1st Timothy
2:1-6, “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers,
intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for
all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in
all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of
God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the
knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God
and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be
testified in due time.”
Nearly everyone likes to quote 1st Timothy
2:5 by itself, “For there is
one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
But carefully read the first five verses. There is a great truth to be learned tucked away passage of inspired Scripture. The key verse indeed is found in
verse 5, “For there is one God, and one mediator
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” We are admonished
to pray for our leaders and all those who are in positions of authority, but
the reason why is given in verse 5, because JESUS CHRIST IS THE ONE MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MEN!!!
That is why we
are commanded to pray for “ALL MEN,” because Jesus is the “ONE MEDIATOR”
between God and men. God is still on His throne! We ought to pray for
“ALL THAT ARE IN AUTHORITY,” because “The king's heart is in the
hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he
will” (Proverbs 21:1). You may think that men are in control of their
own affairs in this world, but ultimately God is in charge. Man can only go
so far until God intercedes. Thomas Jefferson understood this truth...
“I tremble for my
country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep
forever.” —Thomas
Jefferson, U.S. President (1801-1809)
The reason why Christians ought to pray for our
nation's leaders is because Jesus Christ is the MEDIATOR between God and
men, and when we pray the Lord can preserve our liberties and freedoms.
Prayer works! One way or another prayer works. We're never wasting our time
when we pray! From all that I have learned in my short existence on earth,
many people feel like God doesn't answer their prayers. I am convinced that
God intends for it to be this way, because He likes to quietly work behind
the scenes. In the Old Testament book of Esther, “God” is not mentioned even
once; yet if you read the beautiful story, we can see God's hand at work
throughout the situation. I think that is beautiful; but moreover, according
to Romans 15:4b, “whatsoever things were written aforetime were written
for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures
might have hope.”
“God
gives us FREEDOM so we can use it for HIS GLORY, and if
we're not going to use it for His glory, guess what, He
might take it away from us!”
—Pastor Steven L. Anderson; YouTube: “The
Dechristianization Of Our Nation”
|
MP3
Every
believer is commanded to pray for our leaders, for their soul's salvation, and for
Christ to intercede in the lives of men; that we might live godly and
peaceable lives. Jesus Christ is the Mediator between God and men, and if we
expect to live any semblance of a peaceful life, only the power of Jesus
Christ can make it happen. So, PRAY MY CHRISTIAN SISTERS AND BRETHREN! I
regularly pray for all my neighbours. I pray for the apostate independent
Baptist church down the street from me (aka, the Bob Jones crowd at
Harvest
Baptist Church), who have
banned me from returning to church since 2014, because of my stand against
the Devil's modern counterfeit Bible versions which they use, sell and
promote. I pray for other truth-telling preachers. I pray for my family. I
pray for the people in my life. I pray for my web visitors, for God to work
in your mind and heart. You're never wasting your time when you pray! Prayer
works, one way or another, prayer works!
Jesus is Our 'Great High Priest,' Our
'One Mediator' in Heaven
Romans
5:1-2, “Therefore being justified by faith, we
have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have
access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the
glory of God.” We are instructed to pray in 1st Timothy 2:1-6, because
Jesus is the ONE MEDIATOR, and He intercedes in Heaven on the Father's
right-hand. Romans 8:33-34, “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of
God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is
Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right
hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.”
As believers, we have a powerful ally in Heaven. Hebrews 4:14-16,
“Seeing then that we have a great high priest,
that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our
profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the
feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are,
yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the
throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of
need.” So you see dear friend, our great High Priest and
Savior intercedes in Heaven on our behalf as the saints, and He cares about
you and me individually. 1st Peter 5:7, “Casting all your care upon him;
for he careth for you.” God wants us to pray for our leaders and those
in authority, and all men as well, so that we may live quiet and peaceable
lives. Do you know what that teaches me? It teaches me that prayer makes a
difference! It teaches me that my sole voice in prayer can make a
difference! By the way, the retarded New Life
Version (NLV) changes “a great high priest” to “a great religious
leader”!
The Scriptures teach us in 1st Timothy 2:4 that
God wants “ALL MEN TO BE SAVED”! This plainly refutes the false idea
of Limited Atonement, which says only a select chosen few can be
saved. What is “THE TRUTH” in verse 4 that God wants ALL MEN to embrace? It
is THE TRUTH that Jesus is the “ONE MEDIATOR” (verse 5), in Whom we trust
alone for salvation, and Whom can give us “A QUIET AND PEACEABLE LIFE”
(verse 2). Proverbs 21:1, “The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD,
as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.” The
unsaved man may believe in God (as did Cornelius in Acts chapter 10), but
Jesus alone is the ONE MEDIATOR between God the Father and mankind. We are
told that even the demons believe in God in James 2:19, “Thou believest
that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and
tremble.” Believing in God is noble, and reasonable for all good men,
but God's will is for “ALL MEN TO BE SAVED, AND TO COME UNTO THE
KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH.” Salvation is not obtained by believing in God.
Mankind has been alienated from God because of sin. Colossians 1:21, “And
you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind
by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled.” John 3:36, “He that
believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the
Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
So many ignorant preachers misunderstand the
Gospel, so they wrestle the Scriptures in their unlearned foolishness “TO
THEIR OWN DESTRUCTION” (2nd Peter 3:16-17). Salvation is “WITHOUT WORKS”
(Romans 4:5-6) of any kind. According to Hebrews 6:1, salvation involves
repentance from “DEAD WORKS” (which includes all works, both BAD AND
GOOD works). ...
1st Timothy 2:1-6, “I exhort therefore,
that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of
thanks, be made for all men;
2 For kings, and for all that are in
authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and
honesty.
3 For this is good and acceptable in the
sight of God our Saviour;
4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to
come unto the knowledge of the truth.
5 For there is one God, and
one mediator
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be
testified in due time.”
There
is so much wonderful doctrine contained in the preceding verses. Notice in
verse 3 that Jesus is “GOD OUR SAVIOUR”! In verse 4 we see that the Gospel
is called “THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH,” by which we are saved. I
mention those two words, “THE TRUTH,” quite often, which are the foundation
of Christianity, for Jesus Himself is “THE TRUTH” according to John 14:6.
And please notice in verse 6 that Jesus didn't just die for a certain chosen
few (aka, the heresy of “Limited Atonement”), but became “A RANSOM FOR ALL.”
Aren't these truth beautiful?
The name of Jesus Christ is preeminent throughout
history. Our very calendar is based upon the birth of Jesus (i.e., B.C., “Before
Christ” and A.D., “In the year of our Lord”). Every Hollywood movie contains
some disparaging mention of the name of “Jesus,” or horrible blasphemy against a
holy God). Why is Hollywood infatuated with blaspheming the Lord? It just goes
to prove that the name of Jesus is preeminent throughout history. When humans
experience their most intense moments of pain, fear and pleasure, they utter the
name of God! Why is this so? Romans 1:18, “For the wrath of God is revealed
from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men,
who hold the truth in unrighteousness.” There's
those important words again—“THE TRUTH”! If you ever truly humble
yourself dear reader, you will find yourself at the feet of Jesus Christ! Most
people have never truly experienced humility in their life. For if they did,
they'd completely open their heart before God, push away all their vanity and
selfish pride, and cry out unto their Maker as a lost child in the woods. Oh,
how great is our precious heavenly Father, Who sacrificed His only begotten Son
to pay our debt of sin. We are so undeserving of God's love and mercy that
purchased our redemption. The grace of God is a free gift!
Romans 5:15-18, “But not as the offence,
so also is the free gift. For if through
the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and
the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus
Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned,
so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the
free gift is of many offences unto
justification. For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much
more they which receive abundance of grace and of the
gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus
Christ. Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to
condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the
free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.”
I love that phrase in verse 15, “THE GIFT OF
GRACE,” which is by one man, Jesus Christ! It is my heart's sincere
desire that you dear friend, would fully grasp that forgiveness of sins and
eternal life are “THE GIFT OF GRACE”! I am so tired of hearing FALSE
PROPHETS teach that the gift of salvation requires “turning away from sins”
to obtain. They insist and maintain that such a requirement does not
contradict “THE GIFT OF GRACE”; Oh but it does, it does, it does, it
does! Pressuring someone to be willing to turn away from their lifelong
sinful bad habits (drunkenness, fornication, laziness, obesity, greed,
covetousness, lusting, lying, taking the Lord's name in vain, adultery,
hatred, cheating, et cetera) as a prerequisite to saving-faith is a hard
gospel. In fact, it is IMPOSSIBLE!
“I am preaching for the age in which I live. I am just recasting my
vocabulary to suit the people of my age instead of Joshua's age.”
—SOURCE: William T. Ellis, “BILLY SUNDAY:
THE MAN AND HIS MESSAGE,” p. 61; Moody Press, ©1959; ISBN: 0-8024-0042-6.
Jesus Christ Alone is the Mediator of
Our Salvation
Salvation
is solely a matter of ceasing from our own works, and resting wholly in the
'GOOD NEWS' of Jesus Christ! Many false
prophets today (including Charles Lawson and Ray Comfort, which I just
showed you) are teaching falsely that you must turn away from the sins in
your life to be saved, but those are the very DEAD WORKS (Hebrews 6:1) which
God demands we cease from to be saved. Turning from sins effectively
means keeping the LAW to be saved. It cannot be done! Who can turn from all
their sins? That's right, NO ONE!
Perhaps you'd like to hear the wonderful
sermon titled: “IF
THOU SHOULD MARK INIQUITIES, WHO COULD STAND?” (awesome MP3 sermon by
Dr. Jack Hyles). I tell you lovingly dear reader that you and I are dirty,
filthy, rotten, undeserving, sinners! We all deserve to burn in the
tormentuous smoke and fires of Hell for eternity. But the 'GOOD NEWS' is
that Jesus never sinned one time, and He went to the cross as the perfect
sacrifice for the sins of humanity. Jesus became “A RANSOM FOR ALL” (1st
Timothy 2:6). The only begotten Son of God is the precious slain LAMB OF
GOD! Jesus paid a debt He did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not
pay. 2nd Corinthians 5:21, “For he [God the father] hath made him
[God the Son] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be
made the righteousness of God in him [God the Son].”
We are living in some hard times which call
for some hard preaching! God pity the pantywaist coward for a minister who
rarely, if ever, rips and scathes against the awfulness of sin with blistering
words. You'll have to search long and far to find a faithful preacher who
fulfils the following commandments from God...
2nd Timothy “Preach the
word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all
longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure
sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves
teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the
truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure
afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.”
Billy Sunday's biographer, William T. Ellis,
said...
Sunday seemed to have
recovered some of the prophet's lost art of denunciation. He dared call sin
by its proper name. He excoriated the hypocrite. He cared not for feelings
of the unfaithful preacher or of the double-living church member. As for the
Devil and all his lieutenants, Sunday had for them a sizzling,
blistering vocabulary
that helped men to loathe sin. His uncompromising attitude is shown by this
culled from one of his sermons: “They say to me, 'Bill, you rub the fur the
wrong way.' I don't; let the cats turn 'round.”
SOURCE: William T. Ellis, “BILLY SUNDAY:
THE MAN AND HIS MESSAGE,” p. 59; Moody Press, ©1959; ISBN: 0-8024-0042-6.
Bless God, I hope my preaching against sin
harelips every dog in the county! Like Billy Sunday and Jack Hyles, the
wicked have come out against me with their accusations, distortions,
slanders and lies, a cutthroat gang of thugs, because I have come out
uncompromisingly against sin and evil—everything from abortion, same-sex
marriage, Christian Rock music from Hell, booze, Judaism, divorce, Zionism,
adultery, Hollywood, Federal Reserve banking fraud, Las Vegas casino
gambling, sensual dancing, IRS stealing from citizens, the demonic New World
Order and every woeful evil you you can think of!!! So be it, if the shoe
fits, WEAR IT! I also have a few pairs of shoes that I don't like to
wear either (so to speak), but they fit!
We all need to repent and get right with God on a
regular basis!!! No one has ever stayed right with God their entire
Christian life. NO ONE! If you're a human being, and I don't care who you
are, you're either struggling continually to live right for God (Romans
7:14-25), or you're not even trying and have chosen to live in intentional
sin. Proverbs 24:16, “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up
again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.” Even the best
Christians stumble, choosing to go into sin at times. Although some men can
live above reproach if they're fortune, no man can live above committing
sin. 1st Timothy 5:24: “Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before
to judgment; and some men they follow after.” Ah, but God is full of
mercy, willing to abundantly pardon, and promises if we seek His forgiveness
to separate our sins as far as the east is from the west (those two
directions never meet). Psalms 103:12, “As far as the east is from the
west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”
I speak of the practical righteousness which every
Christian believer ought to have. When we are saved, God's imputed
righteousness cleanses all our sins away forever, and we are safe in the
Lord Jesus Christ from the risk of ever losing God's salvation or going to
Hell. However, as God's child we will still struggle with sin on a continual
basis, displeasing the Lord at times. When we sin as a born-again believer,
we are judged as God's child (2nd Corinthians 5:9-11), and not condemned
with the world. 1st Corinthians 11:32, “But when we are judged, we are
chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.” No Christian has God's permission to sin (Romans 3:31), but no amount of
intentional or unintentional sin can ever jeopardize the free gift of
eternal life (through faith alone in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ
crucified, buried and risen). 1st Thessalonians 4:14, “For if we believe
that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will
God bring with him.”
Jesus is the MEDIATOR of our salvation,
to those who believe on His name. To them that believe, Jesus is precious!
