GOD REVEALS HIS WILL IN HIS WORD,.......... Romans 1 .."Mature Theme"

    The material of this post has been taken 

     from the Scripture, but may be unsusitable 

     for children.   

                         God Reveals His will in His Word

                                (Romans 1:16-27)

                   There have been persons, seemingly well
             informed, who contend Scripture does not
            address the practice of homosexuality.  I
            cannot hold this view.  It may have been
            "legalized" and accepted by government,
            but our Lord does not change, no does his
            Word/Law.      

    Before we  get into the Scripture, let's  establish; for 
the sin we commit as a fallen human race,  forgiveness 
is  available in  Christ Jesus, The  Son of God. The for-
giveness must be preceded by confession,  repentance 
and a forsaking of  that sin in the Spirit  that God  sup-
plies. On our own we will not, cannot, resist temptation 
to sin. We must rely upon the Spirit of God for the will 
and ability to resist. 

 The clear teaching from the Law of God, as recorded in 
Leviticus 18: 22, "You shall not lie with a male as with a 
woman.  It  is an abomination"  Keep  reading;  there  is 
remediation  for  all, no  matter  the  transgression.  In 1
Corinthians 6:9-10, "Do you not  know that  the  unrigh-
teous will not  inherit the  Kingdom of  God?  Do not be
deceived.  Neither fornicators, nor idolaters,  nor homo-
sexuals, nor sodomites, nor  thieves, nor  covetous, nor
drunkards, nor  revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the
Kingdom of God. NKJV  The original language included
"catamites," or  those who give  themselves to  be used 
of sodomites.  Pedophilia is implied in this language. 

  Then, there is this caveat.  In verse 11, "And such
  were some of you: but you are sanctified, but you
  are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by
  the Spirit of our God."            (AMEN)

In Romans 1:16-23 we find,  "For I am not ashamed  of 
the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God to salva-
tion for everyone who  believes, for  the Jew  first and
also for the Greek." (gentile) "For  in  it  the  righteous
ness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is writ-
ten,  'The  just  shall  live by  faith.'   For  the  wrath of
God is revealed from  heaven against  all unrighteous-
ness, because what   may be  known of  God  is mani-
fest  in  them,  for  God  has  shown  it  to  them.   For
since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes
are clearly seen being  understood  by the  things that
are  made,  even His  eternal  power and  Godhead, so 
they  are  without  excuse,  Because,  although  they
knew God, they did not  glorify him  as God, nor  were
they  thankful,  but  became futile  thoughts,  and their
foolish hearts were   darkened.  Professing to  be wise
they  became  fools,  and  changed  the glory of the in-
corruptible  God  into an image  made  like the  corrup-
tible man and birds and four-footed  animals and cree-
ping things."  Now, reflecting  on verses 19-20,  we see
the things of the Lord  are clear;  He has shown it. The
things that  were made, clearly indicate His  attributes,
leaving  us  without  excuse.  

                          (Now, back to Romans 1)
24."Therefore, God also gave them up to uncleaness, 
in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies 
among themselves, 25. who exchanged the truth of
God for the Lie, and worshiped and served the crea-
tor, who is blessed forever."  Amen...
26.  "For this reason, God gave them up to vile pas-
sions.  For even their women exchanged the natural
use for what is against nature.  27. Likewise, also,
the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, 
burned in their lusts for one another, men with men
committing what is shameful and receiving in them-
selves the penalty of their error which was due."
(You might choose to read the rest of this passage.)

     Before we  key in on this one issue, we must 
   consider this fact; The  sins mentioned in this
    passage hit us all.  None of  us is immune to 
    sin.  It  is darkening to the soul, but  there is  
    a remedy.  The key to the cure is in:

  1 Corinthians 6:11, "And such were some of 
  you, but you were washed, but you were sanc-
  tified, but you were justified in the name of 
  the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God."

   In Romans 3:23-26, "...for  all  have  sinned 
  and fall short of the glory of God, being justi-
  fied  freely by His grace through the redemp-
  tion  that  is in  Christ Jesus, whom  God  set 
  forth as a propitiation by  His blood through 
  faith  to  demonstrate  His  righteousness be-
  cause in  His  forbearance  God  had passed 
  over the sins that were previously committed, 
  to demonstrate at  the present time His  righ-
  teousness, that He might be just and the justi-
  fier of the one who has faith in Jesus." 

  Propitiation:  To Satisfy, Appease, Atone or  
    Place of Expiation, Covering.

   According to the Word of God, any who will
  believe in and  follow Jesus the Christ will be 
  delivered  from these, admittedly vile and life 
  deforming  issues.  He or she will find mercy, 
  grace,  forgiveness and  a new  life  in Christ, 
  in  fellowship with God as one repents of  any 
  sinful  lifestyles  in  confession  of  his/her sin.    
(Repentance  involves genuine  regret and  tur-
  ning from that sin to Jesus.)

   In 1 John 1:8-10, "If we say that we have no 
   sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not 
   in  us.  If  we confess our sins, He is  faithful 
   and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse 
   us  from all unrighteousness.  If  we say that 
   we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and 
   His Word is not in us."  

I do not believe this passage refers to  persons 
outside  of  Christ only.  This Scripture covers 
the  error and "sin"  into  which believers may  
fall.  Just  because  one  is  a believer  in Jesus 
Christ;  it does not follow that he is immune to 
the  temptation to sin.  There  is Scripture sup-  
porting  the Lord  offering a way of escape for 
one  who is a believer,  choosing to refuse  the
temptation to sin.  Exodus 20...

    Sin is  an offense against a Holy God, and  
 will receive a just  recompense.   Did you see 
 any sin  not  addressed  by  the  cleansing of 
 the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ?  Not  one.  Our 
 God  is not a respecter of  persons.  He des-
 pises  sin,  but  loves  and  died  for  sinners. 
 Mankind  may,  at  times,  justify  himself  by 
 thinking;  "I am not guilty  of  that  sin," and 
 feel  exonerated.  This  is, assuredly,  not the 
case.  Our Holy Lord, the  God  of  Abraham, 
Isaac  and  Jacob, does not respect nor give 
privilege  to  certain persons.  He condemns 
or forgives each, alike.  When  we  meet  his 
conditions in 1 John 1: 8-10, above, He for-
gives  each who  comes to Him   a  repentant 
sinner  and  turns  from sin to  the  *Saviour.
   (In New King James Bible "Saviour" is 
                   rendered "Savior")

In Hebrews 10:16-17; "This is the covenant 
that I will make with them after  those  days 
says the Lord:  
  "I will put my laws into their hearts, and 
    in their minds I will write them," then, 
  He adds, "Their  sins and  their lawless  
    deeds  I  will remember no more." 

Also, read Romans 10: 9-10, 13 which says;
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the
Lord Jesus, and believe  thine heart that God
has raised Him from the death, thou shalt be
saved.  For with the heart man believeth unto
righteousness, and with the mouth confession
is made unto salvation.  (13) For whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved."    
 
(Confess your faith in the Lord God in Jesus
Christ to those with whom you have a relation-
ship, with the hope of winning them to Christ.) 
  AMEN!! AND GOD BE PRAISED!!

http://biblicalclarity-don.blogspot.com/2014/01/hate-is-not-christian-value.html

 donporter,sr  2.13.14, Edited 12.26.14, 6.09.16

                    

A CALL AND A GIFT

         " A Call and a Gift"    Ephesians 4: 1-3, 
   
  "I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord beseech 
    you to walk worthy of  the calling with which 
    you were  called, with lowliness  and  gentle-
    ness,  with  longsuffering, bearing  with  one 
    another  in  love,  endeavoring  to  keep  the 
    unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."  

   In this letter to the Church at large, the Apostle 
Paul seems to  be  zeroing  in on  the Work of the 
Lord  Jesus Christ  in  the  life  of  His  followers.  
There is a call to walk  in a  manner that  reflects 
positively on  Christ  and  His  Church.  The first  
area is  humility,  not exactly an  American  trait.  
This quality in  one's life is displayed in the follo-
wing ways;The first, lowliness, is rare even in the
lives of  people of  the church.  Gentleness, long-
suffering, "bearing  with one  another in love," is 
typified by humility, and in no way self-serving.

    Most of us, as we consider our way of  life or a
course of action, decide these things by  how they
make  us look,  and  whether it  seems to be in our
best interest. (Pride  and  Greed.)  As one follows
Christ, he will look upon the interests of others as
did  our Lord,  Jesus Christ.  Self-interest is not a
priority to one who is following Christ. When one
follows Christ, it is never in perfection;  it is only
as near as his Spiritual maturity will allow. 
  
   Then there is "...endeavoring to  keep  the unity
 of the Spirit in  the bond of  peace."  We  must as 
individuals,  determine  how  it  works out  in our 
own  lives, again, as  we follow Christ.  Scripture 
here is clear on  the principles,  but  leaves  to us, 
the details.  One  principle implied is "patience."  
In order to exercise the qualities given in the text, 
patience  is prerequisite.  Another way of  saying
patience  is  long  suffering,  gentleness,  bearing 
with  one  another, etc.  In other words,  when we 
"bear with another" we display "patience."

When  we  consider the next two  verses, 4-5, we
find something to  tie  it together.  "There is one
body  and one  Spirit, just as  you were called in 
one hope of  your calling;  One Lord, One faith,
one baptism;  one God and Fahter of all, who is
above all and through all, and in you all." 

  Here we  see we are one with what is called, 
"The Body of  Christ."  So, when  we  live out 
the qualities above we  are, in  Christ, patient 
with ourselves.  We are given gifts, traits and
qualities of Deity and  are one, not  only with
our Lord, but with our brothers and sisters in
Spirit as  well, the Body of Christ.  Reference
is not  made to a  man-made denomination or
division  here.  There  are  some  who regard
these  to be a  distraction  from  the  Body  of 
our Lord  and I  am  inclined  to  agree.  This 
body, then, is the Church of the Lord God.  It
is not a local church or denomination, but the
church consisting of every believer on the face
of  the earth and  those who have gone before.
It does not, however; include false professors
or persons affiliated with  a "local body" who
are not following the Lord Jesus Christ by the
power and wisdom of the Holy Spirit of God.  

Finally, we see in the last  verse from the pas- 
sage considered; the  key that  removes pride,
greed  and  self-agrandizment.  "But  to  each
one of  us  grace  was  given according to the
measure  of  God's  Gift.  (7.)  This leaves  no 
room for  credit  due the recipient of the gifts
and Christ  retains the  power to award these
free gifts and receives glory, his due. Only in
Christ can  the Lord God's work be done. We
are  without  power to live a life well pleasing
to our Lord, without the Holy Spirit power on,
and  presence in our lives, in fullness.  That is
the Spirit of our Savior, Jesus Christ, God the
Son. 

 Hebrews 11:6  we find. "Without faith 
         we find it is impossible to please 
         Him; For he that cometh to God 
         must believe that He is and  that 
         He  is a  rewarder of  them  that
         seek him."  (kjv includes diligently)

      Faith is a free gift and is  awarded to those 
who ask.  It is not awarded on the basis of wor-
thiness,  but on  the  basis of  one's  willingness
to submit to  Christ and  ask.  A caveat,  just as
you would not eat or  drink  for a  soiled  plate
or  cup, neither will our Lord use the defiled to
do his work. Not perfect, but forgiven.  If sin is
habitual in the  life, his  use in the  Kingdom is
very limited if not nil. See what Scripture says
about  the "cleansed life" required of one who
would  be filled  with  the  Holy Spirit of Jesus  
Christ,  1 John 1:6-9:  "If we say that we have
fellowship with  him and walk  in darkness, we
lie, and do not the truth.  But if  we walk in the
light as He is in the  light, we have  fellowship
one  with  another;   And  the  blood  of  Jesus  
Christ cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that
we have  no sin, we deceive  ourselves and the 
truth is not in us. If  we confess our sins, He is 
faithful and  just to forgive us our sins, and to 
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

I believe this  passage gives  requirements for
being  filled  with  the  Holy Spirit and  that is
essential if we would be used of the Lord God.
May the  Lord God bless you this day;  thanks
for  looking.  (In my  understanding  the Holy
Spirit and Holy Ghost is synonymous.          
                  donporter 2.12.14 edited 2.23.15


      

                                    
                   

SEATED WITH HIM IN HEAVENLY PLACES

EPHESIANS                     ( Epistle to the Church at Large)

   Since  there are no specific problems addressed, this
   letter is considered to have been written to the church
   at large.  It  was widely circulated at  the time.  As you
   read the  first two chapters, you find  a  clear, concise
   treatise on Grace, God's unmerited favor, as opposed
   to law to be the Scriptural answer to that "discussion."
   I do not  know if there  are longer  sentences in  God’s 
   Word and found it difficult to make comment using the 
   modern “shorter sentence” styling used today in  most 
   writing. However; the message is critical  to an under-
   standing of the way God deals with  His  own, reaches 
   out to  those who  are Spiritually dead and is  the very
   basis for our (mine and your) Salvation. 

  Ephesians 1: 3 - 9
      “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
        Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every
        Spiritual blessing in  the heavenly places in 
        Christ. 
          
        Just as  he chose us in Him  before  the founda-
       tion  of  the world,  that  we should be  holy and
       without  blame before Him in love, having  pre-
      destined  us to adoption  as sons by Jesus Christ
      to  Himself, according to  the  good  pleasure of
     His will, to  the praise of  the glory of  His grace,
     by  which He  made  us  accepted in  the beloved.
       
         In Him we have redemption through His blood,
     the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of
     His grace which he made to abound toward us in
     all  wisdom and prudence.  Having  made  known 
     to  us the  mystery of  His will,  according to  his
     good pleasure which He purposed in Himself.  

     The more I read the Scripture and compare Scripture 
with Scripture, the more interest I have in the doctrine of 
Predestination.  Having  been a conservative  Baptist all 
of my life, this came late in life to me.  The question has 
been in  the back of my mind to  the point that we  had a 
Presbyterian  Minister, known to  me to be  strong in this 
doctrine, to  address a Bible study we  were leading.  He
made  no attempt to persuade or change our  minds, but
clearly laid our his understanding of Predestination to us.
There is no way to address this doctrine without far more 
knowledge and  understanding than is within me.  So, we 
will  continue  with  the clear  message  from  this epistle.
(I will, however, ask this friend  to post his understanding
on this site and let you know if he agrees.)   

  The  passage under consideration must be considered to
be strong,  viable underpinning  of our  belief in  efficacy of 
the blood of Jesus Christ, our security in Him and  the prin-
ciples we hold dear.  Early on,  verses 4-5, we are chosen 
“….in Him before the foundation of the world… adoption as
sons by Jesus Christ to Himself according to the good plea- 
sure of His will…”  

 I see little room for our “choice” to be exercised at
this point in the epistle.  Do you not  love the phrase: 
    “according to the good pleasure of His will..?"

    Now, let's consider the permanence or security of this
    gift to us.  Ephesians 1: 13-14:
      "In  Him you also trusted, after  your  heard the word 
       of truth, the gospel of  your  salvation; in whom also,
     having believed, you were  sealed with the Holy Spirit 
      of promise.  Who is the guarantee of  our inheritance
     until the redemption of  the purchased possession, to
      the praise of His glory."   

   When we come to the  passage above, there is  confir-
mation that our God, in His Son, has provided an eternal 
salvation to us  based on the virtue, or  qualifications  of 
the benefactor and not  the recipient of  that "gift."  Since 
we cannot earn the gift, it's evident  that our future action 
will never deprive us of  the gift.  We are sealed  (by the 
Holy Spirit, God) and  keeping the gift is no more incum-
bent  upon us than our qualifying  for  it in the first place.  
Our  confession  of  faith in Jesus  Christ as  Savior and 
Lord  was and  is our part.  He works it out  "in us."  It is 
His responsibility. Again, We are recipients of a free gift'

Calling attnetion to one or more verses from Chapter one,
"...which  He worked in Christ  when He raised  him from  
the dead and seated Him at His right hand, "..in heavenly
places."   Keep  this in mind and  read chapter 2: verse 6 
"...and raised us up together, and made us sit together in
in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus."  Could a greater
honor be bestowed on anyone, who in no way qualifies
for such a position, for eternity?  

     In Christ,  we have inherited a position,  with Him, for
which we could never qualify or earn. Thanks for looking.
I pray the Lord God bless your efforts to comprehend for
yourself, the blessings available through an in depth and
consistent study of His Word, Holy Scripture.

                          donporter 1.04.14

The link that follows is from a Presbyterian Teaching
Elder and  friend who  has also served as pastor of a
local Baptist assembly.

http://biblicalclarity-don.blogspot.com/2014/02/election-free-will-predestination.html



http://biblicalclarity-don.blogspot.com/2014/01/hate-is-not-christian-value.html