Consecration- We are not our own, we are the Lord's

 

Present Truth Articles - Consecration 

 

'Consecration is simply the constant recognition of the fact that we are the Lord's and not our own. He who learns  that this is a fact and lives in the constant living presence and recognition of it as the great fact--he is  consecrated, and this is consecration.

 

Nor is this a hard thing to do in itself. People make it hard for themselves by thinking it to be something that it is not, and trying to accomplish it in a way that is not the Lord's way, and even then they miss it. And, in truth, going about it in another than the Lord's way, they cannot possibly do anything else than miss it.

 

Is it a fact, then, that we are the Lord's?--Of course it is; for it is written: "Ye are bought with a price."1Corinthians 6:20. And the price is, "the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." 1Peter 1:19. For He "gave Himself for us." Titus 2:14 This "price" was paid for every soul that is on earth, and for everyone who ever was or ever shall be on earth; for "He died for all." Having died for all; having paid the wondrous price for all; having given Himself for all, it is certainly a fact that all are His. Therefore it is written: "Ye are not your own; for ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." 1Corinthians 6:19-20

 

He not only gave Himself for us, but for all there is of us--yes, even for our sins. For again it is written that He "gave Himself for our sins." Galatians 1:4. And He did it "that He might deliver us from this present evil world;" that He might "purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works;" that He might present us "faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy" (Jude 24)--in one word, "that He might bring us to God." 1Peter 3:18

 

He so loved us that He wants to save us. But He cannot save us in our sins. He will save us from our sins.

 

And as our whole self is sin and sin only, in order to get us, in order to buy us, He had to buy our sins also. So in giving Himself for us, He gave Himself for our sins too. And as we are His, because He bought us with that great price, so also our sins are His, for He bought them with the same great price.

 

Then will you let Him have the sins which He has bought? or will you hold on to these yourself? Will you let Him have what is His own? Will you let Him do what He will with His own? And what will He do with these sins? Oh, He will forgive them! 1John 1:9. He will make them as white as snow. Isaiah 1:18. He will put them away. Hebrews 9:26. He will cast them into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:19. He will remove them from us as far as the east is from the west. Psalm 103:12. He will cast them all behind His back. Isaiah 38:17. And when they are all cast behind His back, He and His own throne will stand between us and them, as the pledge that we are free from them; and the rainbow round about the throne will be the sign--the token--of the everlasting covenant that our sins and iniquities will be remembered no more. Hebrews 8:12

 

Thus in giving Himself for our sins, He gave Himself to us. In giving Himself for us, He gave Himself to us. So when we let Him have our sins, we get Him instead. When we let Him have ourselves, we get Himself instead. Would you rather have Him than your sins? Then let Him have them. Make the blessed exchange today.

 

 Would you rather have His way than your way? Would you rather have His life than your life? Would you rather have His disposition than your disposition? Would you rather have His character than your character? Would you rather have Him than yourself? "To be sure I would," you say. Then, oh! let Him have you now; make the blessed surrender and exchange now and for evermore.

 

 This is consecration.

 

And thus it is …

a daily,

an hourly,

a constant recognition,

…in gratitude and thankfulness, that we are His own. So each day, "consecrate yourself to God in the morning. Make this your very first work. Let your prayer be, Take me, O Lord, as wholly Thine. I lay all my plans at Thy feet. Use me today in Thy service. Abide with me, and let all my work be wrought in Thee.' This is a daily matter. Each morning consecrate yourself to God for that day. Surrender all your plans to Him, to be carried out or given up as His providence shall indicate." Say, "I am the purchased possession of Jesus Christ, and every hour I must consecrate myself to His service." "Thus day by day you may be giving your life into the hands of God, and thus your life will be molded more and more after the life of Christ." This is consecration. And it is not a burden, but a living, everlasting joy.

 

Therefore, "reckon ye also ye yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. . . . Yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you." "Sin shall not have dominion over you"--is that promise worth anything to you? It is worth all that God is worth to the one who reckons himself to be dead indeed unto sin, and alive unto God through Jesus Christ; and who yields himself unto God, and his members unto God as instruments for God to use. To this one God has declared, "Sin shall not have dominion over you."

 

Thank the Lord for this blessed promise of freedom from sin and all the power of sin. And this promise He will make a fact in the life and experience of every one who reckons thus and yields to God. You furnish the reckoning, He will furnish the fact. You yield to Him, and He will use you. You yield to Him your members, and He will use them only as instruments of righteousness. And so, "sin shall not have dominion over you," for God is stronger than sin.'

 

 - A. T. Jones

Shall It Be Grace or Sin?

 EXCERPT- "Shall It Be Grace or Sin?"

'It can never be repeated too often, that under the reign of grace it is just as easy to do right, as under the reign of sin it is easy to do wrong.

This must be so; for if there is not more power in grace than there is in sin, then there can be no salvation from sin.

But there is salvation from sin; this no one who believe in Christianity can deny.

Yet salvation from sin certainly depends upon there being more power in

grace than there is in sin. Then, there being more power in grace than there is in

sin, it cannot possibly be otherwise than that wherever the power of grace can

have control, it will be just as easy to do right as without this it is easy to do

wrong.

No man ever yet naturally found it difficult to do wrong. His great difficulty has

always been to do right.

But this is because man naturally is enslaved to a power–the power of sin–that is absolute in its reign. And so long as that power has sway, it is not only difficult but impossible to do the good that he knows and that he would. But let a mightier power than that have sway, then is it not plain enough that it will be just as easy to serve the will of the mightier power, when it reigns, as it was to serve the will of the other power when it reigned?

But grace is not simply more powerful than is sin. If this were indeed all, even

then there would be fulness of hope and good cheer to every sinner in the world.

But this, good as it would be, is not all; it is not nearly all. There is much more

power in grace than there is in sin.

For "where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." And just as much more power in grace than there is in sin, just so much more hope and good cheer there are for every sinner in the world.

How much more power, then, is there in grace than there is in sin?

Let me think a moment. Let me ask myself a question or two. Whence comes grace? From God, to be sure. "Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ." Whence comes sin?–From the devil, of course. Sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. Well, then, how much more power is there in grace than there is in sin? It is as plain as A B C that there is just as much more power in grace than there is in sin, as there is more power in God than there is in the devil. It is therefore also perfectly plain that the reign of grace is the reign of God; and that the reign of sin is the reign of Satan. And is it not therefore perfectly plain also, that it is just as easy to serve God by the power of God as it is to serve Satan with the power of Satan?

Where the difficulty comes in, in all this, is that so many people try to serve God with the power of Satan.

But that can never be done.

"Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt." Men cannot gather grapes of thorns, nor figs of thistles. The tree must be made good, root and branch. It must be made new. "Ye must be born again."

"In Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature."

Let no one ever attempt to serve God with anything but the present, living power of God, that makes him a new creature; with nothing but the much more abundant grace that condemns sin in the flesh, and reigns through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Then the service of God will indeed be in "newness of life;" then it will be found that his yoke is indeed "easy" and his burden "light;" then his service will be found indeed to be with "joy unspeakable and full of glory."

Did Jesus ever find it difficult to do right? Every one will instantly say, No. But why? he was just as human as we are. He took flesh and blood the same as ours. "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." And the kind of flesh that he was made in this world, was precisely such as was in this world. "In all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren." "In all things"! It does not say, In all things but one. There is no exception. He was made in all things like as we are. He was of himself as weak as we are; for he said, "I can of mine own self do nothing." Why, then, being in all things like as we are, did he find it always easy to do right?–

Because he never trusted to himself, but his trust was always in God alone. All his dependence was upon the grace of God. He always sought to serve God, only with the power of God. And therefore the Father dwelt in him, and did the works of righteousness. Therefore it was always easy for him to do right.

But as he is, so are we in this world. He has left us an example, that we should follow his steps. "It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure," as well as in him. All power in heaven and in earth is given unto him; and he desires that you may be strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power. "In him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily;" and he strengthens you with might by his Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your heart by faith, that you may be "filled with all the fulness of God."

True, Christ partook of the divine nature, and so do you if you are a child of promise, and not of the flesh; for by the promises ye are partakers of the divine nature. There was nothing given to him in this world, and he had nothing in this world, that is not freely given to you, or that you may not have. All this is in order that you may walk in newness of life; that henceforth you may not serve sin; that you may be the servant of righteousness only; that you may be freed from sin; that sin may not have dominion over you; that you may glorify God on the earth; and that you may be like Jesus. And therefore "unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. . . . Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." And I "beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain."

A. T. J.

The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald

73, 35 , pp. 557, 558.

September 1, 1896

"Saving Faith"

 "But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above); or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart; that is, the word of faith, which we preach: that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Rom. 10:6-9.

May we accept these words, especially the statement in the last verse, as literally true? Shall we not be in danger if we do? Is not something more than faith in Christ necessary to salvation? To the first of these questions we say, Yes; and to the last two we say, No; and refer to the Scriptures for corroboration. So plain a statement cannot be other than literally true, and one that can be depended on by the trembling sinner.

As an instance in proof, take the case of the Jailer at Philippi. Paul and Silas, after having been inhumanly beaten, were placed in his care. Notwithstanding their lacerated backs and their manacled feet, they prayed and sang praises to God at midnight, and suddenly an earthquake shook the prison, and all the doors were opened. it was not alone the natural fear produced by feeling the earth rock beneath him, nor yet the dread of Roman justice if the prisoners in his charge should escape, that caused the jailer to tremble. But he felt in that earthquake shock a premonition of the great Judgement, concerning which the apostles had preached; and, trembling under his load of guilt, he fell down before Paul and Silas, saying, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" Mark well the answer; for here was a soul in sorest extremity, and what was sufficient for him must be the message to all lost ones. To the jailer's anguished appeal, Paul replied, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Acts 16:30, 31. This agrees exactly with the words which we quoted from Paul to the Romans.

On one occasion the Jews said unto Jesus, "What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?" Just the thing that we want to know. Mark the reply: "This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." John 6:28, 29. Would that these words might be written in letters of gold, and kept continually before the eyes of every struggling Christian. The seeming paradox is cleared up. Works are necessary; yet faith is all-sufficient, because faith does the work. Faith comprehends everything, and without faith there is nothing.

The trouble is that people in general have a faulty conception of faith. They imagine that it is mere assent, and that it is only a passive thing, to which active works must be added.

But faith is active, and it is not only the most substantial thing, but the only real foundation. The law is the righteousness of God (Isa. 51:6, 7), for which we are commanded to seek (Matt. 6:33); but it cannot be kept except by faith, for the only righteousness which will stand in the Judgement is "that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." Phil. 3:9.

Read the words of Paul in Rom. 3:31: "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid; yea, we extablish the law." Making void the law of God by man is not abolishing it; for that is an impossibility. It is as fixed as the throne of God. No matter what men say of the law, nor how much they trample upon it and despise it, it remains the same. The only way that men can make void the law of God is to make it of none effect in their hearts, by their disobedience. Thus in Num. 30:15, a vow that has been broken is said to have been made void. So when the apostle says that we do not make void the law through faith, he means that faith and disobedience are incompatible. No matter how much the law-breaker professes faith, the fact that he is a law-breaker shows that he has no faith. But the possession of faith is shown by the establishment of the law in the heart, so that the man does not sin against God. Let no one decry faith, as of little moment.

But does not the apostle James say that faith alone cannot save a man, and that faith without works is dead? Let us look at his words a moment. Too many have with honest intent perverted them to a dead legalism. He does say that faith without works is dead, and this agrees most fully with what we have just quoted and written. For if faith without works is dead, the absence of works shows the absence of faith; for that which is dead has no existence. If a man has faith, works will necessarily appear, and the man will not boast of either one; for by faith boasting is excluded. Rom.3:27. Boasting is done only by those who trust wholly in dead works, or whose profession of faith is a hollow mockery.

Then how about James 2:14, which says: "What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?" The answer necessarily implied is, of course, that it cannot. Why not? - Because he hasn't it. What doth it profit if a man say he has faith, if by his wicked course he shows that he has none? Must we decry the power of faith simply because it does nothing for the man who makes a false profession of it? Paul speaks of some who profess that they know God, but who deny him by their works. Titus 1:16. The man to whom James refers is one of this class. The fact that he has no good works - no fruit of the Spirit - shows that he has no faith, despite his loud profession; and so of course faith cannot save him; for faith has no power to save a man who does not possess it.

An article written by Dr. E. J. Waggoner first published in the Aug. 1, 1890 issue of Bible Echo, in the book Lessons on Faith where the article was reprinted, entitled

“Trust in the Lord” EGW

 

“Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.”

 

Each day has its burdens, its cares, and perplexities; and when we meet, how ready we are to talk of our difficulties and trials.

 

So many borrowed troubles intrude, so many fears are indulged, such a weight of anxiety is expressed, that one might almost suppose that we had no pitying, loving Saviour, ready to hear all our requests, and to be to us a present help in every time of need.

 

Some are always fearing and borrowing trouble. Every day they are surrounded by the tokens of God’s love, every day they are enjoying the bounties of his providence; but they overlook these present blessings. Their minds are continually dwelling upon something disagreeable which they fear may come: or some difficulty may really exist, which, though small, blinds their eyes to the many things which demand gratitude.

 

The difficulties which they encounter, instead of driving them to God, the only source of help, separate them from him, because they awaken unrest and repining.

 

Brethren and sisters, do we well to be thus unbelieving? Why should we be ungrateful and distrustful? Jesus is our friend.

 

All heaven is interested in our welfare; and our anxiety and fear grieve the Holy Spirit of God.

 

We should not indulge in a solicitude which only frets and wears us, but does not help us to bear trials.

 

No place should be given to that distrust of God which leads us to make a preparation against future want the chief pursuit of life, as though our happiness consisted in these earthly things, and we could gain them while ignoring the fact that God controls all things.

 

You may be perplexed in business; your prospects may grow darker and darker, and you may be threatened with loss. But do not become discouraged; cast your care upon God, and remain calm and cheerful.

 

Begin every day with earnest prayer, not omitting to offer praise and thanksgiving.

 

Ask for wisdom to manage your affairs with discretion, and thus prevent loss and disaster. Do all you can on your part to bring about favorable results. Jesus has promised divine aid, but not aside from human efforts.

 

When, relying upon your tried Helper, you have done all you can, accept the result cheerfully. It will not always be gain from the worldling’s standpoint; but perhaps success might have been the worst thing for you.

 

If your confidence remains unshaken that God will do all things well, these light afflictions will work out for you a “far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”

 

If trial and loss are our lot here, let us remember that the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” “I reckon,” said Paul, “that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” It would be well if we would all begin to reckon as did this hero of faith.

 

We want an eye single to the glory of God in all the affairs of life; we want a living faith that holds fast the promises of God, no matter how dark the prospect. We are not to look at the things which are seen, and judge from the world’s standpoint, and be ruled by the world’s principles; but we are to look at the things which are unseen, eternal.

 

It is not the will of God that his people should be weighed down with care. But our Lord does not deceive us. He does not say to us, “Do not fear; there are no dangers in your path.” He knows there are trials and dangers, and he deals with us plainly.

 

He does not propose to take his people out of a world of sin and evil, but he points them to a never-failing refuge.

 

His prayer for his disciples was, “I pray not that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil.” “In the world,” he says, “ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.”

 

When in the synagogue at Nazareth Jesus announced his divine character and mission, no such gracious words as he spoke had ever before fallen upon the ears of his listeners. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,” he read, “because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”

 

And then came the words so full of hope and comfort, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”

 

He who was the hope of Israel, he who alone was able to bind the strong man armed, and set free the captives of sin, had come to them with loving offers of mercy. Admiration and wonder were awakened; but they refused to accept him as the Messiah, because he did not come in a way to gratify their proud, unbelieving hearts.

 

As in the days of his flesh, he invites the weary and care-laden, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

 

Lay off the yoke of anxiety and worldly care which you have placed on your own necks, and “take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”

 

Find rest and peace and quietude in God, dear brethren and sisters. Yield your hearts to him; rely wholly upon him; cast “all your care upon him, for he careth for you.”

 

How can we remain in doubt, questioning whether Jesus loves us, sinful though we be and compassed with infirmities? He gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

 

He came to our world in the humble guise of a man, that he might become acquainted with the griefs and temptations that beset man’s pathway, and that he might know how to help the weary with his offer of rest and peace. But thousands upon thousands refuse his assistance, and only cling more firmly to their burden of care.

 

He comes to the afflicted, and offers to soothe their grief and heal their sorrow; but they turn away from the proffered rest and peace, and continue to talk of their distress and mourn over their hard lot. To the disappointed, the unbelieving, and the unhappy, he offers contentment, while pointing to mansions that he is preparing for them: but they close their eyes to the beautiful prospects, and their hearts against the comfort and joy that the Redeemer alone can give.

 

Jesus, our precious Saviour, should be first in our thoughts and affections, and we should trust him with entire confidence.

 

He has removed the barrier that separated us from God, that prevented us from grasping the hand of our heavenly Father. He has taken upon himself our guilt, and stands ready, through his own merits, to accept our penitence, and pardon our transgressions.

 

“The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed.” And the Father himself loves us, or he could never have consented to this great sacrifice.

 

John exclaimed, as he contemplated the amazing love and condescension of God: “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”

 

We cannot perfect Christian character unless we are willing to learn in the school of Christ, and make a practical use of every lesson he would teach us.

 

Every day our Saviour gives us our work to do, and that work is to conquer every difficulty and temptation which the day presents.

 

We are not to manufacture trials and evils by our own wrong course of action. We are not to imagine difficulties which do not exist. We need not create evils; for this is Satan’s work, and he is equal to the task. When by the indulgence of a perverse temper or the natural inclinations of the heart, we help him in his work, we add to the sum of the evils which we must endure.

 

As each day comes, we must in the strength of Jesus meet its trials and temptations. If we fail one day, we add to the burdens of the next, and have less strength. We should not cloud the future by our carelessness in the present; but by thoughtful and careful performance of today’s duties, be preparing to meet the emergencies of tomorrow.

 

We need to cultivate a spirit of cheerfulness.

 

We should be happy and grateful; for we have everything to make us happy and to call out gratitude. Let us ever look on the bright side of life, and be hopeful, full of love and good works, rejoicing in the Lord always.

 

“Let the peace of God rule in your hearts,” and “be ye thankful.”

 

Review and Herald February 3, 1885

The Immortality of the Soul, Is it a Scriptural Doctrine? Pt 12 Conclusion

 12 Immortal Soul or Eternal Life? Do You Know the Difference? 

Hopefully you're curious enough to learn because they are not the same thing. One is truth, the other is a lie.  If you believe God then you only want to believe truth.

 

(Excerpt- The Immortality of the Soul, Is it a Scriptural Doctrine?)

 

VII. WHICH WILL WE BELIEVE?

 

Nor is that all; for when the Lord is thus removed from his throne, Satan is put into his place.

See here: In the event of man's sinning,- GOD SAID, "Thou shalt surely die."

SATAN SAID, "Ye shall not surely die."

 

Which of these told the truth? It is impossible for both to be true.

 

The doctrine of the immortality of the soul teaches that the devil told the truth, for that doctrine teaches that there is no death, and if there be no death, then every man has life, independent of belief in Christ, which, as we have read from the word, makes

God a liar. Therefore, the doctrine of the immortality of the soul sets God aside as

a liar, and exalts Satan as the one who tells the truth, and as the one who is to be

believed.

 

Here we close our investigation of this subject. These evidences certainly show that the doctrine of the immortality of the soul is subversive of the truth of God.

 

We have proved by logical deduction from sound SCRIPTURE premises-

 

1) that the doctrine of the immortality of the soul is subversive of the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead;

2) that it is subversive of the doctrine of the COMING OF THE LORD;

3) that it is subversive of the doctrine of the JUDGMENT;

4) that it is subversive of the MISSION OF CHRIST;

5) that it supplants Christ in the honor of opening the way from this world to another, and bestows that honor upon Satan;

6) and finally, that it puts God aside as a liar, and exalts Satan to his place as the one who tells the truth.

 

The logical summary of all this is contained in one word-Spiritualism.

The immortality of the soul is the foundation of Spiritualism; and through the already prevalent belief of that doctrine, Spiritualism will yet lead the world to the active acceptance of every point which we have charged. Therefore, we pray all to flee this thing, and believe "the record that God gave of his Son. 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." (End Article)

 

MY THOUGHTS:

Spiritualism-  'This is an organized belief system. It teaches that human identity continues after death and that living people can actively talk to the dead through mediums during events like seances' (Wiki)

 

In the early 19t century Spiritualism took off big time, however over time it lost a lot of its luster.  Having lost its appeal, seances were no longer the IN thing to do. However none of that means it petered out of existence entirely. In fact, like most of Satan's wickedness it comes under the guise of deception. The twists and turns, the hidden meanings, the covering up of the filth underneath, well, that all applies here in our world today.

 

MANY, in fact most of the people I know, believe people who have died can 'watch over them', 'talk to them' by various signs- cardinal birds, tokens of things they used to like happening randomly, a cold chill, a tingling in the spine, misplaced items, found items, I could go on, but I won't. You may be guilty yourself of attributing something to a dead loved one as if you truly believe they are still living as a spirit (ghost), mostly confined to the heavenly realm only looking downwards when not manipulating the weather and various other things already mentioned. 

 

Spiritualism - physics, mediums, clairvoyants, and so on exist today, and they've existed for a long, long, long time. Back in Biblical times these sorts were among the idol worshiping pagans, not God's chosen people.  In the 600 BC's Daniel the Prophet, through God, outsmarted all the astrologers, soothsayers and the like. The Prophet Elijah told Ahab to get all his false prophets to call on their false gods to do something. Their false gods couldn't do anything, but God could.  That's NOT to say evil spirits and people who allow themselves to be used by them can't be manipulated to do evil trickery. Even Pharoah's magicians mimicked some of Moses' signs and wonders, only to be shown up by God's true greatness and power.

 

Today, spiritualism exists not as a main religion right up there with the other big religions, but it has it's workings throughout almost all churches in one way or another.

Belief in the immortality of the soul, belief that people never die but simply transform, is all of Satan, and the world revels in his deceptions refusing truth because they don't want to go against the mainstream. The main religions believe this lie, they have to believe it too.

 

If you think it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, think again. Anyone allowing themselves to be deceived by Satan after being exposed to the truth, is accountable to that truth. Rejecting any truth will result in Christ Jesus telling you to get away from Him, He never knew you.

 

I can't get, and don't want, ANYONE, to believe me, but I beg you to believe God's word! Please! 

 

'Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.' 2Ti_2:15 

 

*******

THE END

 

(Written 131 years ago)

 

The Immortality of the Soul, Is it a Scriptural Doctrine?

BY A. T. JONES. [Pacific Press Publishing Association] [Oakland, Calif.] [September 1890] [Bible Students' Library No. 70]

 

The following are the Biblical Verses used during this study. Previous to today's study there are 11 other parts to this entire article.

 

Phil. 3:10,11; Acts 24:15;;Job 14:14,15;17:13-15;19:23-27; Ps. 17:15; John 6:39-54

Luke 14:13,14; 1 Corinthians 15:16-18; Hebrews 9:27; Acts 17:31;  1 Corinthians 15:32; 1 Corinthians 15:36; 1 Corinthians 15:42-44; Luke 14:13,14; Revelation 22:12

1 Thess. 4:16,17;;1 Corinthians 15:51-55; Genesis 2:17; Genesis 3:4; Rev. 20:2; Rev. 1:18; 1 Peter 1:3; Col. 3:4; John 13:33; John 14:3; Matthew 12:36; Luke 11:31,32; Matthew 22:1-14; Matthew 25:14-30; Matthew 25:31-46; Eccl. 12:13,14; Dan. 7:9,10

Jude 14; Heb. 9:27; Acts 24:25; Acts 17:31; Rom. 2:12,16; 2 Cor. 5:10; Jer. 17:10; Rev. 11:15,18; Jude 14; Rev. 22:12; 2 Tim. 4:1,2; 2 Pet. 2:9; John 5:27-29; Ps. 8:5; Heb. 2:7;  Heb. 2:8; Romans 8:1; Gal. 3:13; 2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 8:3,4; Heb. 9:26; 1 John 3:8; Ro. 6:23; Eze. 18:4; Rev. 5:13; Rev. 21:4; 1 Cor. 15:26; Hos. 13:14; Heb. 2:14; John 14:6; John 10:9; Ro. 6:23; John 10:10; Luke 16:10-12; Matt. 25:29; Acts 10:34,35; Ro. 3:22,23; Heb. 5:9; John 3:16; Ps. 37:10; Isa. 41:11,12; Ps. 37:11, 28, 29

John 6:53; 1 John 5:10-12

Pt. 11- The Immortality of the Soul, Is it a Scriptural Doctrine? Continued.

VI. CHRIST OUR LIFE 

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Rom. 6:23.  

"Sin entered into the world, and death by sin," and "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." But when man had sinned, and thus brought himself under the doom of death, then Christ, the (uniquely)-begotten Son of God, presented himself, and was accepted of God, in man's behalf. God had before pronounced the penalty of death against transgression. And Adam would have died the day he sinned had not the Son of God interceded in his behalf and presented himself in satisfaction of the demands of the broken law of God. But by the love of Christ and the mercy of God, man was given a second probation, a second opportunity to attain to righteousness. Only for the mediation of Christ, the race of man would have ceased the day that Adam sinned. Only for Christ there never would have lived a man after Adam. So that every man who has ever lived, or who shall ever live, from the sin of Adam to the end of the world, owes that life to the fact that Christ, the Son of God, offered himself when Adam sinned. 

This is shown in the words of Christ: "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." John 10:10. 

Christ offering himself in behalf of Adam is the only means by which men have life at all, "I am come that they might have life." But this life is only temporal. It is only extended as an opportunity for man to approve himself worthy of eternal life, that he may show himself worthy of having life more abundantly; for as Christ said, he is come that they might have life, "and that they might have it more abundantly." The way in which men use the life which is already given, will decide whether they shall have life more abundantly, or whether they shall have life at all. The man who shows himself abusive of the trust of God, and ungrateful for his favor shown in granting this life, only shows himself unworthy of that which he already has, and much less can he be entrusted "more abundantly" with anything pertaining to life. 

In this view is contained the very basic principle of the lesson inculcated in the parable of the unjust steward: 

"He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust in the least, is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous riches, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?" Luke 16:10-12.

 And also in the lesson of the parable of the talents:  

"Unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath." Matt. 25:29. 

If men will turn to purposes of iniquity, and transgression, and sin, a life which is committed to them for a time, how can the Lord commit to them this gift for eternity? If this life, which is not their own, they will devote simply as an instrument of unrighteousness unto sin, to rebellion, and unfaithfulness to Him who giveth it, how shall He give to such immortal life-a life which, not being subject to cessation, may properly be called their own? To do so would be only to subvert His own authority and the principles of His government. Such a thing He will never do. But such as devote this life to the honor of Him who giveth it, and to righteousness before Him, to them will be given life "more abundantly," even eternal life, in which to honor and glorify Him; while from all who do not so shall be taken away even that which they have. "Of a truth . . . God is no respecter of persons; but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him." Acts 10:34, 35. 

The righteousness which is acceptable with God is the righteousness "which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe; for there is no difference; for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Rom. 3:22, 23. "He became the Author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him." Heb. 5:9. And "God so loved the world, that he gave his (uniquely)-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16. Christ's coming to this world was not in vain. He came for a purpose, and that purpose is that those who will believe in him may not perish, but have eternal life; and as surely as those who believe in him shall have eternal life, just so surely those who do not believe in him shall perish. If not, if those who do not believe in him do not perish, then this record which he has given cannot be true.  

If, by virtue of the immortality of the soul, those who do not believe in Christ live as long as those who do, then where is there any point in these scriptures?  

We know full well the meaning that is put upon the word "perish" by those who believe in the doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul; that is, that it means eternal life in misery. But no such idea is contained in the Scripture. Eternal life is the heritage of those who believe in Christ, and of those alone. Nor will language allow any such meaning to be put upon the word "perish." That word is defined thus: "To be destroyed; to go to destruction; to pass away; to come to nothing; to be blotted from existence; to die; to lose life." This is Webster's definition of perish; and every part of it can be duplicated time and again from the Scriptures. But no part of this definition can be true if the soul be immortal. 

In Ps. 37:10 we read: "For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be; yea,

thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be." Again, in Isa. 41:11, 12, we read a promise of what the Lord will do with those who contend with the "seed of Abraham," "the friend of God:" "Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded; they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish. Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee; they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of naught." But to the meek, to those who learn of Christ, it is promised: "But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." "The seed of the wicked shall be cut off. The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever." Ps. 37:11, 28, 29.  

All is summed up by the Lord Jesus in one sentence, as follows: "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life." John 3:36. And again: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you." John 6:53. 

If these scriptures, from the first to the last, do not show that future life is obtained only in Christ, then it would be impossible for the Lord himself to put words together that would show such a thing. If the Lord wanted to tell men that without believing in Christ they could have no life; that without believing in him they should perish; if he wanted to tell them that the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, how would it be possible to tell them so more plainly than he has already told, in the words quoted?  

Yet in defiance of these plain, positive scriptures, and in direct subversion of them, the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, which gives to all men immortal life irrespective of Christ, is held by the majority of professed Christians as a veritable article of Christian faith. Why is it that men will not believe the record that God has given on this subject? Why is it that they will not believe that future life is given alone through Christ? It is no light thing to disbelieve this. Many seem to think, and will even so express themselves, that it makes no difference particularly whether this be believed or not.  

But it does make a difference. We state it as the simple truth that not to believe that eternal life for man is in Christ alone, is one of the greatest insults that can be offered to the God of heaven. 

Please read carefully the following scripture, and see whether we have stated more than the exact truth:-  

"He that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. 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." 1 John 5:10-12.

Here is the plain statement that to believe not a certain "record" is to make God a liar. That record is just as plainly stated to be that the eternal life that is given us "is in the Son" of God, and that "he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." Now the doctrine of the immortality of the soul causes men not to believe that record. They who believe the doctrine of the immortality of the soul do not believe that they who have not the Son of God have not life. Therefore the doctrine of the immortality of the soul "hath made God a liar," because it causes men to "believe not the record that God gave of his Son. 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." Therefore we say that not to believe that future life is given us in Christ alone, is to insult the God of heaven by making him "a liar." It does make a difference how we believe on this question; for when God is made a liar, he ceases to be Jehovah, he ceases to be God. 

(End Excerpt) 

The Immortality of the Soul, Is it a Scriptural Doctrine?  BY A. T. JONES.  

((My Thoughts)) 

Eternal Life.  What do you think of when you hear those words- eternal life?  Do your thoughts automatically envision a life in heaven with Christ? Or does eternal life of punishment come to mind? Eternal life. Do you agree that life is the opposite of death? If you agree then death cannot be life. Adam and Eve sinned but up until that point they had eternal life. Only after they sinned did they bring death into humanity. And death meant the end of their living.  Because God wanted the human race to continue to exist- a way was made for humanity to have the opportunity of life again in the future. The penalty of death for sinning was stayed temporarily for human beings as Jesus enacted the plan of salvation. Man could live now with death overshadowing his existence, live with the opportunity to use their lives for God and God's purposes. The choice man would make would determine if they would ultimately be given eternal life when Jesus Christ our Lord would return in the very last day, when the trumpet would sound and… the DEAD IN CHRIST would rise, and the LIVING IN CHRIST would be taken to meet Christ in the air- both the risen dead and the living - in Christ-would be given immortality, they would be changed by Christ Jesus. 

Those who do not choose to live for God and God's purposes in accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior, are choosing not to live eternally.  The dead who are not dead in Christ- will not rise to meet Christ in the air. The living who are not Christ's will not be taken to meet Christ in the air either. Death is the opposite of life; punishment is not the opposite of life.  

You need to be living to be punished. You don't punish something that is dead. To have eternal punishment would mean an eternal life in punishment and this eternal life in punishment doesn't exist in God's word.  Death exists in God's word, and in death, everything about man ceases. It can't be any plainer than allowing a dead thing to decay, to witness the death process from newly dead to long dead from flesh to bone, to no living action whatsoever, it's all over, all of it and it stays all over until our Savior calls us to life once more- to rise from the grave, from the state of being dead to being alive once more.  If we need to be called from our graves to be given eternal life, why do so many imagine we are given it instantaneously upon death. Death would be no punishment at all if it was just continued life. Death should have been termed second life, but it wasn't because death is the end of life.   

God did not say that in the day you sin you shall surely be given second life, He said you shall surely die.   

Believe it or not, believe Christ Jesus or not, but what you believe does matter, it matters eternally.  

May we comprehend ONLY truth! May we believe ONLY truth! May we LIVE ONLY truth! All through JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD AND SAVIOR NOW AND FOREVER AMEN!