we have done over the years and how God still accepts us and does not forsake us, we can truly understand that it is only by His grace that we are saved. It does give us a chance to be a testimony of how Christ changed our lives through grace, and if He has not, then we have much bigger problems.
[2 Corinthians 8:7-10 Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also. 8 I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love. 9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. 10 And herein I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago.]
[not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago.] We should not be the same person that we were a year ago as the longer we walk with Christ the more He changes us. He does not expect immediate change, what He expects is progress each year. Do you think that I am the same person I was a year ago? Oddly enough, this time last year I had no job barely making any money and still hung up on a guy that I should have never gotten involved with in the first place. However, I saw God’s hand and direction more in my life this past year since the first time that I dedicated my life to Him. We will never understand why God allows us to go through things, to suffer certain things, but we can understand that He is faithful and just to cleanse us and keep us enduring every bit of suffering until He brings us home, [James 1:11-12 For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways. 12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.]
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, Thank You for not only giving your life to save me from the judgment I faced for my sins, but also nailing those sins to the cross, burying them in the tomb, and removing them completely through my faith in You alone. I am saved by grace, and know there is nothing else I need to do or maintain to keep my salvation. I do not want to just get by in this life clothed in Your righteousness, I want to live life abundantly through my walk with You. Lord, Lead me and guide me, fill me with Your love, mercy, grace, forgiveness, and strength as one of Your ministers. Let me not attempt to walk in my own righteousness, rather Yours, allowing You to perfect me as I give You my all. Keep my faith on You and remove from me all doubts and fears for I know that I have nothing to fear. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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