Do Not Fall for The Lies

[Christsfreeservant]

“Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” (James 1:16-18 NASB’95)​

There are presently many deceivers among us who have altered (changed) and rewritten the message of the gospel of our salvation in order to not offend human flesh and the ungodly of the world, and in order to appease and to coddle people who are living in sin and not in walks of obedience to our Lord and to his New Covenant commandments. And they do this largely by removing Scriptures from their context, teaching them out of context, and by making them say what they do not say if taught in the right context.

So, they teach Romans 10:9 as though it is the entirety of the gospel message while they disregard the rest of the book of Romans which teaches that faith in Jesus Christ, which is of God, results in us being crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin but as servants of God and of his righteousness. Thus, we should not let sin continue to reign in our mortal bodies, to make us obey its desires, for if sin is what we obey, it leads to death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, its end is eternal life with God.

And they teach John 10:28-30 absent of verse 27 which tells us who the following promises are for. And then they apply these promises broadly to everyone who makes any kind of profession of faith in Jesus Christ, whether or not they meet the qualifications noted for us in verse 27. But Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” And to hear Jesus is not just with our ears, but it is to listen to him, to pay attention to him and to heed his words. For to follow him is to obey him, and to be known by him is to obey him, and we who obey have eternal life with God.

And then they teach Ephesians 2:8-9 absent of verse 10 which is critical to the whole message. Is it true that we are saved from our sins by God’s grace, through God-gifted faith in the Lord Jesus alone, and that our salvation is not of our own doing, not of our own works, not of the flesh nor of the will of humans? Yes! But we must define salvation and faith and grace biblically, for it is not what most of them are teaching that it is. For we are not saved merely from the punishment of sin, but we are delivered out of our addiction to sin, by the grace of God, via biblical faith in our Lord.

God’s grace to us is what sent Jesus Christ to that cross to put our sins to death with him so that we will die with Christ to sin and walk in obedience to his commands in holy living. And God’s grace, which is bringing us salvation, is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return. For Jesus Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” And “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

[1 Peter 2:24; Romans 6:1-23; Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:10]

And faith in Jesus Christ is authored by Jesus Christ, it comes from God, it is gifted to us by God, it is not of the will nor of the flesh of humans, it is not of our own doing, and it is not of our own works. And so God is the one to define that faith, and his word does that, which we can see if we study the Scriptures for ourselves (in context). And faith in Jesus means to be persuaded of God, and God persuades us as to his holiness and righteousness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to die with Christ to sin and to obey his commandments as part of believing faith which saves.

[Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:23-31; Hebrews 12:1-2]

So, please understand that God’s word does not change with the passing of time. Yet, there are many different translations of the Scriptures, and not one of them is the original, so although God’s word was perfect in its original form, it may have undergone some alterations via copies of copies and various translations. So it is good to try to find a reputable translation if you are able. For English users, I would recommend the KJV, the NASB, the NIV, and the ESV, but the older the last update, the better, I believe. And if you have access to an interlinear, that helps much, as well, for accuracy.

But the point here is that God’s divinely inspired and God-breathed words, in their original form, do not change. And any reputable translation is going to be consistent in teaching that faith in Jesus Christ, which is of God, and not of human flesh, is going to result in us dying with Christ to sin and us walking in obedience to his commands, in practice. For if sin is what we practice, and not righteousness, and not obedience to our Lord’s commands, then regardless of what our lips profess, we will not have eternal life with God, but we will face his wrath, instead.

[Romans 2:6-8; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Galatians 6:7-8; Ephesians 5:3-6; Colossians 1:21-23; Colossians 3:1-17; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:23-31; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6,15-17; 1 John 3:4-10]

How Long Till the Morning

Scripture: I Thessalonians 4:17
By C. E. Couchman

Consider the mornings of this mortal land,
Each a new beginning from the Maker’s hand.
While the storms may gather ‘gainst the evening sky,
The day breaks cloudless in the morning.

Rise up to the battle, for the skies dawn clear.
Let us gather courage while the foe draws near.
Though the night falls weary, saints of God, march on!
And He’ll raise our banner in the morning.

When the trumpet sounds to signal Heaven’s day,
Resurrection Morning when the dead shall wake,
What a glorious gath’ring when the Lord descends
And we rise to meet him in the morning.

How long, my Lord? Till we see the morning?
How long, O, my Lord, till we see your face?
O my Lord, guide us through our troubles
Till we rise above them in the morning.

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Do Not Fall For the Lies
An Original Work / March 23, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

[Bob S]

“Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” (James 1:16-18 NASB’95)​

There are presently many deceivers among us who have altered (changed) and rewritten the message of the gospel of our salvation in order to not offend human flesh and the ungodly of the world, and in order to appease and to coddle people who are living in sin and not in walks of obedience to our Lord and to his New Covenant commandments. And they do this largely by removing Scriptures from their context, teaching them out of context, and by making them say what they do not say if taught in the right context.

I totally agree with your statement. We are under the New Covenant that was given and ratified by Jesus' blood at Calvary. The covenant is the new way and should not be confused with the covenant given to Israel at Sinai. Keeping God's commands does not mean keeping ritual laws intended for one former nation. Morality is forever and Paul sums this up in Gal 5:
13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh: rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Paul didn't teach that we are obligated to keep ritual laws like Sabbath observance of the Old Covenant. In fact, he wrote in 2Cor 3 that the ten commandments were temporary, and we are under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Do not allow deceivers like those who deceived the Galatians and like those today doing the same thing.

 

[Christsfreeservant]

I totally agree with your statement. We are under the New Covenant that was given and ratified by Jesus' blood at Calvary. The covenant is the new way and should not be confused with the covenant given to Israel at Sinai. Keeping God's commands does not mean keeping ritual laws intended for one former nation. Morality is forever and Paul sums this up in Gal 5:
13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh: rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Paul didn't teach that we are obligated to keep ritual laws like Sabbath observance of the Old Covenant. In fact, he wrote in 2Cor 3 that the ten commandments were temporary, and we are under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Do not allow deceivers like those who deceived the Galatians and like those today doing the same thing.

Thank you for reading and for your response. Much appreciated.