Romans 4
Authorized (King James) Version
Romans 4:1 "What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?"
As you recall, chapter 3 ended with a call to establish the Law by or through faith, Jesus did not come to abolish the Law and the prophets, he came to fulfil.
The Law is still in effect and by no means gone. Paul said for us to "establish" by faith the Law, the word "establish" means to set up on a firm or permanent basis or foundation, and who is that foundation?
That foundation is no other person than the Lord Jesus Christ of course!
1 Corinthians 3:11 "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ."
In the book of the prophet Isaiah we read the following:
Isaiah 28:16 "therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste."
This scripture is quoted in many other books of the bible, one of them being recorded by Matthew chapter 21 in the words of Jesus himself:
Matthew 21:42 "Jesus saith unto them, did ye never read in the scriptures, the stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?"
The Lord Jesus Christ is the rock, the foundation, he is the head or chief of the corner stone where the church must build its foundation upon.
Now Paul starts Chapter 4 using the patriarch Abraham, whom God promised his seed would be a father of all nations as example to explain faith.
"As pertaining to the flesh, has found?" near the end of Chapter 3 the context was about boasting, Paul asks the question where is boasting then?
So what works of the flesh did Abraham have to boast with?
The scriptural answer would be none, before God for the scriptures says, there is none righteous, and they have all gone out the way. As the next verse explicitly tells us.
Romans 4:2 "For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God."
This scripture concludes that "IF" notice conditional proceeds Abraham's justification by works, so if Abraham were justified by his works, what works does he to glory in?
Well, Abraham had the works of circumcision, and the notable event of when he proceeded to offer up his son Isaac to the Lord. But the scriptures says, these works he had to glory in, but not before God. If not before God, then who?
Abraham would glory in works before man, NOT God.
You know, I've had people challenge me on the whole Works Vs Grace issue and say to me, that this event with Abraham which is also mentioned in James chapter 2, was him being justified by his works, and use this to prove that we have to have good works to get into heaven.
They'll say nobody else was around when Abraham offered up Isaac, which is correct; but the event was written down so that man may read of how great of the faith of Abraham must have been in the Lord to do such a thing. Not many of us could do such a thing with our own child.
When we read this event, we can conclude to ourselves that this man, Abraham had such great faith in the Lord by his WORKS.
James 2:23 "And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God."
Who is calling him the friend of God?
Man is calling him the friend of God. If you interpret this scripture some other way, you create a contradiction, and there is no contradiction in light of other scripture because James is talking to his fellow man, to the saved.
The scriptures tell us that Abraham was justified before God long before he got circumcised, Abraham got circumcised around the age of 99 recorded in Genesis 17:24 but we read earlier of the account when he was imputed righteousness by God in Genesis 15:6 which is referred to in the next verse.
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Romans 4:3 "For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness."
So we can see here that Abraham was counted to righteousness before God, because he BELIEVED.
The word counted has many synonyms in the bible and are used interchangeably such as, imputed, and all convey the meaning of crediting to an account, or chalk up, or accredit.
According to scripture we see no reason why Abraham was justified in the sight of God, but to the fact that he believed, this scripture references Genesis 15:6.
In fact, some people will say that the Old Testament you had to follow the Law and in the New Testament it is all about grace, this is not true as the bible teaches from the beginning of the cover to the end of the cover that it has always been by grace that man is justified in the sight of God.
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Romans 4:4 "Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt."
To those who work, or try to justify themselves before God for Salvation by their own deeds, believe that it is because we feel we owe God something, a debt; this is NOT grace.
Salvation is a free gift from God, by his grace he will impute righteousness to anyone who believes, even to those who are dead in sin.
Regardless of what we have done, by God's grace, salvation is obtain through faith, and it is not of our own works, lest any man boasts.
The Apostle Paul put's it perfectly in the epistle to the Ephesians in chapter 2:
Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 not of works, lest any man should boast."
Mockers will call this cheap grace, what a heresy! Grace is unmerited favour and not achieved by any man's deeds, no man can boast of his own works to obtain salvation, it is given freely by God's grace to those whom do believe on him.
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Romans 4:5 "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."
I love this verse, it's straight to the point, and every time someone decides to defend their works based beliefs and they say, show me where in the bible does it say that you don't have to do works to be saved?
And I put on a big smile and say turn to Romans 4:5 and boom! It says plain as day, to him that worketh NOT, but believe on him, who?
God, who justifies the ungodly, who is the ungodly?
Mankind…of course, unless you think you're godly enough to come to God on your own good works?
Sinners, all of mankind, if you believe on him who justifies the ungodly, YOUR FAITH IS COUNTED FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS!
Love that verse!
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Romans 4:6 "Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,"
Even King David, a man who is said to be a man after God's own heart back in the Old Testament who too was dead in sins, was saved by faith.
Remember, David committed adultery with Bathsheba the wife of Uriah and had him murdered to cover up his sin with Bathsheba, whom God punished for that act of sin for a season.
The doctrine of Imputation is described as being given, inherited or accounted something by another source, or person because you satisfy a condition.
David describes this in the book of Psalms Chapter 32:
Psalm 32:1-2 "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile."
Interesting that this verse recorded in Psalm at the end says to those whose spirit has no guile, if you ever give the gospel to someone or when you're out soul winning, you can come across people who pretend to get saved, or don't really believe it even when they say they do (generally just to get you off their backs) but they really don't believe at all.
Or you come across people in other religions and you're trying to evangelise them, especially religions based on works salvation who just won't let go of their religion, these people will not get saved until they do this, it's Faith Alone.
Ever tried evangelising to the cults? It's very difficult to get past their indoctrination of their institution of manmade (Or satanic) fables.
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Romans 4:7 "saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered."
Upon belief, God has forgiven all iniquities committed by the sinner, and whose sins are covered, meaning any future sin you are going to commit will also be covered.
When you get saved, you don't automatically stop sinning, you will continue to sin in the flesh.
This scripture reinforces the doctrine of eternal security, you cannot lose your salvation.
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Romans 4:8"
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin."
Again, the scripture states how blessed is the man whom the Lord will not IMPUTE sin, which emphasises the fact that all believers will still sin, God knows this until the day of redemption, the Lord's Day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns; known as his second coming.
Knowing this, God will not impute or account any sin to the believer that they will commit in the future, but you say, you can't just keep on sinning, and the cheap grace promoters will say you can't just live anyway you want to when you get saved!
What these works based Salvationist heretics don't understand is what the bible teaches true believers is what is called the doctrine of Divine Discipline.
I will cover this in another post at another time.
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Romans 4:9 "Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? For we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness."
If we say that Abraham was made righteous by his faith, was it then only given to the circumcised only or upon the uncircumcised as well?
Could you only be justified by God's grace ONLY if you got circumcised?
We'll find out the answers to these questions in the following scriptures.
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Romans 4:10 "How was it then reckoned? When he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision."
The word "reckoned" means to "count", "add up", "and establish calculation", "figure", or it's synonyms are "believe", "think", "be of the opinion", "be of the view", "be convinced".
So here in this scripture, it is written, that Abraham was imputed righteousness when he was uncircumcised and NOT before; also referring back to Genesis 15:6.
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Romans 4:11 "And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:"
Abraham received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness of his faith when he was still uncircumcised. When Abraham got circumcised, God made a covenant or a promise with him that he would be father to all people that believe, from all nations, kindred's and tongues.
The false teachers we're running around trying to pervert the Gospel and undermine Paul by saying to the people that they had to get circumcised or they couldn't be saved, that they had to follow the laws and ordinances to be acceptable to God.
But the truth is, God is not a respecter of persons, it doesn't matter what colour you are, what nationality you are or whether you are circumcised or not, if you believe on him, that is good enough!
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Romans 4:12 "and the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised."
Abraham was made a promise of God that he would be a father to all as discussed in the previous verse, be it of the circumcision or uncircumcision it doesn't matter, those who walk in the same steps of faith as according to Abraham when he was made righteous before he received the sign of circumcision, and that Faith, is to believe on the Lord God, whom we now know his name to be Jesus.
Romans 4:13 "For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith."
For the promise, what promise?
The promise that he should inherit the world, was NOT made to Abraham and his seed, note the word "seed" is singular not plural, this seed is the Lord Jesus Christ, that the promise was not made through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith, notice how it wasn't worded as just faith?
The promise was made through the righteousness of faith, does that not mean that to have faith is to have righteousness?
Bingo!
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Romans 4:14 "For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:"
Now read this carefully, those who think keeping and doing the law will get them into heaven, and gives them the right to be heirs are sorely wrong, you couldn't be more wrong than wrong, look at what it says next, FAITH IS MADE VOID, and the promise is made of none effect, that right, the promise is cancelled out.
If you try to approach the Holy God by your works of righteousness, this act in itself cancels out Faith, it means you have no faith at all, and you are not under the promise, because the promise was given by the righteousness of faith.
If you trust in your own works to get you into heaven, then you don't have faith in God, and there would have been no reason for him to come in the form of man to sacrifice himself would there?
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Romans 4:15 "because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression."
The Law works wrath, this is God's wrath, and those who trust in their own works will meet in the end with God's wrath, not something I'd be looking forward to…
For where there is no law, there is no transgression. What does that mean? Does that mean that if you have never heard of the law, you cannot sin?
God forbid! The answer to this verse is actually found in Romans Chapter 2!
Romans 2:12-16 "For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; 13 (for not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. 14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: 15 which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) 16 in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel."
So here Paul is contrasting those who had the law, the Jews and those who didn't have the law, the Gentiles. We read that the law is written in the hearts of the gentiles, so there is no excuse.
Chapter 4 verse 15 is stating that there is no transgression if there is no law; but if we know that the law has been written in our hearts then there is transgression, because God wrote those laws into our hearts, and our conscience either convicts us or allows us to make excuses for our transgressions towards God.
This internal law by the way I believe is our moral compass, our boundary that we would normally not step over, and in the case with reprobates: those people who constantly rejects God's calling, God removes this moral compass and gives them over to their own lusts.
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Romans 4:16 "Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,"
For that reason, it is of faith, and by grace through faith, the promise which was made with Abraham can also be given to all the seed.
So it is not only given to the Jews, but it is given to all who believe, because Abraham was imputed righteousness by faith, and so are all who come to the Lord by faith because he is the father of us all.
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Romans 4:17 "(as it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were."
As it is written in Genesis 17:5 where Abram gets his name changed to Abraham by God because he has been made a father of many nations!
What's interesting about the last part of the verse, "even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were."
God whom quickens the dead, the word quicken means "to make alive", but the most interesting part of this verse is what comes next, where it is said that God calls all those things which be not as though they were; this means that God speaks and tells us of these as if though they had already happened, even though it actually hasn't happened yet, this is true of biblical prophecy and that we can know, that the Holy bible is God's word because there is no other book in the world that accurately predicts, and is proven to be true with the prophecies written within this holy book.
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Romans 4:18 "Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, so shall thy seed be."
Against hope believed in hope, this is faith:
Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
Abraham believed on the Lord God and was given the promise that he shall be father of many nations, and that same promise is given to his seed, that seed being the Lord Jesus Christ, our Lord and God.
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Romans 4:19 "And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb:"
Being not weak in faith, to a works based Salvationist heretic a person with weak faith would be someone who had very little works, this would be their point of view, however, Salvation is not by works, it is by faith, and to say in a biblical truth one who has weak faith is someone who trusts in their own works, rather than completely trusting in the Lord.
Trusting in only the Lord is strong faith, we place our trust and hope in something that is not seen, yet hoped for, and it is described in Hebrews chapter 11 as a substance, not nothing.
Even at his age of an hundred years old consider he himself not dead, along with his wife's womb to be dead (She was about 90 years old) especially when the angel of the Lord came to tell him and Sarah would born a child at such an old age; this event is recorded in Genesis 18:10.
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Romans 4:20 "he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;"
The last few verses expound more on verse 19, he staggered not, meaning he was not shocked or amazed at the promise given to him by God because of unbelief; but was strong in faith, what we talked about before, his strength of his faith by placing it all on the Lord God, and giving him all the glory!
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Romans 4:21 "and being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform."
Abraham being fully persuaded, it is his faith that he is able to be fully persuaded, and Abraham knowing that God cannot lie, will keep his promise enabling Abraham to perform, or to do God's will.
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Romans 4:22 "And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness."
And for that reason, what reason? His Faith of course, he was imputed righteousness. By faith we have been justified by our Lord God's grace.
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Romans 4:23 "Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;"
It was not just written for Abraham's sake alone, that it was accredited to him, this is the doctrine of Imputation. We have inherited by faith, righteousness, not ours, but God's righteousness.
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Romans 4:24 "but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;"
So not just for Abraham's sake, but for us also, for those who believe, whom have faith in He that raised up our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead.
This passage reflects on how I got saved, I was in the Old Testament and I believed on Him that raised up our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus said I and the Father are one, and also if you have the Son, you have the Father. Jesus is God manifest in the flesh, he is the God of the Old and New Testament.
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Romans 4:25 "who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification."
Jesus Christ died for our sins, and the sins of the whole world, and God the Father raised him to life so that we all might be justified in his sight.
Amen.
1 John 2 Authorized (King James) Version
Diving in chapter 2, we notice John starts out by addressing his audience here, he says "My little Children" this is Johns affectionate phrase to the brethren, to all believers in Christ; so when he says this, he is talking to the justified in Christ.
1 John 2:1-2 "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2 and he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."
John says, my little children, I write to you that you sin not. What does that mean?
The bible teaches us that, even though we are born again, that moment, that instance, that one point in time that we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, in a twinkling of an eye we get saved; but did our body change at that moment, did anything change about our physical selves?
Paul writes to the Galatians in Chapter 5 the following:
Galatians 5:17 "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would."
The flesh is at war with the spirit, at the moment of Salvation the spirit is quickened, made alive and now wars against the flesh. What your flesh would do your spirit would not do, even though we have been saved, we will still sin, and if we do sin, John says we have an advocate (supporter) with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous: he is the propitiation of our sins, the word propitiation means to soothe, pacify, to appease, and not just for us only, but for the world also.
That does not mean everyone in the world is forgiven, you have to have the Son, if you don't have the Son, you don't have forgiveness of sins and ultimately; you don't have the Father.
This is a generic term, referring not to every single individual, but to mankind in general. The pardon for sin is offered to the whole world, but received only by those who believe. There is no other way to be reconciled to God.
John reminds us, for that reason we can go on trusting God and not ourselves and not therefore fall into sin.
1 John 2:3-5 "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him."
Ok, I'm going to stop here to take a moment to explain something, many people will read verse 3 and say, see, we have to KEEP his commandments, and they'll use it to say you have to DO his commandments to promote a works based religion.
My dear friends, Satan has gripped the world in a counterfeit religion, his devices are subtle and if you're not in the inspired Words of God through the KJV bible you will be deceived by the wolves out there. (Don't start me on the modern perversion bibles!)
The common theme we see in all religions besides true biblical Christianity is a network of systems based on works and self or personal effort. This can be seen through their ideas about God or many gods, the afterlife, reincarnation, and exaltation to becoming a god themselves; these diverse religions will always contain (albeit differing in ways) steps you must take "to progress" or "to make it" upon personal effort.
Remember that the diverse religious scene spawned from the tower of Babel (Genesis Chapter 11), where God went down to disperse and confound (confuse) the people because of their ambition to exalt themselves.
Satan loves to sow confusion and contradiction, his subtle attacks on the Word of God can be really hard to detect to the unsuspecting person, but if we KEEP and HOLD dearly to the Words of the Lord we will not be easily deceived. Satan's false belief systems all contain these common elements of personal effort and works.
Unfortunately, we find many self-professing Christians in the same boat, deceived and in ignorance because they are not continually in the Word. Many of these Christians find themselves unable to enter into spiritual rest by the grace of God and finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is our saviour and redeemer.
Christians are unable to rest spiritually due to the legalistic prophesying or preaching by these false teachers and is further instigated by the massive influx of modern bibles in which the way they are translated.
Now before I turn this piece into another article of its own, I want to explain what it means to KEEP vs OBEY.
So the KJV Bible renders the reading:
1 John 2:3-5 "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we KEEP his commandments. 4 He that saith, I know him, and KEEPETH NOT his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoso KEEPETH his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him."
The 1984 NIV renders the verse like this:
1 John 2:3-5 "We know that we have come to know him if we OBEY his commands. The man who says, "I know him," but does NOT DO what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone OBEYS his word, God's love is truly made complete in him."
And here is the 2011 NIV, notice the subtle changes they made in this edition compared to the 1984 version:
1 John 2:3-5 "We know that we have come to know him if we KEEP his commands. 4 Whoever says, "I know him, "but does NOT DO what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. 5 But if anyone OBEYS his word, love for God
is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him:
OK so what's the difference between KEEP and OBEY? For starters it's a BIG Difference.
Every well trained bible student will use the bible itself to act as its own dictionary, an online concordance can help and also referrals to the underlying Hebrew or Greek text in the KJV's case we can look at the Textus Receptus online.
Now listen, the word translated "TO KEEP" in both Hebrew and Greek does not mean "to obey" or "to do".
The Hebrew word "Shamar" (Strong's #8104) is translated as to keep, to observe, to take heed to, to preserve, to regard, or to be a watchman.
The Greek word "Teereo" (Strong's #5083) is translated to keep, to guard, to watch, to reserve, to hold fast or to preserve.
An example would be this, if I wanted to go swimming, I would take out my wallet, my car keys and ask one someone to keep them for me; in other words I want that person to hang on to them and not lose them!
Take heed, Satan has his hands in the modern bible versions, think about this; we've had if not, the best and inspired version of the bible given to us in the English language in the form of the KJV bible for around 400 years (where millions of saints lost their lives for) and suddenly the Word of God is being attacked by these counterfeits?
This fact alone proves that the KJV is the inspired Word of God in English, otherwise if it were NOT inspired, there would be no reason to bring out other versions would there?
You say money?
Who is the God of THIS world?
Honestly, if your bible version is truly the inspired Word of God, why isn't it being attacked? Why aren't other versions attacking your so-called inspired version? Why are they all attacking the KJV bible?
You might say this is an extreme view but, why don't you do a study for yourself, these changes aren't in your face, that would be stupid of them, these changes are subtle and in very strategic places. Think about it, if Satan were to completely reveal himself and his true motives, would you not run in the other direction immediately?
The NIV translates the Old Testament word "Shamar" as "to obey" 29 times and as "to do" 5 times. It also translates the New Testament word "Tereeo" as "to obey" 21 times and "to do" 3 times.
Satan's hand is at work here to promote a works oriented religion, throw in some careless preaching, and hey! All these people end up in hell…
There is too much at stake to let yourself be deceived, please be vigilant!
To bring this message home, I will give some examples in the Old Testament of where the word "Shamar" is used and see if you can fit "Obey" or "to do" in the statement in place of the English word "KEEP".
Genesis 2:15 "And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to KEEP it."
Genesis 4:9 "And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's KEEPER?"
Isaiah 62:6 "I have set WATCHMEN upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence,"
And some New Testament examples of the word "Teereo" is used, see if you can do the same as before.
John 2:10 "and saith unto him, every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast KEPT the good wine until now."
Acts 12:5 "Peter therefore was KEPT in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him."
The bible also makes a distinction between the words "to keep" and "to do", we find an example in Deuteronomy:
Deuteronomy 5:1 "And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them."
To KEEP and to OBEY are two very different concepts, when the bible tells us to KEEP the commandments of the Word of the Lord, God is telling us NOT to forsake, let go of, forget, or turn away from, God is telling us rather to guard, preserve, hold on to and cling to them.
1 John 2:6 "He that saith he abide in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked."
Verse 6, what does this mean? If you remember from verse 5, it said whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
In light of other scriptures, this is telling me that if we say that we abide in him and by God's grace we hopefully will not only keep them but also should do and obey them.
I don't want to go into this in more detail, as this would be an entire 5000+ word article in itself, but I reckon I've put a handle on this subject so we can continue with the rest of the intended bible study.
BTW, John is talking to fellow believers here, moving forward!
1 John 2:7-11 "Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. 8 Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. 9 He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. 10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. 11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes."
John is talking to all believers, the word brethren is synonymous with the word believers, which is an archaic term for brother. John says he writes no new commandment, but an old one which ye had from the beginning, and what is this commandment?
John 13:34 "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another."
So the commandment to love one another, this is not referring to the Laws of Moses or the 10 Commandments; but to love one another is the fulfilment of the Law.
1 John 2:8 "Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth."
Verse 8 says near the end of the verse it says the darkness is past, and the true light now shines. What does it mean darkness is past?
The Law made us aware of our sins, it showed us that we are living in darkness, dead in sins, the law was there to make us realise that we needed a saviour, and now that saviour has come, the Light, the Life, Jesus Christ.
At the moment of salvation, our sins are forgiven, not just past sins, but ALL sin you will ever commit will be remembered no more, you are no longer in darkness you now have the light, the true light that shines, the Lord Jesus Christ!
1 John 2:9 "He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now."
Those who profess that they are in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. This is just saying, those who hate others are not walking in the Light. The perfect Light provided for believers leads us into His perfect love. It does not allow hate of any kind. Hate is of the devil and is surrounded by darkness.
1 John 2:10 "He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him."
Loving your brother causes you to have no desire to do him harm in any way. The lust of the flesh causes sin. The Light of God helps us see things more clearly, and causes us not to lust.
In God all things are clear, so true intimate fellowship is possible in Him and with Him when we are in the light. But we can also have intimate fellowship with one another when we are in the light.
In fact, John indicates that fellowship is only possible in the light. When there is deceit, true fellowship cannot occur.
A friendship can only go as far as there is trust and trust must be based on the truth.
It is impossible to trust when there is deceit, if trust grows in a relationship that has had some deception in it, it is certainly not on the basis of that deception, but on the basis of assurance that the deception has now ended.
1 John 2:11 "But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes."
The person who hates his brother is in darkness, and walks in darkness, we cannot see that person clearly. When we hate even ourselves we cannot see clearly.
And when we proceed to relate to another then out of hate, we proceed blindly. Here is a wonderful reason to turn our troubled relationships over to God.
We cannot possibly move forward when we are looking at a distorted picture of reality.
Hate is a product of the devil.
The devil is in darkness.
This is what Jesus said in John 12,
John 12:35 "Then Jesus said unto them, yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth."
In the darkness, we cannot see clearly and do not see things that cause us to stumble.
In the following next verses (12-14) we read the reason why he is writing this letter…
1 John 2:12 "I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake."
This is John stating his reason for writing the letter to them. Their sins are forgiven, so they are Christians. They are sons of God. They are not full grown, because he calls them little children. God forgave us our sins, because Jesus paid our debt.
What is interesting about this section is that John says he is writing because of things that are already true about each of these groups. He does not say here that he is writing in order to get them to do something new of change the direction of their lives.
It seems to me that he writes to remind them of what is already true about them because of what is true about who Jesus is and what He has done.
John wants to remind them again of this truth, this reality because, I would think, in the midst of their present circumstances they are being tempted to forget.
And remember the little rant I was on about "to keep" and "to obey", and that we established that to keep is to not forsake, let go of, forget, or turn away from, God is telling us rather to guard, preserve, hold on to and cling on to them.
1 John 2:13 "I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father."
When we look at the three groups this is spoken to, it is the progression of spiritual growth in our belief. We come to Christ as little children.
We grow to young men as we learn more about God, and are better equipped to resist the devil and overcome him. Then lastly, we rest as old men in the knowledge of God.
1 John 2:14 "I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one."
The difference in this verse is being that the little children are omitted. Those remaining have learned to overcome the devil. They have matured by the study of the Word of God.
They are not overcome of the devil, because they are grounded in the Word of God. Again, speaking of fathers is just a further knowing of God.
Think about it, most of us were taught or heard about God and Jesus, among other things as we were young, I was exposed to God and Jesus at a young age, the seed was sown, but it was delivered by evil trees, those false prophets, I didn't even get become like a little child until 8 months ago (considering I'm in my 30's), you could say I'm a young man now in terms of spiritual growth, the group that has overcome (overcome by the way is synonymous with salvation, getting saved) working our way to become fathers, who are spiritually mature, and as I stated above, the way we achieve this is by constantly reading and studying the Word of God.
Love not the World
1 John 2:15 "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him."
One of my favourite verses in the bible, I always use this on people who start to talk about their worldly possessions and the babble on about how when we do good works that God will bless us with material things, God knows what we need, and he will provide them for us.
There is, of course, one sense in which Christians should love the world, since God Himself did and does. - John 3:16
But what it is that is being talked about here is for us to not devote ourselves to the things of this world and forsake the Father, we are to love God first and not put anything before or above him.
Deuteronomy 6:5 "and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might"
Christians are in the world, but not of the world. Our home is in heaven. We need to keep our thoughts and desires set on things above. Jesus said the following in Matthew chapter 6:
Matthew 6:19-23 " Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!"
Loving the world, in this sense, would be trying to please the desires of our flesh. To love the world, would make us a carnal man. Christians should be spirit men. The world and the things of the world are carnal.
This does not mean that we cannot enjoy the families God has given us, or the blessings we have received from Him. It does mean that we should not be caught up in worldly living. God must be first in our lives. We should not be hanging on to the world, but should eagerly await our home in heaven with Him.
No middle ground between these two alternatives exists for someone claiming to be born again. The false teachers had no such singular love, but were devoted to the world's philosophy and wisdom, thereby revealing their love for the world and their unsaved state.
1 John 2:16 "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world."
Pretty self-explanatory really, while the world's philosophies and ideas and much that it offers may appear attractive and appealing; that is deception.
Its true and pervasive nature is evil, harmful, ruinous, and satanic. Its deadly theories are raised up against the knowledge of God and hold the souls of men captive.
2 Corinthians 2:3-5 "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;"
The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life are what got Eve in trouble in the garden. She looked, desired, and wanted to be as God. Lust of all kinds fall into the category of flesh and worldliness.
1 John 2:17 "And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."
This physical world will pass away, and the lust thereof, meaning all sin: but he that does the will of God will abide for ever, God's will is permanent and unchangeable. Those who follow God's will abide as His people forever. While God offers eternal life to His children, the present age is doomed.
Denying the Son
In the next handful of verses we are going to read about the warnings of us denying the Son.
1 John 2:18"
Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time."
John tells us it is the last time, why does he say that?
He said we have heard that antichrist shall come, singular, the Antichrist, this person that is coming is going to be the ultimate opponent of God, God's plans and God's people. - 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 and Mark 13:14
John then goes onto say that there are many antichrists, those false teachers that are seeking to pervert the Gospel of Christ.
That is how we know that it is the last time, meaning we are living in the last time.
1 John 2:19 "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us."
This is giving us characteristics of those false prophets, they went out from us, meaning they were among the faithful, amongst the church, but they were not of us; they arose from within the church and departed from true fellowship and lead people out with them.
Many times these false teachers and prophets, who are really opposed to Christ, pretend to be Christians. Can you imagine how much worse for you it would be if you end up in a church full of antichrists?
What about ending up in a church that doesn't believe in the Jesus or God of the bible?
Make up their own views of God according to their own lusts of the flesh?
What about a church that tells you too can become as a god, isn't that what Satan told Eve in the beginning?
What about one that says there certain things you must do behind closed doors, and certain handshakes and passwords that you cannot disclose to the public?
Has God hidden the essential message of salvation in the bible?
Ask yourselves these questions, if you're in anyone of these churches that teach this stuff you should get out of that place very quickly.
1 John 2:20 "But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things."
The word "unction" means anointing, this would mean an anointing from the Holy Spirit of God; the Oil of Gladness. The Holy Spirit is our teacher and guide.
1 John 2:21 "I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth."
John is writing to the church, and not to the world. Notice the word "know" which is so apparent in John's writings, he reminds them that no compromise of the truth will do, this verse says what it says!
1 John 2:22 "Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son."
Another characteristic of antichrists, whosoever denies that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ is a liar! These people are antichrists, they who deny the Father and the Son.
Their blatant rejection of Him as the Messiah is also a rejection of His incarnate deity.
This includes any perverted unbiblical view of whom the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
1 John 2:23 "Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: [but] he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also."
John goes onto expound on verse 22 that whosoever denies the Son, does not have the Father: but he that acknowledges the Son has the Father as well. You can't have one without the other!
And that just totally kills the Oneness Pentecostals and the Jesus only movement, they say it only Jesus, there is no trinity, there is no 3 in 1 God and stuff like that, but if you don't have the Son, you don't have the Father; a very clear distinction indeed.
1 John 2:24 "Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father."
The pure gospel message that had been brought to them was to be kept at all cost. Let this gospel message live continually in you.
This is simply saying for us to reject the false message of the antichrist.
To hang on to the teachings of Christ, and bring the Father and the Son into your life.
1 John 2:25 "And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life."
We see from this that eternal life is in Jesus. To have Him is to possess eternal life, which is the promise. You can read more about the promise in my article called "Eternal Security" here.
1 John 2:26 "These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you."
John makes it clear that much of his discourse has been called forth by opponents of conventional teaching. This is identifying another characteristic of false prophets and teachers.
"Them that seduce you" is speaking of those who are opposed to Christ who with flattering words is trying to draw you away from the Truth. John is writing to us to be aware of these false teachers.
1 John 2:27 "But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him."
The anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, this is the Holy Spirit, he stays with us, he dwells within us to teach us all things, John says the Spirit will teach us, and that we do not need any man to teach us the things of God.
The Holy Spirit teaches us all things that are true, there is no lies being taught by the Spirit.
1 John 2:28 "And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming."
For when this day comes, when the Lord appears in the clouds! It shall be a glorious day when the Lord returns!!!
1 John 2:29 "If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him."
If ye know that he is righteous, who? The Lord Jesus Christ, we can know that everyone that does righteousness is born of him…such a wonderful truth!
This concludes Chapter 2.
Go to 1 John Chapter
1 2
3 4 5
I thought I'd do something unconventional to day and post a heated topic I have been involved where a YouTuber was defying the doctrine of the Trinity nature of our God.
The "Jesus Only" movement, also known as Oneness Pentecostalism or oneness theology, teaches that there is only one God, but denies the tri-unity of God. In other words, oneness theology does not recognize the distinct persons of the Godhead: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It has various forms—some see Jesus Christ as the one God, who sometimes manifests Himself as the Father or the Holy Spirit. The core doctrine of Oneness Pentecostal / Jesus Only is that Jesus is the Father and Jesus is the Spirit. There is one God who reveals Himself in different "modes."
Here is my response as recorded in YouTube.
Why do you reject the 3 witnesses that are in heaven, are one?
Why do you reject the countless verses that clearly distinguish the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ spoken by the Apostles? Are you and your teachers greater than the Apostles?
1 Corinthians 1:3 "grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ."
2 Corinthians 1:3 "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;"
1 Timothy 1:2 "unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord."
1 Timothy 2:5 "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;" - Who is between God and Men?
2 John 3 "Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love."
John 15:1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman."
And here are verses that distinguish the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
2 Corinthians 13:14 "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen."
1 Peter 1:2 "elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied."
John 14:26 "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." - Jesus talking here
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 "Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; 22 who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts."
Terms that Reveal a Plurality, including the Father and Christ:
If you examine the scriptures carefully you will see it.
2 John 1:9 "Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son."
John 8:17-18 "It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. 18 I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me."
John 14:16 "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;"
John 15:23 "He that hateth me hateth my Father also."
Jesus says that He was sent by God the Father. In John 20:21, He says to His apostles "...as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you."
Just as the apostle is sent by Christ and is differentiated from Christ, the Sender, so Christ is sent by the Father and is differentiated from the Father, the Sender. Just as the apostle and Christ are distinguished so Christ and the Father are distinguished. Only several among many passages follow.
John 8:42 "Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me."
John 17:3 " And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."
John 6:38 "For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me."
The "Oneness" or "Modalist" position denies the pre-earthly or pre-fleshly separate conscious existence of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Here's some verses to prove otherwise...
Philippians 2:6-7 "who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:"
John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
John 17:5 "And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was."
The Lord Jesus Christ is Sometimes Distinguished from the Father who is Identified as the One and Only God, this again shows that Jesus is not to be identified as God the Father.
Romans 16:27 "to God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen."
1 Timothy 2:5 "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;"
1 Corinthians 8:6 "but to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him."
Those who espouse the "Jesus Only" position contend that the name of the Father, the name of the Son, and the name of the Holy Spirit is "Jesus"! However, in Scripture, only the Lord Jesus Christ is called by this name.
Matthew 1:21 "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."
Luke 1:31 "And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS."
The Father is never called "Jesus"
1 Corinthians 1:13 "grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ."
1 Thessalonians 3:11 "Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you."
1 John 1:3 "that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ."
If the Lord Jesus Christ is said to have a God and Father Himself, obviously He is not His own God and Father.
John 20:17 "Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God."
Hebrews 1:9 "Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows."
Revelation 1:6 "and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."
I think by now, your "oneness" or "Jesus Only" doctrine starts to fall apart very quickly...
I sincerely hope you try to understand that none of this is taught by man, it comes from the Word of God, and when read in light of the New Testament, we can interpret the Old Testament with greater clarity.
Blessed is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen.
