Sunday, January 1, 2023

The Firm Foundation of God

What is the Firm Foundation of God? When writing to Timothy, Paul identified the Firm Foundation of God by two sentences:

"Nevertheless, the Firm Foundation of God stands, having this seal:
1.) 'The Lord knows those who are His,' and,
2.) 'Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness.'" 2 Timothy 2:19

The first sentence is that "The Lord knows those who are His." King Jesus knows those who are His: "I am the Good Shepherd, and I now My own and My own know Me" (John 10:14); "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me" (10:27). There are countless millions who identify themselves with Jesus, yet refuse to obey Him. King Jesus knows each and every man, woman, and child who belongs to Himself. Others may fool themselves into thinking they are His, but "The Lord knows those who are His." It matters not if you "know" Jesus, but whether or not He knows you (Matt. 7:21-23).

Jesus even describes the Firm Foundation of God: "Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them [in obedience], I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly [in obedience], is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great" (Luke 6:46-69).

The second sentence is that "Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness." This is not a suggestion. It is not optional. "Consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 6:11). "Do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts. Do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God" (Rom. 6:12-13). "Walk in the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh" (Gal. 5:16). "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" (Gal. 5:24). "Prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves" (James 1:22). "Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you" (James 4:7). "As long as you practice these things [vv. 2-9], you will never stumble" (2 Peter 1:10). "No one who is born of God practices sin [lives a habitual pattern of sin], because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." (1 John 3:9). "[Jesus] is able to keep you from stumbling" (Jude 1:24).

There are hundreds more verses I could supply, but you get the gist. The entire tenor of Scripture concerning the believer is one of victorynot defeat. The defeatist mentality imposed on believers by wrongfully interpreting Romans 7:14-25 has been one of the gravest errors in Christendom. All of Scripture is opposed to, and contradicts, this false interpretation. It is a matter of ego for the preachers who continue imposing this error upon the Scriptures, refusing to be corrected by those wiser than themselves. They cling to their diplomas and their traditions rather than humbly receiving correction.

The existing structure of the "churches" so called needs to be torn down in order for a biblical foundation to be rebuilt. The cornerstone of that foundation must be that Jesus is King. The rest of the foundation must be obedience to the Lord's words and abstaining from wickedness. The life of a Christian looks a certain way, and if your life does not look that way, then you need to seriously question whether you are truly in the faith or not. All these statements concerning victory were not mentioned in Scripture merely for the sake of hearing one's self speak. The Holy Spirit spoke these things through them, saying what He meant and meaning what He said. Either you believe King Jesus, or you believe something else.

If King Jesus, by means of the Holy Spirit, said these things are very possible, then you need to be "transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Rom. 12:2) so that "whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, what ever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise" (Phil. 4:8), you may believe Yahweh by agreeing with what He has said is the case concerning you. "God is not a man, that He should lie" (Num. 23:19). What He has said concerning the believer is absolutely true and you need to believe Him. The same way you consider (reckon) your sins forgiven for all time from the east to the west, you need to consider (reckon) everything else He has said about you to be true, and then live accordingly. You can live a life of holiness filled with righteousness. Jesus did not condemn "even the smallest sin" as deserving eternal punishment; He told the people to "Go and sin no more." Why would He say such a thing if it was not possible in the least? Reformation doctrine is just as wrong and dangerous as that of Catholicism. We need to restore apostolic doctrine and tradition.

If Jesus is your King, and if you truly love Him and desire to be obedient to what He has said, I look forward to seeing/hearing your transformation. Let us turn the world upside down once again and prepare the way for the return of our King. Hallelujah and Amen!