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Sunday 7-2-23 1st. Day Of The Weekly Cycle, Tammuz 13 5783, 12th. Summer Day
To the Laodicean church, Christ declared – “To the one who conquers I will give a place with me on my throne, just as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne” (Rev.3:21). To everyone who CONQUERS God will give final SALVATION, glory, and majesty, in the Kingdom of God! Do you get it? Do you understand? Paul the apostle understood that we must endure to the end – that we must be FAITHFUL till our dying day, or till Christ returns (whichever comes first!). Paul wrote, of his own spiritual battle: “Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? RUN in such a way that you may WIN it. Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreathe, but we an imperishable one. So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified” (I Cor.9:24-27, NRSV). Notice this in the Amplified Parallel Bible: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but [only] one receives the prize? So RUN [your race] so that you may lay hold [of the prize] and make it yours. . . Therefore I do not run uncertainly (without definite aim). I do not box like one beating the air and striking without an adversary.
But [like a boxer] I buffet my body [handle it roughly, discipline it by hardships] and subdue it, for fear that after proclaiming to others the Gospel and things pertaining to it, I MYSELF SHOULD BECOME UNFIT [not stand the test, be unapproved and rejected as a counterfeit].” “Eternal security” once you profess Christ? HOGWASH! Professing Christ is merely the BEGINNING of the Christian faith and walk! Once beginning, you must ENDURE TO THE END, OVERCOMING, CONQUERING, AND BRINGING YOUR SELF INTO SUBJECTION TO CHRIST! Paul also wrote about this battle in the second letter to the Corinthians. He declared, “For though we walk (live) in the flesh, we are not carrying on our warfare according to the flesh and using mere human weapons. For the weapons of our WARFARE are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds, [inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the OBEDIENCE of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One), being in readiness to punish every [insubordinate for his] disobedience, when your own submission and OBEDIENCE [as a church] are fully secure and complete” (II Cor.10:3-6). Notice! We are not yet “fully secure and complete.” Rather, as Paul himself wrote to the Philippians, again quoting the Amplified Parallel Bible, “[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and clearly], and that I may in that same say come to 6 know the power outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually TRANSFORMED [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope] that IF POSSIBLE I may attain to the [personal and moral] RESURRECTION . . . Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I PRESS ON TO LAY HOLD OF (GRASP) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own.” (Phil.3:10-12).
Notice Paul’s attitude! He did not believe or claim to already have salvation, but sought to progressively GROW up into the likeness of Christ, so that “IF POSSIBLE” he may attain to the resurrection of the righteous dead, or salvation! “If possible”! It is not already “done.” It was NOT “settled at the cross.” It merely BEGAN at the cross, where Christ was crucified! Paul goes on, vehemently, saying, “I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I PRESS ON TOWARD THE GOAL TO WIN the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.” So, Paul declares, “So let those [of us] who are spiritually mature and full-grown have this mind and these convictions; and if in any respect you have a different attitude of mind, God will make that clear to you also” (verses 13-15). Is it all finished when you simply “accept Christ” as your Saviour? Absolutely NOT! The apostle Paul makes it perfectly plain. Once we begin the Christian life, there is a lot of overcoming to do – straining forward to make sure that we will enter the Kingdom of God and attain to salvation! We must “PRESS ON,” we must “STRAIN FORWARD,” and make sure that we win the ultimate prize! As the apostle Peter himself also declared that we must escape the moral decay and rottenness of human nature and become partakers of “the divine nature” (II Pet.1:4). He went on, “For this very reason, adding your diligence [to the divine promises], employ every effort in exercising your faith to develop virtue (excellence, resolution, Christian energy), and in [exercising] virtue [develop] knowledge (intelligence), and in [exercising] knowledge [develop] self-control, and in [exercising] self-control [develop] steadfastness (patience, endurance), and in [exercising] steadfastness [develop] godliness (piety), and in [exercising] piety [develop] brotherly affection, and in [exercising] brotherly affection [develop] Christian love.
For as these qualities are yours and increasingly abound in you, hey will keep [you] from being idle or unfruitful unto the [full personal] knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One)” (verses 5-8). “Overcoming” human nature, the pulls of the flesh, the temptations of the world, and our natural proclivity to ‘sin’ – to break God’s commandments, involves a “whole lifetime” of work, diligent effort, growth, and steadfast endurance, to the very end – till either death comes, or the Messiah Himself returns! Peter summarizes the situation, saying, “For whoever lacks these qualities is blind, [spiritually] short-sighted, seeing only what is near to him, and has become oblivious [to the fact] that he was cleansed from his old sins. Because of this, brethren, be all the more solicitous and 7 eager to MAKE SURE (to ratify, to strengthen, to make steadfast) YOUR CALLING AND ELECTION, for IF YOU DO THIS, you will never stumble or fall. Thus there will be richly and abundantly provided for you entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (verses 9-11). Eternal security ONLY comes at the END of a life spent in overcoming, enduring, and serving God, to the very end! Therefore, as the apostle Paul also reminds us, we must constantly, diligently “work out” our own salvation. He declared to the church in Philippi, “Therefore, my dear ones, as you have always obeyed [my suggestions], so now, not only [with enthusiasm you would show] in my presence but much more because I am absent, WORK OUT (cultivate, carry out to the goal, and fully complete) YOUR OWN SALVATION with reverence and awe and trembling (self-distrust, with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ)” (Phil.2:12).
We must “work out” our own salvation! How? With godly reverence, fear, awe, and trembling, knowing that if we don’t pay heed and do it, we could and would lose out on salvation, and all the glory that God promises to the believers who endure and overcome to the very end of their lives! That’s it! That’s what GOD says! Jesus Christ also declared, firmly and finally, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back [to the things behind] is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). He also said, with finality: “Keep your loins girded and your lamps burning; and be like men who are waiting for their master to return home from the marriage feast, so that when he returns from the wedding and comes and knocks, they may open to him immediately” (Luke 12:35-36). He said with crystal clarity, “STRIVE to enter by the narrow door [force yourselves through it], for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able” (Luke 13:24). The Greek word for “strive” here is agonizomai , from agon, meaning “contest, conflict, contention, fight, race.” It means “to contend, to endeavor, to labor fervently, to fight, to strive.” We get our English words “agony” and “agonize” from this Greek root. Again, the Messiah compares the Christian life to that of a battle-hardened soldier or warrior, who is assaulting a castle or city with strongholds. Jesus declared, as the Moffatt translation says, “From the days of John the Baptist until now, they are pressing into the Realm of heaven – these eager souls are storming it!” (Matt.11:12). “And from the days of John the Baptist until the present time, the kingdom of heaven has endured violent assault, and violent men seize it by force [as a precious prize – a share in the heavenly kingdom is sought with most ardent zeal and intense exertion]” (Amplified Parallel Bible, same verse).
Love, Walter, And Debbie
To the Laodicean church, Christ declared – “To the one who conquers I will give a place with me on my throne, just as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne” (Rev.3:21). To everyone who CONQUERS God will give final SALVATION, glory, and majesty, in the Kingdom of God! Do you get it? Do you understand? Paul the apostle understood that we must endure to the end – that we must be FAITHFUL till our dying day, or till Christ returns (whichever comes first!). Paul wrote, of his own spiritual battle: “Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? RUN in such a way that you may WIN it. Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreathe, but we an imperishable one. So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified” (I Cor.9:24-27, NRSV). Notice this in the Amplified Parallel Bible: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but [only] one receives the prize? So RUN [your race] so that you may lay hold [of the prize] and make it yours. . . Therefore I do not run uncertainly (without definite aim). I do not box like one beating the air and striking without an adversary.
But [like a boxer] I buffet my body [handle it roughly, discipline it by hardships] and subdue it, for fear that after proclaiming to others the Gospel and things pertaining to it, I MYSELF SHOULD BECOME UNFIT [not stand the test, be unapproved and rejected as a counterfeit].” “Eternal security” once you profess Christ? HOGWASH! Professing Christ is merely the BEGINNING of the Christian faith and walk! Once beginning, you must ENDURE TO THE END, OVERCOMING, CONQUERING, AND BRINGING YOUR SELF INTO SUBJECTION TO CHRIST! Paul also wrote about this battle in the second letter to the Corinthians. He declared, “For though we walk (live) in the flesh, we are not carrying on our warfare according to the flesh and using mere human weapons. For the weapons of our WARFARE are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds, [inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the OBEDIENCE of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One), being in readiness to punish every [insubordinate for his] disobedience, when your own submission and OBEDIENCE [as a church] are fully secure and complete” (II Cor.10:3-6). Notice! We are not yet “fully secure and complete.” Rather, as Paul himself wrote to the Philippians, again quoting the Amplified Parallel Bible, “[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and clearly], and that I may in that same say come to 6 know the power outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually TRANSFORMED [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope] that IF POSSIBLE I may attain to the [personal and moral] RESURRECTION . . . Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I PRESS ON TO LAY HOLD OF (GRASP) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own.” (Phil.3:10-12).
Notice Paul’s attitude! He did not believe or claim to already have salvation, but sought to progressively GROW up into the likeness of Christ, so that “IF POSSIBLE” he may attain to the resurrection of the righteous dead, or salvation! “If possible”! It is not already “done.” It was NOT “settled at the cross.” It merely BEGAN at the cross, where Christ was crucified! Paul goes on, vehemently, saying, “I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I PRESS ON TOWARD THE GOAL TO WIN the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.” So, Paul declares, “So let those [of us] who are spiritually mature and full-grown have this mind and these convictions; and if in any respect you have a different attitude of mind, God will make that clear to you also” (verses 13-15). Is it all finished when you simply “accept Christ” as your Saviour? Absolutely NOT! The apostle Paul makes it perfectly plain. Once we begin the Christian life, there is a lot of overcoming to do – straining forward to make sure that we will enter the Kingdom of God and attain to salvation! We must “PRESS ON,” we must “STRAIN FORWARD,” and make sure that we win the ultimate prize! As the apostle Peter himself also declared that we must escape the moral decay and rottenness of human nature and become partakers of “the divine nature” (II Pet.1:4). He went on, “For this very reason, adding your diligence [to the divine promises], employ every effort in exercising your faith to develop virtue (excellence, resolution, Christian energy), and in [exercising] virtue [develop] knowledge (intelligence), and in [exercising] knowledge [develop] self-control, and in [exercising] self-control [develop] steadfastness (patience, endurance), and in [exercising] steadfastness [develop] godliness (piety), and in [exercising] piety [develop] brotherly affection, and in [exercising] brotherly affection [develop] Christian love.
For as these qualities are yours and increasingly abound in you, hey will keep [you] from being idle or unfruitful unto the [full personal] knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One)” (verses 5-8). “Overcoming” human nature, the pulls of the flesh, the temptations of the world, and our natural proclivity to ‘sin’ – to break God’s commandments, involves a “whole lifetime” of work, diligent effort, growth, and steadfast endurance, to the very end – till either death comes, or the Messiah Himself returns! Peter summarizes the situation, saying, “For whoever lacks these qualities is blind, [spiritually] short-sighted, seeing only what is near to him, and has become oblivious [to the fact] that he was cleansed from his old sins. Because of this, brethren, be all the more solicitous and 7 eager to MAKE SURE (to ratify, to strengthen, to make steadfast) YOUR CALLING AND ELECTION, for IF YOU DO THIS, you will never stumble or fall. Thus there will be richly and abundantly provided for you entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (verses 9-11). Eternal security ONLY comes at the END of a life spent in overcoming, enduring, and serving God, to the very end! Therefore, as the apostle Paul also reminds us, we must constantly, diligently “work out” our own salvation. He declared to the church in Philippi, “Therefore, my dear ones, as you have always obeyed [my suggestions], so now, not only [with enthusiasm you would show] in my presence but much more because I am absent, WORK OUT (cultivate, carry out to the goal, and fully complete) YOUR OWN SALVATION with reverence and awe and trembling (self-distrust, with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ)” (Phil.2:12).
We must “work out” our own salvation! How? With godly reverence, fear, awe, and trembling, knowing that if we don’t pay heed and do it, we could and would lose out on salvation, and all the glory that God promises to the believers who endure and overcome to the very end of their lives! That’s it! That’s what GOD says! Jesus Christ also declared, firmly and finally, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back [to the things behind] is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). He also said, with finality: “Keep your loins girded and your lamps burning; and be like men who are waiting for their master to return home from the marriage feast, so that when he returns from the wedding and comes and knocks, they may open to him immediately” (Luke 12:35-36). He said with crystal clarity, “STRIVE to enter by the narrow door [force yourselves through it], for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able” (Luke 13:24). The Greek word for “strive” here is agonizomai , from agon, meaning “contest, conflict, contention, fight, race.” It means “to contend, to endeavor, to labor fervently, to fight, to strive.” We get our English words “agony” and “agonize” from this Greek root. Again, the Messiah compares the Christian life to that of a battle-hardened soldier or warrior, who is assaulting a castle or city with strongholds. Jesus declared, as the Moffatt translation says, “From the days of John the Baptist until now, they are pressing into the Realm of heaven – these eager souls are storming it!” (Matt.11:12). “And from the days of John the Baptist until the present time, the kingdom of heaven has endured violent assault, and violent men seize it by force [as a precious prize – a share in the heavenly kingdom is sought with most ardent zeal and intense exertion]” (Amplified Parallel Bible, same verse).
Love, Walter, And Debbie
