Newsletter April 8, 2011

	Faith in the Word	April 8th, 2010
		Be that Ambassador for Christ.   We can all share the message of salvation with others.  Forward to a friend or family member 2 Cor, 5:20 (KJV)  Now then we are ambassadors for Christ,as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. Do you know someone like this?  Recently I asked someone about their salvation; I asked are you saved and the answer was I hope so.  My first thought was he has not studied to be sure and I hope that Fire Insurance Policy he bought  is correct.   Don't you believe God can confirm all things in his word?   Post your comment about this this newsletter on the Stewart Topping Blog at www.menafterchrist.net (click on comment)
	Salvation Forward this message to a friend Salvation seems to be the most confusing part of Christian belief.  Remember the last newsletter when we talked about the recent survey that 72% of Christians believe that there are many was to heaven. That would indicate that their idea of salvation is not based on the Bible, but on what people have heard. A lot of what we think comes from people we trust.  Let’s look at what the Bible says and let us study what it says.  What is it that you believe? Can you prove it by finding the scripture to back up you belief? You could say; well that is what my Church believes, so that is what I believe. Think about that statement. I think most of us would believe that is a cope out to keep from dealing with the truth and spending the time to verify your beliefs.  What do you believe? 1. Do you think that Water Baptism is part of salvation?  2. Do you think that you have to do something for that salvation?  3. Do you think that all the good things you do need to out weigh the bad things to get you in?  4. Do you think in the end God will accept you no matter what you have done?  5. Do you think that going to church plays a part in you salvation?  Do you really know that you will be welcomed into Heaven?  It’s like having a ticket for a trip to Boston and that when you get to the plane and present the ticket, they say to you this ticket is a fake. I hope you are not waiting with a ticket to heaven without checking to see if is a fake. Let look at the condition for salvation.  What does the Bible say?  The apostle Paul said in;  1 Corinthians 15:1-4 (NKJV) 1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.  Let’s look at some key points;  1. In verse #1 and #2 Paul declared to us” the gospel” which we can be “saved” unless we believed in vain!  2. In verse #3 Paul was given the opportunity to receive the same message of salvation first!  3. There are 3 point to what we must believe;       a. Christ died for our sins.       b. Christ was buried.       c. He rose again the third day. (by the power of God       not man)  Did you see that there is no mention of works for your salvation except to believe?  You ask, what is works? Anything that you do to receive salvation, it may be one of the five things I mentioned at the beginning of the newsletter, let’s look at the following verse together.  Ephesians 2:8 (NKJV) 8 for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,” Can you see what it says …. Not of yourselves. No works!  Grace is a free gift; it is an act of God, not of man. Do you ever remember receiving a gift and then having to work to receive the gift It very difficult to understand that Salvation is free if you believe, really believe.  So it comes down to what truth you will believe.  How do we receive truth? Look at this verse!  (Romans 10:17 (NKJV) 17 so then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God). And remember the Holy Spirit is the teacher, not the opinion you received from others;  And always remember that God must be part of our learning, check out this verse;  1 John 2:27 (NKJV) 27 But the anointing (those that believe) which you have received from Him (God) abides in you (the Holy Spirit), and you do not need that anyone teach you; (that’s part of the relationship you have with God thru Jesus) but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.  So what is the definition of believe?  Believe is “To have confidence in the truth, the existence, or thereliability of something, although without absolute proof thatone is right in doing so: Only if one believes in something can one act purposefully”.  So it comes down what you really believe; • He died  • He was buried  • He rose again  No religion has ever claimed, except Christianity, that their God was raised from the dead! Only a true God could do that! Really think about what you believe?  Look up the verses in this newsletter, asks God to help you understand and believe!  1 Cor. 15:1-5; Eph. 2:8; Rom. 10:17; 1 John 2:27 Post your comment about this this newsletter on the Stewart Topping Blog at www.menafterchrist.net (click on comment)
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Newsletter April 1, 2011

Newsletter from  Stewart Topping April 1, 2011

Dear Reader  I hope you look forward to this Newsletter! I enjoy writing them. Do you remember what our parents told us. You only get out what you put in to it. That goes for studying the Bible. Don't expect to have any understanding of the Bible if you don't put time in to it. Isn't it great we have the ability to understand and have a firm foundation; with the help of the Holy Spirit. Hope you will read the whole article and then meditate on it. Study the verses and ask God to help you understand. WE CAN UNDERSTAND? What is exciting is that God has a plan for each of us and has placed it in the Bible for us to read and understand. Why don’t we know more? Why don't we know what we believe? You will see in the following survey by the Christian Post; they don't know the truth about salvation if 72 % think that there are many ways to eternal Life. Maybe we are too well off. Maybe there are too many things that take up our time, TV, Movies, Shopping and Places to Travel. The Nation of Israel always had a problem with their relationship with God when they had wealth and prosperity. One of the biggest problems we face is not spending enough time reading the Bible. It seems that we allow others to give us their understanding. Since we don’t spend the time to understand we are left in the hands of others to teach us. Some may not be teachers. Do these people actually study or do they get there material from prepared sermons. We need people who hear from God. We then need to prove what we hear. Today Christians don't want to spent the time to study to find the truth. Reading is not studying. We might get a warm fussy feeling, but do we understand what we read. We can change things by setting aside time each day to study. We can change the next survey from a negative one to a positive one. The lack of understanding is why so many Christians think there are many ways to be saved. Read this survey. Here is a survey by the Christianity Post: Many Americans Say Christianity Not the Only Way to Eternal Life Most American Christians believe many religions can lead to eternal life and among them, the vast majority says you don't even have to be Christian to go to heaven, a new survey shows. Sixty-five percent of all Christians say there are multiple paths to eternal life, ultimately rejecting the exclusivity of Christ teaching, according to the latest survey conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. Even among white evangelical Protestants, 72 percent of those who say many religions can lead to eternal life name at least one non-Christian religion, such as Judaism or Islam or no religion at all, that can lead to salvation. Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary called the survey results "a theological crisis for American evangelicals," according to USA Today. Why is this, because believers do not want to study? We can understand because we have the Holy Spirit, the same power that raised Jesus from the Dead. We need to trust Jesus in order to understand the words he wrote through people who were inspired by the Holy Spirit. Look at this verse and consider it as a promise to you and me. John 14:25-26 (GW) 25 “I have told you this while I'm still with you. 26 However, the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything. He will remind you of everything that I have ever told you.    Here is an article I came across that sums up my point. Please read and think about how much time you put into your relationship with God. DO YOU UNDERSTAND? By Cornelius R. Stam "This was the question Philip asked of the Ethiopian prince as he sat reading from Isaiah's prophecy,Acts 8:30 (NKJV) 30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?" and it is a question which we should continually keep asking ourselves as we read the Holy Scriptures. There are always those among God's people who do not much care whether or not they understand what they read if only it warms their hearts! To them the Bible is little more than a fetish. Taking only those Scriptures which appeal to them, and leaving the rest, they actually feel themselves quite spiritual and often talk about believing the Bible whether or not they understand it! But such "spirituality" is far from genuine, and such "faith" is blind and superstitious at best. While it is true that the Bible teaches many truths which we believe, although they are beyond our comprehension (such as its opening verse!), yet how can we believe what the Bible says unless we understand what it says? God would have us understand what we read and believe it intelligently. Indeed, true faith will want to know and understand more and more of God's Word. One who does not care whether or not he understands what God has said is not truly interested in knowing what God has said. His faith is based on his own will rather than on God's Word, for regardless of the meaning of Scripture, he will take any passage that suits his fancy and use it as he wishes. How great an emphasis God Himself places upon the importance of understanding His Word! On one occasion, when our Lord saw the multitudes, He "was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things" Mark 6:34 (NKJV) 34 And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things. . And now that the secret of God's "eternal purpose" has been made known, how much more reason there is to study the Scriptures, with a view to understanding them! How Paul, by the Spirit, emphasizes this, as he writes of his prayers for the saints:" (Eph. 1:17,18) "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: "The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling..." . What a verse … what a promise. Can you see what Paul is telling us? I hope so, because we can change the world, one by one. Recommit yourself to finding the truth and sharing it with others . You can go to our website to find articles on a variety subjects. If you want to read other Newsletter or article's I have written then go to my website  Link to my website

Newsletter March 25, 2011

Newsletter from  Stewart Topping March 25, 2011

Today we make statements concerning Moses Law, like we need to live by the 10 commandment.  If that was true we would be sacrificing animals for our sins.  Gal 5:18 says; But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.  As part of the Body of Christ we are led by Gods Spirit.  I hope you will read, study and share with others.  The Mystery? All of us need to understand the mystery that the scriptures talk about and to know why it is important to us as believers in Jesus Christ.  This is what Paul said; Romans 11:25 (KJV)  For I would not, brethren, that ye should beignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.  He is telling us that we should not be ignorant of the Mystery.  Some Churches today will tell you that no one can know the Mysteries of God.  I am sure they never looked for it or studied the Bible.  It is clear as a window pane.  If you study and ask for God to help you understand; He will! It’s kind of funny what Paul is saying in this scripture; you should not be ignorant of the mystery; why because we may be wise in our own conceits.  Tough words for us to swallow, we need to read and take heed; because it will change our lives if we understand the Mystery. What we need to do is study and study; remember this verse; 2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV) 15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. The words rightly dividing mean to separate not understanding.  So he is telling us to separate theword of truth.  This is why I have been bringing this up so often.  God has different missions during history that he has planned in order to reach the people he created; these are called dispensations.  We live in the “Dispensation of Grace”.  When the Jewish Nation was trained for hundred's of years to expect the messiah and then he comes on the scene; what do you do, after the Jews accepted Jesus as the Messiah then they were to go to the world; they would lead the great commission and bring salvation to the Gentiles with only the message of the cross not the Law.  Why would you bring the message of the Law when the Law was fulfilled in Jesus.  You then would bring the massage of the cross.  We must understand the revelation that Jesus gave Paul for us.   Listen to what Paul said; Ephesians 3:1-6 (KJV) 1 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, 2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of thegrace of God which is given me to you-ward: 3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, 4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) 5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;  The nation of Israel lived in the Dispensation of the Law.  That required them to followl the Law that was given to Moses and then taught to the Children of Israel for them to follow.  What was the bases of the Law; the coming Messiah.  So when the Messiah then the the age of the Law ended.  We are not living in the same period.  Here are the 7 Dispensations or the Age; for more detail go here. 1.  The Age of Innocence, from the creation of Adam and Eve until they fell into sin. (One Race) 2.  The Age of Conscience, from the fall into sin to Noah's flood. (Race destroyed, except for Noah and family) 3.  The Age of Human Government, from Noah to Abraham.  (One Race) 4.  The Age of Promise, from Abraham to Moses. (Jews and Gentiles) 5.  The Age of Law, from Moses to Christ. (Jews and Gentiles) 6.  The Age of Grace, from the death of Christ to the rapture of the Church. (Body of Christ) 7.  The Age of Christ, His personal 1000 year reign, yet future.  (Unbelievers both Jews and Gentiles) Another important part of Romans 11:25 is the section that says that blindness has come upon Israel.  Why would God blind Israel?  This was spoken by the Prophet Esaias (Isaiah).  This is considered the reason that started the change in dispensations from the Jews to the Gentiles.  After the rapture God's plan is to go back to the Jewish Nation with the final dispensation The age of Christ.   Acts 28:25-29 (KJV) 25 And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias (Isaiah) the prophet unto our fathers, 26 Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: 27 For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. 28 Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it. 29 And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves. You can see that Israel was waxed gross and dull of hearing and their eyes closed.  Maybe they had already blinded themselves by their own conceit.  They read the scripture every day and in Chapter 53 of Isaiah which was the most read; but they still did not hear or see.   Rightly dividing means to rightly divide the way God would talk to us today; not through the Law but by His Spirit. Now here Paul is telling us that he was given the dispensation of Grace for us. We are in the Dispensation of Grace now.  Let’s look more into what Paul said: Ephesians 3:2 (NKJV) 2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, Since Paul is our teacher because Jesus gave him revelation about the new program after Jesus rose from the grave. His message is for us today.  The Dispensation of the Law was given by God for the Jewish Nation.  Abraham was chosen to start a new nation dedicated to God because the human race had turned from God and no one was listening.  Act 28: 25-29} Now let’s look at how we can join the “Body of Christ”, during the Dispensation of Grace.  The following verse says by one spirit; the Holy Spirit.  We are many members but one body.  We are baptized into the Body of Christ not by water baptism but baptism by the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:12-14 (KJV) 12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For the body is not one member, but many. We must realize that we become part of the Body of Christ when we are filled with the Holy Spirit and from the time forward we are not called Jews or Gentiles anymore.  Why, because God has started a new dispensation.  In the next few weeks we will look at what makes up the new dispensation, “The Body of Christ”, and why Paul was given the Mystery. If you want to read other Newsletter or article's I have written then go to my website  Link to my website