Halted Between Two Opinions

Halted Between Two Opinions

I Kings 18:21

And Elijah came to all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the People answered him not a word.  

Those who worship God must worship, “in spirit and in truth” our Lord Jesus said: “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.” (John 4:23). Some say: “we worship the God of our understanding”.  For unregenerate Israel of old, that god was a god of stone, or of wood: some graven or molten image or picture of something they called their god (Numbers 33:52). Those who worshipped such idols had an idea of who and what their god is in their mind, but that idea was not according to the revealed truth of God. They had a zeal for their god, “but not according to knowledge.” (Romans 10:2). God has revealed Himself in the Holy Scriptures in order that men may worship Him in spirit and in truth, which is revealed to the heart of His elect through the scriptures; and that revelation is by the preaching of the “gospel of God” as the Holy Spirit opens the heart of the elect to the gospel. (Romans 1:1; Acts 16:14).

The great majority of modern men, now, worship another Jesus (II Corinthians 11:4) who is different in many ways from Jesus who is revealed in the Holy Scriptures; for, the modern, popular Jesus is one who has to look through a telescope of time to, elect, that is, to choose his people, according to the actions of men. So that salvation by this Jesus is not according to the sovereign will of God, but according to the works of men as foreseen, for under that modern popular gospel of another Jesus, men are saved according to their foreseen good works of faith: which shows that this popular Jesus is a fraud, for, the Jesus who has revealed Himself in the scriptures is Lord and Christ, as it is written: “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, The God has made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. (Acts 2:36). The authentic Lord and Savior Jesus Christ came to do the will of His Father, and not to follow the will of and worms of the earth (Isaiah 41:14) in dispensing His great salvation. This generation of religious men and women have rejected the Christ of Holy Scripture, preferring rather one who is not Lord nor Christ: not Lord because he does not according to his will, but waits to find the will of man, not Christ because a fraud is not the anointed of the LORD. In these actions this generation crucifies, to themselves, the Lord of glory afresh, (I Corinthians 2:8; Hebrews 6:6) they willfully sin against the revealed word of truth (Hebrews 10:26) to these who reject the revealed Lord and Christ of the Holy Scriptures, “there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.” (Hebrews 10:26-27).  

Men and women who seek to worship God through a false gospel, and a counterfeit Christ: stand in great danger of “everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord.” (II Thessalonians 1:9). The Christ of the scriptures cannot be the Christ who is trying to save everybody, and has failed in that attempt: and at the same time, the Christ who came to “save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21) and has been and will be, perfectly successful. Is the Jesus you serve Lord? Or is he Lord, if, men will allow him to be Lord? Were this question not so relevant to our day of apostasy, the enormity of its absurdity would be acknowledged. 

Reader who is your God? Do not be deceived, the Christ who wants to save all men, is not the authentic Jesus Christ of the scriptures. The Lord Jesus Christ who is coming again in “power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30; Luke 21:27) that is, the Lord Jesus Christ that is coming again: “when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:” (II Thessalonians 1:8-9), The same Jesus who was nailed to a tree, who is despised and rejected of men, is the Jesus who is coming again.  Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is not the Jesus who loves all men, and wants to save all men. The authentic Lord Jesus Christ loves only those given him of the Father (John 17:2). The Christ of the scriptures does not love the seed of the serpent (Genesis 3:15), to some of whom the Lord Jesus said “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do.” (John 8:44). To the Jews (John10:24) the Lord Jesus said “But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:” (John 10:26-27). The authentic Lord Jesus Christ said “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.” (John 12:48). Those who reject the authentic Lord Jesus Christ, are those who receive not his word.

Those who receive not His word are those who will not believe the truth of the gospel, as touching the operations of the three Persons of the Godhead. That truth is: that God the Father chose a people before the world was made to eternal salvation in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:4-7; II Thessalonians 2:13), not according to their works but according to His own purpose and grace (II Timothy 1:9), Not because of foreseen faith and good works; but according to the good pleasure of His goodness (II Thessalonians 1:11), which He purposed in Himself (Ephesians 1:9), with nothing outside of Himself influencing Him in the least manner or degree.

Secondly: the truth of the gospel is that Jesus Christ saved (perfected) His people by one offering, and that offering, was only once offered (Hebrews 10:14). Christ Jesus purged the sins of His people by Himself, and sat down at the right hand of the Divine Majesty on high in perfect ease, “the immutable stability of His state and condition,” (Dr. John Owen) being witnessed by His sitting at the right hand of God (Hebrews 1:3). Christ Jesus put away sin by baring the sins of His people in His own body on the tree (I Peter 2:24), by the sacrifice of himself (Hebrews 9:26) “for the transgression of my people was he stricken” said Jehovah (Isaiah 53:8), he shall see his seed, for whom his soul was made an offering for sin (Isaiah 53:10), Jehovah said he shall justify many for he shall bear their iniquities (Isaiah 53:11), the people of God are justified by the blood of Christ (Romans 5:9) not by their tears, prayers, or an act of their will. Call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins (Matthew 1;21). Our Lord Jesus Christ shall give eternal life to as many as the Father has given Him (John 17:2) all whom the Son has justified by His blood shall believe, being ordained to eternal life (Acts 13:48). The repentance, faith, and godly sorrow, of the elect are all gifts of the covenant, and are for the children of the covenant. All spiritual blessings as are given to the children of the covenant; such as, repentance, faith, godly sorrow, unalterable justification, perfect sanctification, an hearing ear, a seeing eye, and an understanding heart all these are the free gifts of the covenant, and are provided by the blood of Christ, for that blood is the seal of the everlasting covenant of grace, the New Testament (Hebrews 13:20; Matthew 26:28). Christ Jesus saved His people from their sins by Himself, without their help, cooperation, or any act of their will which was not the fruit and immediate result of His blood shedding and intersession, for a priest intercedes or those for whom He has sacrificed, therefore Christ Jesus intercedes for and sends the Holy Ghost to all those who He has purchased by His blood, the Holy Ghost makes them willing on the day of His power by the birth from above, for, that which is born of the Spirit is spirit  (Hebrews 7:25).

Thirdly: The Holy Ghost sanctifies the elected and redeemed sinners, by His Holy Calling. That is the Holy Ghost imparts new life (I John 5:11; Colossians 3:4) and with the new life a new heart which has the law of God written on it. This is the sanctification of the Spirit (I Peter 1:2; II Thessalonians 2:13) it is with almighty power, resurrection power, (Ephesians 1:19) for it is a call from death to life (Ephesians 2:1). The eternally chosen, and redeemed sinner is the passive recipient of the powerful operations of the Holy Ghost upon his soul, once spiritually dead, but after the new birth, it is alive, to live unto God. A spiritually dead sinner cannot give himself life, cannot create himself, cannot do anything for himself, he is a helpless, hopeless, dead sinner, and unless God has had mercy on him from everlasting he will perish to all eternity in the everlasting burnings (Isaiah 33:14). Many today have a “want to be savior,” priest, and king. This one wants to be the savior of the world, but men of the world will not allow him to save them. Will this “want to be” savior ever save anyone? The answer is no, for, this is a fraud, the god of the imaginations and understanding of men, and not the Christ of Holy Scripture. God the Father sent His Son into this world to save His people from their sins, and the Christ of the scriptures came for that purpose, “He shall not fail” (Isaiah 42:4); but, the Christ of the imaginations of men of free-will, works religion will save no one.

 Again I ask, reader, who is your God? The Christ of the scriptures will judge you at the last day (John 5:22), do you know Him as He is revealed in the scriptures, or do you only know the god of your understanding? Is your God Sovereign Lord, or does your god want to be Lord? Has your God predestinated His elect to salvation?  Or does your god have to wait to see whether anyone will let him save? Some say their god is sovereign but he will not exercise his sovereignty, well then, he is not sovereign, for he will not exercise his sovereignty, but waits for men to decide all matters; but if that is the case no one will be saved, for “There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God” (Romans 3:11).

AJ Ison

See the writers blog at www.hebrews915.blogspot.com hear the Authentic Jesus preached at www.13thstbaptist.org webcasting live at listed service times.