Bible Study 5 Prescriptions for Lukewarm Christianity

[iLOVE]

“THE EXALTATION OF CHRIST

• Concerning the Exaltation Paul wrote:

“Has in these last days (the dispensation of Grace, which is the Church Age) spoken unto us by His Son (speaks of the Incarnation), Whom He has appointed Heir of all things (through the means of the Cross), by Whom also He made the worlds (proclaims His Deity, as the previous phrase of Him being the ‘Heir of all things’ proclaims His Humanity);”

“AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE MAJESTY ON HIGH

“Who being the brightness of His Glory (the radiance of God’s Glory), and the express Image of His Person (the exact reproduction), and upholding all things by the Word of His Power (carries the meaning of Jesus not only sustaining the weight of the universe, but also maintaining its coherence and carrying on its development), when He had by Himself purged our sins (which He did at the Cross, dealing with sin regarding its cause, its power, and its guilt), sat down on the Right Hand of the Majesty on high (speaks of the Finished Work of Christ, and that the Sacrifice was accepted by the Father)” (Heb. 1:2-3).”

“GOD HAS HIGHLY EXALTED HIM

• “And being found in fashion as a man (denotes Christ in men’s eyes), He humbled Himself (He was brought low, but willingly), and became obedient unto death (does not mean He became obedient to death; He was always the Master of Death; rather, He subjected Himself to death), even the death of the Cross. (This presents the character of His Death as one of disgrace and degradation, which was necessary for men to be redeemed. This type of death alone would pay the terrible sin debt, and do so in totality.)
“Wherefore God also has highly exalted Him (to a place of supreme Majesty; Jesus has always been Creator, but now He is Saviour as well), and given Him a Name which is above every name (actually says, ‘The Name,’ referring to a specific Name and Title; that Name, as Verse 11 proclaims, is ‘Lord’):”

“JESUS CHRIST IS LORD

“That at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow (in the sphere of the Name, which refers to all it entails; all of this is a result of the Cross, the price paid there, and the Redemption consequently afforded), of things in Heaven, and things in Earth, and things under the Earth (all Creation will render homage, whether animate or inanimate);
“And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (proclaims ‘Lord’ as the ‘Name’ of Verse 9; it means ‘Master’ of all, which again has been made possible by the Cross), to the Glory of God the Father. (The acknowledgment of the Glory of Christ is the acknowledgment of the Glory of the Father.)” (Phil. 2:8-11).”

“THE INTERCESSORY WORK OF CHRIST

The Exaltation of Christ also includes His Intercessory Work, all on our behalf. Paul again wrote:

“Wherefore He (the Lord Jesus Christ) is able also to save them to the uttermost (proclaims the fact that Christ Alone has made the only true Atonement for sin; He did this at the Cross) who come unto God by Him (proclaims the only manner in which man can come to God), seeing He ever lives to make intercession for them. (His very Presence by the Right Hand of the Father guarantees such, with nothing else having to be done.)” (Heb. 7:25).”

“THE THRONE OF GRACE

In regard to His Intercessory Work, Paul also said:

“For we have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities (being Very Man as well as Very God, He can do such); but was at all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. (His temptation, and ours as well, was to leave the prescribed Will of God, which is the Word of God; but He never did, not even one time.)

“Let us therefore come boldly unto the Throne of Grace (presents the Seat of Divine Power, and yet the Source of boundless Grace), that we may obtain Mercy (presents that which we want first), and find Grace to help in time of need (refers to the Goodness of God extended to all who come, and during any ‘time of need’; all made possible by the Cross)” (Heb. 4:15-16).”

“As should be obvious, while the Resurrection, the Ascension, and the Exaltation of Christ were, as previously stated, of utmost significance, still, these tremendous attributes were the result of what Jesus did at the Cross. This means that it was and is the Cross, which made and makes it all possible.

As I close the answer to the question, “Is the Atonement found solely in the Cross or the Resurrection?”, the following word given by Oswald Chambers would be appropriate. He titled it, the heading that I will once again use:”

“IT IS FINISHED

“I have finished the Work which You gave Me to do” (Jn. 17:4).
“The Death of Jesus Christ is the performance in history of the very Mind of God. There is no room for looking on Jesus Christ as a martyr; His death was not something that happened to Him which might have been prevented; His death was the very reason why He came.

“Never build your preaching of forgiveness on the fact that God is our Father and He will forgive us merely because He loves us. It is untrue to Jesus Christ’s revelation of God; it makes the Cross unnecessary, and the Redemption ‘much ado about nothing.’ If God does forgive sin, it is because of the Death of Christ. God could forgive men in no other way than by the Death of His Son, and Jesus is exalted to be Savior because of His Death. ‘We see Jesus because of the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor.’ The greatest note of triumph that ever sounded in the ears of a startled universe was that sounded on the Cross of Christ — ‘it is finished.’ That is the last word in the Redemption of man.

“THE CROSS OF CHRIST
“Anything that belittles or obliterates the holiness of God by a false view of the love of God, is untrue to the Revelation of God given by Jesus Christ. Never allow the thought that Jesus Christ stands with us against God out of pity and compassion; that He became a curse for us out of sympathy with us. Jesus Christ became a curse for us by the Divine Decree. Our portion of realizing the terrific meaning of the curse is conviction of sin, the gift of shame and penitence is given us — this is the great Mercy of God. Jesus Christ hates the wrong in man, and Calvary is the estimate of His hatred.”

JSM

 

[ezra]

Of course, Paul preached the Resurrection of Christ, even as Chapter 15 of I Corinthians bears out, but not as the Atonement.

look i am tired not feeling good.i have no more time for show and tell JSM YOUR GETTING ANNOYING

 

[iLOVE]

SIGH****** YOU JUST DONT GET IT DO YOU... you must worship JSM

The scripture says, "take my Yoke and learn of Me." God has chosen for me to learn of His Beloved Son through JSM. Amen

 

[iLOVE]

JSM comments are from the Baptist scholars.

 

[iLOVE]

look i am tired not feeling good.i have no more time for show and tell JSM YOUR GETTING ANNOYING

You are in good company. The Pharisee became annoyed also with Jesus answers.

 

[ezra]

You are in good company. The Pharisee became annoyed also with Jesus answers.

YES AND THE SADDUCEE was correct also. if you think you can have salvation with just the cross only so be it

 

[Tessa]

this once again is from David Jeremiah .. whether we want to admit it there is little bit of everything in us .that pertains to the 7 churches
our Holiness is Christ in us. beyond that we have nothing and we are nothing. as i have studied the 7 churches today we look at #6 and 7 .church of Philadelphia was the faithful Church Laodicea he was on there case hot and heavy neither hot or cold you make me sick ..ekkk what a bad thing to hear from Christ. so as we read this ..let us consider how we would react if the letters was directed to us..


5 Prescriptions for Lukewarm Christianity


Revelation 3:14–22

Has anyone ever said to you, or have you ever said to another person, "You make me sick!"? Those are strong words, but it's exactly the message Jesus had for the church at Laodicea.

Laodicea was a wealthy city, known for its advances in business, science, and industry. But Jesus had nothing positive to say about the church in this city.

The Laodicean believers were comfortably proud of their own wealth, their own status, and their own accomplishments "for the kingdom." They thought they were prosperous and successful, but in reality, Jesus said they were "wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked" (3:17).

In His letters to the other churches, Jesus was angered by apostasy, but He became positively ill—absolutely disgusted—by the casual indifference of the Laodiceans. He said to the church, "Because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth" (3:16).
This is the only place in the New Testament where the word lukewarm is used. It's actually drawn from the geography of the city. The water at Laodicea was not drinkable, so the city had water pumped in from surrounding cities—hot water from Hierapolis (north) and cold water from Colossae (south). Hot water can be cleansing and healing; cold water can be refreshing. But by the time the water reached Laodicea, it was lukewarm and hard to stomach—just like the faith of the church there.
Unfortunately, there are many Laodicean churches today. They have become lukewarm about the Gospel. They have lost their zeal for evangelism, and they don't take a stand on spiritual or moral issues.
Some churches grow vast congregations, increase the variety and number of their programs, and build larger and larger buildings to accomplish their purposes—which they mistake for those of Christ. In reality, He may be pushed outside and left knocking at the door. How sad to think of Him returning to His Church at the end of the age and finding Himself persona non grata!
In light of their lukewarm condition, Christ, the Great Physician, gave the church at Laodicea—and lukewarm churches today—five prescriptions:

1. For spiritual poverty, Jesus prescribed "gold"—spiritual riches, such as character and virtue, and other blessings and rewards—all refined in the fire of suffering (3:18).
2. For spiritual nakedness, Jesus prescribed the garments of righteousness (3:18).
3. For spiritual blindness, Jesus prescribed a spiritual salve that would open their eyes to their true spiritual condition (3:18).
4. For spiritual compromise, Jesus prescribed repentance and zeal (3:19).
5. For their spiritual deafness, Jesus prescribed a listening ear, to hear His voice—His knock—and open the door and welcome Him to come in (3:20).

What about you? Are you rich in Christ and in Christlike character? Are you growing in knowledge and in the fullness of His grace (Colossians 1:9–10)? How have you opened the door of your heart to Him lately?
Lord God, give me a heart that burns with love and holy zeal for You! Forgive me for the times I have been lukewarm. Jesus, I gladly open the door of my heart and welcome You to come in today.

Haggai 1:5
Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways.

I love this message
I haven't clue who JSM is. But this is the bible we are talking about do let's keep to that. The verses ezra has quoted tell us what the problem are and how we can rectify it, it tells us what will happen if we don't and what will happen if we do.
Robe of righteousness - accept God's gift, and Jesus as our saviour, accept Hiz great sacrifice. love God with all your heart, mind and soul. Confess your sins and repent.
Ezra please carry on this message in Revelation is very important

 

[iLOVE]

YES AND THE SADDUCEE was correct also. if you think you can have salvation with just the cross only so be it

The Cross of Calvary = The Blood of Jesus, i.e., The Finished Work. When I talk about “The Finished Work of Christ,” I am including the Resurrection.

 

[ezra]

I haven't clue who JSM is.

Jimmy Swaggart a well known t.v Evangelist cousin to jerry lee lewis https://jsm.org/

 

[ezra]

The Cross of Calvary = The Blood of Jesus, i.e., The Finished Work. When I talk about “The Finished Work of Christ,” I am including the Resurrection.

not what you said .you kept clinging to the cross .the cross it self has no power . only in what christ done for us. today we have our cross which is a spiritual cross . i respect jsm . i do have some disagreement with jimmy and his son Donny. next time you need to fully clarify what your saying... you kept arguing with me on the Resurrection which is how we get the new life. had he just been crucified he would have been the same as john the baptist a martyr person.. after he gave up the ghost they placed him in the tomb. 3 days later they went to check on him.. he was not there why see ye the living among the dead. that is the importance and of course the Crucifixion had to be to fulfill the law .

 

[iLOVE]

not what you said .you kept clinging to the cross .the cross it self has no power . only in what christ done for us. today we have our cross which is a spiritual cross . i respect jsm . i do have some disagreement with jimmy and his son Donny. next time you need to fully clarify what your saying... you kept arguing with me on the Resurrection which is how we get the new life. had he just been crucified he would have been the same as john the baptist a martyr person.. after he gave up the ghost they placed him in the tomb. 3 days later they went to check on him.. he was not there why see ye the living among the dead. that is the importance and of course the Crucifixion had to be to fulfill the law .

Jesus replied, "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. Matthew 22:29

THE BLOOD OF JESUS WILL NEVER LOSE IT'S POWER!!!!!!!

1 Corinthians 1:18 King James Version (KJV)

18 For the preaching of the Cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are Saved it is the Power of God.

For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, (Hebrews 10:26)

Amen.

 

[ezra]

Jesus replied, "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. Matthew 22:29

THE BLOOD OF JESUS WILL NEVER LOSE IT'S POWER!!!!!!!

1 Corinthians 1:18 King James Version (KJV)

18 For the preaching of the Cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are Saved it is the Power of God.

For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, (Hebrews 10:26)

Amen.

lol thank you for condemning me to hell .. but the again i may be the villain

 

[iLOVE]

“18 For the preaching (Message) of the Cross is to them who perish foolishness (Spiritual things cannot be discerned by unredeemed people, but that doesn’t matter; the Cross must be preached just the same, even as we shall see); but unto us who are Saved it is the Power of God. (The Cross is the Power of God simply because it was there that the total sin debt was paid, giving the Holy Spirit, in Whom the Power resides, latitude to work mightily within our lives.)

19 For it is written (Isa. 29:14), I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent (speaks to those who are wise in their own eyes, in effect, having forsaken the Ways of the Lord).

20 Where is the wise? (This presents the first of three classes of learned people who lived in that day.) where is the Scribe? (This pertained to the Jewish Theologians of that day.) where is the disputer of this world? (This speaks of the Greeks, who were seekers of mystical and metaphysical interpretations.) has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? (This pertains to what God did in sending His Son to Redeem humanity, which He did by the Cross. All the wisdom of the world couldn’t do this!)” 1 Cor. 1:18-20

JSM

 

[ezra]

Proverbs 26:5 King James Version (KJV)
5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.

have a good night who knows maybe i will get banned from this section to

 

[iLOVE]

The Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus and the Law of Sin and Death (Rom. 8:2) are the two most powerful Laws in the Universe; the "Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus" alone is stronger than the "Law of Sin and Death"; this means that if the Believer attempts to live for God by any manner other than Faith in Christ and the Cross, i.e., "The Finished Work", i.e., "The Blood of Jesus," they are doomed to failure.

If a Christians faith is not maintain exclusively in Christ and His Finished Work, i.e., The Cross, i.e., The BLOOD of Jesus, the works of the flesh will manifest.

Paul tells us this in the 5th Chapter of Galatians. The entire Book of Galatians, but especially the 5th Chapter, is a warning from Paul to the Church at Galatia, which is also meant for us. The warning is that if they place their faith in anything except “Christ and Him Crucified,” that “Christ shall profit you nothing” (Gal. 5:2).

The Apostle goes on to say that if the Believer doesn’t adhere to the Way of the Spirit, which is the Way of the Cross, then works of the flesh will manifest themselves. He said:

“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God” (Gal. 5:19-21).

Now let me say it again, because it is so very important:
If the Believer doesn’t understand the Cross of Christ, as it regards Sanctification, then, in some way, one or more of these “works of the flesh” are going to manifest themselves in his life. As stated, such is inevitable! The first four, “Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, and lasciviousness,” are obvious and easily understood. But the modern Christian quickly dismisses “idolatry, witchcraft, and heresies,” thinking they do not really apply today.

Everything that mans does dies; everything Jesus does lives forever and is blessed. Psalm 1:3

JSM

 

[iLOVE]

Very - Very - IMPORTANT!!!!!!!

Those who have departed from the faith

To depart from the faith means that a person had once been in the faith. Brother Swaggart says when we speak of faith at the ministry, we're speaking of faith in the Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. When people leave the Cross and turn to other things, which millions are now doing, the Scripture says of them: "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils" (1 Timothy 4:1).

Needless to say, such individuals, as with the lukewarm and as with those who have a form of godliness, are labeled by the Lord as unsaved, despite their claims, and will not go in the rapture nor enter the strait gate and narrow way that leads unto life.

JSM

 

[iLOVE]

“27 And whosoever does not bear his Cross (this doesn’t speak of suffering as most think, but rather ever making the Cross of Christ the Object of our Faith; we are Saved and we are victorious not by suffering, although that sometimes will happen, or any other similar things, but rather by our Faith, but always with the Cross of Christ as the Object of that Faith), and come after Me (one can follow Christ only by Faith in what He has done for us at the Cross; He recognizes nothing else), cannot be My Disciple (the statement is emphatic!; if it’s not Faith in the Cross of Christ, then it’s faith that God will not recognize, which means that such people are refused [I Cor. 1:17-18, 21, 23; 2:2; Rom. 6:3-14; 8:1-2, 11, 13; Gal. 6:14; Eph. 2:13-18; Col. 2:14-15]).” Luke 14:27


“5 But to him who works not (doesn’t trust in works for Salvation or Righteousness), but believes on Him Who Justifies the ungodly (through Christ and the Cross), his faith is counted for Righteousness (God awards Righteousness only on the basis of Faith in Christ and His Finished Work).” Romans 4:5

TWO DESTINIES

7 Be not deceived (refers to the fact that a Believer can definitely be deceived; Paul is speaking primarily of Believers allowing false teachers to move their Faith from the Cross to other things); God is not mocked (God, in fact, is mocked when we substitute something else in place of the Cross): for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap (the Law of sowing and reaping, which will unfailingly come to pass).

8 For he who sows to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption (those who make something else the object of their Faith, rather than the Cross, which means they are now depending on self-will); but he who sows to the Spirit (does so by trusting exclusively in Christ and what Christ did at the Cross) shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting (God’s Prescribed Order of Victory).” Galatians 6:7-8

We are in the last days. Seducing spirits are using humans to mislead into error.

JSM

 

[iLOVE]

Bread Crumbs “The Spirit in the Believer”

The power of God is available to every believer through the person of the Holy Spirit. If a person has been born-again then the Holy Spirit has moved inside and begins to perform a supernatural work of transformation. The Spirit’s work at redemption destroys the power of sin’s grip over the believer. With the blood of Christ applied by faith, the penalty of sins committed is eliminated. As the Spirit of truth begins to invade every darkened corner of the heart, He exposes to the believer those areas not truly submitted or yet changed by His power. It is the believer’s responsibility to recognize the need for change and to yield to God’s Spirit, allowing Him the opportunity to continuously improve the condition of the new creation. With our faith in Christ and the Cross, the Holy Spirit is free to work on the inner man. With our faith properly placed, the Holy Spirit will glorify Christ’s redemptive work by working within and upon us, giving the world a believer that looks more like Jesus. When we place our faith in anything other than the Cross, the Spirit is grieved and takes a step back. No one can afford to grieve the Holy Spirit. We need Him!

Philippians 2:13 - For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Pastor Loren Larson