Paul's Warning and Admonishment for Those He Loves

1Co 4:14-21  I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children.  (15)  For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.  (16)  I urge you, then, be imitators of me.  (17)  That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.  (18)  Some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you.  (19)  But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power.  (20)  For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power.  (21)  What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?

Paul here explains his previous statements and admonishments, explains why he says them. Paul loves the Corinthians as his children and that is why he warns them and admonishes them. He also gives another warning to those who are in the Corinthian church.  

1Co 4:14  I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children.

What he told them in the previous passages, could very well have made them feel ashamed, it very well could make them feel foolish. He gave them a picture of how much the apostles suffer, and then allowed the Corinthians to make the connection of how little they suffered. It very well might have made them feel ashamed because he just told them “You sit in comfortable houses, you have no persecution, the biggest difficulty you have is deciding ‘who you follow’, us, the apostles have gone to the point of death, we have been beaten, we have been persecuted in every way, WAKE UP”. But, as much as it might wake them up and make them feel ashamed, that wasn't Paul’s point, his point was to warn them. He changes his tone from sarcastic to one of loving mercy, one of genuine concern. He loves them as children because he was put in the place of “raising them” so to speak, and he loved them as God loves them. So, although he was harsh with them for a little while, as with children, you need to be just, but you also need to be doing it for the right reason: you love them. God loves us and his discipline is for our benefit and because he loves us. Psa 94:12-13  Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O LORD, and whom you teach out of your law,  (13)  to give Him rest from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked. God truly does discipline us for our good, and he warns us for our good, and the same is true for how the apostle Paul treated the Corinthians.

1Co 4:15-16  For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.  (16)  I urge you, then, be imitators of me.

Paul is their Spiritual father, there are many people who “guide” their spiritual lives, but really, only Paul was their “father” he cares about them more than their guides. This is a transition verse that explains both the previous verse and the next verse. It explains that he loves them as children and so his rebuke is not meant to be condemning, but it’s meant to be exhorting. It’s meant not to push them down, but to help them up. It’s transitioning into the next verse (16) because verse sixteen explains how their relation to each other should influence their actions. He calls them to imitate him because they are his spiritual children. Most children imitate their parents, he is an example of a godly spiritual father and he wants them to be a godly spiritual person just as he is, by God’s grace.

1Co 4:17  That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.

Paul Sent Timothy to the Corinthians because as much as we think we remember things, we are a drifting people, our habits, our likes, everything we do drifts with the waves of life. Paul knew that some of them had drifted from what he had taught them. Timothy was Paul’s representation, Timothy acted as Paul did, he knew what Paul knew, at least most of it. Therefore, Paul sent Timothy to them to remind them how they ought to act and how they ought to live. Moreover, Paul taught the SAME thing everywhere he went, he taught the gospel and the simplicity of it, and taught them how they ought to live, he didn't change it up everywhere he went, and he stayed consistent. We also ought to stay consistent because the gospel is consistent, not that we can't grow, we have infinite room to grow. However, we need to stay true to Christ. We need to be careful not to drift as most people do, we need to be careful not to drift as the Corinthians did. The real question Heb 2:1-3  Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.  (2)  For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution,  (3)  how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, The Bible is clear what happens to those who do not stay with their faith to the end. If you pray a prayer and think that that’s your magic ticket to heaven, you are absolutely wrong, because if there is not a change in your life, you are in danger of Christ saying he never knew you. Mat 7:22-23  On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' (23)  And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'. Here in Galatians tells us how we should live. Gal 5:24-26  And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  (25)  If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.  Those that are saved will have fruit from the Spirit, they will have, as it says here, crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Do not become lazy in your faith, do not let it slip from your fingers. Do not become complacent in your spiritual life or in living for Christ.

1Co 4:18  Some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you.

Some people clearly thought that Paul wouldn't come back to them because he was “scared” and “afraid” of those that thought they were so powerful. This is the same issue that is at work in our churches today, there are people that act as if Christ is not coming back, and people are acting as if THEY are more authoritative on scripture than scripture itself is. There are people who are trying to change God into something much less than he is, and raise people to much more than they are. The Pope is being raised up as godlike, and even some evangelical pastors are raised up as almost godlike and their word is taken as the gospel truth and people don’t even check the facts against scripture, which is the ONLY source of truth. Christ said this Mat 24:37-38  For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. (38)  For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, For we need to be ready for Christ to return as he promised, we can’t be like those in Corinth and doubt the return, they doubted the return of Paul, sometimes we doubt the return of Christ, sometimes we weary like the disciples in the garden, yet we need to stay vigilant. 1Pe 5:8-9  Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  (9)  Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. The easiest thing for Satan, is when the Christians are lazy and do not fight with the zeal that we get from the power of Christ.

1Co 4:19-20  But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power.  (20)  For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power.

Paul lets them know that he plans on going back to Corinth, and as soon as he can as long as the Lord wills that it is to be. He also tells them that he will find out what they are talking about, but more importantly, he will test their power, he will test them to see if what they are teaching is true and if they have the power of the Holy Spirit.  Because, what they say doesn't matter if they do not have the spiritual power to back it up. The kingdom of God doesn't consist of empty talk, but it consists of true power given by God.

1Co 4:21  What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?

He then asks a simple question: Do you want me to come with discipline or with gentle friendship? The people were straying away from the gospel and this was his warning that they were following false teachers, if they didn't straighten up themselves, he would have to come with discipline and straighten them out. This is also a warning to us, although not spoken by Paul, God speaks this to us when we stray, if we don’t go back to him, we will be disciplined out of love, Heb 12:5-11  And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by Him.  (6)  For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives."  (7)  It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?  (8)  If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.  (9)  Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?  (10)  For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.  (11)  For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.  Discipline is not a bad thing, it is painful though, and if we act in righteousness, God doesn't need to discipline us. The Old Testament is full of God disciplining his people many times and each time it causes his people to come back to Him. Today, many of us don’t want to endure God’s discipline, this is completely wrong, we need to endure discipline and take it to heart for the sake of righteousness. Moreover, we need to identify when we are being disciplined because if we are to have a heart for God we cannot ignore discipline. Our attitude should be like that of David: Psa 94:12  Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O LORD, and whom you teach out of your law, David realized that discipline is a good thing when we stray away, for if we aren't being disciplined, do we truly have a father that loves us? No, it very well could mean that our father is Satan if we are not being disciplined for our wrongdoings. 1Jn 3:10  By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. This doesn't mean that if you sin, you are a child of the devil, it means that those who continually practice sin are children of the devil, moreover, if you are a child of God and you continually sin, he WILL discipline you as he did the children of Israel. 

In conclusion, we need to be wary, we need to be diligent, we need to accept discipline, and we need to be ready. We need to be wary of teachers teaching things that are false, 2Pe 2:1-2  But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.  (2)  And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. There will be false teachers and they will be popular, but they will bring destruction upon the church and upon the individuals that listen to them and follow them. We need to be diligent in our salvation, we need to be guarding our salvation Php 2:12  Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, We need to be careful not to drift, not to fall away, we need to remain steady and consistent within our faith, because if we don't, we WILL fall away and we WILL either be found to not be followers of Christ, or we will be disciplined by him. We also need to accept discipline from God, because He tells us that it is an extension of His love and so we need to use it to adopt change. We also need to be ready for Christ to come back, in our personal salvation and in the spreading of his word. In the end, we need to continue to focus on Christ and live for Him and for His glory every minute of every day.

The Gospel - Folly to the Foolish and Wisdom to the Wise

1 Cor. 1:18  "For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 
1 Cor. 1:19  For it is written, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.' 
1 Cor. 1:20  Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 
1 Cor. 1:21  For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 
1 Cor. 1:22  For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 
1 Cor. 1:23  but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 
1 Cor. 1:24  but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God."

1 Cor. 1:18  "For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

The "word of the cross" is referring to the Gospel message of Christ dying on the cross and being raised again on the third day. If you don't believe something is true, then chances are you believe that it is a foolish idea, or thought, or statement. Paul is saying that if you are not saved, you don't believe the Gospel is true, and therefore believe it's foolish. However, if you are saved, you believe the Gospel, and you know that it is truth, and that it is where the power of God is shown. In the power of His grace and the power of our salvation, both in action (the paying the price), and in the saving of us (the beginning of our salvation).

1 Cor. 1:19  "For it is written, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.'"  (Found in Isaiah 29:14)

Using the KJV will help to clear up what this verse is saying.
(KJV)  For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 
Paul's point is that anybody who thinks himself wise and has any faith in his own knowledge and understanding will be humbled and learn that it has no eternal value. When we die, all that will matter is our knowledge of and faith in Christ. When the earth gets destroyed, all its history, all the sciences, all medicine, all philosophy, all language will be useless to us due to it's imperfection.  When we get to heaven, it will all become unnecessary to remember the history we were taught, we will not need to know about science (at least science of today, we may still learn how God made things to work perfectly, but not man's pathetic shot at understanding it), medicine will be obsolete, philosophy will become false, and we won't need to worry about spelling or grammar. What you are taught in school will not gain you salvation, so in mind of eternity, it won't matter. Not to mention, most of our philosophy, history, science, and language, is full of misinformation, and/or human convention which will all be destroyed.

1 Cor. 1:20-21  "Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe."

I believe the reference to the "wise" is relating to the philosophers of the time in the Gentile world, the scribes would be the Jewish version of this, being the people who are "wise" within the Jewish culture, and the debater which would be the person who thinks they can confound people by their brilliance. Then, Paul goes on to say that God has made the wisdom of people into nothing, he has destroyed it, and it is worthless. His point is this: "See all these people whom you deem smart? Whom you think are brilliant? Well, they say nothing wise; it is all foolishness." The wisdom of God is the reason that world can not know God through wisdom. I know that's maybe difficult to understand, so let me try to re-phrase it. Not allowing men to find God through wisdom is what God deemed wise. Why did God decide that the only way to Him was through Christ and His death and not through worldly wisdom? Because if God allowed men to find Him through their own wisdom it would create pride in the fact that they found God, and others with less wit didn't.  I leave folly in quotation marks because it isn't folly, it is wisdom. But yet, to those who do not believe, (as it says in verse 18 "For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing") it is foolish; if it wasn't foolish to them, they would believe because who would pick folly over wisdom?

1 Cor. 1:22  "For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,"

The Jews look for God in the signs, and the Greeks look for God through earthly wisdom. But neither will find Him. Because they only way to find God is through faith in the "folly" of Christ's death and resurrection.

1 Cor. 1:23  "but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,"

The proper translation would be "an offence to the Jews" The reason being that they expected a physical king, one who would save them from the world at large. What they didn't realize is that He came to save them from the carnality of the world and not from the rulers of the world. The reason that is is folly to the Gentiles, is that it goes against everything they know. Some guy, in Judea died and then His followers claim He rose again. Why would this make sense? Sacrifice does not make sense, and they hadn't ever seen anybody rise from the dead before. That is foolishness to the "rational" humanistic mind; why should we do something to better others if it hurts ourselves?

1 Cor. 1:24  "but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God."

The word "called":
"κλητός
klētos
klay-tos'
invited, that is, appointed, or (specifically) a saint: - called."
Basically, those who are saved: the believers in Christ. This is just a reiteration of what Paul says back in verse 18: "But to us who are being saved it is the power of God." We are saved by Christ, and even though it doesn't make sense from a humanistic-logical-sinful standpoint, it makes sense from God's viewpoint and believers see it as perfect wisdom on God's part.


The whole purpose of this passage is to reaffirm that Christ is true wisdom to the believer. And although those of this age may think they are smart and have wisdom but it will all perish, as will they. It says the Jews wanted signs, yet because of the lack of signs and the lack of Christ doing what they expected, He was a stumbling block and offensive to the Jews. To the Gentiles, it didn't make sense. Why would they care about some guy who died in a different culture? Yet, it is wisdom to us believers who think not with the foolish Gentile mind, nor with the tainted mind of the Jew. Instead, we think with the mind of the Holy Spirit Who was given to us by God to explain His mysteries and to guide us through our lives. 

Division, Unity, and Christ

1 Cor. 1:10  "I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 
1 Cor. 1:11  For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 
1 Cor. 1:12  What I mean is that each one of you says, 'I follow Paul,' or 'I follow Apollos,' or 'I follow Cephas,' or 'I follow Christ.' 
1 Cor. 1:13  Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 
1 Cor. 1:14  I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 
1 Cor. 1:15  so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. 
1 Cor. 1:16  (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 
1 Cor. 1:17  For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power."

Divisions within the church disrupt both the growth of the people and the growth of the kingdom of God. Does this mean there is nothing we should disagree on? Yes, it does. Does this mean, however, that we won't disagree on anything? I don't think so...


1 Cor. 1:10  "I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment." (ESV)

1 Cor. 1:10  "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." (KJV)

I think that the KJV translates this verse better than the ESV because of the difference of words "agree" and "speak." The difference is that is is impossible for people to agree on everything unless they are all perfect and of one mind with God. Now, "speaking the same thing" means that men can say the same things, even if they do not believe all of the same specifics. Let me explain - all believers should agree on the basics of the faith - we are sinners, Christ died for our sins, only through Christ can we be saved, it's through faith, and not works that we are saved, etc. These are the things that we should be speaking about in public, the Gospel message, and the basics of the faith. Things we disagree on, should not be debated in public, because it puts a face of disunity on Christianity. When we do disagree on things that are not of such importance, instead of assuming that the other person is wrong  and condemning them as not being saved. We should remember that we aren't perfect, so there is a possibility that they are right. The first reason you shouldn't condemn them is you might be wrong. The second reason is that you are not God, you can't judge their hearts, neither can you know if they are saved or not. Now, this isn't saying you can't discuss your differences, but don't be broadcasting that they are not saved, or they are 100% wrong. How do you know which one is wrong and which one is right? You have your opinion, you are convinced in your own mind which is what matters because of what it says in Romans 14:23b, "For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin." and in Romans 14:5, "One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind."  These include any of your beliefs, and anybody else's beliefs.  The latter verse is talking about the Sabbath. Some believe that there is no difference between the Sabbath and any other day; others believe there is. This is one issue believers disagree on once in a while. What matters is that you are convinced, not if you esteem Sundays ahead of the other days or not. Unity in one mind and with the same judgement is again referring to the fact that we are all under Christ, the Holy Spirit should be our mind and our judgment on all things of life. We are not to be the same person, but we are to be under the same Person.

Galatians 5:25-26 reads "If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another." Prior to this, Paul is explaining the fruits of the Spirit, three of which I would like to highlight: gentleness, patience, and kindness. We should be gentle with all people despite disagreeing, we should also be patient with people who believe things different from us, we should also be kind to each other despite different beliefs. For example, if you believe that one translation of the Bible is superior  to any of the others, why should you condemn, disgrace, and disassociate from other believers who believe the use of another is superior to yours or who believe one is not better than another? You both believe Christ is Lord, you both believe you are sinners, and you are both convinced in your own mind that you are right, so there is no reason not to get along, even if you do disagree. You are both saved, and you will know the true answer in heaven... and there is a chance both of you were wrong!

1 Cor. 1:11-12  "For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, 'I follow Paul,' or 'I follow Apollos,' or 'I follow Cephas,' or 'I follow Christ.'"

In the previous verse Paul tells them that they should not be divided, and that they should be united under Christ. These verses go on to say that divisions have been among them, and he explains what he means, (which also gives us context to the previous verses.) The divisions among them (which were also referenced in the previous verse) consist of them following distinct people: Paul, Apollos, Cephas, or Christ. They didn't realize that they are all under Christ, not each under their minister. They thought that each had his own beliefs instead of realizing that under Christ are different teachers, none that are perfect, but all that are under Him. The fact that they followed teachers, instead of Christ, led to dissension, quarreling and disunity within the church. Going back up to verse ten, it also explains why Paul is telling them to be of the same mind (from the Holy Spirit, and therefore Christ.) They are of different minds, not of the same mind, they were probably judging and accusing each other based on who they were "following." Paul is trying to tell them that they should not base their or anybody else's salvation on who taught or baptized them but on the deity of Christ.

1 Cor. 1:13  "Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?"

I love Paul's sarcasm here, it really drives home his point that Christ was crucified, not Paul; they were baptized in the name of Christ, not Paul; Christ is the one who saved us, not Paul. This continues the thought from the previous verses very well. The last verses he says "this is what you say," now he is saying "Oh really? So is Christ really divided like that?". Then he says "So was I crucified for you? Did I save you?" The obvious answer is no, he did not die for them, he was not the one to save them. His other obvious question is "Is Christ divided?" the answer is no, how can and should we apply this? Are you a Calvinist? Are you a Baptist? Are you a Lutheran? I say you are none of the above, because of this verse. You are a CHRISTIAN! You are a follower of Christ, you shouldn't be a follower of Calvin; you shouldn't be a follower of Luther; you should be a follower of Christ. You may study their works, you may believe what they did, but you still are a follower of Christ because neither Luther nor Calvin died for your sins.

1 Cor. 1:14-16  "I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.)"

Paul doesn't want to become the people's idol because it is God that is the focus, not him. If none were baptized by him, none can say they were baptized in his name. Therefore it makes it harder for people to put him at the center of their religion.

1 Cor. 1:17  "For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power."

Paul wasn't sent to baptize, he was sent to preach and spread the Gospel. He wasn't sent because he was a great orator, but because he was following Christ. The power of the cross is evident when people accept the Gospel, even when it doesn't sound good and when it wasn't persuasive. If he was eloquent, people would say that he convinced them because of his eloquence and persuasive voice and that it had nothing to do with the power of Christ's death.


Division - we need to be careful not to divide the church of God. We need to have grace when it comes to beliefs other than those central to our faith such as the Deity of Christ, the Trinity, His death and resurrection, etc. If what you believe stems from faith and doesn't go completely against the Bible, maybe you are right and maybe you are wrong, but what matters is that you believe it from faith and you are willing to be gracious, kind, and patient with those who disagree with you. I am not saying you can't disagree, or even discuss, but that you shouldn't quarrel or fight about it. Moreover, you follow CHRIST. You don't follow Paul. You don't follow Calvin. You don't follow Luther. You follow Christ. You may believe what Calvin said, and that is fine, but you are a Christian. Like Paul said, did  Calvin die for you? Were you baptized in Calvin's or Luther's name? I think not. Remember that the power of the cross is not shown when we are eloquent, or when we are good at speaking, but when the Holy Spirit speaks through us. No one can say we were good orators, no one can say it was we who convinced them; it was the Holy Spirit who convinced them. So, even if you are not good at talking, even if you are not good at sharing the Gospel, do it anyway. Let Christ reveal Himself to other people through you and despite your mistakes, showing His power and not your eloquence.

Just the Basic Gospel?

1 Cor. 2:1  And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 
1 Cor. 2:2  For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 
1 Cor. 2:3  And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 
1 Cor. 2:4  and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 
1 Cor. 2:5  so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. 
(ESV)
I find this passage very interesting, and I think it is a good reminder of how we should be witnessing to others.

"And I, when I came to you, brothers,"
Paul went from Athens to Corinth, and stayed with Aquila and Priscilla and made tents with them, for they were tent makers. On the Sabbath, he went and taught and witnessed and probably debated in the synagogue. Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half before leaving for Syria (Acts 18:1-18).

"did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom."
When Paul came to Corinth, he preached the Gospel: you are sinners, Christ came to save you from your sins, repent and you shall be saved.  He didn't come to prove that he was smart or that he was better than than those to whom he spoke.  He came to share the simple truth. Now, I think the key word is "simple," as we will see in the following verses.

 "For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified."
Paul preached the very simple Gospel - nothing more nothing less - Christ died for you.  That is how he witnessed.  When he came to Corinth, he witnessed, not using deep doctrine, but he witnessed using only the Gospel: You are a sinner, you need to be saved, and Christ came to save you.

" And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling,"
Why would Paul, one of the pillars of Christianity, be afraid?  Was he afraid of people hurting him? Was he afraid of being rejected?  I think not.  I think he was afraid of letting Christ down; that, in some way, his doctrine might not be correct, or that he might say something he didn't mean to say. He is afraid of leading others astray by accident.

"and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,"
The Gospel doesn't make sense logically.  Why would a God send down his own Son to die for sinful men?  You can't figure it out through logic because it just doesn't make sense. Then, you might ask why anybody would believe it, and here is my answer to you: "demonstration of the Spirit and of power."  The Holy Spirit has so much power to move men's hearts, that you can't imagine it.  He uses His infinite power to save men, and move their hearts.

"so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God"
If our faith rested in the wisdom of men, it would draw away from the power of Christ and His death. Not only that, but it wouldn't make much sense, and we would be fools since what we believe does not make sense without the Bible to explain it.  If Paul had been able to convince people based on logic, or based on reasoning, or because of his eloquence they would not have stood faithful; they would have reasoned themselves to false theology and doctrine. When people are saved by God's power, that is where they will always look for wisdom, or at least that is where they should look for wisdom, because God promises us that He will grant us wisdom.

Jas. 1:5  If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 
Jas. 1:6  But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 

So next time you witness to somebody, keep in mind that the basic Gospel is all you need to use, because it will show His power, and it will be to His glory. 

A true Christian?

A true Christian, you maybe have heard this phrase before. What does it mean to be a "true" Christian? Lets look at Romans 12 to give us that answer.


Rom 12:1  I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 
Rom 12:2  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. 
Rom 12:3  For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 
Rom 12:4  For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 
Rom 12:5  so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 
Rom 12:6  Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 
Rom 12:7  if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 
Rom 12:8  the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. 
Rom 12:9  Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 
Rom 12:10  Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 
Rom 12:11  Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 
Rom 12:12  Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 
Rom 12:13  Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. 
Rom 12:14  Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 
Rom 12:15  Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 
Rom 12:16  Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 
Rom 12:17  Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 
Rom 12:18  If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 
Rom 12:19  Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." 
Rom 12:20  To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." 
Rom 12:21  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 
(ESV)\

I'm going to focus on verses 9-21, talking about, what it looks like to be a Christian, what you should strive towards, and what God expects you to strive towards.

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 
Love what is good, what is good? well, whatever God is, is good. Abhor evil, this means to Hate evil! Don't laugh when somebody says a dirty joke....... don't enjoy sin, but hate it as much as God does. Hold fast to what is good, when in trials, when in pain, when in hard spots... hold fast to the truth, hold fast to Christ the solid rock.

Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 
"one another" is talking about our family in Christ, our brothers and sisters in the faith. Why is there conflict in the church? why is the American church the way it is today? Because those in the American church, don't love each other, because they don't love Christ as He would have them love Him. the second part "outdo one another in showing honor" literally means, we place each other above ourselves, if somebody has a need, we should take care of it, if it's in our power, this should be the same selflessness that Christ showed.

Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 
If we are slothful, or lazy, are we following Christ? Was Christ lazy? Did Christ neglect his work? No, so if we are lazy, if we are slow, if we neglect our work, we are sinning, and not doing Christ's work.
Be Fervent in Spirit... Fervent actually means "to boil" now... what spirit? The Holy Spirit of course. We are to boil with the Holy Spirit, it should overflow, people should be able to see it in us all the time, and only when we are boiling over with the Holy Spirit, will we be able to effectively "serve the Lord".

Rejoice in hope, 
Rejoice... what does that word mean? well I looked back to the original language and this is the definition: (Strong's concordance)
G5463
χαίρω
chairō
khah'ee-ro
A primary verb; to be full of “cheer”, that is, calmly happy or well off; impersonal especially as a salutation (on meeting or parting), be well: - farewell, be glad, God speed, greeting, hail, joy (-fully), rejoice.
I didn't like this definition, so I went to Websters dictionary and I found this To experience joy and gladness in a high degree; to be exhilarated with lively and pleasurable sensations; to exult.
"to experience joy" this is what I was looking for, we are to experience joy, because of, the hope of salvation, and the promise of salvation.

be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

These go together, why? because the former can not happen without the latter. The former is also addressed in James 

Jas 1:2  Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 

Jas 1:3  for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 

Jas 1:4  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 

Again, we are to go through trials knowing that it is God's will that we do... (don't let me say that all hard things come from God, because a lot of "trails" are a direct result of our own sin, natural consequences) Why would God want us to go through pain? why would God want us to feel the stress of not knowing how we will make it through a situation? Because it is the testing of our faith, and produces in us, steadfastness, making us be able to overcome whatever stand before us. However, without constant prayer, we will fall during trials, because the trials God puts forth, are enough to overcome us, so that we have to lean on him. Constant prayer, means not that we are always praying, although our spirit should always be being guided by the Holy Spirit, David prayed 7 times a day, others in the Bible had a certain amount of times they prayed every day. However, this amount of time depends on the conviction of the Holy Spirit, there is no set amount of time you should be praying every day. 

Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

This relates back to the point on "Outdo one another in showing honor." In fact, I would venture to say, that it is the same point twice,  because repetition is used in the NT to show especially important things. 

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 

We are to bless all, the saints, our enemies, everyone. A common misconception  is that we must trust them, or we must be their best friend. No, this isn't what it's saying. it's saying if somebody pokes out your eye, don't take out their eye, don't curse them, but pray for them, like Christ did about the Roman soldiers that nailed him to the cross "Father, forgive them, for they know now what they do". 

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 

When somebody is joyful, or mournful... don't be indifferent. Christ was not indifferent when Lazarus died, he cried, he was mournful, why? Because others were mournful, they felt the loss, he was feeling the loss with them. When somebody has good news, feel joyful with them, congratulate them, don't just tell them "huh" and continue what you are doing. The main point of this, is to be interested in the lives of others, don't be looking at yourself, or your circumstances so much that you can't be interested in the lives of others.

Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 
Be peaceful with each other, don't cause strife within the body of Christ, that both ruins your witness to the community, as does it also distract you from the focus on Christ. (there will still be conflict, Peter and Paul for example, but don't cause strife as far as it goes with you) Don't be haughty.... in other words, don't be prideful, don't ever think of yourself better than any other human, because the only reason you are different, is because God allowed you to be different, and because of His saving grace. "associate with the lowly" I think this relates to James chapter 2:1-4

Jas 2:1  My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 
Jas 2:2  For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 
Jas 2:3  and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, "You sit here in a good place," while you say to the poor man, "You stand over there," or, "Sit down at my feet," 
Jas 2:4  have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 
Don't be mistreating the poor, don't be favoring your time with the rich, because they are rich. Be spending your time with people, because of who they are in Christ, not because of who they are according to the world.

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 
The first part of this is kind of repeating: "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them." But it is different....the phrase "but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all".... what exactly does this phrase mean? what does it refer to? Let me quote the KJV (I think it translates this better) Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. We are not to steal because somebody stole from us, we are not to cheat, because we were cheated. We are to be fair, we are to be graceful, and we are to be honest. "Provide things honest in the sight of all men", this literally means: When you obtain material things, go about it honestly, don't steal food, don't steal for food... work for it, get is honestly.

If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 

A repeat of "live in harmony with one another" with the added clause of "as far as it depends on you" which clarifies that it may happen no matter what you do to prevent it. 

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." 

"forgive and you shall be forgiven" if you look at the word avenge it has an interesting meaning (Websters dictionary) Avenged

AVENG'ED, pp. Satisfied by the punishment of the offender; vindicated; punished. 

We want to feel like the wrongs against us have been righted, but God says that he will repay to the offender what is owed, and that we should forgive, so we can be forgiven. How many times have we sinned? They are uncountable by you! each time you sinned, the proper punishment was death. Yet you have been forgiven, and are not going to die. All God asks, is that you forgive those who sin against you. 

To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." 

When you feed your enemy, when you treat him with kindness, he will not understand it, and will probably feel foolish, and will feel stupid for being your enemy.

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 

When you are following God, and let his Spirit indwell you, you can overcome evil, you can deny it access to your heart, and you can help those that are not saved, when they do evil against you, do good to them, and if it be in God's will, you will overcome their evil, with God's good. 

Hopefully this was an encouragement to you, either to change to become more like this, or that you have been doing right! Let me encourage those of you like myself that still falter and fail in part of this or even all of this: You can't do this by yourself, and while on earth, no man has done this to the perfection of Christ. However ,don't let Satan catch you in the trap of "oh I'm not good enough for God, so I might as well give up". While this is partly true, it truly is false. You are not good enough for God, and if you trust in yourself, you should give up, However, should you trust in Christ, the perfecter of the saints, the one who died for the whole world's sins, there is hope! DO NOT give up! because unless you give up on Christ, he will never give up on you, and he will complete the work he started.  

Christ reigns in my heart and many others, and can reign in yours also, should you be lacking his reign in your life.

those two words, that none will ever obtain this side of death.

Self Control is something we all struggle with, (if you don't then I applaud you, and you can stop reading right now)

The phrase "Self Control" is mentioned 24 times in the Bible (ESV). It is used in the positive sense, and in the negative sense

1Co 9:25  Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 
1Co 9:26  So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 
1Co 9:27  But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. 
And in the negative:

2Ti 3:1  But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 
2Ti 3:2  For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 
2Ti 3:3  heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 
2Ti 3:4  treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 
2Ti 3:5  having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. 
2Ti 3:6  For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 

yet it is mentioned more in the positive sense, of what we will get or complete, if we exercise self control.Those who didn't exercise self control, paid dearly: Esau, Samson, Saul, David and even Moses, all failed to have self control and paid for it dearly. Esau gave  up his birthright because he was hungry (Gen. 25:29-34), couldn't he have waited? Couldn't he have made something for himself? Samson, could not resist telling the secret to his strength. He was enslaved by the Philistines, forced to grind grain, had his eyes poked out. Saul, let himself be overcome with anger, trying to kill David. He never had peace, and eventually killed himself. David, he could not control his lust for Bathsheba, committed adultery and then murder to cover his sin. His first child with her, died because of that sin. Moses, when he was told to speak to the rock, he struck it in anger, causing him never to enter the Promise Land. 

Lack of self control is something everybody struggles with , it comes in many forms: in the form of lust, want for wealth, food, power, and almost anything else you can think of. What happens when you try to obtain self control over something you have let yourself do in the past? well, as I grit my teeth and say I will never do that again, I try to pray harder, but then I get tempted, and I do it anyway, always digging the hole deeper, and deeper. So what can we do to gain self control? The answer is nothing, now before you jump to conclusions, let me explain what I mean. We are humans, and except for in rare cases, we can't fight addictions alone. We need help, that is why we have counseling centers. Places like Teen Challenge, because we as humans have figured out we can't do it alone. Why is this? Why can't we do it alone? before I answer that, let me tell you something, the biblical meaning of self control is walking by the spirit , under the lordship of Christ [Priola, 2013] The only way we can control ourselves is though Grace, first we are saved though grace, (not perfection) second we are changed though grace (we are not perfect after we are saved) thirdly we are given not what we deserve though grace, (not taking into account our sins before or after we are saved) God wants us to realize that we CANNOT do it on our own, that is the answer the question. We must admit that we can't do it on our own, before God will intervene on our behalf. I find myself praying quite often: God help ME to overcome this, or that. I should be praying: "God please overcome this FOR me, because I can not do it at all.
 Tit 2:11  For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 
Tit 2:12  training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 
Tit 2:13  waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 
Tit 2:14  who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. 

as you can see in Titus 2:11, and 14 God saved us though Grace,
as you can see in verses 12, and 14 God wants to change, train, and purify us.
in verses 13, we wait for our hope, which is Christ, who is also our reward: Eternal life

Your only hope of ever controlling an addiction, or ever controlling yourself, is though God. you can on rare occasions overcome an addiction with the help of people. But you will never be free from it.
Christ, when he died on the cross, freed those who accept his gift, from judgment by the law,
Rom 8:2  For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 
The law, brings to light sin, and therefor leads to death.

Rom 7:4  Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. 
Rom 7:5  For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 
Rom 7:6  But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. 
Rom 7:7  What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, "You shall not covet." 
Rom 7:8  But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. 

once we accept his gift we are apart from the law, and the sin lies dead. However this can lead to another trap, which would give us licence to sin. This is not the case, and in one of my future posts, I shall cover that subject.

Trust in God?

as I keep going on though my life, studying science, learning from the Bible, interacting with people, growing up. I see Gods hand more, and more, and more, in science, in my life, in what he teaches me every day, in my reliance on him though prayer. 

It truly amazes me, and it helps me be very grateful for every thing he has done, and although it is hard sometimes, to trust him more and more. 

I want to remind all of you about that: God will always take better care of you, than you do. And the sooner you start to trust him, the sooner he will take care of you. I am not saying you won't go though tough times, Paul promises that we will go though them, but if you trust him, you will learn from those tough times, you will grow in him though those tough times, and Christ will never leave his claim in your life. 

So stand strong with whatever the world throws at you, weather trail, hardship, good times, hard times, times of pain, times of comfort, times of peace, times of turmoil, times of happiness, times of sadness. He will bring you though them all if you trust in him.

The world isn't ending yet

The world is not going to end until Christ returns again, 

God is here for you and I, and all other believers on earth, or he wouldn't have sent his son to die the worst death ever. We are worried about Money, school, our country,  and many other things that will not determine your future eternal status. 

God is good, Rom 8:28  And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 

Rom 8:29  For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 

this could really be what turns our country around, and is what God can and will use for his glory. If our economy collapses, if we get attacked, if we go to war, if our country starts to fall in any way, that is what will be a huge ministry opportunity. When people have nothing left to fall back on, where do they go? God can use this to bring the moderate/ half/ Christians like your room mate, like 80% of the American church today, to himself, so they will fall back upon him, a cleansing of the church. 

this is what we need to focus on: 

Psa 68:33  to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens; behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice. 

Psa 68:34  Ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over Israel, and whose power is in the skies. 

Psa 68:35  Awesome is God from his sanctuary; the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God! 

Not the election, but Gods power, Majesty and his will. 

Hopefully it didn't' sound preachy, but we as Christians need to not worry so much about what our country does, and worry more about what we do for God and how he can use is in these times of trail 

hard times?

are you going through a hard time? in pain? having family trouble? and in fear?

then the question is: why? are you failing in your trust in God? or don't you trust in God?

Let me tell you something, God is the only strength that: will last forever, give you true peace, and will help you in your time of need.

Psa 23:1  A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 
Psa 23:2  He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 
Psa 23:3  He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 
Psa 23:4  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 
Psa 23:5  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 
Psa 23:6  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. 

A common mistake is taking this as saying that we will not die, or shall not starve, or thirst.
This passage is talking about that we shall have eternal peace if you follow God. You my die, you may be in pain, you my be hungry, but God will provide something for you, whether it be death, food, water, relief from the pain. If you are saved, death should be something you look forward to, (don't take this out of context and go kill yourself....). the pain and suffering for the sake of God, you should look forward to. You should look forward to the struggles through life; so that you are able to learn and serve God.
God says we should not fear man, death, sin, satan, or anything except him. We will still fear if left to our human resources, but we must take his strength and he will keep you from fear.


Eph 6:10  Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 

Eph 6:13  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 

Eph 6:14  Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 

Eph 6:15  and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 

Eph 6:16  In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 

Eph 6:17  and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 

Eph 6:18  praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 

Take what he has to offer, stand firm, and fear no evil. 

Am I saved?

sorry it has been so long for another post, but you know how busy life gets.


Anywho, one of the things I have been thinking about is assurance of salvation. There are christian faiths that do not believe in assurance of salvation. The Catholic faith, (I have heard this from multiple people, but please leave a comment if I am wrong) does not preach assurance of faith, neither do arminian thinking people. They preach that you can lose your salvation. I don't understand where this comes from, but I do understand where this leads. The thought that you can lose your salvation leads to people always worrying about "I wonder if I have been good enough today." or "oh no! I better confess my sins because I am not saved anymore". The Catholic church uses it as a way to get money, and to get people into the church on the holy days. The Catholic leadership has told people that if they don't go to church, and if they don't do good works, they get points marked off their card with God. You can gain points by helping the priest and such.The problem arises that it is now salvation by works. (Which is spoken against many places in the bible.) This is one of the passages I have found.
Rom 9:31  but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law.
Rom 9:32  Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone,

Rom 9:33  as it is written, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame." 

Some Jews still believe that, and it is the same type of thing that the Catholic leaders have used. 

I am not saying works are bad at all, for in James it says:

Jas 2:13  For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. 

Jas 2:14  What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 

Jas 2:15  If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 

but Faith is necessary, along with works. 

Jas 2:21  Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 

Jas 2:22  You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 

Jas 2:23  and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness"—and he was called a friend of God. 

Jas 2:24  You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 

Jas 2:25  And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 

Jas 2:26  For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. 

works follow faith, it is not the other way around. faith leads to salvation, which in-turn leads to works.

Joh 3:16  "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

and also in Romans 

Rom 1:16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 

it says all you have to do is believe!

and once saved we can not be plucked from Gods hand for we are Christs sheep.

Joh 10:25  Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me,

Joh 10:26  but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep.

Joh 10:27  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

Joh 10:28  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

Joh 10:29  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.

If your really believe in Christ, have faith you are saved in him, are embodied by the Holy Spirit,  you are saved.  

you get and assurance from the Holy Spirit. 

Rom 8:11  If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. 

Rom 8:12  So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 

Rom 8:13  For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 

Rom 8:14  For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 

Rom 8:15  For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" 

Rom 8:16  The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 

In conclusion, 

you are not saved by works, but by faith. However, works are part of the faith, and follow the faith as if we are Christ like, we must do good works, for him. we can be assured of faith, there should be no guessing, for God given those that are saved his spirit, (the Holy Spirit) who will bear witness to us, from God, about our salvation. 

so if you are not assured that you are saved, ask yourself "why don't I know?" you can be assured, and should be assured of salvation. Follow Christ, serve God, and then the Holy spirit will give you that assurance, that you crave. Remember, you are in the hands of an eternal, all powerful God, who will take care of you, when you give your whole being over to him.  

God has shown himself through the whole world

Rom 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
Rom 1:19  For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
Rom 1:20  For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
Rom 1:21  For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Rom 1:22  Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
Rom 1:23  and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

these verses are very interesting to me,
because if you know the truth and do not act on it, you will have the wrath of God upon you. Yet all men have seen the evidence of God in creation. We can see the evidence of God when you look at anything that he has created.
if you put the parts of a watch in a pail, how long will you have to shake the pail before you have a working watch?
never the parts to the watch would have decayed before the watch could have been created. the same thing happens with cells, without all parts of a cell working at the same time it will not live, and some parts (such as amino acids) are destroyed if they are not protected. If you look at DNA, it is so complex that it is impossible for it to have evolved.  the interaction with the DNA, RNA, and the building of proteins is so complex that it would take several books of information just to explain it. Yet all this just evolved, life came from nothing. every scientist should be able to see the complexity of the world around us more than anybody else, yet they don't. they see the little things and say "wow, I wonder how that evolved" or "this is amazing what I discovered." yet God created it, almost all people that were around 2000 years ago, believed in some kind of god. Now, less and less people believe there is a God.
Yet they fail to explain the world, and all its natural wonders, away.
People that have heard the Gospel of Christ are without excuse, they will be punished for what they know and yet failed to act on
and so that all men are without excuse, God has shown his glory, power, magnificence through his creation.

what does a Rubix cube have to do with your life?

you may think this is a dumb question, but let me explain it a little bit about a rubix cube has billions of combinations but only one is the right combination. like this 

the only way you can get into heaven is if you are perfect. When we come into this world we are all imperfect, like this.
so what are we to do? We can't ever twist our way into perfection. so what we have do is give our life to the hands of a master. Most of you can't do a rubix cube, some can(like me) and others can not. This is where my analogy breaks up, there is only one master, and that is Jesus Christ, and he puts new stickers on you. Makes you perfect in the eyes of God covered by his blood.
(I hope I didn't confuzle you to much)

You will still mess up, as 1 John verse 7-10 says

1Jn 1:7  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 
1Jn 1:8  If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 
1Jn 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 
1Jn 1:10  If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 
also Paul is not perfect! 
and also in
Php 3:12  Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 

he is talking to believers! we will sin, we have sin, and we need to ask for forgiveness. and it will be given us.
the reason I brought this up, is that I have talked to somebody in the last few months that believes that we do have to to be perfect to accept Jesus Christ, and we will never sin once saved.
this sent me on a quest to find an answer.
because there are many places that calls us to be perfect, and holy,
Mat 5:48  You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

so my question to you, is how do we reconcile these together? here is my take on it: the word perfect actually means "complete" which we are completed through Christs death on the Cross. Yet we are perfect in God's eyes from Christs death and resurrection , if we believe in Christ's resurrection from the dead and make him our savior.

so that is my take, I hope if you have questions you feel free to comment, or if you disagree with it, you comment or talk to me about it on Skype or something else

What God has given to us through the apostle John

me and a friend are doing a study on John, and yesterday we talked about verses 1-5. These verses are amazing if you dig into there meaning. 

(KJV)

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 

Joh 1:2  The same was in the beginning with God. 

Joh 1:3  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 

Joh 1:4  In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 

Joh 1:5  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. 

in essence these are talking about Jesus, who is God, is with God, and he was there before time. Everything was made by him. Does this include sin, evil, mistakes? 

I do not believe so, because when God created the world he said all things were good, so does this mean that evil is good? the conclusion that I have come to is that all things that are evil, bad, sinful, are just broken perfection. Things that were perfect but were twisted by the author of lies: Satan. One verse that people use to say that God did create evil, is Isaiah 45:7 

Isa 45:7  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. 

but the word evil can mean calamity, (natural disasters, or war, things that are not moral evil) or it can mean calamity. this is the definition from Strong's dictionary: 

H7451

רעה    רע

ra‛  râ‛âh

rah, raw-aw'

From H7489; bad or (as noun) evil (naturally or morally). This includes the second (feminine) form; as adjective or noun: - adversity, affliction, bad, calamity, + displease (-ure), distress, evil ([-favouredness], man, thing), + exceedingly, X great, grief (-vous), harm, heavy, hurt (-ful), ill (favoured), + mark, mischief, (-vous), misery, naught (-ty), noisome, + not please, sad (-ly), sore, sorrow, trouble, vex, wicked (-ly, -ness, one), worse (-st) wretchedness, wrong. [Including feminine ra’ah; as adjective or noun.]

  

and with my evidence I now rest my case. 

             

            Another thing I want to point out about this passage is that in Jesus is life, and from that life, came the light of men, and that light cannot be overtaken by darkness!!!! once we have life from Jesus we get light from him, which can not be overtaken by: sin, satan, the world or any such things. 

Praise God that we can not lose what he has given to us. 

Take the challenge for God

I am memorizing Romans as some of you may know, and I have memorized up through verse eleven, this is going to be an amazing time with God, and the others who are memorizing it with me. 
this of course is not going to be easy, but it will bring us all closer to God. So I am going to challenge you to do something with God that is hard, and something that will stick with you forever. YOU WILL BENEFIT FORM IT. 

so do something for God, memorize your favorite chapter in the Bible, give an extra tithe this week, go to that person that the Holy Spirit has been telling you to minister to, read your Bible extra, go on a prayer and fast time, or something similar. God gave you your time, why not give him back his own time? start a challenge for you and others in your social groups. So my Challenge to you, is to take a challenge for God, and spread a challenge around to others.