General Articles

To Whom Shall We Go? :: By Grant Phillips

Published on: by RR7

“And He said, ‘Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.’ From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. Then Jesus said to the twelve, ‘Do you also want to go away?’ But Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God'” (John 6:65-69, emphasis mine).

Peter certainly gets a lot of flack for being so impulsive. Yes, his emotions were right up front. However, who was the one who came to Jesus walking on water (Matthew 14:25ff)? The others were not willing to step out of the boat.

True, he did brag that he would never desert Jesus and then denied Him three times in one night, but the other disciples turned tail and ran also, except for John.

Peter was headstrong and apparently the first one to speak most of the time, even though it sometimes got him into trouble.

Another time when Jesus told Peter how he would die, He had to put the poor ole fellow in his place because he questioned Jesus about John by saying, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus told him, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?” (John 21:20-22).

I personally think he also jumped the gun in choosing a replacement for Judas. Why? Because it wasn’t his or anyone else’s place to do so. That was Jesus’ prerogative. It is obvious that Jesus chose Paul, and Matthias was never heard of again.

However, have you ever read Peter’s message when he addressed the crowd in Acts 2:14-41? Have you read Peter’s address to the Sanhedrin in Acts 4:1-12? Maybe it would be good to read all that pertained to Peter in the book of Acts. What a change in this formerly verbally clumsy fisherman!

Now let’s go back before the change in our passage above. In John 6:67, Jesus asked, “Do you also want to go away?” Guess who answered Him? Of course, Peter! Some of the wisest words to ever come from a man’s mouth also came from Peter. He replied, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also, we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus is asking that same question to us today. The world hates Jesus and has nearly succeeded in removing any vestige of Him in our schools, our government, even our homes and churches. In this United States of the 21st century, we promote every vile, wicked sin imaginable. Our country’s foundation was built upon the Word of God, but today it is unrecognizable. Satan has free reign in the hearts of those who oppose Jesus and His Church.

Sadly, the prophecy that apostasy will rule the day as the Tribulation draws ever so close is now here. Those who once claimed to be followers of Jesus have done exactly what those did when Jesus asked, “Do you also want to go away?” Just before Jesus asked this question, the previous verse says, “From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more” (John 6:66).

Most in this country, and the world for that matter, have made their own gods. Oh, they aren’t made of wood and stone, but they are gods nonetheless. They are gods of entertainment, gods of government, gods of wealth, gods of pleasure, gods of selfishness, gods of occupations, gods of anything other than the one and only true God.

The most important two groups to any society today are the family unit (not HUD’s definition, but God’s) and the Church. Yet, these two are being ripped apart by Satan’s followers.

FAMILY UNIT:

The family unit is being destroyed by the gods of abortion, divorce, illicit sex, alcohol, illicit drugs, entertainment, selfishness, greed, and the list goes on. Reminds me of 2 Timothy 3:1-7:

“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:1-7).

CHURCH:

In the same manner, the churches have been watered down by the gods of liberalism, greed, ignorance, false gospels, pride, worldly influences (evolution, for example), and again, the list goes on. Reminds me of 2 Timothy 4:3-4:

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

CONCLUSION:

The primary god of this world is the god of self. The family unit and the churches have turned their backs on God and walked away just as those disciples walked away when Jesus said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father,” in our introductory Scripture (John 6:65).

There is only one way to God, and that is through His Son, Jesus of Nazareth. However, most think they have a better way … their way. They all sing in unison a song made popular by Frank Sinatra called “My Way.”

God told Israel, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up” (Deuteronomy 6:4-7).

It would behoove us to take these words seriously. There is only one triune God functioning as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, the very same of “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!”

Yet, in utter foolishness, our triune god of self is composed of Me, Myself, and I … our take on the trinity, if you will.

This is God’s world, and He has laid down His condition to be saved, “… Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved …” (Acts 16:31).

I like what J Vernon McGee said concerning Ananias being struck dead in Acts 5:5.

“There are those today who think that Simon Peter caused the death of this man, Ananias. They even blame him for his death. I want to absolve him of this crime. Simon Peter was probably as much surprised as anyone when Ananias fell down dead. I don’t think that he knew at all what was going to happen. Do you know who struck Ananias dead? God did. Do you feel that you want to bring charges against God? Do you want to call the FBI to tell them that God is guilty of murder?

“May I say to you, if you can give life, you have the right to take it away. This is God’s universe. We are God’s creatures. We breathe His air. We use bodies that He has given to us. My friend, He can take our bodies any time He wishes to. God is not guilty of a crime. This is His discipline within the church. God is the One who is responsible for the death of Ananias and Sapphira.” [Thru The Bible Commentary, Vol 40, Acts Chapters 1-14, Page 63]

If we think we can do it “My Way,” it isn’t going to work. There is only one way, and Peter knew that way. “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus is still asking that burning question, “Do you also want to go away?” Our answer will determine where we spend eternity. Peter gave the correct answer and is in Heaven today. Where will you be?

Grant Phillips

Email: Phillip5769@twc.com
Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
Rapture Ready: https://www.raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips.html

Love, Grace, Mercy, and Forgiveness :: By Mark O.

Published on: by RR7

I want to begin by thanking anyone who read my last article entitled “A Time to Get Mad.” Praise God because I am sure it was not easy to read about all of the issues that were frustrating me at the time. I believe with all of my heart that the issues plaguing all of us in 2021 should anger us to action, but I want it to be clear that I am not an angry person. I love God, and I love people. I hate sin. In other words, I don’t live my life looking for things to get mad about.

A Bible verse that comes to mind is Proverbs 8:13: “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate.”

This is clear; hate evil. Evil is what I am disgusted by. However, as I ended my last article, our hope should be in the soon-coming return of Jesus Christ to call us home at the rapture. We can almost hear the trumpet sound as events are unfolding so quickly that it is so hard to keep track of it all. So it makes me think, how should we live. My prayer is that we would not live our lives in anger or fear. We should live our lives practicing four principles that I believe will change the way we see things happening around us. Those principles are love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness. These four principles, I believe, will offset the frustrations we feel living in this sinful world. So, with that as an introduction, let’s explore these four principles.

Love

Here is the passage of scripture known as the love chapter:

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

“Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.

“And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13).

I know this is a lengthy portion of scripture, but this is our guidebook. Jesus tells us to Love God, our neighbors, and our enemies. This chapter of 1 Corinthians tells us what love looks like. There are Christians out there who have ministries, speak from the pulpits, and look like they are doing well but have lost their love for God and others. I think of social justice ministries and progressive Christianity, which includes the prosperity gospel. They might be rich in terms of earthly success, but without love, they are nothing. Love is the foundation of all that we do. When all else passes away, “the greatest of these is love.”

Let’s talk about what love looks like. First, “Love suffers long and is kind.” Love will suffer through anything. Prayer is an essential part of this because maybe someone is simply unlovable. We need to pray that we can suffer through our trials and continue to love all, even when it is hard to. We also need to be kind to others. It is easy to be kind to those who are kind to us. However, we need to be kind to all. We as believers need to stop being mad over things that are not Biblical and moral issues. If it is not a salvation issue or a moral issue, then we should not be getting involved because, by doing so, especially in anger, we can damage our witness to those who are lost or searching.

Next, “love does not envy.” We should not be jealous of others. Love is the remedy to this. We should rejoice over others’ success, not be envious of it. We deserve death, nothing more, nothing less. “Love does not parade itself, is not puffed up.” Christians should be the most humble. We should not walk around like we are better than anyone else. We are all sinners, and we need to show the lost world we are different than they are. “Love does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

Love never fails.” I am going to tackle this last portion together. It is easy to get angry and be rude to others who treat us that way. We need to treat them with kindness. It is certainly easy to be provoked when we are wronged, but how different would the world look at us if we respond differently. As believers, we need to rejoice in truth and know that our love can endure anything that comes our way. Love is everything. It is with love that we can show grace and mercy to others, and these are the next two principles I want to discuss.

Grace and Mercy

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

“Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love” (2 John 1:3).

Grace and mercy should always be presented in this order because without the grace that God bestows upon us, we cannot show mercy to others. God died for our sins because He loved us and had mercy on us. By God’s grace, we are saved, so how can we not be merciful to those around us.

I often wonder how different this world would be if we actually reached out to those around us in mercy and not in condemnation. We condemn the sin, but we will not win anyone to Jesus unless we can be merciful to them as individuals. It would be hypocritical for us not to show mercy to others yet talk of the mercy we have received. There are times when it is easier to punish those who wrong us, but our Christian walk was never meant to be easy. I contend the higher road is to show them mercy so they might actually know that we are different. When that happens, then a conversation can spark that might actually lead this individual to Jesus. Mercy and forgiveness go hand in hand, so with that, I will move on to the final principle, which is forgiveness.

Forgiveness

Forgiveness goes hand in hand with grace and mercy. Forgiveness is given to the believer when we come to Him, confess our sins, and acknowledge that Christ is Lord. Then we turn away from our old life and walk with Jesus. But here is the thing about forgiveness: we need to forgive others just as Jesus did for us. “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses” (Mark 11:25). How can we hold any small offense against anyone when God forgave us for so much? Jesus took the sins of the world upon himself. There is nothing we could ever do to each other that would rival what Jesus did. Yet, how many times do we choose not to forgive.

Here is a verse we need to remember: “Then Peter came to Him and said, ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants'” (Matt 18:21-23).

Yes, it would be better if the offender would come and seek forgiveness, as we do when we come to Jesus, but we should forgive regardless because we are commanded to. It is better to let go, so that way, bitterness will not set up shop in one’s heart. Not only is bitterness sin, it can also rot away at one’s health. Forgiveness is very important because it ties back into the first principle I mentioned, love. Do we love our enemies enough to forgive them and let go, as Christ forgave us?

Conclusion

In conclusion, I firmly believe we live in a world where it is hard not to become angry over the injustices we see. And while this is normal, it does need to be kept in check. These four principles I just outlined – love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness – I believe are the keys to overcoming the anger we might be feeling over the evil this world pushes at us. We need to stand firm in Jesus Christ and allow him to work in our lives to produce the fruit that will spring forth in our lives. He alone can do the work that we cannot do on our own. Finally, we need to look up because our redemption draws near!

Maranatha!

Mark