“Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth.
Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house: lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel: lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger; and thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed, and say, ‘How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; and have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!’ ” Proverbs 5:7-13 (KJB)
Teachers
Grace At Work
Ephesians 4:7-16
PURPOSE: To teach that those who are in the one Body [the Church] are recipients of grace, demonstrated and shown through ministry gifts, also of grace, for the purpose of bringing the total Body to the maturity of Jesus Christ.
Grace does not stop with our initial repentance, faith, and confession of Christ. Grace continues with every breath we breathe; every step we take; every morning we rise from our beds. Grace is the continuing work of God in the Christians life.
The following are some works of grace which God has bestowed upon us.
THE WORK OF GOD WHICH DELIVERED US FROM THE CONDEMNATION OF SIN AND DEATH (v. 7). Grace is the means by which we are delivered from the condemnation of sin and its death. It is provided for us through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is only the propitiation or appeasement; God judging our sin [all sin] by placing it on the sinless, guiltless Jesus Christ. Grace continues and becomes efficacious [effective] when we respond to His grace by faith in Him. That same grace provides not only salvation, but also gifts distributed by the Holy Spirit as He sees fit, for living by grace in His power.
“But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.” 1 Corinthians 12:11 (KJV)
Just as every individual who is born again, by faith in Jesus, is in the one Body, so too, has everyone received a grace-gift(s) in which to serve the Body. There is no one who is in Christ who is not also gifted to live for and serve Him.
All this is the “gift of Christ”. We are brought into one Body by Christ; we are gifted by Him to serve in the Body as He [the Head] directs and leads by the person of the Holy Spirit.
THE WORK OF GOD ON THE CROSS WHICH DELIVERED US FROM CAPTIVITY (vv. 8-10). Because of the cross on which Jesus bled and died God the Father was and is able to deliver us from the captivity of sin. His resurrection gave us victory over hell and death.
If you watch people; as I have a tendency to do; you will see many enslaved by sin. Illegal and legal drugs, like cocaine, marijuana, alcohol, prescription drugs, etc., and you know what I mean. You see some captive by other things in their lives. Men and women, married and unmarried, are enslaved to their lustful desires; whether those desires are greed for wealth, or sex; makes little difference; they are none the less enslaved. Some are enslaved to their comforts and entertainments.
When Jesus arose from the grave He led those who were Old Testament saints out of captivity. I believe this is vividly illustrated in Matthew 27:51-53:
“And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.”
He then placed into captivity everything that places man in bondage – sin, hell, death, and Satan.
By ascending into heaven He opened the avenue for the Holy Spirit; in fact sent the Holy Spirit; to come and dwell within all who trust Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The Holy Spirit would not have come to abide in all who know Jesus except He [Jesus] ascended into heaven first. By ascending He not only gave us the person of the Spirit, but He also gifted us; gave us tools for ministry, and the Holy Spirit is the power of the gifts.
His descension is His incarnation [Jesus coming as God in flesh]. Because of His death, burial and resurrection His mortal body was changed into an immortal body. The Scriptures declare that there is a man (in bodily form) in heaven:
“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” 1 Timothy 2:5 (KJV)
Because of and by the ministry of the Holy Spirit the Church is the Body of Christ on earth. It is being made more and more into the image of Christ in heaven, in every individual who abides in His Body on earth. This by no means implies that individual’s in His Church are sinless, but contrary to that, His working in us shows that we are needy of Him.
Jesus’s desire, His heart is to be the FULNESS of everyone who will come to Him.
THE WORK OF GOD IN THE GIFTS WHICH HE GIVES US; CONTINUING THE WORK (vv. 11-12). God desires, and Jesus desires to continually be at work in us; fulfilling His will and glory. The reason for the gifts of the Spirit is His grace.
The gifts listed are not natural talents, but special gifts of the Spirit for glorifying Jesus in the ministry. The apostles and prophets are the one’s upon whom the church is built (2:20). There is no such thing as “apostolic succession”. At least not in the sense of the Roman Catholic religion. Apostles are not declared or made by a local congregation, but they are called out individually by God for the purpose of going to an unchurched, unevangelized area, and doing the ground work; preaching the word and the gospel of Christ to establish a local congregation. In the truest New Testament sense an apostle today could be a missionary. There can be no more apostles because the foundation has already been laid; there are no more eye witnesses of Jesus Christ risen from the grave; there are no more disciples who personally walked with Jesus in the land where He walked. Missionaries do the work that the original apostles did in going about, preaching the gospel to people groups who have not heard, and showing them the love of Jesus Christ.
The prophets were preachers who were gifted with a special understanding of the Old Testament Scriptures, and given the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit for the New Testament Church and Scriptures. They were and are those whom are sensitive about sin and its destruction in human life. They have a heart for hearing God and His Word. The Church is built on the apostles and prophets. The prophet today would probably be better known as “Preacher”. This is still how local churches begin. The local church is where the gifts and power of the Spirit are demonstrated. The Body of Christ is manifest in the local church.
Evangelists are gifted by God to seek out the lost and are particularly gifted at presenting the gospel of Jesus Christ in a clear and understandable way. They are also gifted to teach others how to be soul-winners.
Where the previous three are itinerant [traveling] messengers the pastor/teacher is one who sticks around awhile. He loves the people as his own family. He preaches the Word of God to them and teaches them how to apply the Word to their lives. He is one who is really more concerned about their spiritual walk, spiritual growth than numerical growth. The pastor will leave the numerical growth up to the Lord. The pastor simply sows the seed of the Word and the gospel and leaves the increase up to the Holy Spirit. He teaches by word and example.
In verse twelve we see a twofold purpose for these spiritual gifts;
1. The perfecting of the saints to do the work of the ministry;
2. Edifying the Body of Christ.
Number one, the ministry of the apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor/teacher is to equip the believers to do the work of the ministry. These four are the equipping/leadership gifts of the Spirit. There are other gifts listed in Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 27-31; and here in Ephesians 4:11. Each of these gifts of the Spirit are needed in the local church to for the people to grow and be healthy and powerful for the glory of Jesus Christ. Number two, the equipped Body will be operating in the unity of the Spirit and truly “building up” the Body of Christ. When everyone “in Christ” recognize their place of service, then, the Church has been built up and is honoring and pleasing to Jesus.
THE WORK OF GOD AND THE FRUIT OF THAT WORK (vv. 13-16). When the Body of Christ is being equipped and built up there are four evidences of spiritual growth.
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We become more Christlike caring for the needs of others, experiencing others hurts and sorrows. We grow in knowledge of Him and His Word and work of His Spirit. We reach a place of maturity where we are not offended by truth; or the color of the carpet. This lever of maturity is still seeking the fullness of Christ.
- We begin developing a stability of faith. We begin to understand truth and are not tossed around by false doctrines and teachings. We are learning to test all teachings by the Word of God.
- We have a love for truth, coupled with a lover for people, the lost, and even backsliden When others are confronted with the truth love will not permit us to condemn, but we will admonish them by pointing to their real need; realizing from whence we have come.
- We realize that there must be a unified work. We have purpose through cooperation. By joining our hands, prayers, finances, families, ministries, and our hearts we are in cooperation with one another and ‘building up’ the Church. That means we would be the most powerful force on earth; through Jesus Christ.
When you have grace working in you through Jesus Christ you will be the better for it, and the world will benefit from it. Grace works everyday in the lives of those who follow Jesus Christ. Let each of us submit to the work of grace and the Spirit of God every day.
-Tim A. Blankenship
Fearful Salvation
“…But others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.” Jude 23 (NKJV).
There are many still being led astray by apostate teachers and their heretical teachings. We are to preach the gospel, pure and simple, that they may possibly hear, believe, and come out of the bondage of heresy.
Those who warn them, teaching them the truth of the gospel, and whole counsel of the word of God, must also do so with “fear”. We must guard our own hearts. Those who warn others of these teachings, are also hearing the lies, deceitful words, and acts; and if we don’t stand on the truth of the Word of God could be enticed by such easy hearing words.
Many of these apostate teachers and preachers are very charismatic, and possess a dynamic preaching and teaching style. They are easy to listen to. They would also be very easy to follow. That is why we as Christians must guard against what comes easy to us. Let me give an example or two. 1. It is easier to lie than to tell the truth; 2. It is easier to stay at home on Sunday than to be faithful in your attendance of worshipping the Lord; 3. It is easier to keep your money than to tithe, or put an offering in the plate as it passes in front of you; there are three. Let me give you another one; for a husband, it is easier to attend that football game, or baseball game with the guys, than to stay at home and help your wife with cleaning the house.
I only share those things to remind you that we are all prone to do the easy things, and listen to the easy; going along to get along message, which makes us feel good about ourselves, and others. Preachers, who are called of God to preach were not called to please men or women, but to preach the Word of God, and to preach it in the power of His glory and His cross; no matter who it offends. It is better to please God and displease men, than it is to please men, and displease God. There is more to this life than comfort, and ease.
“Save with fear…” is words of wisdom coming from Jude, and it is the wisdom of the Spirit of God. It is by the study, reading, prayer, and the living of the Word of God in personal life that we can stand against the flashy, easy, dynamic, charismatic, and false teaching of the apostate teachers. This is not just for the preacher, pastor, or teacher. It is for all Christians to hear, and take heed to yourselves.
The message of the Bible is the message of Jesus. It is about His death on the cross – and the shedding of His blood; His burial and carrying our sins away, our sin debt paid to the Father in full; and His resurrection proving and assuring us that everything Jesus said of Himself, and the Father is true; and by His resurrection we have the assurance that when He said, “I will come again”, that He will indeed come again.
Snatch them from the burning fire of lying deceptions, and apostate teachers; and guard yourselves with “fear”, ie., considering yourself (Galations 6:1).
-Tim A. Blankenship
Fiery Salvation
“…But others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.” Jude 23 (NKJV).
There are a couple of ways of approaching these two verses, ie. verses 22 and 23. Some see three groups of people who are being associated with the apostates, yet it seems to me that there are only two. The first being those who need compassion from those who are holding to the truths of God’s Word and the gospel of Jesus Christ; and the other group being those who are so heavily involved in the worship of “Faith” that they need more than compassion, but hasteful warnings, as though snatching them from a fire.
We are often warned about being too hasty in some matters. There are some times, and some people who may require our haste. For example; Suppose you are driving down your road from home, and pass by a neighbor’s home, and you see fire where fire is not supposed to be. Do you drive on? Do you stop and investigate? In the investigation you find if the fire is allowed to continue it could very well burn the neighbor’s house down. You knock on the door, but there is no response. Do you just leave? A good neighbor would do their best to stop that fire, call the fire department, and do what is necessary to save the home and any possible lives who may be inside, if any. That requires a bit of haste.
We look at the lives of people involved in these false religions, ensnared by the false teachings, because these teachings make them feel so good about themselves; and it is actually a fire, a spiritual fire which is burning, taking the very souls of these individuals further away from truth and the Lord GOD. We should be caring enough to take time and address these matters. Sure there is going to be offense, but doesn’t the lies, the deception, the false teaching of the apostates, and their pride offend the true gospel of Jesus Christ, denying the power of the cross of Christ and His resurrection.
When will those professing Christ learn, and realize that being a Christian is not about achieving this world’s goods. The Christian life is about the praise and glory of the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. The glory of God is done through the power of the cross, His burial, and resurrection, and the promise of His coming again. The glory of God is seen in His power to work in the trials and troubles of every Christian’s life. God is glorified in the life of a Christian who despite cancer and dying from it continues to give praise to the name of Jesus throughout the whole ordeal, then goes on to be with Jesus in Heaven. The glory of God is seen in a man and wife who loves the Lord despite financial hardship, and even into bankruptcy.
That is not what the false teachers are teaching. That is not what they want you to hear. That is, however, what God teaches us in His Word, and it is what He wants you to know and hear.
It is with great urgency we should deal with those engrained in the lies of false teaching and teachers. It is also with “fear” that we should consider our own faith in Jesus as we deal with them. Prayer, daily being in the Word of God, and walking with God daily is the only way to confront them, with the truth and love of God.
-Tim A. Blankenship
Distinct Compassion
“And on some have compassion, making a distinction…” Jude 22 (NKJV).
We will be looking today at a group on whom Jude is calling for Christians to have compassion. There are times when we Christians are seen as being without compassion. The definition for “compassion” is: ’sympathetic feeling: PITY, MERCY.’ That is according to THE MIRRIAM/WEBSTER DICTIONARY. It is for those who have experienced mercy to give or show mercy.
We have already seen that we are all responsible for our own growth in our Lord Jesus Christ. There are, however, many who have fallen victim to false teaching, and the teachers of it. These victims of apostate teachers need us to show them great mercy, because they are some who have not reached a firm conviction of who Jesus truly is, about eternal life, and they remain unsure, doubtful, and could be persuaded of the truth of the identity of Jesus Christ.
Most Christians probably know some who have sit, or presently are sitting under the teaching of a man, or a woman, who is leading them away from the truth of Jesus Christ. These teachers proclaim, in the name of Jesus, things that lessen the power of the cross of Christ. They magnify “faith” over truth. Magnifying “faith” over truth is done by focusing more on what you can have, ie., wealth, health, etc., but there is no teaching on growing in the Lord Jesus and becoming more like Him. These apostate teachers may in fact, teach that you can become “Christ”. I recently heard of an apostate group who believe that the universe revolves around the earth, and that the King James Version of the Bible is God in written form.
We must have “compassion” on those who have fallen into these cultic practices, and beliefs. It is tragic that there are those who would develop followers unto themselves, and lead them astray from the Lord Jesus. I have always said, and believe, that I want no one to elevate me, or see me in a position of grandeur. I am solely a sinner who has been saved by the grace of God, through the death – shed blood of Jesus Christ, His burial, and resurrection. And I, like most Christians; am looking forward to the day when we can see Jesus our Lord and Savior face to face, and live in His eternal presence.
When we see those who have been led astray; we must have compassion, give them the truth; in love; and trust the Holy Spirit of God to show them the way. When someone has sit under false teaching for a long time it may take much compassion, and patience with good Bible teaching to deliver them from the snare of the apostates.
Let us be strong. Let us be compassionate. Let us let others see the true Jesus and His truth in us. There are doubters in this world that are still open to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let us love them like Jesus would. Let us show mercy with our words and our lives.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved.
-by Tim A. Blankenship
God Speaks Through The Apostles
“But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ…” Jude 17 (NKJV).
After having dealt some very hard words concerning those who have attempted, and at times came into some of the churches with their poisonous words, their deceit, their division, and heresy; Jude now comes back to the one’s he is writing this letter to.
The reader, who is the “beloved” of Jude. The “beloved”, of course, are those who know the Lord Jesus Christ. They have heard the words of the Lord Jesus as spoken by the apostles, and written in their letters. The writings of the apostles are indeed the word of the Lord to His Church.
How important is it that we remember the words spoken by the apostles? It is very important if we are to grow strong in the faith of the Lord. It is very important if we are to know the truth. It is of the utmost importance if there is a false teaching which is infiltrating the Church, and leading the people away from Christ, and into false worship, and into immoral living and immoral lifestyles. In short; the writings of the apostles; such as Peter, James, John, and Paul are the very words of our Lord for knowing the Lord Jesus and growing in Him.
With the apostles writings (Letters) we can know the teachings of Justification, Sanctification, and Glorification. We can know also the teachings of the sinfulness of mankind, and his eternal destiny. We can know what is true from what is false. We can know that there are many Jesus’es in the world, and the one who died on the cross for our sins, was buried, who rose bodily from the grave, and left us the promise of His coming again is the true one. We can know that the one who said, “I and My Father are one”, and “He who has seen Me has seen the Father”, and “Before Abraham was, I am” is the true Jesus Christ. Any other Jesus is not the true one.
We can know that anyone or any group, angel or church, who teaches any other Jesus is not a true worshipping body of Jesus Christ. We can know that there should be shame on anyone calling themselves “Pastor”, “Teacher”, or “Preacher” who will not expose these false teachers and teachings; and is ashamed of the truth, a coward, and most likely does not know Him.
Do not listen to those who tell you, “We cannot know the absolute truth”. The absolute truth is found in the pages of the Word of God. That is the writings of the apostles and the prophets. The Old and the New Testaments are the Word of God. The prophets wrote of the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ, and they longed to see His day. We have before us the written Word of God which tells us of a day He will come again, and that we will behold Him face to face.
Hear the Word of God. Trust God and His Word. Believe and act according to His Word and will. Glorify the Lord Jesus.
-Tim A. Blankenship
Rocks Under The Surface
“These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.” Jude 12-13 (NKJV).
Consider a ship at sea. Now, I have never been on a ship at sea, or even a small boat at sea, but I am sure that the captain of a ship has eyes watching, even though he may know the sea, eyes are watching for hidden obstacles in those waters. Remember the Titanic? The crew slipped up; they were sailing the unsinkable ship, overloaded with passengers on its first and last cruise. The Titanic sank to the bottom of the sea, and over 1,500 souls were lost.
Jude likens the heretics, these false teachers, these liars, and deceivers to hidden spots, rocks, just underneath the surface. They pretended to be Christians, but denied the faith, denied Jesus, denied the truth oofGod’s Word, and the authority of the apostles. These claim to believe in Jesus, but they twist the true Scriptures to suit their own understanding. Some times those who receive them need to go deeper than just their words. What is their view of Jesus? Is He deity? What about the cross? What about grace and faith? They were with many churches as Jude was writing this and he is warning us of them.
These enjoy the gathering with the true believers in their breaking of the bread and drinking of the cup; and their fellowship meals. The Lord’s Supper, communion as it is also called is right and good for the worship of the Lord, but heretics can come in under false pretenses, and leave uncorrected, undisturbed. “These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves.”
This is also a problem within the Christian churches today. You can identify these false teachers by their denying of the power of the cross, they deny the work of Jesus Christ. There are many pastors in the pulpits who never preach against sins of greed, lust, sexual immorality in adultery, premarital sex, homosexuality or any other form of perversion. Never show the glory of Christ Jesus over the sin in their lives. If there is no revelation of sin in our lives there can be no glory of the power of Christ over sin.
When heretics come into the Churches of our Lord Jesus it should be with fear of being exposed for the heresy they teach. Stay in God’s Word, pray, asking for God’s wisdom and knowledge. He will give it to you.
The Lord willing, there will be more on these verses for your reading.
-Tim A. Blankenship
Corrupted Brute Beasts
“But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves.” Jude 10 (NKJV).
Those who would, do, and will pervert the gospel of Jesus Christ have a self made knowledge. They have a knowledge of Scripture, and philosophy, based on their education, but not according to the wisdom and knowledge of God. That is, the wisdom and knowledge which comes only from God.
They claim an authority over the spiritual world which is not of man, thus they do damage to the true message of the cross and of Christ. You will find this in those who claim to speak for God with a new revelation from God, thus they add to the Word of God. Of this God warns us in the final verses of the Revelation of Jesus Christ 22:18-19. Some of the same ones that “do not know”, are taking away from the Word of God the very thing which God honors and magnifies. The deity of the Lord Jesus Christ; the Immutability of God and His Word; the teaching of the Triune God. They claim it cannot be understood, so they deny it.
To deny any one of those things takes the “teacher” out of the realm of true Christianity, and puts them in the realm of the “Cultic kingdom”. These same one’s who deny these things often claim a power of knowledge of Scripture which they do not have. They do not have the Spirit of God in them or on them.
There are many people today who make the claim that, “It doesn’t matter what you believe; as long as you believe something”; and nothing could be further from the truth. The way you truly believe will affect the way you live. If you follow false doctrines and beliefs you will live a false life, which is hypocrisy, leading to sinfulness, immorality, etc..
As, “brute beasts”, they live however they choose. They take advantage of those who do not have. They speak of living in grandeur, mansions, fancy cars, fine clothes, living in the lap of luxury. They do it by grabbing , taking advantage of the little that others have and taking it for themselves.
Christian brother and sister heed the message of the Word of the Lord. Do not be deceived by the liar and deceiver who wants you to know what is unknowable, or to do the undoable. Those who claim faith that is Christless, crossless, and senseless are out to take from your pocket to theirs.
Follow Jesus Christ, and not men or women.
-Tim A. Blankenship
The Fire and Hammer 