Exposing Dead Faith

"What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,' and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself" (James 2:14- 17).

Jesus said, "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 5:16). Your righteous deeds illuminate the path to God by reflecting His power and grace to others. That brings Him glory and proves your faith is genuine.

Your deeds also serve as the basis of divine judgment. If you practice righteousness, you will receive eternal life; if you practice unrighteousness, you will receive "wrath and indignation" (Rom. 2:6-8). God will judge you on the basis of your deeds because what you do reveals who you really are and what you really believe. That's why any so- called faith that doesn't produce good works is dead and utterly useless!

James illustrates that point in a practical way. If someone lacks the basic necessities of life and comes to you for help, what good does it do if you simply wish him well and send him away without meeting any of his needs? It does no good at all! Your pious words are hypocritical and without substance. If you really wished him well, you would do what you can to give him what he needs! Your unwillingness to do so betrays your true feelings. Similarly, dead faith is hypocritical, shallow, and useless because it doesn't put its claims into action--indeed, it has no divine capacity to do so.

I pray that your life will always manifest true faith and that others will glorify God because of your good works. - John MacArthur

From Drawing Near at gty

Surrender

By Justin Edwards

I'm giving you my heart, and all that is within
I lay it all down for the sake of you my King
I'm giving you my dreams, I'm laying down my rights
I'm giving up my pride for the promise of new life

I'm singing You this song, I'm waiting at the cross
And all the world holds dear, I count it all as loss
For the sake of knowing You for the glory of Your name
To know the lasting joy, even sharing in Your pain

And I surrender all to you, all to you
And I surrender all to you, all to you

Godly Sorrow or "Hopeless Repentance"?

By Justin Edwards

A powerful message on repentance by Pastor Loran Livingston: Godly Sorrow.mp3

NOTES:

• Until Jesus comes into your heart, you belong to the devil
• Until He comes in, you are the temple of the devil
• A nation or individual who tries to do better without calling on the true and living God is only setting themselves up for worse sin
• This happens every January 1st
• What needs to happen is a transfer of ownership, and this only happens when one professes he is a sinner in need of a Savior

• (Luke 11) Good intentions may change the appearance of the house, but it is still empty
• The later state of the man is worse than the first

• Cleaning up your life will not do a thing for you
• people are going to hell thinking they're saved
• they think because they quit doing something, they're better off
• And you don't go to heaven because YOU stopped doing something, you go because Jesus came and did a miraculous transformation in your life
• You can't stop doing things, He has to start doing something inside you!
• Today's church is offering people a cheap way to feel better about themselves without reminding them you must be born again!
• You got to go to the cross and humble yourself in the site of the Lord

• You have people in a repeated manner TRYING to do better, but you go a little further each time you revert
• Each time you try do better without salvation, you revert and go a little further
• This is what happens when YOU try to do better and for a while it seems like you're clean and in order, but the devil knows to come back in and fill you up and draw you farther and push you deeper, and if you do this enough, 2 things will happen:
• 1. Develop a seared conscious; 2. Hopeless repentance

Sidetrack:

• This nation has no conscious
• when you vote, you better make sure you know where he stands on abortion, same-sex marriage, and Israel
• You become responsible when you vote them in!
• And we're gonna pay for it.
• Both parties stink because both have lied, deceived, overspent, and in favor of anything that keeps them in office
• We don't belong to it, we belong to the Kingdom of God!
• We Christians need to get our minds off this world and on to the One that's coming! And get our hearts ready. You can't be home in this world anymore, you need to learn to say "Even so come Lord Jesus!"

Back to message:

• Hopeless repentance
• Judas Iscariot
• If you constantly attempt to straighten out your life without Almighty Help, and see yourself continuing to experiment and go deeper and do more things, a sense of hopelessness will overtake you
• "I will never be able." "It's impossible." "I've tried too many times." "I can't do this."
• You will actually feel you can't be saved and delivered from sin because YOU tried to do it and you can't.
• You will lose hope in God when you should have lost hope in you!
• But in God there's hope! There's the power to live right. God can change anybody. Yes Jesus! the Son of God can take what's wrong and make it right!

• Puffed up Christians
• Sorrow leading to repentance
• Sorrow in godly manner
• Sorrow - one is godly sorrow, one is a worldly sorrow
• Worldly sorrow - being upset with yourself because of a string of messes with yourself
• Never settled down, doing this or that, never getting caught, or getting caught - "I'm sorry I've lived this way"
• Worldly sorrow will kill you
• You can be sorry for your mistakes, even for your sins and still go to hell
• Because sorrow is not about how you have failed people or yourself, sorrow must first go back to Him...I failed Him! And until it's about Jesus, you're still lost.

• Men don't straighten up, but for a little while
• sinners can't straighten up until their sorrow is projected in the right direction, they WILL never straighten up and they WILL never see Jesus as Savior.
• worldly sorrow leads to death, but godly sorrow leads to repentance not to be regretted.

• It's not "look what I've done to people, look what I've done to my family, look what I've done to myself, look how may lives I've destroyed"
• When a person comes to Jesus, what they realize is and what they say is, "Look what I did to God! Look how I've offended heaven. Look what I've done."

• Here's how you know you've repented:
• not because you feel bad about it
• Here's a definition:
• that you've sorrowed in a godly manner;
• what diligence it produces - when you truly repent, you become diligent - read your Bible, prayer, get involved at church, surround yourself with believers, get off your knees and get into action, there will be an immediate and noticeable change
• living a way people will know I've repented
• I want to be clean before Him and before them
• I've had it - discipline enters your life
• fear - I'm capable of doing that again; I have the same nature inside me, but I must stay on my knees, and God, I don't want to fall!
• Vehement desire -- zeal!
• You can't be a relaxed warrior. Nobody is fighting when they're laid back
• I don't care what my friends do, what my family does--I'm going to heaven!
• Not because "we" are going, but because I got my mind made up!
• Vindication - going to show God how much I appreciate what Jesus did on the cross
• Gonna pick up my cross, carry it on my shoulders, and carry it daily
• In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter -- with your attitude and your actions you have proved you have repented, it is not a worldly sorrow, it is a godly sorrow.
• And when you live like this you're on your way to heaven!

• Psalm 51
• If David had been Joseph in a time of testing and temptation, he would not have had to write Psalm 51
• Joseph - "How can I sin, this great evil, against God?"
• A man that loves God, I can't handle this on my own
• I'd rather be in jail with a clear conscious, than on the throne with a guilty one
• This is not about me, this is about God!
• That realization that he owed God his life, kept him from doing a destructive sin
• David paid for it the rest of his life
• But Joseph ran
• I've been delivered, I don't belong to myself, I belong to the Lord!
• I have to reconcile every day
• Devil will tempt you every day
• Jesus has come into this house!
• With God's help, I'm going to live for Christ!
• You will never forget your sins
• You gotta fight, you gotta flee every day of your life
• Flee upward with eyes on Jesus!
• Fight, flee, and forgive

• 
  
• Do you want Jesus to give you the calm assurance that He has forgiven you, that He has forgotten?
• He can save anybody from anything anytime if you'll ask Him
• Remember, no matter how bad it was, this is what Jesus can do
  
• You can't make it on your own, you can't stop on your own, it has to be God's Holy Spirit
• You have to humble yourself, and mean business about living right.

The False Prophet

By Justin Edwards

We continue with the series When Christ Returns as Loran Livingston teaches on the False Prophet in the Great Tribulation period.

Direct download: The False Prophet mp3


The False Prophet

John | MySpace Video

Urgent Message Gospel Tract Resource (Free PDF Download)

By Justin Edwards

Many of you have read the Urgent Message over the last year and have shared in my excitement that Jesus is coming for His Church - and soon! Lately I have wanted to format it in a way to share it in person and was able to do that over the weekend. Most importantly, I updated with Scripture and made it more concise for easier reading. Perhaps some day soon I will be able to have these printed in bulk, but in the meantime, I am printing them from my computer.

I welcome you to do the same if you are able with your own printing resources. Printing the 2 pages front and back allows for the letter to be folded nicely. I recommend printing with the option "fit to printable area". I plan on handing these out and leaving in random places. I'm really looking forward to following in Mark Cahill's footsteps and leaving them in a case of beer - what a surprise that would be, huh?

In all seriousness, I pray God takes one of these pamphlets to stir someone to realize just how urgent it is they come to Christ today. Whether the urgency is to escape the tribulation to come or escape death itself, every person breathing oxygen is in dire straights without the Lord Jesus Christ. Please, if you do not use this message to share Jesus with the lost, by all means share Him any way you can - with Gospel tracts, your mouth, or through the internet.

Time is indeed of the essence, make sure you KNOW where you will spend eternity, and make sure you are obedient in proclaiming His name to the ends of the earth.

To download the pdf, please click here: Urgent Message PDF

I will keep you updated if I am able to offer these pamphlets in bulk.

God bless you all and continue to look up as our Redeemer draws near!

A Broken and Contrite Heart

By Justin Edwards

   Have mercy upon me, O God,
         According to Your lovingkindness;
         According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
         Blot out my transgressions.
   Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
         And cleanse me from my sin.
       
   For I acknowledge my transgressions,
         And my sin is always before me.
   Against You, You only, have I sinned,
         And done this evil in Your sight—
         That You may be found just when You speak,^[a]
         And blameless when You judge.
       
   Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
         And in sin my mother conceived me.
   Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,
         And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.
       
  Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
         Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
  Make me hear joy and gladness,
         That the bones You have broken may rejoice.
   Hide Your face from my sins,
         And blot out all my iniquities.
       
    Create in me a clean heart, O God,
         And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
    Do not cast me away from Your presence,
         And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
       
    Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
         And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
    Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
         And sinners shall be converted to You.
       
    Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
         The God of my salvation,
         And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.
    O Lord, open my lips,
         And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
    For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;
         You do not delight in burnt offering.
    The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
         A broken and a contrite heart—
         These, O God, You will not despise.
       
    Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion;
         Build the walls of Jerusalem.
    Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness,
         With burnt offering and whole burnt offering;
         Then they shall offer bulls on Your altar.

Psalm 51 

Dear Father

By Justin Edwards

Happy Father's Day to all of you men who have been blessed with the responsibility to raise a child in this world. Let us remember what God has intended for us through parenthood, and this great responsibility we have to raise our children in the truth of God' Word. Chuck Swindoll warns,

You want to mess up the minds of your children? Here's how - guaranteed! Rear them in a legalistic, tight context of external religion, where performance is more important than reality. Fake your faith. Sneak around and pretend your spirituality . Train your children to do the same. Embrace a long list of do's and don'ts publicly but hypocritically practice them privately... yet never own up to the fact that its hypocrisy. Act one way but live another. And you can count on it - emotional and spiritual damage will occur.

But rather, we should,

Proverbs 22:6

⁶ Train up a child in the way he should go,

      And when he is old he will not depart from it. 

The following is a timely article from Got Questions. May we be obedient to the standard God has set before us through the power and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:25,

²⁵ Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

Question: "What does the Bible say about Christian fathers?"

Answer: The greatest commandment in Scripture is this: “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5). Going back to verse 2, we read, “So that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life.” Following Deuteronomy 6:5, we read, “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (vv. 6-7).

Israelite history reveals that the father was to be diligent in instructing his children in the ways and words of the Lord for their own spiritual development and well-being. The father who was obedient to the commands of Scripture did just that. This brings us to Proverbs 22:6, “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” To “train” indicates the first instruction that a father and mother give to a child, i.e., his early education. The training is designed to make clear to children the manner of life they are intended for. To commence a child's early education in this way is of great importance.

Ephesians 6:4 is a summary of instructions to the father, stated in both a negative and positive way. “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” The negative part of this verse indicates that a father is not to foster negativity in his children by severity, injustice, partiality, or unreasonable exercise of authority. Harsh, unreasonable conduct towards a child will only serve to nurture evil in the heart. The word “provoke” means “to irritate, exasperate, rub the wrong way, or incite.” This is done by a wrong spirit and wrong methods—severity, unreasonableness, sternness, harshness, cruel demands, needless restrictions, and selfish insistence upon dictatorial authority. Such provocation will produce adverse reactions, deadening children’s affection, reducing their desire for holiness, and making them feel that they cannot possibly please their parents. A wise parent seeks to make obedience desirable and attainable by love and gentleness.

The positive part of Ephesians 6:4 is expressed in a comprehensive direction—educate them, bring them up, develop their conduct in all of life by the instruction and admonition of the Lord. This is the whole process of educating and discipline. The word “admonition” carries the idea of reminding the child of faults (constructively) and duties (responsibilities).

The Christian father is really an instrument in God's hand. The whole process of instruction and discipline must be that which God commands and which He administers, so that His authority should be brought into constant and immediate contact with the mind, heart, and conscience of children. The human father should never present himself as the ultimate authority to determine truth and duty. It is only by making God the teacher and ruler on whose authority everything is done that the goals of education can best be attained.

Martin Luther said, “Keep an apple beside the rod to give the child when he does well.” Discipline must be exercised with watchful care and constant training with much prayer. Chastening, discipline, and counsel by the Word of God, giving both reproof and encouragement, is at the core of “admonition.” The instruction proceeds from the Lord, is learned in the school of Christian experience, and is administered by the parents—primarily the father, but also, under his direction, the mother. Christian discipline is needed to enable children to grow up with reverence for God, respect for parental authority, knowledge of Christian standards, and habits of self-control.

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). A father’s first responsibility is to acquaint his children with Scripture. The means and methods that fathers may use to teach God's truth will vary. As the father is faithful in role modeling, what children learn about God will put them in good standing throughout their earthly lives, no matter what they do or where they go.