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Seated at the Right Hand of God

Hebrews 10:12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God…

After Jesus died on the Cross and was was raised from the dead scripture says He ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of the Father, a place of honor and authority. Now that all seems well and good, but does that mean Jesus is just sitting up there doing nothing until the time of His Second Coming?

No! Jesus is still working on our behalf. The Bible says Jesus acts as the only mediator between man and God. (1 Timothy 2:5) He’s making intercession for us. (Romans 8:34) Jesus is our advocate before God. (1 John 2:1)

What does that mean? We Christians still sin, don’t we? When we do, Satan accuses us before God, but because we are saved by grace through faith, Jesus defends us. Therefore, God ignores Satan’s accusations because the penalty for our sins was paid when Jesus died for us on the Cross.

Jesus is our mediator before God and no one else can ever do that for us. Mary cannot do it, no so-called saint can do it, no priest, or pastor, or evangelist can do it. No mere human can intercede on our behalf. Only Jesus can do that. When we ask for forgiveness and repent of the sins Jesus steps in for us, and when He does God looks upon us and does not see our sin. Instead, God sees the righteousness of Christ covering us. So don’t ever think Jesus is not working. He’s always working on behalf of those who place their faith in Him.

Have a God Filled Week,
Brother Donnie

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Resurrection Faith

Romans 10:9 …if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Scripture tells us we are saved by grace through faith, (Ephesians 2:8) but scripture is equally clear regarding what saving faith consists of. We must have faith in Jesus to be saved—we must believe in Him—but what are we to believe about Him? To simply say, “I believe in Jesus,” is not enough. Scripture says even the demons believe—and they tremble. (James 2:19) You see, it is what you believe about Jesus that saves you.

So, what must a person believe about Jesus to be saved? We must believe in the promises God made to us in the Bible regarding His Son, Jesus. We must believe Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross was a propitiation for our sins, that Jesus literally paid the penalty we deserve when He died for us on the cross. We must believe that our old man, the sinful person we used to be, died with Jesus and was buried with Him in the tomb.

But there is one final thing we must believe about Jesus to be saved, and Paul makes it very clear. We must believe God raised Him from the dead. You cannot possibly be saved unless you believe in the Resurrected Lord. To believe Jesus died for your sins and to believe your sins were buried with Christ means nothing unless you believe Jesus was resurrected from the dead. You see, Jesus was raised for our justification, and because He was raised, those who have faith in Him are raised with Him into new life, now. But understand this, not only are we raised to new life in this lifetime, our faith in Jesus’ resurrection also results in our being raised into eternal life when this life is over. That is why Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) So, if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Have a God Filled Week and a Wonderful Easter,

Brother Donnie

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The Salvation of Israel

The Salvation of Israel

Romans 11:26 …so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob…

The issue of salvation has been on my mind a lot the past weeks, and one of the greatest books of Scripture concerning the doctrines of salvation is the book of Romans. Paul wrote that letter not to individual Christians in Rome but to the Church in Rome, a church made up of both converted pagan Gentiles and converted Jews. One of the greatest truths we learn in the book of Romans is that salvation only comes to a person by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ. That includes the nation of Israel (Jews), but recently I received communication from a Jewish man, an Israelite, who does not believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior and that leads to an important question. Paul tells us, “…all Israel will be saved.” How can all Israel be saved if many within the nation of Israel refuse to acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Savior?

Thankfully, Paul answers that question for us when he writes, “For they are not all Israel who are of Israel.” (Romans 9:6) Many people who claim to be Israelites are not truly Israel. Just as there are false Christians in the world there are false Jews also. (Romans 2:17-29) You see, when it comes to salvation there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles. (Romans 10:12) Paul says it is by the power of God that the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ brings salvation to the Jews and the Greeks. (Romans 1:16) Paul had a great desire that every person who claimed to be of Israel would be saved, but he knew they would not. (Romans 10:1-4)

So all Israel will be saved, but all true Israelites will come to saving faith in Jesus. The rest will be condemned to Hell along with all Gentile unbelievers. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:10) When a man or woman from the nation of Israel comes to saving faith in Jesus, they become a Christian and a citizen of another holy nation call the Church and a future citizen of the Kingdom of God. We are saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus alone and that holds true for all of us, including Israel.

Have a God Filled Week,
Brother Donnie

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Blood Kin

Blood Kin

Matthew 12:47-50 Then one said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.” But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

Family is important. I grew up believing blood is thicker than water, that being “blood kin” means something. As Christmas approaches family gatherings are common, and that is a good thing. Family should be together, and family should stick together, but just as Jesus explains in the verses above for Christians there is a family that goes beyond family, beyond blood kin.

We belong to the family of God, but just as a genetically similar blood binds us to our earthly family, our Christian family is united by a common blood. We are unified as the family of God by our common faith in the sin cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. We are Jesus’ brothers and sisters, blood kin to each other, because we are in Christ and Christ is in us. And as our families gather at Christmas, do not neglect to spend some time with your Christian family.

This year the day before Christmas falls on Sunday. What better time could there be to gather with your Christian brothers and sisters than Sunday, December 24th. I encourage you as my brothers and sister to come to our family gathering that Sunday morning. After all, we are “blood kin” and I would love to spend some time with you. Family should be together, and family should stick together.

Have a God Filled Week,
Brother Donnie