IMPORTANT MATTERS ABOUT THE CHURCH - 6

WHERE WE ARE MISSING IT

The truth remains that the Church of Christ is advancing every day and night, we are improving physically and spiritually. We are in the era of Sons, so it is expected that we experience manifestations greater than the days of Old. However, we still must not shy away from the fact that we are missing it seriously in few areas. That is why we are where we are today. The very essence of Christ's lifetime on earth has been mistaken for a religious adventure because of what the body of Christ has become. Jesus Christ would have not been mistaken to be a religious leader if we had continued with the pattern laid down by the apostles in the early church. When you read history on how many of the religions we have today started, you will understand what I mean.

So, the serpent came deceiving Eve again. We have been believing lies and swallowing deception as food for many years. Our unity is being questioned day by day by even unbelievers. Who can boast now, that the church is united? Even as I make these things known here, some people are angry with it. And we are supposed to be brethren sharing a common love in Christ Jesus our Lord. There have been too many rifts and conflicts, the serpent caused it.

Don't forget that the fruit that was eaten by Adam and Eve caused them to loose comfort and pleasure. The repercussions were just too difficult to bear. "falling short" of the glory of God is not a mere loss. So also is the replay we have today. The Church has been eating from the serpent and it has caused the Church to loose her power and authority. We can challenge evil face to face again in the public, how can we have numerous denominations in a nation and evil still thrives?

Many people gather together at various "church centres" to seek for what was made 100% available at redemption. Funny isn't it? But it is also excruciating. That you have billions of dollars in your bank account and you still go begging for money! That is just how the poison of the forbidden fruit has robbed the church. We have wallowed in ignorance because we swam for long in deceit. Good knowledge births good results, so because we have no sound doctrine, we suffer the loss. In the NT, the move of God was evident in the Church simply because they feed on the right meal of the word and they were fellowshipping together in spirit and in truth. There were many flow of gifts of the spirit and there was great increase in those who believe the gospel. Signs and wonders never ceased to be wrought, it was just too cheap in those days. This is because they were doing the right thing and they are in the right relationship with each other. And there is just one greatest factor responsible for all these beautiful things among them, that is UNITY!

You see, that is just where I am going. That is where we are missing it. We have lost unity and without it, we will continue to struggle with God's plan for the world through us.

It is because the Church was not united, that made Islam and other religions to be trending even after GOD HIMSELF CAME, WALKING ON THIS EARTH. We disappointed God. See what Turkey had become today, the 99% muslim nation was once a missionary ground for Apostle Paul.

It is because the Church is not united, that is why we have many thousands of DENOMINATIONS today. And every of this denomination claim to be the true denomination. Their founders had found fault with their previous denomination, then they started their own. So a competition is inevitable. 

You hear and see adverts on the media telling people that, it is only in their denomination that they can receive this and that. We took the bride of Christ, and sliced it into thousands of different parts. Isn't that horrible?

Let me call your attention to the fact that, this has been happening even when Paul and others were on this earth, but they fought it very hard. They were able to cub certain of these unpleasant attitudes and they preached unity and oneness every time. Remember when some people wanted to start denominations with Paul and Apollos? Some said "WE ARE FOR PAUL, ANOTHER SET SAID WE ARE FOR APOLLO" That was when denominations could have begun, but Paul shunned that nonsense immediately. Along the line, the serpent came again tempting the Church, but there was no more "Paul", but Catholic priests who were void of proper understanding, hence the great schism that birthed the Orthodox Church in 1043.

Well, that is where we are missing it. Jesus said "a kingdom divided against itself shall not stand", that's just how foolish we have being. Our role in the eternal plan of God is to establish his Kingdom, but we are divided. Tell me, how do we succeed?

So some people are waiting for rapture (I laugh) and I wonder if you will just allow the sacrifice of Christ to be in vain. Check the statistics of believers against unbelievers on Google, you will be surprised at how very slow the advancement of the Kingdom had been. All we are doing is building BIG AUDITORIUMS and STARTING BRANCHES and DENOMINATIONS. Some of you can die because of your denomination.

Let every man or woman with adequate understanding, know this: That Christ will not come until the GLORIOUS CHURCH is ready. The readiness starts with you and I. That is my submission, that is my cry, that everyone of us will grow to understand this. And I am very sure, that is what Christ is also expecting from us all. Christ love the Church, let us love him back!

God help us!

IMPORTANT MATTERS ABOUT THE CHURCH - 5

ADAM, EVE AND THE SERPENT REPLAY?

Well, we all know the popular story of what happened in the garden of Eden. How the serpent deceived Eve, and how Eve gave the fruit to Adam.

The account in the garden of Eden, is more prophetic and figurative than real. That's why geographers are still in confusion of where this garden is located till date. It is important to know that this was a narrative from an angel to Moses, it was the only narrative whose characters were never seen by any man. The word "Eden" as used by the angel means a place of delight and pleasure. So I can say now that I am in my Eden typing this. In fact, the garden of Eden was used to describe the environs of the Joel army in Joel 2. Asides this, the garden of Eden was made by God himself according to the book of genesis. Now, there is a typology of Eden, Adam, Eve, the trees and the serpent in the New Testament and we could clearly grasp the message of God in putting up the story in the book of the beginnings.

Now, we already know that Jesus the Christ is the Adam of the NT. He was born of God and he started a new generation of God's sons and daughters. He is the first man after this order.

Also, Eve is the typology of the Church, being the wife of Adam. The Church of Christ is referred to as the bride of Christ many times in the bible, even Jesus once told a parable of the bridegroom and the virgins. So the Church is the bride of Christ which is married to Christ eternally upon salvation.

However all these terms "bride", "bridegroom", "marriage" etc are not to be taken in their literal senses. They are the best choice of words the writers could use for proper description.

Now, the tree of life is a symbol of Jesus Christ. Well, we know that in this tree was kept the eternal life. And by the revelation of the Spirit of God, we know that eternal life can only found in Jesus Christ. That's why John said "And this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. " Good!

Dear reader, the question that comes to mind now is, who and where is the serpent?

Now, follow closely...I will show you whom the serpent is and how the serpent has been deceiving Eve again. Since this is more of a deeper revelation, I will try as much as possible to fashion it correctly in a simple manner, with references.

Remember that the serpent is said to be the most cunning or subtil beast according to genesis. The word beast tells us that the serpent is more than the kind of snake that you imagine. The word "beast" is the Hebrew word "chay" which actually means a living creature. That gives us a little light on the nature of the serpent. So the serpent is not necessarily a snake!

So what is then the serpent?

Now, in Revelation 12, we see how that Satan was referred to as a serpent. In fact, Satan was said to be a very old serpent. "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world..."

It is interesting to know that the word "serpent" in the general sense in most cases is used in the bible to describe a creature with wisdom or smartness. That is just why Satan was called a serpent, not that he is a snake or that he is the only serpent.

Jesus was also referred to as a serpent. He said in the gospel according to John to Nicodemus "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. ", It then means that the brass serpent raised up on the pole for the people of Israel in the OT, was a typology of Jesus Christ. The biting they suffered from the fiery serpents was a typology of deception which led to death.

Ok, let me show you again...

In Matthew 10:16, Jesus said "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore WISE AS SERPENTS, and harmless as doves." You see that? SERPENTS ARE WISE CREATURES!!!

But since our goal in this lesson is to show us that the same kind of scenario between the serpent and Eve in Eden, is found on replay today, let us therefore see to that. Now, Eden symbolizes the Kingdom of God. And by this we mean, the Church is being deceived by the Serpent, even in the Kingdom of God.

Paul saw this and said..."Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents." 1 Cor 10:9. He also said in 2 Cor 12:3 "But I fear, lest by any means, AS THE SERPENTS BEGUILED EVE THROUGH HIS SUBTILTY, SO YOUR MINDS SHOULD BE CORRUPTED from the simplicity that is in Christ." How does Paul mean? He went further to say "For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him"

So now who is the serpent? They are many!

The serpents are those who TEACH OR PREACH FALSEHOOD OR DOCTRINES AGAINST THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST. They are false teachers! They are mostly legalistic in nature; they are sound and full of cunning ways.

Even before Paul, Jesus was first to identify them in Matthew 24, that the elect could easily be deceived by them.

Jesus condemned them himself, he said "Ye SERPENTS, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?"

Peter also saw them in the Church, he called them brute beasts!

They crept into the Church and were deceiving people with false doctrines. They perverted the gospel of Christ and mixed it with many things that were passed down to many generations, even till today. 

These serpents were using the same tactics as used by the old one in the garden of Eden. They do present their own version of God's word to the Church, and the Church, which is vulnerable always fall for it. Just the way Eve was vulnerable, the serpent never deceived Adam, but Eve.

Miracles, signs and wonders among many others ceased because of these things. The unity of the Church became affected. The Church suffered and she is still suffering from this great havoc. The great schism of 1043 was another big blow. And that's how doctrinal issues divided the Church into pieces, till we now have more than 70,000 denominations in the world. ALL OF THEM WITH DIFFERENT DOCTRINE, claiming to be the true church. It is the work of the serpent.

But saviors are risen, the last army, and we will bring serious war upon these serpents and flush away their ancient venom from among God's people. Then, we shall see the GLORIOUS CHURCH OF CHRIST in white robes united in love!!!

Amen.

IMPORTANT MATTERS ABOUT THE CHURCH - 4

WHEN THE CHURCH BEGAN

In Acts Chapter 2, the Holy Spirit of promise came upon the disciples in the upper room. This was when the Church began.

The disciples were transformed into a regenerated being by the Holy Ghost. Then after that, those who believed the gospel as presented by Peter were saved and added to the Church. This first Church were men who had seen Jesus Christ face to face and have heard many things about the Kingdom, so they know exactly why Christ is establishing the Church.

So the disciples were transformed by the Holy Spirit and they became Apostles. Those who were added to the Church were saved people, not "those who are hoping to be saved", they were those who appreciate the finished work of the Cross of Christ, not those who are "trusting their own works". They were all fed and brought up with the doctrine of the Apostles. They were all in one accord, united in the love of Christ.

You see, that first Church were the ones who became threat to the Kingdom of darkness, they were adamant and stood firm in their faith even in the midst of persecution. Lets see for ourselves some of these things in Acts 2...

41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

(Me: To join the Church in those days, you must RECEIVE AND BELIEVE THE MESSAGE OF CHRIST, not any message. Not heaven and hell message, not prosperity message, not "Christianity is the approved religion" message BUT THE GOSPEL OF SALVATION)

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

(Me: Their devotion was not Church programmes as we have it, but TEACHING, PRAYERS AND FELLOWSHIP. There was no time for concert or anniversary or suya night)

43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.

(Me: EVERYONE was filled with awe, not everyone was sad. Because miracles flows easily with the truth)

44 All the believers were together and had everything in common.

(Me: NO DENOMINATION, NO SECT)

45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.

(Me: Not as seeds or firstfruits or tithes, but OUT OF LOVE)

46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,

(Me: As you can see, they meet in temple courts as Church, they do not meet in the "church", they are the Church themselves)

47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

(Me: Who added to their number? The Apostles? No! Who? The Lord Jesus Christ! Why? He is the head and he is the builder of the Church!) Amen!

These among many other things were the activities and unity among the Church when it began. As a result of this, there is mighty move and the Kingdom was expanding. Even when Saul and others began to persecute them, they remain in the Lord. People could not join the Church anyhow; they must have been saved by the gospel and must have received the Holy Spirit.

There was no division, there was no denomination. There was nothing like "church name", no RCCG (all of them were redeemed Christians), no Deeper Life (all of them had deeper lives), no WINNERS (all of were winners in the Lord) etc...

They were all UNITED AS ONE CHURCH, ONE BODY IN CHRIST!

We can continue to show us on and on how beautiful and strong the Church was when it began, but space will not permit.

However, it got to a period, THE SERPENT CAME DECEIVING EVE AGAIN. We will see this in the next lesson.

IMPORTANT MATTERS ABOUT THE CHURCH - 3

"UPON THIS ROCK, I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH" - THE MEANING 

Some persons claim that Peter was the first pope. When we ask for Scriptural proof they immediately refer to the words of Jesus to Peter: “Thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church.” But we ask, Is that what Jesus meant by those words, that Peter is the rock on which His church is built?

Well, I do not want us to look into whether Peter was the first pope or not, but whether Peter was the rock on which Christ built the Church.

First of all, recall that the church of Christ is not a literal building of stone. And if we carefully look at that verse, the church is personalized by Jesus as “my church”. It is not the church of Paul, Apollos or Peter, for, as Paul well states in his epistles, none of these died for man. So, since Christ died for man, the Church definitely should be Christ's.

From the context of the scripture under consideration, that is Matthew 16, we learn that Peter had just given testimony that Jesus was the Christ; the Son of the living God, and Jesus told him that God had revealed this to Peter. It was as a result of Peter's affirmation that he then said: “And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church.”

Consulting the original Greek words, we find out that Jesus was using two related words here, but they have distinctly different meanings.

“Peter” is Petros—a proper noun, in the masculine gender) means “a (piece of) rock”. But when speaking of the “rock” on which he would build his church, Jesus used a different Greek word, which is petra (a common noun, in the feminine gender), which means “a (mass of) rock”.

So If we insert the meaning properly into the text, it is rendered as: “And I say also unto thee, That thou art A PIECE OF ROCK, and upon this MASSIVE ROCK, I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it"

Clearly Jesus was here saying that He himself, the one identified by Peter as the Messiah, the Son of God, was the rock-mass or foundation on which he would build his church. SO HE WAS NOT REFERRING TO PETER.

Peter's confession is actually the "massive rock". This is very clear even in the OT books, Christ was been prophesied as the rock and Peter also affirms it in his epistle that we are being built upon Christ as lively stones. Paul also said, Christ is the chief cornerstone upon which they (apostles) were laid, and that the Church is a building on Christ. Note that all these are not literal translations; the stones; foundation and building are spiritual connotations about the manifold wisdom of God.

Christ is the owner of the Church, not Peter!

Christ is the great Shepherd, not human General Overseers or CEOs

Even when Christ gave gifts of Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists and Pastors and Teachers to the Church, he did this for this same purpose: TO BUILD THE CHURCH.

Why are we studying Christ's statement about building his Church? This is because the devil has deceived the Church into believing another thing entirely. Aside those who believe Peter was the foundation of the church, some persons have stolen Christ's role to make merchandise of the Church. They claim to be the "owner of the church", they give names to "their own" church and claim it is the best or only approved Church. Well, that is if the church can be divided, because there is just one church. There can be many people claiming to be church founders or owners or general overseers, but Christ is the owner of the Church.

When we know this, we will return to the intention and purpose of the building of the Church, we will not segregate or fight ourselves.

Amen.

IMPORTANT MATTERS ABOUT THE CHURCH - 2

THE MYSTERY BEHIND THE FORMATION OF THE CHURCH

Paul said in his epistle to the Ephesians brethren, “...And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the MYSTERY, which from the beginning of the world hath been HIDDEN in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the CHURCH the manifold wisdom of God.” Ephesians 3:9-10

It was in this saying of the apostle, that we got a glimpse of why the church was formed and to what purpose. Christ formed the Church but Paul called it the manifold wisdom of GOD. Why did Paul call it the manifold wisdom of God? Follow closely...

Christ said to Peter in the book of Matthew that he will build his Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail… this was where the foundation of the Church was laid. Many people have erroneously translated Jesus’ statement about “the rock” as meaning he will build his Church on Peter. NO! That was not what he meant that day. So we have had some persons who erroneously believe that Peter is the foundation of the Church, but the Holy Spirit made us know through Apostle Paul that, the 12 apostles are the foundation of the church and Christ is the chief cornerstone. So what did Jesus mean by saying, “on this rock’ will I build my church seeing that the name "Peter" means "the rock"? We have kept this exposition for the next lesson. But, let us be informed for now that Christ is the builder of the church.

That's just why Paul said, the church is the manifold wisdom of God.

Now, what is it about the Church? What is it about the "manifold wisdom"?

In the book of Genesis, we saw how that man lost the Kingdom of God. The major calamity that happened in the Garden of Eden was not the eating of a fruit. It was not the disobedience to God’s commandment either; it was the treason of handing God’s kingdom over to the devil. Satan deceived man into collecting the keys to the kingdom that God had designed man to rule. God destined man to have dominion and rule this earth realm just the way he rules the heavenly realm, but man failed and committed treason.

Note that through the first woman Eve, the devil robbed Adam of the Kingdom. This is because Eve was formed to help Adam achieve his goal. Adam's goal again is to rule this world for God's glory. 

Adam was the caretaker of God's beautiful creation. Eve was formed out of Adam as an helper in other for Adam to fulfill destiny.

Now, In the epistles, Christ is called the Last Adam, and the Church is called the bride of Christ. This is a mystery which was rooted in the creation of the first man and woman. Adam and Eve were types of the Christ and the Church. As Adam was given the kingdom mandate, so was Christ given the kingdom mandate. In short, Jesus Christ was prophesied to be a King even before he was born. And not just a earthly king, but his Kingdom is of God taking over the earth. So Christ being the Last Adam retrieved the keys of the Kingdom from Satan by his victory at resurrection.

These same keys of the kingdom is what Christ has handed over to the Church. According to Matthew 16:19, he said he will give the Church these keys after he has built it.

Why did Christ gave us the keys? This is another mystery! Christ is the "head" of the Church. That's is we are just the remaining part of the body of which Christ is the head. The head tells us that Christ controls the Church. Although it also implies that he is incomplete without us. Because we are his help meet! - as Eve was to Adam. We are meant to put to action what is in his mind. The mind of the body is in the head, so Christ has given us a mandate and this mandate is the kingdom mandate.

The Church is the medium through which the Kingdom of God will be established on earth. Christ built the Church for the same purpose. Christ has made us his instruments into fulfilling the eternal plan of God. We will be used by the spirit of God to overthrow the evil that has enveloped this earth for ages. This is our mission, the greatest commission.

Not just to win souls but to establish his Kingdom. We are the emissaries, we are the channels.

This is why the Church was formed by Christ, just as Eve was formed for Adam. But again, there is a "serpent", and this serpent has repeatedly deceived the Church. This we shall begin to look into in from the next lesson.

Amen.

IMPORTANT MATTERS ABOUT THE CHURCH - 1

WHAT ABOUT THE CHURCH

The word ‘church’ as used in the bible is the Greek word ‘ekklesia” which means ‘a calling out’ or simply ‘called out ones’ or ‘an assembly’.

This is the word used to refer to saved persons who have RECEIVED SALVATION BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH. The church is simply another word for believers. They are those who have been called out from the kingdom of this world to the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, those who have been called out form darkness to light.

The church was never a word used to describe a building or a cathedral where people worship. The error in definition came from modern dictionaries. The modern dictionaries are however not be blamed, as this has been the error passed down from ages past by ignorant and unskillful teachers. They teach that the church of God is the building instead of the people. This error had been since the time of the great schism. It is one of the many errors that crept into the body of Christ.

Now, to what reason do we refer to believers as the church?

In the Old Testament, just right after the fall of man and the calling of Abraham as the new starting point for the journey that will bring produce the messiah that will redeem mankind, people had been dealing with God by building altars and calling it the house of God. Wherever an altar is built, the Lord dwells there. These altars were sacred places which represents the presence of God at that time.

Right after that, many hundreds of years later, the dwelling place of God shifted to the tabernacle, precisely the holy of holies. This began during the exodus. Moses and his talented craftsmen built a tabernacle to house the presence of God. There was a most holy place, the office of God, in the tabernacle which is where only the high priest could enter.

Now, from “tabernacle”, the place of worship took another shift into being a “temple”. This was after the children of Israel had settled down in their own land and have chosen for themselves a king. The tabernacle was no longer relevant. The bible made us understand how that King David, was the man who chose to construct this temple which is also called the house of God. But God later gave the mission to his son, King Solomon who eventually built this temple. However, it is clear from God’s remark to David, that he will not dwell in this temple forever and that there will be another shift soon and this shift will be the final shift. Although Solomon dedicated the house of God, and it was a great day in the history of the Israelites, yet it was not the intention of God to live in a building. The intention of God was set to be revealed after the temple era.

See how Solomon puts it in 1 Kings 8:27…”but will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?

Now, the intention of God was the Church – the saints, the believers, those who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ.

All his dealings with people concerning his dwelling place all this while had been a shadow of the real thing. The real plan of God is to dwell in a house that is not built with hands. The plan of God was to dwell inside of the born again believer.

So, the house of God shifted from being an altar, to a tabernacle, to a temple and then to human body (the born again). This shift, is the main reason why the believers became the Church. The old patriarchs must build an altar before they can satisfactorily reach God, the congregation of the Israelites was bound to worshipping God in the tent, in the tabernacle, the Jews were strictly accustomed to worshipping God in the temple, especially the one in Jerusalem, but God has chosen in this last time to dwell inside us. Our worship is now in the spirit, therefore the church of God cannot be a building but those who worship the spirit.  This exactly what Jesus told the Samaritan woman; Worship has shifted!

So it is high time we understand what we call the church. The church cannot be the chairs and pulpit, a structure or a place where we go to worship God. We are the church; we do not go to church!

The early apostles and believers tried to communicate this truth and this is clear everywhere in the epistles. In Acts 2:47, the Lord added to the church daily…, In Acts 5:11, it was said that great fear came upon the church… In Acts 8:3, Saul made havoc of the church…In Acts Chapter 12, they vexed certain of the church… In Acts 12:5, prayer was made by the church… In Eph 5:25, it was said that Christ loved the church…

All these are CLEARLY REVEALED passages about the true meaning of the church. There is none of these which mean a structure or a building. Saul cannot persecute a building, Christ cannot love a building, and the building cannot make prayers for Peter when he was arrested and great fear cannot come upon a building and so on…

WE ARE THE CHURCH!

The born again believers are the church!

The CHURCH IS NOT A BUILDING! Not even a structure made with hands! Christ is the builder!

On worship days, we do not go to church; rather we (church) meet together in fellowship. Simple!

This is the first thing we need to get deep into our mindset, before we can grasp all that the Lord has for the church and all that he purposed to do with her.

God bless you!

WHAT ABOUT SIN? - 7

GRACE IS THE SOLUTION, NOT THE LICENSE TO SIN

Grace is the solution to sin, hear that LOUD AND CLEAR!

Grace is the ONLY ANTIDOTE TO SIN! You cannot stop your sinful actions by your own effort! You will always fail!

On the other hand, you cannot teach a believer to stop sinning, no and never!

A believer is not a sinner; a sinner is not a believer.

The sins (verb) in the flesh of the believer will be taken care of but the Holy Spirit with time. This is what was recorded in the book of Philippians as “working out” of salvation. It is a working that must be drawn from the spirit of the believer through the soul to the physical. It is a not human work. Any human who dares it will wear out with frustration.

Now watch how Paul wrote it to Pastor Titus “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and world lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”

So it is Grace that BRINGS salvation not (do not do this, do not do that…) and it is grace that can TEACH us how to live soberly, righteously and godly... not any Pastor, not any Sunday school teacher, not any Apostle.

This is evident in the scriptures and in our everyday practical lives. There have been many people especially believers who wish to stop the sin they commit, but could not stop them. Even, our Apostle Paul lamented severally about this inability. He said he couldn’t stop himself from doing what is contrary to God, though he wished he could do. And that every time he wants to do well, he is always failing.

This is because the soul and body of the believer is not yet perfect and is conflicting the dictates of the born again spirit. Inside the born again spirit is the mind of Christ and inside the soul is our fallen mind. So there is conflict every day, that’s why Paul said in the book of Galatians that the flesh and the spirit are contrary to one another. What the spirit wants is not what the flesh wants.

So there is no human being on earth that can be free themselves from the actions of sin, weakness and imperfections. This can only be achieved when you come to the end of your efforts and absolutely depend upon the help of the Holy Spirit. That is why the Holy Spirit will never leave a believer. The Holy spirit‘s job is to transform every believer daily.

So stop trying to help him. It is his job not your job.

There are many persons who when they hear us preach or teach these truths of God’s word on sin, think that we endorse sin. This is not true; rather we are encouraging people to stop exalting sin or having fear for sin. Why? Anyone who fears sin will never conquer its actions in their life. You cannot defeat what you fear. And that is why we shout it loud every time that sin is dead. This is for you to gain confidence over your addictions and weaknesses.

There have been many testimonies already about addictions, weaknesses and problems all been solved by the outworking power of the Holy Spirit and by absolute dependence on the finished works of Christ.

Grace is the just the solution. It is what you need. Not a list of dos and don’ts.

You know, at times, many pastors are causing more damage to the kingdom of God than the devil, they teach that a believer will go to hell because of their weaknesses and imperfections. That is a very big lie! This is because even the pastor who communicated these junks is not also perfect. And everyone who demands perfection and yet is not perfect is a disappointment to the Church.

Jesus has settled it all. He is now in us, working in us daily, to make us holy and godly, for the world to see and for us to produce good works. The spirit has been sealed forever no doubt, no sin can enter there.

Now no matter your struggles, problems, addictions, weaknesses, sin, maybe it is masturbation, pornography, drugs, fornications, sex addiction, theft, robbery, lies, adultery, and idolatry, whatever it is, and maybe you belong to a cult or evil gang, whatever it is… MAY I INFORM YOU THAT, YOUR PROBLEMS ARE SOLVED WHEN YOU TURN TO THE GRACE OF GOD. Release yourself from condemnation. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

ALL YOUR PROBLEMS AND ADDICTIONS ARE NOT GREATER THAN THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST.

TURN AWAY FROM YOUR SELF-EFFORTS, YOU WILL ALWAYS BE FRUSTRATED.

TURN TO GRACE, TURN TO CHRIST.

It shall be well with you. I love you so much and God loves you more!

WHAT ABOUT SIN? - 6

SIN UNTO DEATH AND SIN NOT UNTO DEATH

Since there is a controversy on whether a believer can still be damned when they sin or not, we shall now endeavor to attend to this strictly by the eternal word of God.

But before we do that, let us note these two very important things:

i.                     That a believer is dead to sin. A believer knows no sin. Their nature is a sinless nature.   

ii.                   That a believer is not totally freed from committing sin. They still have weakness and imperfections due to their unsaved soul and body.

It is in this light, that we shall now proceed to address the issue on sin as regards the believer, especially on the fact that a believer cannot lose their salvation because of sin.

Now, Apostle John in his first epistle made many statements about sin, some of them look contradictory, but if you have the knowledge of these two statements we have just highlighted above, you will surely be able to rightly divide the word of the Apostle on sin. This is because in some cases, he was referring to the justification, the blessedness and the powerless grip of sin on the believer while in the other cases he was referring to the imperfections of the believer.

So what then are we saying? Since a believer will still go on to sin, despite the fact that they do not have the nature in them anymore, will they still be penalized for these sins?

You should also bear in mind certain things, in other to answer these questions correctly…

i.                     That there is no amount of sin that can send a believer to hell. Jesus paid it all and has been made our substitute. Jesus will then present every believer as holy, righteous, blameless and without fault on the last day. This is what the bible teaches and we have a view of it in the epistle to the Colossians 1:21-23

ii.                   That any sin committed by a believer will bring only physically, biological or emotional consequences to them. It has nothing to do with God or with his salvation. As far as God is concerned, a believer has been justified freely by Grace.

Now, let us consider what Apostle John said in 1 John 5:16-17…

“If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death”

Now carefully consider the words used here…”any man see his brother’…definitely this is referring to believers.

Now, the brother is said to sin a sin “which is not unto death”… let me explain this in simple words - this means the believer will commit a sin, and that sin he or she commits, will never lead to death.

What does this mean? Remember that Paul said the wages of sin is death, and James also said when sin has finally conceived, it brings forth death. Now, if the sin according to the passage in 1st John is not unto death, then it means it is not even a sin at all, or that it is a sin without power. Because every sin results into death, and this one does not. I have heard many unskillful teachers say that the death here is a physical death; well I guess they did not look carefully at the words used in the next phrase…

It went on to say, “he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death…”

If it is a physical death, then there is a contradiction, because no man can give a physical life. This then mean that the other believer should administer life (spiritual upliftment or revival) to the depressed believer who sinned. This is just why we war against sin consciousness. This is exactly what James meant by saying that “he which convert the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death”, so “saving from death” is the same as “giving life” to the believer who committed sin.

And finally the verse in the book of 1 John went to say that “there is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it”….

Now, the sin unto death here is the sin committed by Adam and everyone who has not received eternal life of God in their spirit. Although their sin has been paid for, they are yet to receive this forgiveness and are yet to receive the life of God. So John said, they should not pray for it. There is no amount of prayer that can erase that sin, only faith in Christ Jesus.

Then the last line and verse 17 says “all unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death”

Ignore the “a”, it should read as THERE IS SIN NOT UNTO DEATH. There is no definite article “a” in the Greek language. So it is not referring to a particular sin, it s a general statement.

The implication of this truth is the blessedness of a believer. That he has been saved and sealed eternally in his or her born again spirit forever. That’s why John said he that is born of God does not sin. There is no sin that can contaminate the spirit of the believer. So any weakness or struggle against imperfections in the body is a battle already won. It is just a matter of time.

The Holy Spirit in the believer will work out this blessedness from the spirit to the body. And on that day, when the immortal body shall swallow the mortal body, the salvation of man will be complete and all of the traces of the sin of Adam on earth will be gone TOTALLY AND FOREVER!

Amen.

Philip Oklu