Bible Studies

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You’ve Been Invited!

It is always God’s desire that every soul would choose to respond to His invitation to be saved, rather than to spend all of Eternity in what the Bible calls the lake of fire (1). Yet, such verses as John 3: 18 and Rev. 20: 15 make it clear that this is not going to be the case.

Many have been deceived by thinking that God, being a god of love and mercy, is not going to send the souls that He created into a tormenting environment from which there will never be any hope of release. Deceptions usually contain some truths, and appear to offer legitimate solutions.

God IS a god of love. God demonstrated His love for Fallen Man by placing His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, on the cross to atone for the sins of an undeserving world (2).

God IS a god of mercy, as we never did, do not now, or ever will, deserve to be saved. Eternal life is an unearned gift from God that He gives to all that believe in a presentation of the unadulterated Gospel Message (3).

But God is also a god of justice, requiring that every sin (4) be atoned for, before reconciliation between He and Fallen Man can take place. There was nothing that a sinner could or can do to obtain forgiveness and reconciliation with God, apart from faith in the atoning Work that Jesus Christ finished (5), once and for all (6), while on the cross.

1John 1: 9 confession (to God) is the means through which a born-again believer restores fellowship (7) with God; not salvation.

There are consequences associated with divine discipline (8) in store for those that commit post (after) salvation sin, but loss of salvation is not one of the consequences (9).

Only an omniscient (all-knowing) God could have had the knowledge of every sin that had been committed, was being committed, and would be committed (as in our case) throughout the course of human history, that enabled Him to place on the suffering/atoning Humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ, the sin debt of the entire human race.

With one exception, every past, present, and future sin of the entire human race was placed on the suffering Humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. It was there and then that Jesus paid in full, the world’s past, present, and future sin debt.

The one exception, not covered by the atoning work, was not an oversight. The one exception is the sin of disbelief (10) in the Person and in the atoning Work of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the one unpardonable sin for which there will never be forgiveness. Those who choose to leave this world in the capacity of an unbeliever is self-condemned, and destined to spend ALL of eternity future in the lake of fire (11).

Regarding all other sin, God the Father would not be true to His own word if He were to require any further payment for a sin debt that has already been stamped PAID IN FULL by the atoning blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We do not pass through the gates of Heaven because we didn’t sin. We enter Heaven if we place our faith (trust and confidence) in the one and only solution for the sins we did commit (12).

Sin must be addressed to move forward, but does not cancel God’s invitations. Post salvation, divine discipline (12) takes place here on Earth to keep (or to return) us (or others) on the straight and narrow path for God’s glory and our own good.

How each one of us chooses to respond to God’s invitation to be saved determines WHERE each one of us will spend all of eternity future. One leaves his world totally forgiven (13) or totally condemned (14). There are no half-way houses (e.g., Purgatory) in the spiritual realm.

Such false teachings are an affront to the integrity of the Person and to the completeness of the atoning Work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Either He paid our sin debt in full, as He claimed to do (15), or He lied, and did not.

. . .

It is always God’s desire that every born-again believer will choose to respond to His invitation to participate in the Great Commission (16) throughout the duration of one’s post (after) salvation spiritual life, HERE on Earth. But such verses as 1Cor. 3: 15 makes it clear that this is not going to be the case.

The majority of born-again believers do not embrace Biblical Discipleship.The majority become followers of Christian religion, instead.

Edified disciples perceive the phrase Christian religion to be an oxymoron.  Biblical Christianity and Man made religions do not  blend.  Like oil and water, they will eventually separate.

‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me. ‘And in vain do they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men (Matthew 15:8‭-‬9 NASB2020).”

‬ Such believers remain saved, but forfeit the heavenly reward and privileges that are reserved for those who become disciples and “over-comers” during their time here on Earth (17).

Sad to say, the ominous words of Matt. 7: 13, 14 reveals that only a minority (few) of each generation of man will choose to respond to God’s invitation(s).

Until one chooses to respond to God’s first invitation (to be saved), His second invitation (to embrace discipleship) will not be delivered. This is where Biblical Christianity and many Christian Religions differ.

Christian Religion is all about what nominal Christians try to do to please the God of the Bible in order to avoid Hell fire, and or to receive divine blessings and benefits here on Earth. At the end of the day, Christian Religion is a works program of dos and don’ts in which participants try to earn blessings here on Earth and a home in Heaven through human effort.

If the anticipated (but not promised) earthly blessings here on Earth on not experienced, they begin to question the Heavenly rewards, as well.

All the human effort in the universe, manifesting itself in such things as religious rituals, ceremonies, good deeds, and relatively good behavior, will NOT generate a millisecond of eternal life.

Worldly prosperity is NOT what God has planned for everyone.

Jesus was not college educated. He never married. He lived with His mother. Not one of the things He built as a carpenter was recorded in Scripture. He was misunderstood, rejected, abandoned, and betrayed. He died in His early thirties. Not exactly what human viewpoint would call a good or productive life. Yet, what He accomplished during the hours on the cross, changed the eternal destiny of all who would believe.
. . .

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not a result of works, so that no one may boast (Eph. 2: 8‭-‬9 NASB2020).”‬‬‬‬‬‬

Granted, such things as celebrating the Lord’s Supper (Communion) (18), gathering together for worship (19), moral behavior (20), and humanitarian endeavors (21), will be a part of an advancing disciple’s post (after) salvation spiritual life. But such things are not the means to either obtain or to retain the unearned gift of eternal life (22).

Biblical Christianity is all about fallen Man placing one’s individual faith (trust and confidence) in what God has done (23) in the past; what God is doing (24) now; and what God has planned to do (e.g., Rev. 21) in the future.

Contrary to what Christian Religion would have us believe, John 15: 5 makes it clear that apart from the indwelling members of the Triune Godhead, one can do NOTHING of spiritual significance.

One’s body becomes an indwelled temple of God (25) IF and when an individual chooses to be born again by accepting God’s invitation when presented with the unadulterated Gospel Message.

. . .

Being invited does not mean that one will attend (26). God uses many different means to deliver His invitations. He does so at the time, place, and circumstances of His choosing, not ours. At THAT time, one must choose to respond and accept the invitation before the window of opportunity closes. One never knows when he or she has received his or her last invitation or opportunity.

RSVP is an acronym of the French phrase, “répondez s’il vous plaît,” calling for a response from the one being invited. The terms and instructions of the RSVP on the invitation are established by the one doing the inviting.

The window of opportunity to respond to and benefit from God’s invitation to receive eternal life is limited to the amount of time that one “holds that thought” in mind. The devil and or those who do his bidding will be right there, to do all that they can to distract the recipient’s attention or reduce his or her time of opportunity to respond (27).

The opportunity for born-again believers to respond to God’s open invitation to engage in Biblical Discipleship is there, each and every day, but with many believers, they “… are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things enter and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful (Mark 4:18‭-‬19 NASB2020).”


‬‬‬‬ In closing, consider what you have done or will do with God’s invitations. WHERE, and HOW, you WILL spend eternity hangs in the balance.

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(1) 1Tim.2: 4 (2) John 3: 16/1John 2: 2) (3) John 3: 16, 18 (4) James 2: 10 (5) John 19: 30 (6) Heb. 10: 10-12 (7) 2Cor. 13: 14/Eph. 4: 30 (8) Heb. 12: 6 (9) Romans 8: 1 (10) John 3: 18) (11) Rev. 20: 13, 15 (12) Romans 3: 23/John 14: 6 (13) Heb. 12: 6 (14) Rom. 8: 1 (15) James 2: 10 (16) John 19: 30 (17) Matt. 28: 19, 20 (1800) 1Cor. 3: 14, 15/Rev.2/Rev.3) (19) 1Cor. 11: 23-26 (20) Heb. 10: 25 (21) Phil. 1: 27 (22) James 2: 15-17 (23) John 3: 16 (24) 1John 2: 2 (25) Rom. 8: 29/Matt. 28: 19, 20 (26) 1Cor.3: 16) (27) John 3: 5, 7 (28) Matt. 13: 19

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