Tag: bible

Titus, a Pastoral Epistle

An Overview of the Apostle Paul’s Epistle to Titus

“Paul, a servant of God, and an Apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after Godliness. To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, Mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior”  (Titus 1:1,4).

Titus was a Gentile who was converted to Christianity through Paul’s ministry and was a beloved coworker with Paul in the propagation of the Gospel. The Epistle to Titus was one of Paul’s pastoral epistles.

Paul addresses church doctrine, false teachers in the church, the Christian life, the Rapture of the Church, and justification among other issues facing the church at the time. Again, this was one of Paul’s pastoral epistles similar to the ones he wrote to Timothy. The following is a brief overview of this epistle.

“In Hope of Eternal Life, which God, Who cannot lie, promised before the world began” (Titus 1:2)

The plan of God was formulated before the world began. The Lord was not taken by surprise by man’s fall in the Garden. The hope of Eternal Life is a sure hope promised by God “Who cannot lie.” As believers, we possess Eternal life at the present time. We will come into the fullness of this promise when we pass from this life or are Raptured by the Lord. Jesus described Eternal life in this way, “To Know God and Jesus Christ Whom He has sent.” Eternal life is knowing and having fellowship with God, Forever! Paul next deals with the false teachers that had come into the church to deceive.

“For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the Circumcision: whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre, They profess that they know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate” (Titus 1:10,11,16).

These false teachers were teaching error and were very convincing. The importance of sound doctrine cannot be overstated. We must know and study our Bible and must keep our faith anchored in the great sacrifice the Lord provided at Calvary. This being the case, we will not be deceived by false doctrine. Paul points out those of the Circumcision as a prime example of the deception being promulgated at the time. They taught that you had to be circumcised to be saved which ran contrary to our stand as Christians that we are saved by faith and faith alone.

“For the Grace of God that brings Salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world: looking for that Blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the Great God and our Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:11,12,13).

Paul mentions the Grace of God that the Lord offers us when we repent and place our faith in Christ and Him Crucified. He goes on to exhort Titus, and us, to live godly lives “denying ungodliness and worldly lusts.” This can only be accomplished when we have our faith in Christ and the Cross which then allows the Holy Spirit to work in our lives bringing us the victorious Christian life that we cannot attain by our efforts. Paul then directs attention to our sure hope. That is, the promised coming of the Lord for His Church in the Rapture. All believers will be taken, or raptured, by the Lord before the Great Tribulation which will come upon all those living at the time ( see 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18).

In summary, God the Father, “Who cannot lie,” promises us Eternal Life. That Life is in His Son. We are to continue in sound doctrine which will protect us from false teachings and teachers who come from within the church seeking those who do not know their Bibles. Grace is our way to victory in this life. God provides His Grace freely to those who come to Him by faith. We are to anchor our faith in Jesus Christ and Him Crucified which will give us the victory we seek in our lives, and we are to anxiously await the coming of our Lord and Savior for the church He loves and died for. Paul starts and closes this epistle with the mention of God’s Grace which, as we have seen, is freely given by the Lord upon proper faith. Yes, all we receive from God is due to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and His love for us that brought Him to the cross. The following is Paul’s closing benediction:

“The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit” (Titus 3:25).

Always Remember,

God Loves You!

Find podcasts of this article, and all the articles on this website on the “Here I Am Lord” podcast on Spotify for Podcasters, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic. Also, Here I Am, Lord is on Telegram.

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2024

Please Don’t Kick the Can Down the Road!

We Don’t Know When Our Soul Will Be Required of Us

[Time is short. We are in The last days and the Lord’s return is very near. Please understand that if you do not know the Lord, or have lost your way, you are in great danger. I do not apologize for the directness of this article. The Bible says we are to seek the lost so that some might be saved, snatching others out of the fire. The fire of judgment comes.]

“There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens. A time to be born and a time to die….. (Ecclesiastes 3:1,2a).

We don’t know how much time we have remaining in our lives here on Earth. Many have put off coming to the Lord, kicking the can down the road, so to speak. We are not promised tomorrow. The Bible says “Today is the day of Salvation.”

When we delay coming to the Lord once we hear the Gospel then it gets harder and harder to come to the Lord as time passes. We may have the best intentions regarding our future acceptance of the Gospel, but time has a way of getting away from us and that day may never come. Choose Christ today. He paid an incredibly high price that we might be saved from our sinful fallen nature.

The Holy Spirit convicts and draws us to Christ. He will bring new life to us as we place our faith in Christ and His great sacrificial death on the Cross.

All of us know that we are not perfect. We are in need of a savior to rescue us from the earthly prison of our fallen nature and deliver us from “this present evil world.” We cannot save ourselves. Jesus is the Savior we all need to lift us up into a relationship with the Eternal God.

I have heard many scoff at the idea that a savior is needed. Ironically, I find this idea particularly popular among those whom the Lord has blessed both physically and materially in this world. It is hard for them to come to a saving knowledge of the Lord while living a seemingly blessed life. These, whoever they might be, are in great danger as they do not even see their need.

The Gospel is needed by all. Jesus Christ left his home in Glory, sent by the Father, to die on a cruel Cross to pay the sin debt owed to God. The Father saw our great need, and hopeless state, and devised a plan to save whosoever will come to Him in repentance and faith.

The blessings of this world are temporary. If we do not come to the Lord during our lives, we will face judgment when we die. Salvation is available to us only on this side of the grave. Our lives here cannot compare to the eternity we face when our days here are done. Where will we spend eternity? There are only two options. We will either spend eternity with the Lord or we will be cast out of the Lord’s presence into an eternity of suffering. We must not let whatever blessings the Lord has afforded us in our life distract us from the precarious position we are in if unsaved.

The Bible tells us that the church, all those who know the Lord, will be raptured, i.e. taken out of this world by the Lord, before the end time judgments coming on this world. So if you are not saved and think that you have plenty of time to make a decision, then be aware that this Rapture of the church could happen at any time. We are in the last days now and Christ’s return for His church could happen at any moment. The Bible says the following regarding this:

“Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the day or hour wherein the Son of Man (Jesus) cometh” (Matthew 25:13).

The Lord loves us and his blessings fall on the saved and the unsaved. By this, we should realize that it is the Lord who is blessing us and seek out the One that proved that love by paying the price to redeem us at Calvary. If you do not know the Lord; I pray that you will not wait another second but will give your life to Him today. He has blessings untold that await those who come to Him and become “sons of God.” Come today. You will not regret your decision and you will know that, if your life is required of you, you stand as one of the Redeemed.

“So teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).

Always Remember,

God Loves You!

Find podcasts of this article, and all the articles on this website on the “Here I Am Lord” podcast on Spotify for Podcasters, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic. Also, Here I Am, Lord is on Telegram.

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2024

Joey Loves Jesus

A Day in the Life

A Fictional Narrative

The First in a Series on the Life of Joey

“We love Him because He first loved us…..” (1 John 4:19)

Joey loves Jesus. This becomes quite obvious to anyone who has been around Joey for any period of time. Joey shares his faith with anyone he comes across. He is so grateful to the Lord for His mercy and grace. He thanks the Lord each day for reaching down and saving him. Joey thinks of himself as a debtor. A debtor to the Lord for the price He paid at Calvary that Joey might be forgiven and given newness of life. He believes himself a debtor also to all those who do not know the Lord. He can’t imagine living his life now without the presence of the Lord.

Joey’s job, or should I say his business, brings him in contact with many people daily. He has walked with the Lord for many years and in that time has shared the Gospel with all those who would have ears to hear what the Holy Spirit led him to say. Many would not listen to Joey tell them of the amazing love the Lord has for us all. But those who did listen were so grateful to hear the Gospel. Many said that they had never heard it before.

Joey is somewhat perplexed at the lack of interest from some of those he attempts to share the Gospel with. Considering all that is going on in our country and the world right now, he would have thought that people would be looking for an answer. He thought they might be open to the Good News which would bring them a sure hope for the future. He thought about what the Lord had said about the times of Noah and how people went about their daily lives totally uninterested in what Noah was building. 

“But as the days of Noah were, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matthew 24:37-39).

Joey knows that the Lord spoke these words to let us know what it would be like at the time of the Rapture of the church and just before His return. Joey knows the importance of reaching as many people as he can before the “flood” of our times comes. He prays for a last-day revival or harvest from the Lord. The Bible tells us that the end times, the times we are now living in, will be times of great trouble and there will be little interest in the things of God. 

Yes, Joey loves Jesus. He knows all the Lord has done for him – just where the Lord has brought him from. He also knows that the salvation of anyone is the greatest miracle. He prays that the Holy Spirit will continue to lead him to those who would be open to the Gospel. That the Holy Spirit would draw and convict.

We are in the end times and what we are now seeing is a changing world, and not for the better. Joey knows that Noah preached for 100-plus years before the flood came. Noah’s faithfulness to the Lord and his seeking out any that would heed his warning encourages Joey to do the same. He knows the Lord has called us to be faithful. The Great Commission becomes more and more on his mind with each passing day.

Joey knows what the Word says about how the world and people will be in the end times. But Joey loves Jesus and the Lord’s love for everyone is foremost in all Joey does. He seeks to walk in the love the Lord has for all those who are so in need of His Salvation.

So, any time you’re out and about you may run across Joey. He will be the one sharing the Gospel as the Holy Spirit leads him. He’s an example to us all. We must reach out to a lost and dying world while we have time. As the following verse tells us, we are ambassadors for Christ sent to a dying world that they might be reconciled to God:

“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20).

Always Remember,

God Loves You!

Find podcasts of this article, and all the articles on this website on the “Here I Am Lord” podcast on Spotify for Podcasters, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic. Also, Here I Am, Lord is on Telegram.

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2024

The Lost and the Found

The Blind and Those Who See

I once was lost, but now I’m found, was blind but now I see. (Amazing Grace composed by John Newton)

The following actually happened some years ago. A husband and wife owned a restaurant in a western state. The restaurant was a family-style establishment and was frequented by many of the local residents of the town. Every Sunday night, after church services, a local pastor and his wife would come in for dinner. The two couples became friendly and would make conversation each time the pastor and his wife stopped in. During their conversations, the subject of faith would come up. The pastor and his wife shared the Gospel with the couple on many occasions during their weekly visits. They politely listened to the pastor and his wife as they presented the Gospel each time, but were not willing to receive the Lord – until one night everything changed.

One Sunday night, the pastor’s wife told the wife that she was going to go to Hell. It was a shocking statement and it took her by surprise. At first, she was angry but then came the conviction of the Holy Spirit. She sat under the conviction of the Holy Spirit for days. She just could not get away from what the pastor’s wife had said to her.

Admittedly, the statement from the pastor’s wife was a bold one and few would have been so blunt with the woman. But the truth is that this is the end for all those who are “lost” and do not see. In this case, it was the Holy Spirit working through the pastor’s wife to reach out to this woman and her husband. The end result was that the couple came to the pastor’s church one Sunday and heard the Gospel. They realized their lost state and repented and came by faith to the Lord. Years later, their son became a minister of the Gospel and was powerfully used by the Lord in world Evangelism. The pastor’s wife had been used by the Holy Spirit to reach this couple and it resulted in not only their Salvation but many souls beiing saved worldwide through the ministry of their son.

There are only two types of people in the world – the lost and the found. There are those who are blind to spiritual matters and there are those who see spiritually. Being “found” is being born again or being born from above. Jesus spoke of it in John Chapter 3. He said the following:

“…. Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of Heaven”  (John 3:5).

He was speaking of spiritual birth. We are in a lost state with a fallen nature and must be spiritually born again to see the Kingdom of Heaven. When we are born again, we go from our “lost” state to a saved, or “found” state. The word “found” is appropriate because it is the Lord who reaches down in His Mercy and Grace and saves us. We cannot, and will not, come to the Lord of our own volition. We are brought to a saving knowledge of the Lord by the drawing and convicting power of the Holy Spirit.

In our story of this family, we see the Holy Spirit using extreme measures to convict them and draw them to the Lord. It was the Love of God reaching out to them in their lost state. The end for all those who reject the Love the Lord offers is Hell. This is so critically important that we must reach out to all those “lost” with the Gospel. They do not realize the extremely dangerous condition they are in. Their only hope is to be “found” by the Love of God and surrender to that Love that sent His Son to the Cross to pay the sin debt and make it possible for whosoever will to be forgiven and become “children of God.”

Do know the Lord today? If you do not – you are on the road to Hell. Have you heard the clarion call? Do not ignore His call. Your future depends on it. The Lord reaches out in love today. His mercy and grace are available to us only for the length of our life. Once we die our fate is sealed. In coming to the Lord, the “blind” can see spiritually and the lost can be found. We are saved by repenting and placing our faith in Christ and His sacrificial death on the Cross. We serve a wonderful merciful God Who seeks us out. Know Him today and be blessed.

“For God so loved the world that He gave his only Begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have Everlasting Life” (John 3:16).

For those of us who were once lost but are now found, we know we have crossed from death to life and we are so grateful. The lyrics of the song “If not for Grace” by Clint Brown expresses the feelings of all those of us who have come by way of the Lord’s Mercy and Grace and found the forgiveness and the love that reached down to a lost soul:

Where would I be You only know. I’m glad You see through eyes of love. A hopeless case, an empty place, if not for Grace. I once was lost but now I’m found. A hopeless case, an empty place, if not for Grace.

Always Remember,

God Loves You!

[Links to the A,B,C’s of Salvation and the Sinner’s Prayer can be found below.]

The A,B,C’s of Salvation

https://wordpress.com/page/tqministries.com/5448

The Sinner’s Prayer

https://wordpress.com/page/tqministries.com/1752

Find podcasts of this article, and all the articles on this website on the “Here I Am Lord” podcast on Spotify for Podcasters, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic. Also, Here I Am, Lord is on Telegram.

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2024

Mirror, Mirror On the Wall…..

……I See My Need and Hear His Call!

“There’s none righteous, no, not one. For all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God” (Romans: 3:10, 23).

When we take a good look at ourselves it becomes obvious that we are not perfect. We may try to ignore this obvious fact by trying to live a good life or we may look to others that we see as less “perfect” and try to justify our own failings. But the truth is that we are a fallen race unable to walk out a perfect life. We can hide this fact from ourselves or face the truth. In His Mercy and Grace, the Lord shows us our true condition and reaches out to us through the Gospel. The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin and draws us to the Lord. We can reject the Gospel and the imputed Righteousness (i.e. His Righteousness is ours by faith) He graciously offers us, or we can accept this judgment on our fallen nature and repent of our sins and come by faith to the God Who loves us and has provided a way in which we can have fellowship with Him.

“Therefore being justified by faith (in Christ and Him Crucified) we have peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1 w/ commentary).

Having placed our faith in Christ and His sacrificial death at Calvary we have peace with God. We now look to Him to walk out this life. It is no longer us trying to justify ourselves, but the Lord living within us by the presence of the Holy Spirit. We can look at ourselves as saved by the “Blood of the Lamb.” His shedding his Blood and dying on the Cross as payment for the sin debt owed to God, opened all the blessings of Heaven for us.

“But God commended His love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Roman 5:8).

We walk out our new life in Christ by faith. We cannot live this new life in our own strength any more than we could walk out a perfect life before we were saved. The Lord does not give us a stronger willpower to live this life. The following verse shows us what happens to us when we come to the Lord by faith:

“Know you not, that so many of us were baptized (spiritually, not by water) into His Death (spiritually, we died with Christ)? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death (along with all our sins): that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the Glory of the Father, even so we should walk in Newness of Life” (Romans 6:3,4 w/ commentary).

We have “Newness of Life” because we believe in all that the Lord accomplished at Calvary. The Lord provides a complete Salvation. By faith alone, we are saved from our fallen nature becoming “children of God,” and He has given us many wonderful promises whereas we become partakers of the Divine Nature as the Apostle Peter tells us in the following verse:

“According to His Divine power has given unto us all things for life and Godliness, through the knowledge of Him Who has called us to glory and virtue. Whereby are given unto us precious promises: that we might be partakers of the Divine Nature….” (2 Peter 1:3,4).

We have this “knowledge of Him” by our faith in what Christ accomplished at the Cross. He has given us “precious promises” in His “Word” that we might be partakers of the “Divine Nature.” All that has been afforded us is due to the Father’s love for us in sending His Son to die on a cruel cross so that we might be forgiven and given “Newness of Life” in Christ. He has given us “all things for life and Godliness” by the Holy Spirit Who lives in us. Romans 8:2 shows us how the Holy Spirit works to bring this about in our lives.

“For the Law of the Spirit (how He works in our lives) of life (all life comes from Christ through the Spirit) in Christ Jesus (by what He accomplished at the Cross) has made me free (victorious living) from the Law of Sin and Death (we cannot overcome this “Law” by our own efforts)” (Romans 8:2 w/ commentary).

Our complete salvation comes from the Lord and now, when we look at ourselves, we can say that we are saved by the Mercy and Grace of the Lord. He has given us His Righteousness, imputed to us by our faith in Christ Crucified, and we now have peace with God. We no longer depend on our own efforts to live a victorious life, but we now know that victory comes by the power of the Holy Spirit as we daily place our faith in Christ and His sacrificial death at Calvary. How great a Salvation the Lord has provided for us!!!!! When peering into the mirror we can now say:

Mirror, mirror on the wall, I’ve come to Jesus and He has forgiven me all!

                                                          

Mirror, mirror on the wall, when I walk out this life by faith I will not fall!

Always Remember,

God Loves You!

Find podcasts of this article, and all the articles on this website on the “Here I Am Lord” podcast on Spotify for Podcasters, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic.

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2024

It Happened Without Warning!

We Do Not Know What a Day May Bring

A Fictional Narrative

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the Judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

The man found himself in Hell. Death had come suddenly! It happened without warning, in a moment. He had lived a good life according to the standards of this world. He worked hard and provided for his family. He raised three sons and they all were living successful lives with families of their own. The man realized as he looked around at all the suffering around him that this was his final destination. How had it come to this?

“There’s a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverb 14:12).

The man knew why he was there. He realized that he had gone his own way and that all his success in life meant nothing here. He had lived his life thinking that living a good life would earn him Heaven if there was such a place. As he looked around he did not recognize anyone. They all seemed to be in great pain. Their features seemed to be contorted due to the suffering of this place. He knew that he too appeared as they did with the look of hopelessness on their faces.

“Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (James 4:14).

He thought back to that moment. He was enjoying working in his garden in the backyard. He was harvesting some of the fresh vegetables for a special dinner party they were hosting that evening. The last thing he saw before collapsing was his wife through the kitchen window preparing for the party. His health wasn’t perfect but to have this happen so suddenly was something none in the family ever expected. The finality of it. He had no last chance to see his family or to say goodbye.

He thought about his sons. He had raised them to be independent. They all respected their father and sought to live a life that he would be proud of. In other words, to follow in his footsteps. He knew now, being in this place of torment, that, although he tried to live an ethical life, He had ignored the most important thing he could have given his family. And that was faith in God!

“If you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved” (Romans 10:9).

He had heard this Gospel from other family members but had ignored its call to repentance and faith. He thought that these family members were weaker than he and needed the crutch of religion. He was a “self-made” man and stood in his own strength. In the natural, it had paid off for him in that he was very successful. All that success now seemed like nothing compared with what he could have had by coming to the Lord. He realized now that being successful was not wrong, in fact, the Lord wants to bless His children. What was so wrong was rejecting the love that had sent the Son of God to the Cross to pay our sin debt and to open the door for a relationship with the Lord.

The man wished that he could warn his family to not come to this place. He knew that was not possible, but hoped that they would hear and accept the Gospel. He thought of the many times he had the opportunity and rejected it. He now knows that the Lord loves all those in the world and calls whosoever will come to Him to “Newness of Life” in Him. He also knows there are faithful workers who go forth with the Gospel. Although he knows that he cannot be heard by the ones he loves; He continually calls out into the darkness of this place of suffering yelling, “Please, hear the Gospel that will save you so that you will not end up here.”

“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth” (Proverbs 27:1).

[A discussion on Hell is not a pleasant or popular subject. It’s something not spoken of much today, but it is a real place and needs to be understood by all. Jesus spoke of it many times. Hell and the Lake of Fire are the final destinations for all those who reject the Gospel. We are unable to save ourselves and will perish if we do not accept the “gift” of eternal life that cost our Savior greatly to provide at Calvary. The Gospel is going forth through those who have accepted the love offered them by our Great God and know the end for those who reject it. If you do not know the Lord today, do not put off coming to Him, but hear and accept the Gospel as it’s presented by those whose lives it has changed.]

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim Salvation……” (Isaiah 52:7).

Always Remember,

God Loves You!

Find podcasts of this article, and all the articles on this website on the “Here I Am Lord” podcast on Spotify for Podcasters, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic.

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2024

The Natural Man

The Gospel Is Foolishness to Them Who Are Perishing!

“For the preaching of the Cross is to them who perish foolishness…….. (1 Corinthians 1:18a)

The natural man, those who have not been born of the Spirit, cannot understand spiritual things. The unredeemed are lost and will perish if they do not come to the Lord in repentance and faith in Christ and His sacrificial death at Calvary. The Lord, in His Wisdom, sent His Son to die on a cruel Cross to pay the sin debt of man. The world, in its wisdom, cannot understand this. The things of the Spirit are spiritually discerned.

“…… Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world” 1Corinthians 1:20b)

The world in its wisdom could not and cannot bring man to a knowledge of God. The Lord sent His Son to Calvary to open the door to a relationship between God and man. This is the Wisdom of God!

“For after that in the Wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God” (1 Corinthians 1:21)

With God sending His Son as a Redeemer for mankind, the world cannot, in its natural wisdom, know God. The Bible calls man’s wisdom regarding spiritual things – foolishness. Man’s attempts to either know God in the natural or live a life without him by their own wisdom is …. foolishness.

The natural man must come to the place of knowing that without God they are perishing. The Bible tells us that Christ is man’s answer for all that ails him. Christ stands at the crossroads of history as a beacon of hope for all those who will come His way! The Bible puts it this way:

“Christ the Power of God, and the Wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24b).

The Gospel is the only answer for man and one that shows the Wisdom of God that rescued us from our fallen hopeless state and pardoned us of our sin. Faith in this wonderful plan of God allows whosoever will to come His way and to have a relationship with the Lord, and, in fact, become “sons of God.”

The Gospel goes forth by the “foolishness of preaching” and is confirmed by the Holy Spirit. The Gospel is Christ and Him Crucified. The Apostle Paul made it clear in the following verse:

“For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him Crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

This is the only message that will save those who hear it and accept what the Lord has graciously offered to whosoever comes to Him. We are saved by faith in what the Lord accomplished at Calvary, and we can walk out victorious lives in the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the Wisdom of God! How great is our God? The following verse points the way:

” …Even so the things of God knows no man, but by the Spirit of God” ( 1 Corinthians 2:11b).

This makes it very clear. In summary, the natural man cannot know the things of God but is perishing in his fallen state. The Gospel is presented which is Christ and Him Crucified, and the Holy Spirit confirms it. We are born of the Spirit by repenting of our sins and the way we have lived our lives without the Lord and accepting the gift of Salvation by faith in Jesus and His great work at Calvary.

Our introductory verse for this article was “For the preaching of the Cross is to them who are perishing foolishness.” The following is the remainder of the verse: “…but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” God’s power is at work in the lives of all those who realize that they cannot come to God in the wisdom of this world. That wisdom sees the things of God as foolishness. In the natural we cannot even image the things the Lord has prepared for those who love Him, but in the Spirit…..

“But as it is written, Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them who love Him. But God has revealed them to us by His Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:9).

Always Remember,

God Loves You!

Find podcasts of this article, and all the articles on this website on the “Here I Am Lord” podcast on Spotify for Podcasters, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic.

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2024

I Saw the Lord!

Paul’s Testimony Before King Agrippa

Paul was imprisoned in Jerusalem due to accusations made by the religious leaders. The accusations were spurious but they stirred up the people which resulted in an uproar in the city. Due to the uproar, Paul was taken into custody by the Chief Captain of the Roman soldiers. Paul asked to address the people and was granted liberty to do so by the Chief Captain. He stood before the people and made his defense. The response from the crowd was their demand that Paul be killed. Concerned for Paul’s safety, the Chief Captain bound him and brought him into the castle.

Paul also appeared before the Sanhedrin, which was the Jewish Supreme Counsel with the High Priest as president. This also devolved into great dissension. The Chief Captain, fearing for Paul’s safety, once again, had him removed and brought back to the castle. The Lord appeared to Paul that evening and said the following:

“Be of good cheer, Paul: for as you have testified of Me in Jerusalem, so must you bear witness also in Rome” (Acts 23:11).

The Jews “banded together” under a curse to not eat or drink until they killed Paul. The plot was uncovered, and Paul, accompanied by two hundred soldiers, was taken to Caesarea and delivered to the Governor, along with the charges made by the Jewish religious leaders. Paul appeared before Felix, the Governor, and his accusers from Jerusalem made their case before Felix. Paul again made his defenses before the Governor. Felix had some knowledge of Christianity but did not make a decision on the matter at that time. He gave Paul liberty to have his acquaintances have the freedom to visit him, but kept him confined for two years.

Festus now replaces Felix as Governor, and Paul, once again, makes his defense before Festus. The Jewish religious leaders, once again, made accusations against Paul that they were unable to prove. Festus, wanting to please the Jews, asked Paul if he was willing to go to Jerusalem to be judged on the charges laid against him. Paul, knowing that they would kill him if he went to Jerusalem, said that he would appeal to Caesar which was exactly what the Lord told him would happen when He appeared to Him earlier. The Lord said, “So must you bear witness also in Rome.”

Paul gave his testimony of his Damascus road conversion with the Lord appearing to him to those who accused him in Jerusalem, and he now gives that testimony before King Agrippa (the second son of Herod Agrippa) who now comes to Caesarea to see Festus. Festus knew that King Agrippa had a better knowledge of Jewish Law than He, and discussed Paul’s case with the King.

Paul now stands before King Agrippa. Paul starts by acknowledging King Agrippa’s knowledge of Jewish custom and Jewish Law as his father, King Agrippa 1, was zealous for it when he ruled. Paul’s defense included his background as a Pharisee and his time of persecuting those that expressed faith in Christ including imprisoning them and his effort to get them to turn from the faith that he now upholds.

He then testifies how he was on his way to Damascus, with the authority of the Chief Priest, to persecute those He found following Christ in that city. Paul now comes to his miraculous conversion. He testifies that about midday on the road to Damascus, a bright light from Heaven appeared before him being seen by those that traveled with him. Paul, and all those with him, fell to the ground (the Power of God). The following is his account from Acts:

“…..I heard a voice speaking to me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul,, why do you persecute Me? And I said, Who are you?, and He said, I am Jesus Whom you persecute” (Acts 26:14,15).

Paul goes on to testify that the Lord told him that he would use him as a “Minister and a witness” of what had just happened to him and of the things that the Lord would show him. Paul then gives an alter call, so to speak, to King Agrippa. King Agrippa responded by saying “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.” The Greek does not make it clear whether he was moved to a place of Faith in Christ, or not.

King Agrippa, after hearing Paul’s testimony tells Festus that Paul could have been freed if not for his appeal to Rome.

The Lord wanted Paul to go to Rome to bring the New Covenant, which the Lord had given to Paul, to all those in Rome. Paul had been faithful through all he had gone through starting in Jerusalem with the accusations of the Jewish Leaders, his appearance before Felix and Festus, and finally standing before King Agrippa to witness to all the Lord had done and point all those who witnessed his testimonies to the Gospel. He had been faithful to the Lord’s calling. He would now testify in Rome to the Lord’s great love for us all by dying on a cruel cross so that those who would hear of it would see the mercy and Grace extended to them.

All who hear the Gospel are affected in some way. Some will harden their hearts against it while others will fall on their knees and thank the Lord for His great love for them. Salvation comes to all those who repent and place their faith in Christ and Him crucified. The Lord said the following before His leaving:

” And this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations; and then shall, the end come” (Matthew 24:14).

Paul, through his journey from Jerusalem to Caesarea and finally to Rome, carried the Gospel with him and testified to the truth of it to all who would listen. This Gospel continues to go out to all those who will hear. It goes out despite persecution, and despite how those we come across receive it. And it stands as the Truth. Those who carry and present this precious Gospel will boldly continue, despite all obstacles, to share the love of God that would seek us out and offer a Salvation that we could not attain on our own merit. He calls all those who call on His Name to, like Paul, testify to all those who will hear.

All, like King Agrippa, have a choice before them. A decision must be made one way or the other. Accept the love that calls you to a new life in Him, or reject it and remain in your sins. The Gospel continues to go forth “to all the world as a witness” just as the Lord said it would. Of this you can be sure, the end will come and all will give an account before the Lord. Choose life today for the Lord paid a huge price that we might have “Newness of Life” in Him.

“Who hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 11:15).

Always Remember,

God Loves You!

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2024