Author: Jim

The 10 Commandments Part 3

So, what did Paul teach about the 10 commandments:
Colossians 2:16 Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:
Romans 2:22 Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?
Romans 3:30 Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.
Romans 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
Romans 13:9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
1 Corinthians 8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.1 Corinthians 12:2 Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.
2 Corinthians 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.Ephesians 4:6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Ephesians 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
Ephesians 5:3-4 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
Ephesians 6:1-2 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise;
Colossians 3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
Colossians 3:20 Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 1:9 For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;
1 Thessalonians 4:3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:
1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

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The 10 Commandments Part 2

Matthew 12:8 (Mark 2:28,Luke 6:5) For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.
Luke 6:9,14:3 Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?

(Idol worship among the Jews during Jesus walk on earth did not seem to be a problem)

Along with stressing the 10 Commandments the Lord summarized with,
⟶ The Great Commandment(s)
Matthew 22:36-40 (Mark 12:28-31) Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
John 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
John 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

What did the apostles teach about the 10 Commandments?
James 2:11 For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law
James 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
1 Peter 1:15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
1 Peter 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
1 John 5:21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

Then Saul got saved (Acts 9) and became PAUL, the Apostle to the Gentiles. The Pharisees tried to force the LAW on these new Gentile converts.
Acts 15:5 But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.
Acts 15:24 Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:

Paul appeared before the council and after facing them (Acts 15, Galatians 2), they concluded:
Acts 15:20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
Acts 15:29 That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.
Acts 21:25 As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.

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James 44-49 AD

May 02 - Bible Study (Book of James) - Norwich Assembly of God
James’ epistle to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad. (Jews)

James does not come out with a clear-cut traditional date, since the book does not mention any historical events or people other than the author in James 1:1. Although strong connections to some of the sayings of Jesus can be seen in verses like 5:12, “let your yea be yea” (compare Matthew 5:37), James was the 1st epistle written, so has no literary dependence on Matthew or any other New Testament book. The epistle stands essentially independent from the rest of the New Testament.

The traditional understanding of authorship is that the book was penned by James, the half-brother of Jesus (Matthew 13:55) Older brother to Jude and head of the Jerusalem church. Since James was executed in 62 A.D., that would be the latest possible date for the book. Evidence for authorship by this James, as opposed to another Christian by that name or by someone writing in his name, is good. No one else but the head of the Jerusalem church could write a letter to a large audience (“the twelve tribes scattered abroad”) and call himself simply “James”, without further clarification. There are also verbal parallels between the book of James and the words of James recorded in Acts 15. Compare also Acts 15:13 with James 2:5, Acts 15:17 with James 2:7, Acts 15:29 with James 1:27.

Several things are clear from the internal evidence of the book. First, unlike many of the other books of the New Testament which seem to have been written in Rome or Asia Minor, James clearly has a setting in the land of Israel. The term “early and latter rain” (James 5:7) addresses a weather concern unique to Israel and regions closely adjacent. Verses like (James 3:11-12) fit with Israeli geography and farming culture.

The content of James is very strictly Jewish. Certainly there is no evidence of any break between Judaism and Jewish Christianity. Abraham is described as “our father” (James 2:21), with no effort made to differentiate between physical and spiritual lineage. The book has no mention of any gentiles. Likewise, there is no mention of any of the issues associated with gentile involvement in the church, such as idolatry, food offered to idols, fellowship between Jewish and gentile Christians, etc. This, as an argument from silence, would seem to date the book prior to the Jerusalem conference of 50 A.D (Acts 15). A date of around AD 48 would seem reasonable.

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The Problem with Christians Part 2

Where did it come from?
From Adam! Romans 5:14, 1 Timothy 2:13,14
And it’s passed on from Adam through the father. Everyone who is born of Adam has it inborn in them, the old sin nature. Now stop and think; there’s only one person born of a woman who hasn’t had the Old Sin Nature, and that’s the Lord Jesus Christ. The OSN is passed through the blood from the father. Jesus Christ, virgin born, also got his blood from HIS Father; God.
How do we get rid of it?
We don’t! We are born with it and we die with it.
But God provides a way Romans 7:24-25  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
Can we Control it?
Let’s review:
All of us have the OSN. It is not removed, eradicated or controlled by any operation including the new birth (salvation). One second after salvation, born into God’s family, you have the indwelling of the Holly Spirit, which you cannot feel or see but whose manifestations are there, and you still have OSN, which you cannot feel or see but the manifestations are there.

Here’s where the saved person loses out on his or her salvation.
NOT loses his or her salvation, but the joy of it. Remember, Christ died to defeat Satan, to defeat his control over us through our OSN Ephesians 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:. As we yield to our OSN we live defeated lives, no better than the unsaved in this life.
1 Corinthians 3:11-15 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.  Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

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The Problem with Christians Part 3

The Christian life must operate based on the Holy Spirit controlling the OSN, not the OSN controlling the flesh. When a believer is under the control of the OSN the Bible has a name for them, a carnal Christian. 1 Corinthians 3:3
What is a Carnal Christian?
Carnal, an old English word (over 350 years old), means fleshly. As a carnal Christian you’re dead to God, out of communication and fellowship. Romans 8:6-8
What’s the solution?
As a Christian, we sin. We become carnal. Not a good position to be in. To remain carnal means to get worse, out of fellowship with God (and other believers).
The Problem is found in: 
Romans 8:5-8  For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
The solution is found in: 
Romans 8:9-11  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

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What Happens to us When We Die? Part 3

LUKE 16:19-31 Need to read full text from the Bible. 22 Abraham’s Bosom, 23 Hell, afar off, 24 tormented 26 great gulf

Luke 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
1 Peter 3:19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
John 20:11-17But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulcher And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my LORD, and I know not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
Matthew 12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Ephesians 4:9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
2 Corinthians 12:4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
2 Corinthians 5:6-8 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by
sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

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What Happens to us When We Die? Part 2

Paul’s Experience when he was stoned.
2 Corinthians 12:4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Since then, when an unbeliever dies, his body is buried, soul and spirit go to Sheol, Hades, Hell.
When a believer dies, his body is buried, soul & spirit go to heaven (Paradise)
2 Corinthians 5:6-8 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:… We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
And one day our bodies will join our S & S. That will happen at the rapture. BUT that’s another lesson.

Job 19:25-27 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.
Isaiah 26:19 Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.
Daniel 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Hosea 13:14 I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.

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Why Does God Love Us? Part 4

Finally a person can try to find the answer to why God loves man. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” (1 John 3:1a) Throughout the Bible man is referred to as the “children of God.” “For ye are all children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:26) When a wicked man repents of his sin and accepts Christ as his Savior, he has then been saved and can enter into God’s family. Christians are called the children of God because they are saved. Knowing that Christians are God’s his children, it is easy to understand God’s love for them. It is a natural thing for a parent to love his child. “Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” (Matthew 7:9-11) God’s love for Christians is understandable, but what about his love  for non Christians? The Bible tells us that God loves all men. How can God love wicked people who are not His children? One reason could be that we are God’s creation. When someone creates something and he makes something with his own hands, he puts care and devotion into it. Painters put passion into what they paint, architects take time and effort when they build their structures. Anything one creates himself makes the creator proud. At the beginning of time God Himself brought man into the world. Adam was formed out of the ground and Eve was formed from Adam’s rib. Therefore God is man’s Creator. He desires to love man, He is not forced to, He wants to. Man often takes this love for granted and does not thank God for it. Humans rush around with busy schedules everyday, rarely does anyone stop to take the time to thank God for His great love. A God who can love so unselfishly and unconditionally is a great God and it is a sin to forget what He has done for man. Men must take time to realize that weather or not he is catholic, atheist, black, white, short or tall, he is God’s creation and that is why God loves him. God does not love man for what man does for God or even for the companionship he was created for. God simply loves man because they are His own. When a person finally realizes the absolute greatness of God’s love for man, he should be in shock. They have clearly seen who God is, what man is, why God shouldn’t love man, and finally, why he does love man. So what should someone do with this knowledge of God’s love? First, he should get on his knees and thank God. Thank him for his own creation, God’s mercy and God’s love. Second, one should praise God. “Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.” (Psalm 150:6) Lastly, one must go and tell other people about God’s great love. “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15) The human race is on a path to hell because of their sin, but God loved men so much that He made a way to escape. His only son Jesus came and died on a cross, shed his blood to take the punishment meant for wicked man. This was God’s way of salvation for the world. So those who know how to be saved are commanded to tell others about it. If one truly realized the extent of God’s love, it would be impossible for him to keep it to himself, he would desire to share it with everyone he knew. Because of God’s love man exists, because of God’s love man has a beautiful world that God created for men to live in, and because of God’s love man is saved from the fires of Hell. “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he hath loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace are ye saved.)” (Ephesians 2:4-5)

written by Lyndsey Cunningham

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Why Does God Love Us? Part 3

The second thing one must consider what is man? “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” (Genesis 2:7) Man is simply a creation of God. Man literally came from dirt. Humans are compared to clay in a potter’s hands because God formed man out of the ground. Man has no real reason to exist, except for the fact that God created humans for His own companionship. Humans did not come into existence because of a big bang, random mutation or for any other reason. They had a beginning that started with God. The creation of man could be compared to a person baking cookies. There is no reason for the cookies to be made besides the pleasure it brings to the baker. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden they broke fellowship with God. Man was no longer the companions that God had created. God could have destroyed man and started over, but He didn’t. He had compassion on Adam and Eve, they were punished, but allowed to live. Humans still exist today by the mercy of God. God is a perfect Being, man is far from perfect. Man has no power, he is limited in his abilities and he is flawed. Humans are very fragile. One fall may cause a broken bone, a bad car crash may cause death. Humans cannot know everything, they cannot be everywhere and they cannot do everything.

Oxygen, food and water are essential to keep men alive. Excluding just one of those items will kill a man. Therefore he is far from the perfect form of God. Man also sins. It is impossible for God to commit sin, yet humans do it everyday. Many men sin without regret and enjoy doing it. “The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” (Psalm 14:2-3) Third a person must realize why God shouldn’t love man. Given the situation where one man saves the life of another man. What if the saved man walked away and cursed the man that saved him? He threw dirt in his face and slandered his name to all who could hear. He never thanked the man for saving his life, in fact he never spoke to him again. Humans have done all that and worse to God. God the Father sent his only son Jesus to die a horrible death on a cross in the place of all man kind for his sins. After

such a sacrifice, man is still very sinful and wicked. A small percentage of the world has accepted Christ as Savior and been saved but most of the world pretends that God doesn’t exist. Even the Christians still continue to sin and hurt God. Men are ungrateful to God for the great mercy He has given. They walk around praising Allah and Buddha, but never embracing the one true God. Man’s actions toward God are as ridiculous as if the baker’s cookies hopped off the pan, turned around and slapped the baker in the face. Some men even act as if there is no God. The theory of Evolution came about because one man did not want to believe in the Creator of the universe, so he tried to prove that man originated from monkeys. Schools teach their students that scientifically God cannot exist. God shouldn’t love man because man has disrespected his name and turned their away from Him. Logically God also shouldn’t love man because man is nothing in comparison to him. God is perfect in every area because He cannot sin. Man is a lowly, dirty and sinful creature. God is perfect and yet He still loves man. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinner, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) God shouldn’t love man because men are prideful and selfish creatures. Humans are destructive, they can tear down another person by just using words. In today’s society people are taught to think about themselves first. In an article written by Lorna Matin on how selfishness has ruined society, it is stated that,‘Eighty-nine percentage of adults say that children are more materialistic then previous generations.” This is caused by the “me” attitude of today’s culture. Human’s have been trained that everything revolves around self and that pleasing self is the ultimate goal. God did not create man for that purpose. Man was created for God’s pleasure Man’s only responsibility is to bring glory to God the Father. God paid the ultimate sacrifice by sending His son to die for mankind, a truly unselfish act. The devil has integrated the world’s mindset and has caused man to lose sight of his true purpose. In the end there is no logical reason why God loves man.

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Why Does God Love Us? Part 2

God is omniscient, knowing everything. Paul Reber, professor of psychology at Northwestern University, said, “The human brain has the capacity to hold around 2.5 petabytes (or one million gigabytes). If one person’s brain worked like a video recorder, they would be able to hold up to three million hours of television shows.” That is a lot of knowledge for just one person, yet God knows the knowledge of every person that has ever lived and ever will live. God knows the answers to the questions that men cannot know, like how many hairs are on each human’s head, how many stars there are in the sky and how the human eye works. He knows a person’s deepest secrets and regrets, the pain one feels when he pricks his finger and the joy there is when the baby is born. Such a vast amount of knowledge is impossible for any one man to possess.

God is omnipresent, he is everywhere at the same time. People like to imagine being in two places at once, being able to go to school and be in bed at the same time, but what if someone could really could do that? God can, He can be at the bedside of the man dying in China, and be with the child in America who is saying his bedtime prayer. God can be walking on the Pacific shore and be walking on the Atlantic shore all at the same time he is speaking to someone’s heart in a church service. In Psalm 139:1-12 David tells how God was with him everywhere. Though man has dreamt of it, no person can truly be in more than one place at a time, only God can.

God is omnipotent, he has unlimited power and he is able to do anything. If one took all the fairy tail magic, Aladdin’s lamp, fairy dust and wands and all the imaginary power humans create in their minds, nothing can compare to the true almighty power of God. “O Lord God, thou hast begun to shew thy servant thy greatness, and thy mighty hand: for what God is there in heaven or in earth, that can do according to thy works, and according to thy might?” (Deuteronomy 3:24). God does not need magic, he is the source of all power. God created the heavens and the earth out of nothing in six days. God controls the thunder of the skies, the wind of a hurricane, He controls the rotation of the earth, the sunrise and sunset, He controls even time itself. The Devil and all of his angels are no match for the almighty power of God. To grasp the full meaning of who God is, one can look at everything around oneself. Take note of the spider crawling on the ground, the shade from the oak tree, the blue sky, the iPhone in hand, even ones own body, and realize that none of it would exist without God. “For the Lord your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of lords, a great God.” (Deuteronomy 10:17a)

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