Drawing a Line in the Sand

Drawing a Line in the Sand

by Rev. Charles Betts

Most of us have heard the phrase, "drawing a line in the sand." The line represents a boundary we are not to cross. But, the sand is a pliable substance that can be easily manipulated. The phrase states we have a boundary that if we do not like where it's at we can erase it and move it where we want. We use this phrase in the church. We use it to separate ourselves from the world. This is our separating tool from the wickedness of this world. We state "we are not like the world, see our line of separation?" What we need to realize is we are constantly erasing this line and moving it. Unfortunately, we keep moving it the wrong direction!

We all can say the world is growing worse and worse. There's no argument. If you read Galatians 5:19-21 and 2 Timothy 3:1-9 these scriptures are full of sinful attitudes, actions, thoughts and ways that are prevalent in our world today. Just look at the sin that runs rampant in our streets. What was done behind closed doors just a few short years ago is now being flaunted in our faces every day. Our own government is doing everything to undermine what our founding fathers established when they founded this great country. Let's look at one issue, homosexuality. God states this sin is an abomination to Him. The Good News Bible translation of Leviticus 18:22 states, "No man is to have sexual relations with another man; God hates that." God Hates That! But this world has perverted this to the point where churches let homosexuals preach from their pulpits and now our federal court system has allowed the institution of gay marriage to be an acceptable practice in all fifty states!

Holiness is under attack. Separation from the world is being "grayed out". The things God deems abominable are being allowed in the very doors of our churches; even the apostolic church! These things ought not to be! We are making excuse after excuse as to why we are shifting our stance. What ever happened to, "if God stands against it that is good enough?" The Word of God is the final say. There are clear, black and white stands and then there are Godly principles we MUST obey. We must be a separated people. God is coming back for a people who are spotless, blameless, holy (Ephesians 5:27 GNB "in order to present the church to himself in all its beauty—pure and faultless, without spot or wrinkle or any other imperfection.").

There are people looking for God. There's a God-size hole in each of our hearts that only He can fill. If the church doesn't have a different look, attitude, spirit, or personality than the world, how can those looking for Jesus ever find Him? Yes, we must love the sinner! Jesus loved them. BUT, we cannot join the world to have an impact on them. The greatest impact is being like God; drawing closer to Jesus. If we must erase the line, we must shift the line closer to God. The only way to get to heaven is to become more like Jesus, not like the world.

More to come!

Grace

GRACE

In an editorial one minister declared, "There is nothing that can be added to grace to bring salva­tion to a soul. Grace," he wrote, "wrought salvation with no strings attached." Another minister stated, "Grace plus nothing equal salvation!

Is this biblical? Have these ministers gone farther than the Scriptures go? Must not the recipient of sal­vation take some corresponding action in response to grace? If there is nothing that one can do, or if no response is necessary, what about the scriptural passages that calls for action?

When guilty sinners asked, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" the Apostle Peter replied, "Re­pent . .." (Acts 2:37-38). When Saul of Tarsus in­quired, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" the Lord answered, "Go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do" (Acts 9:6). After a devas­tating earthquake, while springing into the crumbl­ed ruins of the prison in an attempt to take his own life, the Philippian jailer heard the voice of Paul call out, "Do thyself no harm, for we are all here." He was sure his prisoners would be gone^ When he dis­covered them yet present, he turned to¹ Paul and Si­las and cried out, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" Their answer was, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved and thy house" (Acts 16:25-31).

In each of these scriptural incidents, action was demanded of the inquirer. The first was, "Repent"; the second, "Go"; the third, "Believe." All three called for action, the action of the will. A command was issued in each instance. It was not "Grace plus nothing equals salvation.”  It. was "Grace plus faith plus obedience equals salvation"! Or "Grace plus obedient faith-equals salvation."

Grace is God's Act

Grace is the unmerited, undeserved favor of God bestowed on a person through the atoning: sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace is the source of sal­vation. Grace means that God initiates salvation. It includes every act on God's part that brought salva­tion to mankind. God's grace caused Him to mani­fest Himself in flesh as Jesus Christ, assume human limitations, freely give Himself on Calvary and arise the third day for our justification.

God Alone is the Source of Salvation.

Salvation was initiated in heaven as God's plan. Man was not counselled concerning it. In fact man had nothing to do with its institution other than be­ing-the object of it!

"God so loved the world that he gave his only begot­ten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" {John 3:16);

"God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us..." (Ephesians 2:4).

"For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for yoursakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich" (II Corinthians 8:9).

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Romans 5:17

For if by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. As we look at this scripture we see the power involved to change the world. By the trespass of one man, and by the abundant provision of grace of one man.

God had bestowed all His beauty and glory upon that one garden. Everything a man could want and need was there. You can have all of it, except that one tree, don’t go there God said. you see ,the trespass was already there with them ,but it was to be avoided. So the battle was on, much like todays struggles and challenges .As that forbidden fruit began to take shape and ripen, the look to the eye became very pleasurable.The serpent saw Adam and Eves weakness and began digging in his bag of deceit and lies. We as Christians know the snares before us and must be avoided. But like a bug drawn toward that bug zapper ,we start looking and veering towards what God proclaims, "Thou shalt not”  That one place looked so pleasant and innocent, "we surely won’t die" "But by one man’s trespass, death reigned through him "No, Don’t Eat That Fruit Adam! CHOMP, and sin entered in and the world changed .A barrier had been put up between us and our Creator. And for thousands of years, man needed a way back to God.

Thank the Lord for a manger in Bethlehem.  For the Word said 'how much more" With the birth of Christ, our provision, our way back, our Salvation had come Glory.as Jesus grew our gift of righteousness reigned in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. The one who was given all power in Heaven and earth. Our redeemer was here!

As He was beaten and spit on, I was on His mind. With a crown of thorns mashed down on His head, the blood began to flow. One man on a cross: as the veil was torn in half, the world was changing. The blood flowing down Calvary was my provision from one man for me to be saved from a lost and dying world.

Romans chapter 6 says ,"my old evil desires were nailed to the cross with Him" By being baptized in Jesus Name my old sins have died out through His blood shed on that cross. One man, my great God and Savior, changed my life forever. Sin no longer need be your master. Allow God's mercy and grace to set you free. Let’s get back to the master and be won by One.

Reverend Jeff White

The Dual Nature of Christ

I realize it has been a while since I have posted. I apologize for the delay. Personal matters required my full attention. But with the help of the Lord and your prayers things will be back on track. Let’s continue where we left off with Pastor Joe Guinta’s excellent book “Any More Questions.” I recommend everyone purchase their own copy.

The Dual Nature of Christ

Parts taken from the tract "One Man, One Spirit" by Pastor Joseph M. Giunta Sr.

Over the next few sessions  we will discuss statements that Christ made that have been misunderstood (and misused) to say that the Father and the Son are two separate and distinct persons of the Godhead. Christ never referred to the Father as a separate person. What was He referring to then?

To better understand these statements that were made we will first need to visit the doctrine of Christ's dual nature. Oneness and Trinitarians alike can agree on the fact that Jesus was dual-natured. Both will readily make the statement that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. However, the disagreement arises rapidly when we begin discussing what, or who, these natures are; namely, the God nature.

The belief in only one God is called monotheism, which comes from two Greek words: monos, meaning alone, one, single, and Theos, meaning God. This is an essential doctrine for Christians to believe. The purport of this doctrine is that it not only places God alone, but also unequaled. (The (Oneness of God, David Bernard)

God is a Spirit (Jn. 4:24). This truth is consistent ihroughout the entire bible. He is called "the Father of spirits (Heb 12:9) As a Spirit, God is an intelligent, supernatural being who does not have a physical body (Lk. 24:3''). Not having a physical nature, He was not visible or physically tangible to mankind. This was  the main reason for the incarnation.

The bible teaches that there is only one Spirit that makes up the Godhead (Eph. 4:4). There are not multiple spirits in the Godhead of whom one manifested in a flesh body as the Son of God. The Spirit that performed the creation of the universe is not different or distinct from the Spirit that was in Christ, or from the Spirit that is active in the church today. There is but one Spirit of God, and He is immutable, unending, omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. Other references to this truth can be found in (Genesis 1:2; 1 Corinthians 12: 4-13; Ephesians 2:18; Ephesians 4:5) to name a few.

When we see that one Spirit move as the Father, we see the same Spirit that was incarnate in Christ's person. It is also the same Spirit that we see in action in the life of a believer in the church body. Paul described it as "one and the selfsame Spirit" (1 Cor. 12:11). The word selfsame means exact. The essence of the Spirit has been compared to or illustrated by the substance, H2o. When you have water in a cup it is H2o in liquid form. If you freeze the water from the cup, it is no longer liquid but ice, or if you boil it, it will become steam. The form changed, but the substance was always the same, unchanged. So it is with the Spirit, the form may change, but the substance is immutable.

Jesus promised to send "another comforter", or the Holy Ghost. A few verses later He said "I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you" (John 14:18). When you have the Holy Ghost you truly have the Spirit of Christ dwelling in you. Now the Lord is that Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17). We see Jesus clearly being identified with that one Spirit, it is no wonder why He said it was the Father who dwelt in him that did the works (Jn. 14:10).

The centrality of this teaching goes back to the very earliest of time, at creation. Then it was firmly stated in what is known as "the Shema" (Deuteronomy 6:4). This is the core value of Judaism and true Christianity. The Jewish people recognize this as Jehovah or YHVH, and consider pluralizing the Lord's oneness, blasphemy. This is to say there is one Lord (Eph. 4:5).

Acts 10:36 says, "The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (He is Lord of all:)". Jesus on earth was God manifest in the flesh. He was the fullness of God embodied in humanity. He was not a half God half man hybrid. He was 100% God and 100% man. He was the fullness of both natures interpenetrated into one being. He was the Son of God by way of humanity, and God Himself by way of His deity. Simply stated... "For in Him (Jesus) dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. (Colossians 2:9)

These verses of scripture are very clear and explicitly definitive in declaring that Christ is God. If this is so, then where is the problem? The problem arises when we start to probe the trinitarian doctrine for explanation on which of their persons it is that actually embodies this man Christ through the incarnation. The bible is very clear about who dwelt in Jesus making Him God. It was the Father (Is. 9:6, Jn. 2:19, Jn. 8:19-30, Jn. 10:30, Jn. 14:10-11, Jn. 14:13, Jn. 17:21). The scriptures never declare one time that God the Son indwelt Jesus. In fact, the words "God the Son" aren't declared anywhere in scripture. It is a term that is foreign to biblical verbiage.

The dual nature of Christ doesn't even make sense  When looking at it as the Son being indwelt by the son. What  makes the Son, a son if he were never begotten by the Father?  Would He really be the Son, who was never begotten? This shows that the Son is not an eternal being, but that sonship began in the womb of the virgin. This was not the Father in heaven sending the second person (God the Son) to indwell a man and do a work while He and the third person (Holy Spirit) stayed back and watched. This is so far away from biblical truth.

What we really see is a beautiful symphony of God's perfection and wisdom in action at the incarnation. God, who is the Father, placed His seed in the womb of the Virgin Mary and she brought forth a son called Jesus (Mt. 1:18-23). This son would be the savior of all mankind. This was called Emmanuel or God with us (Mt. 1:23).

This Jesus was completely human because He was born of a woman, His mother. He grew both in wisdom and stature as a man (Lk. 2:52). He was both hungry and thirsty as a man (Jn. 19:28). He wept (Jn. 11:35), slept (Mt. 8:24), mourned (Jn. 11:38) and scorned as a man (Mt. 21:12). He did all that a human does in life with the only exception; sin. He was completely perfect, but He was completely human.

This same Jesus was not just a man, but was also completely God. This is so because He was conceived by the Spirit of God (Mt. 1:20). God is His literal begetting Father (Jn. 3:16). We see Jesus do many things that a man could not do even though He be the Son of God. Jesus raised the dead (Jn. 11:43). Who can raise the dead except God? We see Jesus walk on water (Jn. 6:19). Jesus saw Nathanael before He ever even met him in person (Jn. 1:48). He knew what people thought in their hearts without them ever saying a word (Mk. 2:8). These things He did as God. For what man could do these miracles except the Father be with Him (Jn. 3:2)?

The thoughts that Jesus perceived in the hearts of these men without them saying a word (Mk. 2:8) started because of the actions of Jesus prior in the story. They reasoned within themselves because Jesus, the man that stood in front of them, forgave the sins of a man sick with palsy. Their reasoning... "Why doth this man speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only?" (Mk. 2:7) Jesus forgave sins. No man can do that in and of Himself, not even the Son of God. This He did as God. We know this is the case because of the first part of the response of the men. "Why doth this man speak blasphemies?" It would not be considered blasphemy to call Himself God's Son. He did that many times and they just thought He was crazy. It was when He, being a man, made Himself Jehovah that they wanted to kill Him for blasphemy. "The Jews answered Him, saying, for a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, maketh thyself God" (Jn. 10:33). Jesus Christ was not only completely man, but also fully God and had no problem making that clear in the ears of all who would listen.

Why would the dual nature seem illogical at all? Think about it, when a child is born to his parents, he is not half from his mother and half from his father. He is not only half his mother's child. He is completely of his mother and completely of his father. I was born to James and Linda Giunta (Hammack - maiden name). I am not a half a Giunta because my mother is a Hammack. I am completely Giunta (Ask my mom, she will tell you). Without my father I could not be born. Without my mother I could not be born. I am completely of both of my parents. Why would this truth be any different in Jesus? He is completely man because of His mother's DNA, and completely God because of His Father's DNA. He was both a God product as well as a human product, both completely and simultaneously. Jesus had both human and God DNA as the makeup of His person. He was completely full of God DNA and completely full of human DNA. This makes Jesus both God and man. This is the dual nature of Christ.

More questions to come…

To order your copy of “Any More Questions” contact the author at:
Rev. Joesph M. Guinta, Sr.
720 Riddle St. #10
Howell, MI 48843

Let us Grow

Let Us Grow

     When we are born to our natural parents, we are unable to immediately walk, run, talk, eat meat, work and do activities of an adult person.  We must first drink milk, eat soft food, crawl, learn words, take baby steps, play, etc. as we develop into an adult. We want our children to grow strong and be healthy.
    It is the same in the spiritual.  When we are born again of the water and the spirit, we become a child of God; however we have a lot of maturing to do. The Bible gives us some instructions on how to grow spiritually.
     We must humble ourselves as a little child.  Matthew 18:3-4 says “Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.  Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” 
     We must study His word.  I Peter 2: 2 says “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.”
     II Peter 3:18 says ‘But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
     We must grow in faith and charity.  II Thessalonians 1: 3 says “We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because your faith growth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;”  Matthew 17: 20 tells us that if we have the faith the size of a mustard seed, we can move a mountain and nothing will be impossible for us.  In Matthew 13: 31-32, Jesus tells this parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field.  Which indeed is the least of all seeds; but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.”
     We must build upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets; Jesus being the cornerstone of the building.  Ephesians 2: 21 says “In whom all the building fitly framed together growth unto a holy temple to the Lord”.   Jesus gave us ministry thru apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints.  All of these are to help us grow.  Ephesians 4: 14-15 says  “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:”
     Peter tells us in II Peter 1: 5-8 that in order to grow, we must continue to add things.  “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.  For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
     So children of God, let us grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, making our calling and election sure.  For if we do so, we will never fall and according to II Peter 2: 11 “an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”