The true test of a person’s spiritual life and character is what he does outside the church building.

Richard Sibbes (1577-1635)

If you ever want to know what God thinks about sin, look at His beloved Son on the Cross.

These are a few manifestations of a life of righteousness, of a Spirit-Filled and Spirit-Led life:
1. Delight in private prayer, private meditations, and communion with the Lord.
2. Searching the Word of God as a thirsty man searches for water in the desert.
3. Avoiding carnal indulgences, selfish pursuits, ungodly desires; and putting away all the corrupting things of the world.
4. Living a life that is totally committed to the Kingdom of God and righteousness, that has died to self (Matt.16:24-25, Luke 9:23), and is willing to put oneself through any inconvenience or trouble for the well-being of the Christian community.

If these few characteristics are lacking in your life then you need to search your heart, and ask God to reveal this to you.

The Christian person who reasons that since he is under grace he may live any old way he wants, that he may live in sin, has not only miscalculated the Cross of Jesus Christ and the meaning of grace, but he has also miscalculated the meaning of life.
So many Christians are under this impression, and about sin. They fail to realize that wherever sin appears, it leaves a path of death, destruction, misery, and unhappiness. Sin is never good; it never commends the grace of God. And it is utter folly for the individual Christian to reason that, since he is under grace, he may live in sin without consequences. All you need to do is read Romans 6 to put down that idea.
Having the best of both worlds is a humanistic and false thought!

Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.~Rev.1:3

In this verse blessings are promised to those who do three things: they must read this book of Revelation, they must hear the words of this prophecy, and they must keep the things written in it. First, you need to acquaint yourself with the Word of God. It is fashionable in the modern Church to hear people say that there is too much teaching, and not enough deeds. There is some truth to that; but it tends to put doing ahead of hearing, and it makes practical exhortation more important than doctrine. Those who think this way paraphrase St.James’ words to say, “Let us be doers of the Word of God and not hearers.” But this is not what the Bible says nor means. The point is: “….and not hearers ONLY.” In all the letters to the Churches, twice as much language is given over to doctrine, than to practical exhortation. You cannot do the work until you understand how to do it. You have to know how something works, and how to use it, before it will do any good. The same is true of the Word of God. The Old Testament proved that good works are of no service to God or man until we have the mind of Christ and of the Spirit, and we have an understanding of the Gospel of our Salvation, particularly as it pertains to Sanctification, and how it works.

The power of the future invaded the present in the Incarnation of Jesus Christ.

As a Christian, I live life to the fullest, but not as the unregenerate world goes about it: in self-centeredness, self-promotion, selfishness, greediness, lustiness, but going after the riches of God’s Kingdom where moth and rust cannot corrupt, but will remain forever, not just as beautiful mortal objects, but as living adornments that will never tarnish, never loose their value, and can never be taken away.

“The truth of the Scriptures - which exposes our deepest failings and call on us to accept responsibility for them and reject those failings (a painful and difficult process!) - cannot be taught fully and faithfully while seeking to spare feelings or make everyone feel comfortable and safe. Due to our sinful nature of the sinful flesh we are born into, the mere presence of truth makes all of us uncomfortable. It takes a lot of work and time, and dying to our old lives, to get to the point where we live in the truth and welcome it in our lives. This is difficult, uncomfortable, scary work that the elders of the Church need to have hands free enough to effect in their flock.”

Eric Jay Miller, from his book “The Failing Light, Why the 21st Century Church is Broken, and How to Fix It.”

“Religion is one of the oldest, and one of the insidious vices of natural man. All men are religious (or at least most all). Opportunist’s have seized on that fact. They have used religion as a tool to bring men into bondage. And the self-righteousness in man makes him a ready victim.”~Rev.D. Earl Cripe

“Catholicism is traditional, hierarchical, ritualistic, conservative. Protestantism is Biblical, democratic, spiritual, progressive. The former is ruled by the principle of authority, the latter by the principle of freedom.”

Philip Schaff, Church Historian

My professing Christian friend, how do you define Success? do you see it as having plenty of money, or fame, or comfort, living the good life in this world; or do you judge it by faithfulness to Christ and His Kingdom?
I made my choice long ago. How about you? which is it for you? what will your life prove to have been in the soon coming Day of Judgment?
If you live your life according to the world’s standard-by focusing your attention on passing things, you will think that you are living the Christian life and that you are blessed.
I’m here to tell you that it is not so!! But if you have the wisdom to know the temporal and unfulfilling nature of passing things, and if you can focus on eternal things which are ours if you are faithful; then what looks like failure to others, is recognized by you as a great victory in Christ, by the Cross and by the Holy Spirit.

"Holy Scripture removing what is false, leads us on by degrees to things Divine-what true immortality is. We are nourished by faith, that we may be enabled to apprehend things Divine."~St. Augustine

2 Chronicles 24 reveals the life of Joash-the king of Judah: how a professing Christian can begin very well, but end in the flesh, to his destruction.

2 Kings 4 verses 8-10 reveal some lessons useful to the body of Christ; primarily the women.
The first thing is that this woman was a person of hospitality, “She constrained him (Elisha) to eat bread;” this is similar to Lydia in Acts 16:14-15, also Romans 12:13.
The second thing we learn is that this Shunamite woman was endowed with spiritual discernment-she had the perception that Elisha was a holy man of God (and from the account it is unclear whether Elisha said anything religious in her company). This conforms with what St. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 12 verse 10.
The third thing that we are instructed is that this woman was morally upright; she didn’t take matters in her own hand. This woman behaved in a manner that was exemplary, in that she didn’t act independently/she didn’t act independent of her husband; she wasn’t infected with feminism which is so prevalent in the modern day Western Church. Notice her words, “LET US make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall.” This reveals to us her proper demeanor as a wife-in subjection to her her husband, by not demanding or having an air of authority, but seeking her husband’s consent and cooperation. Notice also the phrase “I PRAY THEE.”

Take a lesson from this Shunamite, women of the modern church!

Whenever the subject of Judas Iscariot and his fate comes up between students of the Bible, I believe these questions need to be considered:

1. Why did Jesus choose Judas as one of the Twelve?
2. Why did Judas follow Jesus to begin with?
3. Why did he turn against Jesus?
4. Did Judas truly repent at the end?
5. Could Judas have repented if he truly wanted to, or did the sovereignty of God prevent him?
6. Was his sin to great to be forgiven?

Nothing that is acquired by faith in the Kingdom of God ever goes out of style; and nothing that is done in sanctified love, zeal, desire, or commitment ever dies out with the passing of time.~Rev.Earl D.Cripe

And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.~ John 17:

In other words, Jesus is saying that this is what life and true living is all about: to recognize & receive the one true Creator God, and Jesus Christ the Incarnate God and Savior of the world that the Father has sent into the world for that purpose. Eternal life is received and possessed by the person who knows that, and lives his life promoting that truth.

If there is one thing that is all important in this world, and one thing that must always be kept in mind it’s this-Truth is the Enemy; that is, truth is the enemy of those who are not His.
If you are someone who stands up for, and speaks the truth, you are a marked man. The Devil does not care about money, he does not care about big shows and high rolling operations, professional PR and other things that attract the attention of men. Satan’s eye is looking for the teacher of truth, and his forces will marshal against that person to stop him.
The preacher of truth will be a marked man as he experiences fiery trials. If you doubt that, and if you need any Biblical assurance of that and you have never done so before, I suggest you go back and make a careful study of the book of Job to see the antagonism, the hatred, and the desperate and fanatical tactics that are resorted to by Satan to try to destroy the faithful people of God who speak and stand up for truth.

The subject of Alcohol and alcohol drinking is a touchy subject among Christian believers. I realize that. I was a heavy drinker in my salad days when youth prevailed. But now as I am becoming older and drawing near the end of my days, I know for certainty what the truth on this matter is.
Alcohol is permitted in moderation according to the Scriptures (i.e. Psalm 104:15; Matthew 11:19; 1 Timothy 3:8; Titus 2:3). The problem is not with alcohol per se, the sin is in overconsumption and drunkenness.
We of the Historic Christian faith don’t take the position of the Puritans, who believed that it is hedonistic and sinful to drink anything with a little alcohol in it; that it is ungodly to wear makeup (if we’re a female); that it is sensual to look nice and attractive, etc. That is nothing but a legalistic and a puritanical attitude.
The Bible emphasizes moderation, not abstinence.

As long as the earth stands, God will not remit the curse that He pronounced upon Adam & Eve and their children in the third chapter of Genesis. That curse would bring suffering and death to all that was of Adam and the old creation. And that also involves the children of God while the Church is on Her mission in this world.

Holiness is a biblical word Christian people have heard and are well acquainted with; but I suspect is not well understood. But whatever the case may be, holiness implies real and practical things. It’s more than just talk, it’s more than just pretense, it’s more than just creeds, it’s more than subscription to religious liturgy. It is reality! It’s more than pretending; it’s being something; and with the proper attitude we can do.

As far as I am aware, there are only two things that will prevent a person from accepting the free gift of salvation in Christ. One is the choice not to do so. The other, the ignorance of the offer, and that speaks to the urgent mission of the Church to take this precious life-giving Gospel into every place and to every person. The time is short!

The study of the Word of God is essential for spiritual growth and maturity; no Christian would dare deny that. However, Bible study in formal settings can be a negative and not an advantageous thing if it is used primarily for an occasion of socializing. When the attitude of a Bible study is thus: “Let’s get the Bible study over so that we can break out the coffee and cake, and talk about more important matters-about things more important,” then it is wrong.
The purpose of the study of the Scriptures is there to teach us truth, not for a social occasion.

John 18 verse 36 is in my estimation one of the most significant declarations in all of Holy Scripture, because Jesus is announcing to Pilate that He was giving up on establishing a kingdom that was of this world in nature, comprising of citizens who were of natural birth alone. From that time forward, the kingdom would be in this world but not of it; it would be one of the heart, soul, and spirit. His Kingdom is now in a different realm. It cannot be seen with the natural eye as it will be at the end of the world when all things will be made new, but it is nevertheless as real in this mortal realm as it will be at the end of time.

I have a message only for those who are Christians, who have already entered the Kingdom of God, who are part of the household of faith: if you want something more, something other, or something in addition in this life than the glory of God and your part in it, then your life IS NOT in order; you don’t know what this life is all about, and you sure don’t have a clue about the life that is to follow. You’re not focused on, preoccupied with, the things of God’s Kingdom. Admit it my Christian brother or sister. Don’t kid yourself into thinking that just because you’ve been justified from the penalty of sin that everything is alright with your soul. It’s not, it’s not! You need to get alone with God on your knee’s and confess to Him how you have allowed the world to dominate your thinking; how you have allowed the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life rule you. Repent of your waywardness.