Proceed To Progress

[WordSword]

Redemption (salvation, rebirth, etc.) is not something one can grow in, for its operation exists only in a single degree, i.e. one soul cannot be more saved than another. Thus the sole difference between those reborn lies within the maturity of understanding and application of all that Scripture and the Spirit of God teaches. To know by Spirit-given faith (Gal 5:22) the efficacy of Christ’s expiation for sin is to manifest in one’s lifestyle (walk) evidence of being forgiven by our loving Father. This manifests “union” with Him, but “fellowship” with Him involves a progression from mere union, as forgiveness is but the beginning of learning the love of God via obedience of His “Word of Truth” (2Co 6:7; Eph 1:13; 2Ti 2:15; Jas 1:18).

NC

 

 

 

Proceed To Progress

 

Is it not a strange, humbling and prevalent fact that so few Christians should understand their own Christianity? Yet it is true that there are many saints in the Lord Jesus who know more about the Jews than they do about their own Christianity. Pay close heed to this, lest it be your own case.

It is always the truth most important to us that the devil tries to hide away from us, and turn us bitterly from it. Nor is it only the bad thing that he perverts, to hinder our blessing. For many true believers are kept back because they refuse to look for more than the forgiveness of their sins through the Gospel. Now therein is God’s righteousness revealed by and to faith (Rom 1:17); therein the sinner owns the riches of God’s grace to his soul: but to stop there is altogether unworthy.

So many saints of God fall into this snare at the present moment, that it is well to see to it that we ourselves escape it. What is the good of occupying ourselves with what does not promote our Father’s glory? Let us seek in all integrity to judge ourselves. Let us zealously seek to be taught by the Spirit (1Co 2:13). Let our eyes be fixed on the Lord Jesus that we may be filled with fervor of spirit, and purpose of heart, simple and thoroughgoing. The question for our faith and practice is the attitude that our Father assumed toward us, and our relation to Him while the Lord Jesus is above on His own right hand. How is the answer to this great truth to be carried out on the earth in the heart and way of those who believe? Must it not be through faith “working by love” (Gal 5:6)?

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Eph 1:3). It was His God and Father that raised the Lord Jesus from among the dead, and gave Him glory, that our faith and hope should be in God, His Father and our Father, His God and our God (Jhn 20:17). As in the rest of the New Testament it is not just the God of Abraham, etc.; but here, “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

It is no longer just the revelation of the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob. You naturally become more or less of a Jew in this case, and your heart cannot then rise higher than “the promises made to the fathers” (Rom 15:8 – I believe the patriarchal promises relate primarily with inheriting the new earth, e.g. Psa 25:13; 37:9; 37:11, 22; 82:8; Isa 49:8; Mat 5:5—NC). Hence so many believers now, like the Reformers and the Puritans in former days, talk of grasping the promises. This is to ignore and lower the privileges of the Gospel and of the Church. It loses sight of the Lord Jesus Christ in heavenly glory, after the work of the Cross. Every Christian ought to understand and appreciate the total difference (chiefly between those inheriting the New Heaven and those inheriting the New Earth—NC).

Therefore, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2Tim 2:15).

- Wm Kelly (1821 – 1906)

[BeauJangles]

6 minutes ago, WordSword said:

Every Christian ought to understand and appreciate the total difference (chiefly between those inheriting the New Heaven and those inheriting the New Earth - NC)

Care to expound on this? I'm truly interested in hearing your point of view on this last portion of commentary. 

[WordSword]

40 minutes ago, BeauJangles said:

Care to expound on this? I'm truly interested in hearing your point of view on this last portion of commentary. 

Hi Brother and appreciate your interest in these growth teachings of the Plymouth Brethren from England! It is an accepted teaching in dispensationalism that those among Jewish believers in God (Jhn 14:1) but who have yet to believe in Christ until they see in Him at His last coming will possess a lessor blessing (i.e. Jhn 20:29) of inheriting the New Earth than a greater blessing of the New Heaven. Israel will have an eternal priesthood in their new and final covenant, but believers in Christ are a priesthood.

[Aimiel]

Everyone who's born again will enter Heaven and the New Heaven and New Earth will be different in that: there will be no stain of sin on either. The access to both will be granted to all. God doesn't create barriers for His children, He obliterated the barrier when Jesus died on Calvary. Some will abide closer to Him in Heaven, due to their closeness with Him in this life and there are degrees of reward just as there are degrees of punishmen; but no one will be denied access into Heaven. We are citizens of Heaven already and The Kingdom is what we are to proclaim. The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. It is here, now. We have the joy and honor of sharing this Kingdom with others. We are to bring Heaven to earth. God isn't going to do any more until we do. Jesus is expecting until His enemies are brought to His Feet. We are to bring them. He is seated at God's Right Hand. His Works are complete. He handed us the victory over ALL the power of the enemy. We need to enforce that victory in this world and bring Him the great harvest. He's coming back for a victorious church, not a dead, faithless one. We have to join one another to do this, not fight over un-important opinions on minor details. We need to unite with other believers and get the job done.

[WordSword]

3 hours ago, Aimiel said:

 We have to join one another to do this, not fight over unimportant opinions on minor details. We need to unite with other believers and get the job done.

Hi and thanks for the input, esp. the above, which is most important goal over all--love then doctrine--because Biblical teachings are to form God's love to and in one another who are His. God bless!

[Aimiel]

One might say it’s the only thing worth focusing on, since God is love!

[gordon7777]

On 5/24/2019 at 3:42 PM, WordSword said:

Redemption (salvation, rebirth, etc.) is not something one can grow in, for its operation exists only in a single degree, i.e. one soul cannot be more saved than another. Thus the sole difference between those reborn lies within the maturity of understanding and application of all that Scripture and the Spirit of God teaches. To know by Spirit-given faith (Gal 5:22) the efficacy of Christ’s expiation for sin is to manifest in one’s lifestyle (walk) evidence of being forgiven by our loving Father. This manifests “union” with Him, but “fellowship” with Him involves a progression from mere union, as forgiveness is but the beginning of learning the love of God via obedience of His “Word of Truth” (2Co 6:7; Eph 1:13; 2Ti 2:15; Jas 1:18).

NC

 

 

 

Proceed To Progress

 

Is it not a strange, humbling and prevalent fact that so few Christians should understand their own Christianity? Yet it is true that there are many saints in the Lord Jesus who know more about the Jews than they do about their own Christianity. Pay close heed to this, lest it be your own case.

It is always the truth most important to us that the devil tries to hide away from us, and turn us bitterly from it. Nor is it only the bad thing that he perverts, to hinder our blessing. For many true believers are kept back because they refuse to look for more than the forgiveness of their sins through the Gospel. Now therein is God’s righteousness revealed by and to faith (Rom 1:17); therein the sinner owns the riches of God’s grace to his soul: but to stop there is altogether unworthy.

So many saints of God fall into this snare at the present moment, that it is well to see to it that we ourselves escape it. What is the good of occupying ourselves with what does not promote our Father’s glory? Let us seek in all integrity to judge ourselves. Let us zealously seek to be taught by the Spirit (1Co 2:13). Let our eyes be fixed on the Lord Jesus that we may be filled with fervor of spirit, and purpose of heart, simple and thoroughgoing. The question for our faith and practice is the attitude that our Father assumed toward us, and our relation to Him while the Lord Jesus is above on His own right hand. How is the answer to this great truth to be carried out on the earth in the heart and way of those who believe? Must it not be through faith “working by love” (Gal 5:6)?

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Eph 1:3). It was His God and Father that raised the Lord Jesus from among the dead, and gave Him glory, that our faith and hope should be in God, His Father and our Father, His God and our God (Jhn 20:17). As in the rest of the New Testament it is not just the God of Abraham, etc.; but here, “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

It is no longer just the revelation of the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob. You naturally become more or less of a Jew in this case, and your heart cannot then rise higher than “the promises made to the fathers” (Rom 15:8 – I believe the patriarchal promises relate primarily with inheriting the new earth, e.g. Psa 25:13; 37:9; 37:11, 22; 82:8; Isa 49:8; Mat 5:5—NC). Hence so many believers now, like the Reformers and the Puritans in former days, talk of grasping the promises. This is to ignore and lower the privileges of the Gospel and of the Church. It loses sight of the Lord Jesus Christ in heavenly glory, after the work of the Cross. Every Christian ought to understand and appreciate the total difference (chiefly between those inheriting the New Heaven and those inheriting the New Earth—NC).

Therefore, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2Tim 2:15).

- Wm Kelly (1821 – 1906)

I spotted a discrepancy.

"Yet it is true that there are many saints in the Lord Jesus who know more about the Jews than they do about their own Christianity

You naturally become more or less of a Jew in this case"

It is better to know about the Jews if we become of a Jew. It would make no sense to my mind, which knows the bible oh so well,  to not know about the Jews, when we become the Jews. It surely makes this report nonsense, and this was its principle "wisdom"

 

Now we consider the Jews, even greater than us, this is where Jesus Christ was born to, this is Peter James and John, this is the foundation of the prophets and apostles, yes it is everything. I honour anyone who is a Jew, deep in my heart, I see back to the time God called Abraham, and I see the afflictions of David, and the afflictions the people of the Jews placed on the prophets, as David had done afflictions, and I see the afflictions God gave on Israel. All is equal and all is honest and all is by God. Anyone who honours the Jews, surely honours the Lord, who has not forgotten His people, and anyone who curses them, will be cursed, even if he thinks he does not curse them, or curses them only in his heart, he wont escape what he wrongly gave out. The people of Israel however, have to turn to the Lord in faith, He is their Messiah, belongs to them, He came to His own, I hope the evil treatment of the past can be forgotten and forgiven through not hating the ways of the Lord, way over our heads, but everything we have to accept as equal, and good and right, and then we will be just ourselves, and forget what man thinks, he is not to be accounted of..

Luke 2:21 And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

 

Ephesians 2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

 

Isaiah 41:8 But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.
9 Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.
10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
11 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.
12 Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.
13 For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.
14 Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

 

Zechariah 8:20 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities:
21 And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts: I will go also.
22 Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord.
23 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.

 

Romans 11:1 I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

 

Romans 11:23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again.24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree: HOW MUCH MORE shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?

I think it makes no sense to think that the natural branch would not be the natural priests, only highmindedness makes you think you are higher when in actual fact you are LOWER.

 

Romans 11:¹⁸ Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.¹⁹ Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in.²⁰ Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:²¹ For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.²² Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

 

 

Isaiah 2:22 Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of ?

 

 

 

 

[WordSword]

9 hours ago, gordon7777 said:

I spotted a discrepancy.

"Yet it is true that there are many saints in the Lord Jesus who know more about the Jews than they do about their own Christianity

You naturally become more or less of a Jew in this case"

It is better to know about the Jews if we become of a Jew. It would make no sense to my mind, which knows the bible oh so well,  to not know about the Jews, when we become the Jews. It surely makes this report nonsense, and this was its principle "wisdom"

 

Now we consider the Jews, even greater than us, this is where Jesus Christ was born to, this is Peter James and John, this is the foundation of the prophets and apostles, yes it is everything. I honour anyone who is a Jew, deep in my heart, I see back to the time God called Abraham, and I see the afflictions of David, and the afflictions the people of the Jews placed on the prophets, as David had done afflictions, and I see the afflictions God gave on Israel. All is equal and all is honest and all is by God. Anyone who honours the Jews, surely honours the Lord, who has not forgotten His people, and anyone who curses them, will be cursed, even if he thinks he does not curse them, or curses them only in his heart, he wont escape what he wrongly gave out. The people of Israel however, have to turn to the Lord in faith, He is their Messiah, belongs to them, He came to His own, I hope the evil treatment of the past can be forgotten and forgiven through not hating the ways of the Lord, way over our heads, but everything we have to accept as equal, and good and right, and then we will be just ourselves, and forget what man thinks, he is not to be accounted of..

Luke 2:21 And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

 

Ephesians 2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

 

Isaiah 41:8 But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.
9 Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.
10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
11 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.
12 Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.
13 For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.
14 Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

 

Zechariah 8:20 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities:
21 And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts: I will go also.
22 Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord.
23 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.

 

Romans 11:1 I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

 

Romans 11:23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again.24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree: HOW MUCH MORE shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?

I think it makes no sense to think that the natural branch would not be the natural priests, only highmindedness makes you think you are higher when in actual fact you are LOWER.

 

Romans 11:¹⁸ Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.¹⁹ Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in.²⁰ Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:²¹ For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.²² Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

Isaiah 2:22 Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of ?

 

Hi and thanks for your comments! In reference to the "Jews" the author means the majority of them, which will not enter into the Son-ship of Christ, but yet will be a "people of God" in the Millennium. The Church therefore will consist mostly of believing Gentiles in the New Heaven.

 

God bless!

[gordon7777]

9 minutes ago, WordSword said:

Hi and thanks for your comments! In reference to the "Jews" the author means the majority of them, which will not enter into the Son-ship of Christ, but yet will be a "people of God" in the Millennium. The Church therefore will consist mostly of believing Gentiles in the New Heaven.

 

God bless!

Nobody has right to speak about any majority of people, God created all people, the author did not.

 

We do not even have right to speak about ourselves, we all give account of ourselves judgement day and bow the knee.

 

God will decide then who is in eternal life and who is not, not man deciding but good try and thanks too

 

Isaiah 45:23

I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.

 

Romans 14:11

For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every kneeshall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.

 

Philippians 2:10

That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

Edited June 3, 2019 by gordon7777

[WordSword]

6 minutes ago, gordon7777 said:

Nobody has right to speak about any majority of people, God created all people, the author did not.

 

We do not even have right to speak about ourselves, we all give account of ourselves judgement day and bow the knee.

 

God will decide then who is in eternal lie and who is not, not man deciding but good try and hanks too

I think I know what you mean, but it looks like we have different understanding on these issues, and thanks for the reply!