Bible Matter 333:  God Speaks

It is clear from the many lessons from the New Testament, that God did not present the Gospel of Jesus Christ by numbered verses.  The bible verses were numbered in 1569.  Numbered verses have been used by man to pervert God’s doctrine.  Man cannot preach by numbers or pluck numbered verses to present false promises of salvation or works of religion to be imposed on man, supposedly as commanded by God.  God presented his doctrine by stories and parables, just as he presented the messages in the Old Testament to the Israelites.  When you consider that God carved the 10 commandments out of stone and at the same time knew the hearts of the Israels, his message becomes clear.  Right this very minute, God knows what is in your heart.  He gave all believers the commandments of the New Testament as a guide book into serving him and not to corrupt yourself with the sins of the flesh and serving the devil. 

Exodus 32:3-4,7-8,31 – And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.  And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.  And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves :  They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.  And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.

The preponderance of evidence testimonies from the eight witnesses of the New Testament has shown you that all eight witnesses preached on a common salvation.  God’s message of salvation is clear.  Believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, repent of your sins and be converted or born again as a child of God, live a righteous life doing the will of God by serving him, showing your love for God and neighbor and not abiding in darkness or sin. Religious acts are not required for God’s gift. Keep yourself in the love of God, show your faith by your works and Jesus promises you in the end, everlasting life with him in heaven. (See Bible Matters 228 Salvation: PoE)  Jude referred to this as the common salvation.  Jude warns you to keep yourself in the love of God, looking for the mercy of Jesus, unto the end eternal life.

Jude 1:3,5,21 – Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.  I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

The authors of the New Testament presented God’s message in stories.  Man’s false promise of everlasting life by just believing in this one verse from John 3:16 takes on a different meaning when you look at God’s message in John 3.  Let’s look at God’s message.

John 3:1-22,27 – There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:  The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.  Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.  The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.  Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?  Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?  Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.  If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?  And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.  But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.  After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized.  John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.

What is God’s Message from John 3?

Jesus is from heaven, sent by God, to be the light of the world.  You can receive nothing unless it was given to you from God. 

It is natural for you to hate the light, love sin and darkness with evil deeds.  Men love darkness rather than light.

When you believe on Jesus, you must come to the light and chose the Truth.  He came so that you might be saved.  You do not come to the light until you understand his gospel.  You must recognize that God reproves and hates your evil deeds.  You must repent and turn from your sin, with your deeds manifest and wrought in God.  When you doeth the truth, then you have come to the light.  You must do and walk as Jesus walked on this earth.

You must be born of the spirit, the Holy Ghost.  You do not know when or where from which the spirit comes, but when it comes upon you, you know it.  When you walk as Jesus walked, then you are baptized with the Holy Ghost.

In closing:  God knows what is in your heart.  His commandments are for you to choose God and be born again in the spirit.  To show your love of God and love of your neighbor!  To do his will.  To keep yourself in the love of God, with the end, the promise of everlasting life, to be with Jesus and tarry with him in heaven.

To God be the glory in all you do, Amen.