Tag: joseph cortes

February 23, 2021

“The Devil Made Me Do It” says the Apostle Paul

Psalm 32:1. The Psalm of David begins,

“Blessed [or oh the bliss.] Oh the bliss is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered [concealed].”

Now, I have preached through the Table of The Lord series and the Change of Mind series that our sins are no longer just covered; that is Old Testament. In the New Testament, our sins are not just covered, they are removed forever. So, we have more to be joyous about, Oh the bliss! Our bliss should be greater knowing that our sins are removed forever. That is what David foresaw, I believe, in the prophetic psalms he penned. I think Paul understood it, too.

Turn to Romans 7:14,

“For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not [a better translation than allow is know; I know not]: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. [And there is the struggle.] If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.”

There was a popular saying decades ago, “The devil made me do it.” Some of you who are old enough can probably remember that saying circling around in the United States. A famous comedian made it popular. Likewise, here Paul is saying:

“…no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me,” [Or, sin made me do it; and he is right.] Continuing in verse 18 Paul writes, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. [He sought but he could not find.] For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”

A better translation is this body of death; Oh, wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from this body of death.

“I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”

Then Paul continues in Romans 8,

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” In these verses, Paul was trying to explain that having admitted as much as he tried, he just could not completely stop sinning. That is what Paul is saying here. And he gives us God’s perspective from the Scriptures on the matter. He said when he sinned, it was no longer he himself who sinned but the sin that lives within him. I know it is hard to comprehend, but you must wrap your brain around that. It was no longer he who sinned, but the sin that lived within him and here is what he meant; go to Romans 7:9.

“For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived [the Law], and I died.”

What does that mean? “I was alive without the law once”? What was Paul talking about here? He is talking about the age he became accountable for the sins. Before he reached that age, he was not accountable. Therefore, as Paul would say, he was alive, he had eternal life. Even though he was born in sin like all of us are as babies—we are born into sin—God does not hold children accountable until they reach a certain age when He does hold them accountable. Now, if you are living by the Law or by whatever means you follow, you are still accountable. Again, before he reached the age of accountability, Paul was not accountable, and he had life. Not because he did not sin, but because his sins were not counted against him. But when he became old enough to be held accountable, the penalty for his sins was applied and he no longer had eternal life. Now, let’s try to piece that together using other Scriptures.

Matthew 18:3 tells us,

“And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
Meaning, unless you have a change of mind and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

John 3:3 states,

“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Putting these verses from Jesus, together with what Paul said in the Romans letter and his comments on accountability, we can see these two statements made by the Lord are not unrelated, are they? Paul said little children have eternal life because their sins are not counted against them. Those are Paul’s words. Now Jesus, from the verses that we looked at, said that in order to enter the kingdom, we must become like little children again. But He also said in the Scriptures here that in order to enter the kingdom, we must be born again or born from above. So, putting this all together, the way to become like little children (as Jesus mentioned) so our sins are not counted against us, is to be born again or born from above. The proof for this is when Paul was born again, God no longer counted his sins against him and the same is true for us. In Romans 7, Paul attributed it to the sin that still lived within him. He attributed those sins, and sins past, present and future, and those sins that still lived within him as a struggle that all of us face. But if we are born from above, the struggle is over. So, stop struggling over it. If we are born from above, the sins, past, present, and future are no longer counted against us. Paul was saying in Romans that he gained eternal life and although he could not prevent himself from sinning, he still had that eternal life promise, because he was born from above, he was born again.

When you put your trust and confidence in Jesus Christ and you faithe and trust in His redemptive work, and understand your sins are not just covered anymore, they are removed forever, because of what Christ did at Calvary, you become born from above. The Spirit of God comes into your life and He will work you and mold you into the being He wants you to be, not what man thinks you should be, but what He wants you to be.

We must become like little children again according to what we find in the Scriptures and stop struggling with the concept of sin. You must understand that if you put your trust and confidence in what Christ did on that cross, then your sins are removed.

I am not saying to go out there and sin it up. Like I said a moment ago, He will work you over and He will mold you, and He will form you into the person He wants you to be, the being He wants you to be for His purposes, and change is coming. What you must do is submit and become a disciple who learns from God’s Word what Christ wants you to be, not what man wants you to be.

Become like little children again. Become child-like, understanding that as their sins are not accounted to them, our sins too are not counted against us because of Jesus, our precious Savior. He came down and rescued anyone who would put their trust and confidence in Him.

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More of my articles:
The Great Pre-Tribulation Hoax
Who Are The Two Witnesses?
666 Is Not The Mark Of The Beast
Daniel’s 70th Week – A 7 Year End Time Fantasy
Will A Christian Revival Save America?
Jesus NEVER said repent – He said Change Your Mind
False Prophets, Preachers, & Perverts
“The Devil Made Me Do It” says the Apostle Paul
Cheer Up Saints, It’s Going To Get Worse!
Are Christian Preppers Faithful or Faithless?

July 28, 2020

The Parable of the Talents – by Joseph Cortes

The biggest problem people are having, especially when dealing with the parables, is they seem to forget that Christ is speaking to both believers and unbelievers in and of the church. (I’ll get to it.)

Matthew 25 is one of those parables that, unfortunately, too many take literally. Christ was not teaching us how to be bankers, whether He gave five talents, two talents or one talent. That was not the purpose of this parable. Being a parable, it is a bit puzzling, so I can see why people get confused. I know why it is preached the way it is. Let me read something about a parable.

“What is a parable? At its simplest, a parable is a metaphor, or a simile drawn from nature or common life arresting the hearer by its vividness or strangeness and leaving the mind in sufficient doubt about its precise application to tease it into active thought.” Let’s read the last part again: “and leaving the mind—Christ had a reason for that and I will get to it in a minute—in sufficient doubt about its precise application—what did Christ mean about it in other words—to tease it into active thought”—for the ones that can hear.

“The meaning of most parables is not so obvious or at least it shouldn’t be.”

You can’t use common sense alone to understand the parables without using the verifiable Word of God, which is in a sense almost like its own Bible code. Using different parables to try and figure out Scriptures somewhere else allows us to connect the dots to help us understand what He is actually talking about. Does He do that in Matthew 25? Absolutely, but you don’t even find it in Matthew 25. I know that sounds confusing, but I will get to it.

“If we assume, we know what Jesus is talking about we are probably missing the main point.”
[That comes from not listening with spiritual ears and not reading as a biblical detective. When we connect all the dots, we can figure out what Jesus really meant.]“If we are too familiar with the story, having heard it so often before, we might not think carefully enough about its real meaning.” [It has happened over and over; not just this parable, but just about every parable that has been preached out there.]

“Most parables contain some element that is strange or unusual. [This is one of them.] They should cause you to say, ‘Wait a minute! That is not how farmers do their work. That is not what kings usually do. That is not what normally happens in nature and this strange element should cause you to think. Parables do not define things precisely…” [Let me repeat that. Highlight it in your mind.] “Parables do not define things precisely, but rather use comparisons to describe some aspect of how God acts or interacts with human beings; yet to say ‘A’ is like ‘B’ does not mean that ‘A’ is identical to ‘B’ in all respects, so one should be careful not to misinterpret or misapply the parable. [This is done over and over and over behind pulpits every Sunday.] We might think that Jesus spoke in parables to make it easier for people to understand his message. According to the Gospels however, he surprisingly does not expect everyone to understand them.”

Many preachers use this parable in Matthew 25 to teach that someone who is saved (a believer,) can be lost. Let’s examine it.

Verse 14, “For the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.”

I have been to these verses before. Circle the word called. You could go right by this English word and not really understand it, because in the Greek it means something totally different. Called means divine invitation to participate in the blessings of redemption. Not just for themselves, but to participate with others concerning redemption. You could read right through this and have no concept of what Jesus is saying here: He is the man traveling to a far country who is now in heaven officiating as our great high priest at the right hand of the Father. He has called with the divine invitation to participate in the blessings of redemption; his own servants refers to the church, which includes both wheat and tares.

Jesus had twelve disciples and one didn’t turn out very well. Judas was living, breathing, walking, and communing with Jesus Christ himself, so don’t tell me there can’t be both wheat and tares in the church. Too many Christians assume that our Lord is only speaking of believers in these types of parables, and in what He is trying to teach through these parables. Remember that. In the Spiritual Warfare Series, I preached on the wheat and tares and I’ll share some of it now.

“Moving on to verse 26, Christ says, ‘But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.”

Lolium temulentum is a kind of darnel, the commonest of the four species, being the bearded, growing in the grain fields, as tall as the wheat and barley and resembling wheat in appearance. Remember that they are similar in size and looks. [You can hardly tell the difference.] It was credited among the Jews with being degenerate wheat. The rabbis called it [the tares] bastard wheat. The seeds are poisonous to men, producing sleepiness, nausea, convulsions and even death. The plants can be separated out, but the custom as in the parable is to leave the cleaning out until near the time of the harvest. The Lord describes the tares as the sons of the evil one; false teachings are dissociable from their propagandists.

So, tares are a kind of species similar to wheat and barley not only in size, but also in looks. The rabbis called it a bastard species. That is the false preachers and false prophets [or any false individual with the wrong message about redemption] in the church. This bastard species is not under the kingdom of heaven. It is under the kingdom of the wicked one, controlled by him to say what he wants to say and do what he wants to see done…

The bearded darnel, mentioned only in Matthew 13, is a type of species of rye grass, the seeds of which are strong soporific poison. It bears the closet resemblance to wheat until the ear appears and only then the difference is discovered. It grows plentiful in Syria and in Palestine. As Christ said, the wheat comes up with the tares and you cannot distinguish the two. They look the same, they sound the same, but when it is at its most ripened point, the true message is nothing more than an imitation. In this case, the sower sowing the seed produces nothing but bad seed that tries to choke and overcome the wheat. In the church, this is a false prophet or preacher declaring a false doctrine.” [I will go even further, anyone spreading a false message about salvation and redemption. Remember, the seeds are a strong soporific poison, meaning they are a hypnotic and induce or tend to induce sleep or drowsiness.]

What are these tares doing? The enemy is sowing his seed producing tares, the ones proclaiming a false message to hypnotically convince you what they are saying is the truth, when it is anything but the truth. It is definitely not the Gospel. I found that interesting, so I dug a little deeper and found that another way to define a tare is a ‘cheat’. There are many definitions of this word that will be discussed here, however most understand the common definition is to defraud someone. For instance, some may cheat on a test by looking for the answer on another’s paper. That is cheating because you did not know the answer yourself. Most have been guilty of it including myself. However, there is also another definition for cheat. A cheat is also defined as weedy annual grass that often occurs in grain fields (or wheat fields) and other cultivated land; seeds sometimes considered poisonous such as the bearded darnel. [The tares.] The King James translators really got it right and truly explained what Jesus was telling his disciples to expect in the future, and what others who understand this parable should expect in the future as well.

In another dictionary a cheat is a weedy annual native to Europe, but widely distributed as a weed, especially in wheat. From these definitions we know tares are nothing more than cheaters. Using the definition most people associate with cheaters, it would be someone who cheats or ‘deceives by trickery or plunder, to deprive by defrauding to mislead, to fool, escape’. All those definitions sound like false preachers with their false doctrines.

Looking further into another definition of a cheat, it is ‘someone who leads you to believe something that is not true.’ That is what Jesus said. Tares grow the same as the wheat, they look like wheat while they are growing, but it is not until they reach maturity that they are seen as different making you believe something that is not true. They disguise their true identity for what they are, hoping that they will defraud you with their message and that is what Jesus was saying in his Parable of the Wheat and Tares.

Another definition is ‘a person who tries to bluff other people, a person who swindles you by means of deception and fraud’. I will add to that by saying whether they are doing this willingly or unwillingly, they are still a tool of the enemy, sowing the tare seed instead of the good seed that produces wheat. There is plenty of that in religious television today.

Another definition is ‘a beguiler who leads someone into danger.’ And that danger will eventually be the fire described in Matthew 13:40, “As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.” Verse 42 goes on to say, “And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” Yes, these beguilers will lead you to danger, but as long as I have breath in my lungs and there is life in me, I plan to expose them for what they are, who they are, and who is controlling them.

Other definitions are ‘shifty, deceptive person; a person who says one thing and does another, someone who falsifies’. In other words, a cheat is someone who declares the enemy’s message, the false doctrine or preaching another gospel rather than the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I think you get the point. So why am I bringing that up? Again, the man traveling to a far country is the Lord Jesus Christ; and his own servants refers to the church, which again includes wheat and tares. The problem with so many books on the seven churches in the Book of Revelation is they only want to include the wheat. They don’t include the tares, so they miss half the point immediately. Like I said, many preachers exclude the idea of believers and unbelievers in these types of parables Jesus used to get His point across.

Verse 15, “And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.”

The word talent in the original language could be a talent of silver or a talent of gold, but the question is: was Jesus really speaking solely of money here or using a parable to try to get another point across? Again, a talent could be either gold or silver but the last word in verse 18 (in the Greek) is silver. In the Bible, silver is symbolic of redemption, and we already know the word called in verse l4 means a divine invitation to participate in the blessings of redemption. Silver shekels were always used to redeem, so there is no doubt, symbolically, what Christ meant and what type of talent: not gold, but silver.

The talent Jesus is referring to here is the Word of God. You can find this repeated several different times in the Scriptures. I said you must use the whole Word of God as biblical detectives to make sure you can verify what Scriptures are saying. It is especially important when Jesus is speaking. That is why most parables are not really understood if you try to use common sense, because then you take it at face value, but you must go beyond that. I told you in God’s Word there are so many verifiable ways to really understand what is being said if you do the biblical detective homework. “What do you mean by that?” In Matthew 13:11, Jesus is giving the reason for the parables. The same story is found in Mark and Luke, but let’s read the Matthew version.

Verse 10, “And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you [given to the one asking] to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath [or lay hold of], to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: — you will see something unique here in a few moments—but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.”

Why? Because their hearts are hardened. Talents are just a mere physical example that refer to the spiritual aspect of producing fruit through and by the Word of God; not self-righteous fruit but producing fruit by getting the redemption message out that Jesus saves. It isn’t your works; it is all His. Go to John and many different places and read about this concept Jesus gave here. Most people don’t make the connection.

“For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.”

Remember that. Now back to Matthew 25.

Verse 16, “Then he that had received the five talents went and traded [The word here means to be employed, with the idea of giving whatever that talent was. I’m saying it is the Word of God.] with the same, and made them other five talents. [He doubled it.] And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.”

This is where the word money is found for the first time, but the word for money here is really the Greek word for silver, so what did he do? He hid what was freely given to him in the ground.

“After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”

Rewards will be given at the judgment seat of Christ.

Verse 22, “He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”

Notice that the first two servants who were called by divine invitation to participate in the blessings of redemption produced fruit. (I said at the very beginning of this ministry, that it is not just all about you. It starts there. It must be nourished. The connection can’t be severed, or you will be in a heap of trouble, but it goes beyond that and this is one of those parables that proves it.)

Again, the first two servants produced fruit and it had nothing to do with their salvation because they were already rejoicing and having joy in the salvation they received—the redemption that they were a part of. They took the commission assignment and said, “You know what! I’m going to take this message—God’s Word, the message of salvation—and do something with it, not so I can keep my salvation, but for others to be able to hear it and also be blessed by it and enter into the salvation of the Lord.” Rewards are given to the saved in accordance with these types of works, not works for salvation. I think I have made that clear. The Word of God and works in this passage is by someone who is saved (a believer) and go hand in hand with each other.

Verse 24, “Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou has not strewed:”

He is a liar—how do we know that? The other two were wheat. This servant is a tare. He didn’t know the grace of God, and for some reason he knew Him as a hard man. Obviously, he had no understanding of the free gift of grace. He had no understanding of the one that went to the far country, representing that after He died and rose again it gave him the opportunity of eternal life for trusting in Him only. Nothing else was required, just trusting, and having confidence what He did was sufficient and the completed mission that fulfilled all the requirements of God the Father. This tare was following the righteousness of the law—works. He didn’t have the righteousness of Christ which comes without works. He was walking after the flesh and not by the Spirit. This servant might have thought it was just a tough road to follow and maybe in his mind he only knew its hardness because he had not been captured by the redemption plan that Christ provided. What happened in verse 26?

“His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strewed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.”

Notice here how the Lord condemns this tare/servant because he knew about the sowing. Think about it! He knew about the sowing and strewing or reaping. Where did he get this information? He had access to the Word of God, but what happened? He didn’t place his trust in it. This unsaved servant never produced anything more than what was given to him, so what happened?

Verse 28, “Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.”
Pay close attention to this verse, “For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.”

This is almost a repeat of what I just read in Matthew 13. Connect the dots!

Matthew 13:11, “Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables:”

Connect the dots, folks. This is a repeat and what happens? This tare had access to the Word of God, but he didn’t trust the salvation plan enough (or at all) as the other two did and decided to bury it. I think the reason why money, usury and exchanges are used in these verses is because the Jews had it in the Old Testament. They would bury their money instead of lending it out because they were not allowed to collect any interest from a fellow Israelite/Jew. (They could outside of their nation.) If they couldn’t make any profit from it, they would bury it in the ground. It was their custom. Jesus knew what their customs were like, so this tare/servant who had the invitation to participate in the blessings of redemption decided not to believe how important that talent was, not just for his life but for others. He didn’t place any value in it that could produce something, so he just buried it as they did in the Old Testament. Makes you think that he was just living in the old covenant and he really didn’t want to participate in the new covenant, the Gospel.

Verse 29, “For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable [literally the useless good for nothing] servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

This has nothing to do with giving money at all. This is about sharing the Word of God, the redemption plan of salvation. What I want you to gather from this is that parables that address servants, as in this case, are not always unique to believers/saved people only, because wheat and tares are in the same group. Christ says, “Don’t worry about it. At the harvest I will sort them all out.” I guarantee you will see wheat and tares in today’s churches.

For this unprofitable servant, burying his lord’s money was symbolic to his response to the Word of God. Now, the unprofitable servant/tare considered Jesus his Lord, but he didn’t treat Him or consider Him his Savior. This third servant is a tare and it says he was a wicked and lazy servant; slothful in the King James. Remember what I just read about the tares, the poisonous effect produces slothful people, fools, inducing or tending to induce sleep, almost being placed in a hypnotic state? Tares might look like wheat, but they’re not; if you are a wicked tare, you are slothful, you are lazy, and you are hypnotically seduced to believe what Christ did at Calvary has no redeeming value.

This third servant—oh, he was a servant, but he was a servant walking in the flesh not in the spirit. Even a smallest interest payment as referred to here in this parable on the talent could identify this third servant as wheat, but it didn’t. It identifies him as a tare. This is not a parable (as this faithful Hearer of Faith was trying to understand and make the comparison) on what I have been teaching about lately; “I think it is passages such as this and other warnings coming from pulpits that makes it hard for me to make that division between salvation and discipleship.” And the reason why is because “when I read one of his servants was worthless and cast into outer darkness is a quandary.” I understand where your confusion came in because you were somehow relating this as discipleship work, which it is, but it is referring to three types of disciples.

Remember Judas was a disciple, but he was the tare in that group. In this case, two of the three servants (let’s call them disciples) were not the tares, but the wheat producing fruit because they accepted the divine invitation to participate in the blessings of redemption. The whole message says that they didn’t bury it because they took it in, they trusted what they heard and believed it to be true. They acted with all trust and confidence that the one who went to the far country did the completed work that He needed to do here and there. They couldn’t wait to get the message out and they produced double what they were given. The tare didn’t have any trust and confidence in it and all he did was bury it. How many church going professing Christians have made up their own doctrines and believe their own way about certain issues that are unchangeable in God’s Word? What they are is really poison, but they are among the wheat, they look like wheat, the same size, the same look, but at the end Christ will sort them out for what they are.

These verses in this chapter have nothing to do with works for salvation. This has to do with letting other people know what God has done for you in any capacity that He has called you to participate. It has nothing to do with losing your salvation if you don’t participate. The point that Jesus was making in this parable is that this unprofitable servant never believed in the salvation that He provided from the beginning. The tare took the message and he buried it, so he was never saved in the first place. This tare is going to experience outer darkness where the weeping and gnashing of teeth will take place, not because he didn’t produce other fruit. It is because he never believed in the redemption that Jesus Christ provided as our rescue plan at all, period. Don’t confuse the two! I know many have and, again, if you try to read through these parables with common sense you are going to fall short every time. That is why Jesus spoke in parables. It is why verse 29, “For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath” is almost like Matthew 13.

Jesus is reminding them, “Don’t you remember what I told you about the parables?” Some will get it, and some won’t. The ones that do will have an abundance of understanding and desire to do something with it, which the two servants did, and they went out and doubled what they were given. The one that didn’t, it was going to be taken away because he didn’t believe it in the first place. He didn’t put his trust or confidence in the man traveling to a far country which was Jesus Christ Himself, so he was lost. He was an unbeliever from the beginning and that is why he will suffer a dear penalty for it. Again, not because he didn’t produce fruit, but because he didn’t believe the message in the first place. What message? The message of the Gospel of the Good News of Jesus Christ and what He did for us. That is the difference, the game changer here, and it is unfortunate it is missed so often. Hopefully, I clarified it enough, so you understand what the differences are in this particular chapter from verses 14 and 30 compared to what others are teaching on it. Sorry, this is not a parable about how to be a good banker for Jesus. It has to do with redemption, has to do with once you receive it that you will be overjoyed to participate because you have been divinely invited in the blessings of redemption and to share it with others.

Now let’s go to the Table of the Lord. In the Old Testament, Micah ends his prophesy by noting that his total confidence was in God. Despite Israel’s sins—and they were great—he proclaimed God indeed pardons iniquity and delights in mercy. Not only does God forgive sins, Micah also declares that He casts them far away. He sends them into the depths of the sea. Of course, all this is based on God’s unchanging promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Micah 7:19, “He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities: and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”

In other words, remove them from His sight where they cannot be seen any longer. I have been saying that now week after week. Christ is the one who fulfilled this prophesy. Christ didn’t come to cover. That was an Old Testament practice. He didn’t come to cover our sins; He came to remove our sins and Micah says He will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea where they cannot even be seen any more.

“Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.”

Like I said, His unchanging promise from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would go unchanged and He did fulfill that promise. Know this, whatever your sins are, there is nothing you can do to remove them on your own. It is all Christ’s work. He casts them into the depths of the sea. He removes them forever, but also after that He imputes us with His righteousness. That is why self-righteousness is ugly because it is all based on what we do and what we do winds up in sin. Yes, another reason, another Scripture that we can go to and remember what God promised He would do with our sins, cast them into the depths of the sea where they can no longer be remembered.

I don’t care what you have done, put your focus on having trust and confidence in Christ. You are a new creature in Christ, sins removed. Just start trusting and having confidence in Him day by day, faithe in Him, both types of faith, keep hearing to be persuaded what God’s Word has to say about Him which will build you the pisteuo faith where you have trust and confidence. I know one is a noun and one is a verb, but I rather use those definitions because they build upon each other. Rejoice with me and remember what Christ has done for us Keep trusting and having confidence in Christ’s redemptive work, day after day after day until He returns. Put your faith in Christ. Be part of the wheat, not a tare that takes the redemption message and buries it in the ground not to be seen, not to be believed by even the one that had it given to him; in other words, the one that heard but yet refused to believe it to be true. Be wheat and remember daily what Christ has done for us as He has asked us to. Thank Him for removing our sins and iniquities far, far away. Take the elements now in Jesus’ name.

Sermon by Pastor Joseph Cortes

Please email us at email@teachingfaith.com if this has encouraged

and strengthened your faith.

July 2, 2020

Our Sins Are Forever Removed – by Joseph Cortes

Open your Bibles to Hebrews 10. We will be reviewing how salvation is a gift from Jesus Christ; we don’t have to do anything and there’s nothing we can do using our own merits to receive it.

There were times in the early stages of my Christian years where I was told that if you didn’t do this, or if you didn’t participate in that, your salvation might be at risk. I can understand why people experience doubts about their salvation when these forces are coming at them with ‘checklist’ items. You can’t find this anywhere in God’s Word, and churches hold it over people’s heads to keep them in line, fearful of their salvation. Philippians 2:12 says, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Most people don’t understand what this verse is saying, especially in context; it’s not because Christ wants you to fear and tremble over it, but because of everything else you will be facing after. Once you understand God’s Word and you start getting the necessary knowledge, (hopefully sitting under someone who is rightly dividing the Word of God), you will come to realize that you fear because of your ignorance of the Scriptures, just as I did. This ignorance allows these opposing forces and information of everybody’s opinion, including those from behind a pulpit, to influence you, and you started questioning and doubting your salvation. It comes down to this: many are confused on what the Scriptures say about salvation. That is going to be tonight’s subject matter, and then we will go to the Table of the Lord.

Let’s review Hebrews 10 before moving forward. The word atonement in the Old Testament meant to cover. Jesus didn’t atone for mankind’s sins, even though that is preached over and over. He took those sins away completely, washing them away, as I have been saying, removing them away with His precious blood. There is a difference between the Old Testament atonement of sin and Christ’s blood removing sin in the New Testament.

Verse 4, “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.”

In other words, remove them. The blood of bulls and goats didn’t take away sin, they only temporarily covered the sins of the people in the Old Testament. It could remove their sins. It was just a temporary covering.

Hebrews 9:12 reads, “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood [Christ’s] he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.”

Jesus Himself entered into the heavenly holy place to appear before His Father and obtain eternal redemption for us. I have said Jesus applied His blood on the heavenly mercy seat just as the Old Testament high priest had to apply the lamb’s blood on the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies.

Hebrews 9:23 also reads, “It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.”

The Old Testament tabernacle holy place, mercy seat and the work of the high priest were all patterns of things in heaven. In Hebrews 4:15-16, Jesus is our heavenly priest.

“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 [with confidence] unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”

Even though we are unworthy, we are made worthy by the precious blood of the Lamb. Therefore, a believer has a right to boldly (with confidence) approach God’s throne of grace. See, Jesus paid it all. If you think about it, that should give us the peace, assurance and understanding that our sins were washed away—not only washed away, removed by Jesus’ blood at that salvation experience and His precious blood cleanses from all sin.

I always like going back to Revelation 1:5, “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us [literally to bathe us in His blood] from our sins in his own blood,”

It is the blood sacrifice of Jesus that saves us, not our self-righteousness. God, no. That wouldn’t save an ant. The Bible tells us we are saved by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, yet I hear from a lot of believers around the world saying they doubt their salvation. They wonder if they did the right thing, if they said the right prayer, if they correctly prayed to God, if they had enough faith for this or that, or if they were sincere enough. Does the Bible ask for any of that for salvation?

I really don’t care about your sins or how far you have strayed from God. All I know is that you may still come to Jesus for forgiveness and salvation. Doesn’t the Bible say when we were without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly? Isaiah 1:18 plainly states, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” The definition of the Hebrew word for crimson here refers to a worm used to make clothing dye. Once the dye stained the cloth it was permanent; it couldn’t be removed or bleached. God’s Word is saying that although your life may be permanently stained with sin, He can cleanse you as white as wool. (Both Testaments have that same message.) In other words, what was permanently stained could only be removed through Jesus’ precious blood, the ultimate stain-remover that washes away and makes your sins vanish. This is the power of Jesus’ redeeming blood that cleanses and removes our sins forever.

God’s Word is full of promises. He is a promise-keeping God too. Some say the Bible holds over 7,000 promises of God, some conditional and others unconditional. Romans 10 is one of those promises. In context, this chapter is referring to the Israelite’s that I have taught on in the past but personalize it for you. What does it say?

Verse 13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord in the Greek simply means whosoever appeals unto the Lord shall be saved. If we simply come to Jesus to be saved, we will be saved. All that God really requires is just having that little amount of faith, because faith comes by hearing; verse 17, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Just hearing enough of the Word of God introduces Jesus to you and what He has done for you. If you recognize that you are a vile sinner, (as God’s Word says you are) and you come to the realization that you need a savior to wash and remove these sins away and start anew, you will be saved. It requires just a little faith if you think about it. How much faith do you need to be saved? Just enough faith to obey God’s calling on your life, just enough faith to obey God’s calling that Jesus provides salvation. Just enough faith to obey the Scriptures by placing your faith in Jesus Christ to forgive your sins and be your savior.

By the way, I lean more towards ‘once saved, always saved’ but I’m not a once saved, always saved doctrinal-type person that believes the way they believe. There is one thing you can do to lose your salvation. I think the unpardonable sin is to deny Jesus Christ and that goes whether you are a believer or non-believer. If you had access to some knowledge or listened to someone who introduced Jesus Christ to you and you completely ignored it, mocked it, and denied it as a non-believer, you have problems. But as a believer, if you decide it is not for you and you move over to the Muslim faith after years as a Christian going to church, the doctrinal ‘once saved, always saved’ folks will say that you were never saved in the first place. Oh, malarkey. They are just trying to save their doctrine. I’m somewhere in the middle of that.

I plan to show how salvation statements of faith sound good, but lead people in the wrong direction. Their declaration on how to receive salvation isn’t in God’s word. I’m going to show (and I don’t think it is intentional) that a lot of what these ministries produce and convince people to follow in order to be saved comes from ignorance of the Scriptures. It leads to a wrong understanding of salvation, and it unfortunately brings up other baggage: if you did this, if you did that, you are going to lose your salvation. I’m telling you that you’re not. You lose your salvation if you deny Jesus Christ saved you. If He didn’t, you’re not concerned about it in the first place.

I said at the beginning of this message there were times in my earlier years I had doubts wondering if I had enough faith. Of course, just thinking about winding up in a lake of fire or hell scared the bejesus out of me. I remember as a young boy in New Jersey living in a scary old colonial mansion; one of the oldest homes in the district that was built right after the Revolutionary War. (If I ever get into demonology, God willing, I have some stories to tell.) I had to go down to the basement in this old colonial home to get to the garage area and the basement was huge. Basements usually had the furnace which was converted to oil tanks that supplied the necessary fuel to send it up to the heating system of the house. The old steam radiator-type systems that heated the house made all kinds of crazy noises and I hated to go down into that area. It was dark and there was just a tiny light from a lousy 60-watt bulb. Nobody ever thought about putting in a 150-watt bulb. There were other lights to switch on, but you had to get to certain sections. You had to go through the darkness to turn on the lights. As a young kid I didn’t like it. It scared the bejesus out of me. I dreaded going down to that basement. You know why I dreaded it? Because I feared the unknown, the uncertainty of what might be down there lurking behind something.

“What does this have to do with what you are preaching?” Years of doubt people have concerning their salvation is based on the same principle: fears of the uncertainty of the unknown and worry, based on what they can’t see. Because of uncertainty of the Scriptures and because (unfortunately) not many are rightly dividing the Word of God, my early years of doubt—questioning if I had enough faith—was based on my ignorance of the Scriptures concerning salvation. I’m sure many of you have probably experienced the same thing.

I knew I would survive going through that basement, but I was fearful of the unknown between getting in and getting out. Well, guess what, I’m not in the dark any longer about what God’s Word says about salvation and one of my missions is to make you worry-free and fearless about what God provided as a promise—if you trust Jesus Christ and His precious blood. Of course, it took years to learn about salvation and it took years to realize that salvation only comes by and through the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything I worried about, all the doubts that I had, were rooted in my failure to comprehend the truth in God’s Word. I’m telling you; we have the assurance and peace that we are eternally saved, and our name is written in heaven. How do we have that assurance? By relying on the Lord Jesus Christ for our salvation period—nothing else. “What about discipleship?” That is a whole other issue. I’m not discounting it. It has to be included. I’m not like some that try to say it is only salvation and not discipleship. I will get to that but not until I drive this point home that I have been trying to make the last few weeks.

If I go to the lake of fire it will be Jesus’ fault because I’m trusting in Him a hundred percent with my salvation. You heard me correctly. I’m not going to be disappointed because Romans 10:11 says, “For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him—What does it say? —shall not be ashamed” for believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. When your faith is solely on Jesus Christ because of the literal blood that He spilled and shed for our sins to cleanse us to remove those sins and make us whole, we shall not be ashamed! Let no one shame you. “Well, I don’t know if I’m saved today because of this or that.” God’s Word says we shall not be ashamed. Do you still trust that Jesus Christ cleansed you and removed your sins? “Yes, but I fail.” Your failure is not dependent upon Him saving you. If that were the case, He would never save you in the first place. I have news for you, you are going to fail, not just today, not just next month, but probably many more times before He takes you home or comes back for you. If you keep trusting in Jesus Christ, your salvation is assured. I know I wasn’t born saved, but I know I’m saved today because I decided to trust Jesus Christ. If you are on the fence on whether to trust Him or not, hopefully I can convince you to trust Him to forgive your sins as He has forgiven mine, becoming my Savior and He can be your Savior too. Salvation really is simple. It really is! We are sorry sinners. Sorry to break the news to the people that don’t think they sin. Jesus is a wonderful Savior. Salvation, my friends, is receiving not giving. We can’t give anything to receive it. Eternal life is a free gift.

Romans 5:15, “But not as the offense, so also is the free gift. For if through the offense 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.”
Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ.”

Who? “through Jesus Christ our Lord.” It is simple, Jesus paid the sins for many. He paid my sins so I wouldn’t have to. That is God’s divine justice.

One reason many people are insecure is because of the ‘works salvation doctrine’ or the ‘lordship salvation doctrine.’ There are different names for it. It is a cursed teaching that teaches believing or trusting in Jesus Christ is insufficient to save a lost sinner. How pathetic a doctrine, but how often it is preached is unbelievable. These doctrines, which have been incorporated into many different churches, proclaims that you must make a commitment to cease from sinful living and serve God with all your heart. I have no problem with the last part, but commit yourself to cease from sinful living? I wish I could do that, but it is impossible. They deny that the reason Jesus came to pay the sin debt is so we wouldn’t have to.

Romans 4:5, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth [literally pisteuo here; trust and confidence in Jesus Christ] on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith…Even as David also describeth, the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,”

Salvation is without works. Christ’s righteousness is imputed to the sinner by faith. Romans 4:5 and 6 is saying, “a man’s faith is counted for righteousness.” Those who teach this ‘works salvation doctrine’ and ‘lordship salvation doctrine’ have perverted the Gospel by adding works to faith. “Well, discipleship adds works.” Discipleship is not salvation. The very idea that a sinner must stop sinning to be saved is impossible. Even the best Christians still commit sin. Even if they don’t think so, they do. Go to Romans 7:14 through 25 and see how Paul struggled with sin, and we are speaking about the apostle of all apostles. Some of the greatest heroes of faith in the Bible, including King David in the Old Testament, was one of the biggest sinners, and he was called a man after God’s own heart. Go to I Samuel 13:14. Remember, David committed adultery with Bathsheba, impregnated her, and then murdered her husband Uriah to try to hide his sin. Nathan the prophet called him out, but God still used David to write a good part of the Psalms.

This theology of ‘works salvation’ and ‘lordship salvation’ mandates a changed life as a prerequisite to be saved. I’m telling you that it is a doctrine straight from the devil. God saves us so He can change us, but He doesn’t make that a prerequisite to be saved. Beware of these false doctrines that are more popular now than ever. They also teach salvation can be lost, but not the way I said earlier. They are more rooted in ‘works salvation’ and if you don’t do the works, then your salvation can be lost. Bull spit. If you can’t do anything to earn salvation, what makes you think after you are saved you can do anything to keep your salvation through works? The works in the discipleship journey is for a whole other reason, but not for salvation. It is necessary for you as a disciple to grow and understand those works—and not necessarily the works most people think of works—need to be applied and practiced in your life so you can grow and mature as a Christian, but it has nothing to do with salvation.

Think about it, if we cannot do good works to get saved, my friend, then how can we do bad works to get unsaved!? There’s a riddle for you. Answer it! You will find that you can’t find a sound doctrinal-wise basis to give a sufficient enough answer. It is impossible! The spiritual birth is as irreversible as a physical birth, except, as I said, I’m somewhere between once saved, always saved and the others who teach just the opposite. There is one thing that can happen, once saved you turn your back on Jesus Christ and deny the saving power of His blood.

The very notion that salvation can be lost places a heavy burden to maintain a certain level produces a certain self-righteousness. God hates that. It is straight from the pit of hell and negates the gift of God and the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Think about it, how can we be assured of salvation if we must live our lives in constant fear of sinning too much? I’m not condoning sin. I’m also not really introducing it here in these messages. Christ does the changing. As much as you want to sin in some areas, you’ll find that you have no interest in it any longer—and why is that? Because Christ’s spirit is in you and He is doing the necessary work as a potter to mold you and change you into what He wants for His purposes.

Think about it, if salvation can be lost then we were all lost a long time ago because we are all vile sinners in the eyes of God, if we didn’t have Christ’s precious blood to change His opinion about us. That happens because He doesn’t see sin in us any longer. All God requires for salvation is for a person to change his mind; not the word repent as understood that is used so often, but in the Greek a change of mind. Yes, you have to understand that you’re a vile sinner. But with trust in Jesus, all that will change, and it starts with your mind. The Gospel of John translates the Greek word pisteuo (having trust and confidence in Jesus) as the word believe most of the time, but never mentions the word repent once. That is a man-made doctrine, and they will have you believe you have to be crying and sorrowful, looking the part so God thinks you are sincere in your repentance. Jesus never did that in the New Testament. Why do we have to practice that 2,000 years later? The devil somehow was able to introduce a false doctrine of what coming to Jesus really means and how it is done.

With what is being preached today I think it is almost normal for a Christian to feel ‘unsaved’ when they sin, mainly because one cannot feel right if they don’t live right. I’m saying that your salvation is safe and secure in the redeeming power of Jesus’ blood, we are not saved by good works—never have been, never will be. We cannot be lost by bad works either. We might be reprimanded by God, but we won’t be lost. Salvation is receiving, not giving. You can’t give back works to keep it. Romans 4:5 says salvation is without works and comes only by faith in Christ Jesus, who justified or made the ungodly right with God. Our confidence, our trust in Jesus and God the Father should be based solely upon the promise contained within the Word of God. Your faith should remain steadfast on the written promises of God I have been sharing with you. Let’s be strong in the Lord trusting what is written in God’s Word instead of personal feelings and false doctrines and guard against placing God on trial as the heathen world does, my friends.

I will close with John 5:39, “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life:” Where are you going to gain that knowledge? In the Scriptures. “and they are they which testify of me.” Read it again: “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”

Our salvation is grounded in the promises of God’s Word. Don’t take some statement of faith concerning what you have to do to be saved. Searching the Scriptures and what it testifies about Him will ground us, especially about salvation because it is going to be verifiable. God’s Word confirms our assurance and peace concerning our salvation. Many people battle with this because they focus on themselves rather than Jesus Christ’s work of redemption. Stop focusing on yourself, your failures, and your sins. Christ paid the price for them to be removed. He knows you are going to sin, but He is going to work on your life. Our salvation is of Jesus Christ complete and there is nothing to do other than to trust what He did for us, period. It is not what we do for Christ that determines our eternal salvation, but rather what Christ has done for us at Calvary.

That is why He wants us to remember Him always and as often as we eat, and drink remember that your salvation is assured if you keep trusting in Him. That is enough for me every day. I want to go to the table of the Lord with excitement to remember how assured I am of my salvation. If you just keep trusting in Jesus Christ, your salvation is sure. Salvation is an exclusive thing that Christ did for us. It is our starting point for one heck of a journey that He has for us, and through that journey and all its circumstances, if we stay trusting in Him the one thing we don’t have to worry about is our salvation. He will be there waiting for us when we cross over, or He comes to get us. God only knows what He has planned for us throughout eternity. Remember Jesus every day and thank Him for the precious blood He spilled that provided you salvation. Remember you didn’t have to do anything to receive it. It is His works, not ours ever, so remember that now as we go to the table of the Lord. Thank you, Jesus.

Please email us at email@teachingfaith.com if this has encouraged

and strengthened your faith.

May 22, 2020

Do I Have to Repent to be Saved? – by BigAddison

My question is: “How many aren’t saved because they’re told to repent to earn salvation?”

My Twitter chat with Sean Huggan about repentance

The inspiration to tackle the question: “Do I Have to Repent to be Saved?” came from a brief encounter on Twitter (read at left).

You can see Sean was left speechless once confronted with a question using scripture, which short circuited his ingrained narrative of the modern day church views on repentance.

This is a common ending to conversations I have on Twitter. “Going silent” is a great way to avoid the train wreck you see coming against your hard held beliefs and witnessed by your followers. Sadly, going silent also keeps you from being a disciple. A learner of Christ. When your ego wins, your spirit loses.

Here’s the text I challenged Sean to read and reply to:

Romans 10:8-13 “But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Do you see any call to repentance in Paul’s instructions?

What did Apostle Paul have to say about repentance? The same thing Sean had to say about my question: NOTHING!

How is this possible considering the many versus in scripture by Jesus himself calling for repentance?

In fact, according to the Apostle Matthew “Repent” was the first word of Jesus’s ministry.

Matthew 4:17 (KJV) “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.“

Luke 5:32 (KJV) “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Luke 13:3 (KJV) “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.“

You see the dilemma here right? Jesus seemingly calls for your repentance over and over in His ministry. The same Jesus who came back from heavens throne to knock the Apostle Paul off his ass (mule), and proceeded to tutor him face-to-face for three years in order to save Christianity, and His message of Faith and Grace, because the disciples were starting to mix in the laws of the Old Testament.

Did Jesus just forget to teach Paul repentance is necessary to gain the free gift salvation? Or did Paul just forget to mention it, causing nearly 2000 years of people falsely being converted by following his instructions?

Who Got It Right, Jesus or Paul?

Obviously the answer is Paul was right and Jesus was wrong. Okay, close your dropped jaw, Jesus wasn’t wrong, he was mistranslated.

The word Jesus used was the Greek word “Metanoia”, it was the translators of the Roman Catholic inspired King James Version Bible that purposely (under diabolical influence IMO), selected the word “Repent” (from the Latin of course), as the translation of “metanoia”. By doing so, they were able to insert the Catholic rite (a sacrament), of penance (a price to pay), into the act of gaining salvation. Making it null and void.

According to Robert N. Wilkin, “The Latin Fathers translated metanoia as paenitentia, which came to mean “penance” or “acts of penance.” Tertullian protested the unsuitable translation of the Greek metanoeo into the Latin paenitentiam by arguing that “in Greek, metanoia is not a confession of sins but a change of mind.”

Jesus NEVER Said the Word “Repent!”

Definition of the Greek word “Metanoia”

Looking at the Websters Dictionary definition of the word “Metanoia” we see a schizophrenia (dual personality), caused by the pernicious error of translation. First the “noun” using the Latin tradition vs. the Greek ORIGINAL meaning “Change one’s mind”

Imagine your Salvation starting by vomiting up all your sins on Jesus’s feet. The very sins He was tortured and killed to forgive and FORGET THEM.

What is it exactly we’re to “Change our mind” (metanoia), about to receive the free gift of Salvation?

Answer: JESUS!

As I explained on the home page of this website, salvation is granted when you recognize Jesus as your Lord and Savior. When you come to that A HAH! moment after hearing the gospel, and changing your mind from unbelief to BELIEF in Jesus.

From now on, WHENEVER you read the word “repent” in your Bible, scratch it out and write in “Change your mind”

HOLD ON THERE MISTER! Don’t I Have to Change My Sinning Ways?

No, YOU don’t have to change them. YOU have to let JESUS change them.

Simply put, when Jesus takes up His place in your body, you are reborn as a new man or woman in Christ, you have His new nature immediately going up against your old sinful nature. A truly born again Christian will begin a life long journey towards perfection, as Jesus carves out the cancer of sin bit by ugly bit. Don’t get in the way of this operation by trying to direct the scalpel yourself.

What Am I to do if I’m Not Supposed to Try to Stop Sinning?

Your job is to Faithe. Your new belief was just the starting pistol in the race Paul spoke about so often. The race of faith. The Good Fight of Faith.

Hebrews 12:1 “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us”

Running the race, in other terms, means to “Practice one’s faith”. You see how Faithing is an action. It’s something you must do, you must learn to trust in Jesus. Start your every day acknowledging Him in your life. Ask that He will go before you in your daily walk, and be sure to thank Him for it at the end of your day.

Learn to follow the new commandments Jesus gave us in Mark 12:30-31 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

The second commandment is your employment of the “Great Commission” Jesus gave us, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations” by spreading the gospel so others might obtain the riches and glory that you’ve so fortunately received. That’s how we love our neighbors as ourselves.

I’ll close by way of answering the question I started with:

“How many aren’t saved because they’re told to repent to earn salvation?”

The false doctrine of repentance spiritually cuts and kills in two directions.

First, by laying a stumbling stone down at the feet of the nonbeliever by way of the phycological damage they must inflict on themselves before they can receive the love and salvation of Jesus Christ. How many reject Jesus because of that reason?

Second, and far worse, it makes false conversions that has led unknown millions into thinking they’re saved. Don’t believe me? Then tell me who Jesus is speaking to in this passage:

Matthew 7:21-23 (KJV) “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.“

I suggest there are several ways to end up finding out you’re not saved, that Jesus never knew you. Coming to him through your sins is one of them. Don’t begin your journey in rejection, begin it with a change of mind.

God Bless Us All,

–BigAddison

Begin your “Change of Mind” by learning from this series taught by Pastor Joseph Cortes of “Faith Cometh By Hearing” ministries. Find this series and many other topics by visiting TeachingFaith.com

To access all the videos in the “Change of Mind” series, switch to YouTube to see the playlist.

How to switch to YouTube to watch video

April 24, 2020

A Memorial – Communion Message by Joseph Cortes

Open your Bibles to Acts 1:9 in the New Testament. In the earlier verses, Jesus gave his parting comments before He ascended into the heavens and the promise that the Holy Spirit will come.

“And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.” He just went up and disappeared into the clouds.

“And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven…” Let’s face it; I probably would have done the same thing. I guess if you put flesh and blood on it you would have too. “And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?“ [“Jesus already told you. He gave you instructions and told you what to expect. Why are you still here gazing up?”] This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”

We have too many gazers in the Christian world, not just looking up but looking all around for His return. There is nothing wrong with looking for His return. I teach we should get ready for it and get others prepared for it. I expect it even in my lifetime. If not, I’m reasonably sure it will be shortly after that, in the meantime, we have work to do. We have the Commission to fulfill. We have too many gazers and not enough people in the front lines. Announcing not only what Jesus did, but what is about to happen that will catch this world unprepared for an event of all events—His return. While we are actively waiting for His return let us keep remembering, and announcing what He did while He was here.

I Corinthians 11:24, “And when he had given thanks, he brake it [scratch out it], and said, Take, eat; this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me” [circle remembrance].

After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it [scratch out it], in remembrance [ circle remembrance again] of me.”

Remembrance. What He did for us. If you have listened to any of the communion messages, you already know the benefits we received when He spilled His blood and broke His body in our behalf to take on the sin of the world—the unblemished lamb—which was prophesied for centuries upon centuries before His arrival. It is noticeably clear what the Greek word remembrance means. It is a memorial. A memorial of what? It is the memory of the greatest sacrifice of God’s only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. He sacrificed His own life. He experienced death, but He also resurrected, so it is the memory of the greatest sacrifice, death, and resurrection. Well, there is something else too. It is a memorial or a memory also of His return, so we have the death, the resurrection, and the return. It is trinity all within itself, a memorial of His death, resurrection, and His return. “Where do you get that from?”

Verse 26, “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show [or ye announce in the Greek] the Lord’s death till he come.”

So, it is a memorial of His death (I will have more to say about it in a minute) His resurrection and His return. There are three things we remember at this table: not just the death and resurrection, but His return. If you don’t believe in His return, why even believe the first two. The Greek word death in the above verse is clear. There are two possible definitions; a physical death which most people only remember, but also death to sin. If you think about it, it is the greatest memorial that benefits mankind. The memory of the greatest thing that ever happened to humanity—the death, a physical death because it had to happen that way—but also the death to sin. It doesn’t mean we are not going to sin any longer. It means even if you are growing in Christ, you are going to find yourself sinning folks. It is the battle between the old man and the new man now governed by the Spirit. He not only died a physical death which was needed—the unblemished perfect sacrifice that was required—but His death also signifies that there was the death to sin. That is why I had you circle remembrance in verses 24 and 25. It is a memorial to His death, which was a death to sin and the resurrection to a new life, and when this is all over, His return which He promised us would happen. If you believe in the first two, why wouldn’t you believe in the last event that is still yet to take place?

Let’s look at the United States of America for an example. We have all kinds of memorials in Washington, DC that are an essential part of our culture. Other countries have their own memorials for different events. Here in the United States of America, we have the Washington Memorial. The Lincoln Memorial, even the Vietnam Memorial. There are others in this United States of America, not just in Washington, DC. Then there are worldwide visual reminders, not only in this country, such as corporate logos. A famous one everyone recognizes is Nike. Everyone has seen the McDonald’s golden arches. Coca-Cola is another typical example. How about Disney, Mickey Mouse’s ears. They are all reminders about what something is, its purpose, and even what the future holds in some cases.

Christians in the New Testament have their reminders or symbols, such as the fish. Another symbol is the dove and the cross. There are also memorials in the Old Testament. How about the rainbow after the flood? That is a memorial. Anyone can see it whether you are a believer or non-believer. Then we have the Ark of the Covenant. How about Jacob’s well. The list could go on and on.

Get the point? Marking something as a memorial is nothing new in society. In the New Testament, the Lord’s Supper is a memorial instituted by God in honor of Jesus Christ when you understand what remembrance means in Greek. The Greek word is anamnesis. God established this memorial in honor of Jesus Christ, who gave His life for us because of our sin.

The Lord’s Supper is not just a memorial; it is a celebration. Jesus Christ did not remain in the grave. He came out! And He is alive. Furthermore, He is not only alive. He is going to return some day and someday soon. Every time we go to the table of the Lord, we proclaim His future return. That is why it says in verse 26, “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye announce the Lord’s death [Not just physical death but also the death to sin.] till he come.” We remember His death, but we should also announce to the world as it states here that we have faith and we are confident (pisteuo; the so-be-it faith) that He is alive and we are anticipating His coming again. If that is not something to celebrate, then I don’t know anything we should celebrate for or about.

Too many Christians say, “Where is Jesus? How come He hasn’t come back yet?” They are gazers. They should be announcers and proclaimers. The very act of going to the table of the Lord is announcing that Jesus not only died a physical death and put death to sin, but He is alive. Not only did He come out of the grave, but He also coming back again. It is a celebration, and we should be expecting His return. Therefore, take the elements and proclaim Jesus, we do remember you. We will keep announcing the Gospel. It is as clear as that—a completed Gospel, from the beginning to the end, including what is still yet to come.

We do remember you, Lord, and we do it every time we take part at the table of the Lord by taking this bread and wine, so take it within remembrance of Jesus, our savior.

Joseph Cortes
TeachingFaith.com

March 27, 2020

Pandemic – by Joseph Cortes

Open your bibles to Isaiah, chapter 53. I was reading up on diseases, plagues, pandemics that date back over one hundred years. I was curious about how people responded during these horrible times without the medical advances and knowledge we have today.

Umberto Rainerio Carlo Emanuele Giovanni Maria Ferdinando Eugenio di Savoia; 14 March 1844 – 29 July 1900), nicknamed “The Good”

I found a news clipping that piqued my interest about an epidemic in Italy in 1884. It gives us the inside story of how a king of Italy responded to the crisis in his country on September 10th, 1884. The news clip reads:

King Humbert who is now in Naples, has been visiting those who were suffering from cholera in the hospitals in order to inspire confidence in the people. His Majesty has been received with great enthusiasm by the people, being greeted with acclimation whenever he appeared in public.

Now, let me give you the back story to this news clipping.

“In 1884 (136 years ago), King Humbert of Italy was awakened at midnight by a messenger, informing him that an epidemic of cholera had broken out in Naples. Although the king was scheduled to be in Monza the next day for a magnificent reception, he telegraphed his host: Banquet at Monza, cholera at Naples, I am going to Naples. If you don’t see me again, goodbye.”

Then someone that was following the king writes: “On reaching Naples, king Humbert found only the common people at the station to receive him. Only the common people. The rich, the aristocracy, and even most of the officials had fled. The King, however, did not care for that; it was the people that he had come to save. For weeks he had worked extensively to check the plague and to relive the sufferers. He entered the hospitals, took the hands of the sick and dying into his own; and by his example shamed others into doing it. After a week one of his ministers said to him “Your Majesty, there were three thousand four hundred cases yesterday. This is getting to be alarming; will you not return to Rome?” The King said, “You may go if you like, I shall remain until I see Naples free from cholera.” And he kept his word.”

This earthly king stepped away from the safety of Rome to go to Naples and to stay when others fled with the hope his efforts could save and encourage people that were suffering from this disease, this epidemic. He was not a genuinely liked king at first, but through his actions, he became a beloved leader to the people in which he helped. He eventually was murdered by an anarchist that did not like his policies. This story reminded me of another King that was tortured and killed that came to save lives.

Isaiah 53:3 reads, “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”

Jesus Christ was The King, who left his heavenly throne, and walked among the sick and dying; and I am not just referring to physical sickness and death, but more importantly spiritual sickness and death. He stepped away from his heavenly throne and became a man. He came from his kingdom, and He passed unrecognized through the streets of Israel and reached out with His love.

Now, as far as earthly kingdoms, people have often offered their lives to save kings. This earthly king did the opposite for the people of Naples. Our heavenly King, our Savior offered His life to save a world that despised Him. Nevertheless, God sent his only begotten son to save us, physically and spiritually. Once you put your trust and confidence in him, and what He has done for you by his redemptive work, you are spiritually healed. You will not be judged in the judgment seat of Christ for salvation – that is certain! Because Christ’s blood paid the price for your eternal salvation if you put your trust in Him and what He did. He became a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, and we hid as it were our faces from him. He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

While he was here, walking on this planet, he loved, and he served many in Israel. But even though He did all that, plus promising eternal life, the religious authorities of His day did not accept Him. The religious powers despised him, and they eventually killed him, they murdered him.

Here you see an example in history of an earthly king’s concern for the people of his country that was suffering dearly of this cholera epidemic. And as I previously said: They did not have western medicine like we have now, today. It was a severe and dangerous disease. This king put his life at risk; how much more our heavenly King has done for us. Because no matter what this earthly king did, and it is to be admired, he still could not heal them spiritually. He could not provide for them eternal life. All he did in this situation was to provide some comfort, some extra hands on the ground; and that’s to be admired.

Our heavenly Father sent his only begotten son, who willingly went to that cross to die for us, to give us eternal hope that no matter what happens to this body, we have a promise of a new one in the future. This temporary existence is not the end. We are just starting, friends. We will not just disappear; we will not just die off – we continue because what He did for us.

How you will continue is determined by how you will receive Jesus. Are you going to reject him? Are you going to despise him? Or are you going to recognize who He is, and what He did? He did it for everyone. And it is a shame, so few have looked unto Him for salvation. Now, many have looked upon their works, thinking about what they must do to be allowed entrance into heaven. Works do not cut it; they are no more than filthy rags if you are doing those works assuming they will provide you with salvation. Now there is provision for doing good works, but that is for rewards – Not salvation! It is all about what Jesus has done. Only trusting in His finished works will get you in.

I am going to be 62 soon, and looking back, I wished I would have recognized earlier the importance of remembering Him, daily! Scripture says to remember Him as often as you eat and drink, not just on Sundays once a month. To remember Him daily and what he has done for us. Thank Jesus for His amazing grace, His amazing love, His amazing mercy, He is amazing. He is wonderful. He is to be adored, He is to be worshiped, because He is our King; the one that has provided salvation. He just did not leave us dying spiritually, he provided the way to eternal life.

Faith Cometh By Hearing at www.TeachingFaith.com

Someday we will all meet, I am sure of that whether in the heavenly space, or in the new earth, we will all meet and rejoice together what a wonderful savior that we love and serve. But until that time, we can remember him together around this world tonight. We are lifting our thanks and adoration, to the King of kings that saved wretches like us.

Thank you, Jesus, for your wonderful mercy, grace, and love. Tonight, we remember you, and what you have done for us. Take these elements in remembrance of Him. Thank you, Jesus.

A Communion Message by Joseph A. Cortes
TeachFaith.com

March 25, 2020

Through Christ Alone – by Joseph Cortes

Faith Cometh By Hearing at www.TeachingFaith.com

Romans 7:14-25 reads, “For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”

Here, Paul is saying that because of Adam’s sin, we were born with sinful blood, but Jesus was not born with sin-filled blood. Also, Paul bemoans that the good he desires he did not do (stressing the object, the act, how it is phrased there in the Greek language), but the evil he did not desire is what he practiced. He is developing a concept of conflict between his new nature, the born-again nature, which he rejoices in the now New Law of God, and his old nature.

We can see that in Paul’s letters. The new law of God is not the Old Testament Law, or Mosaic Law, but what Jesus provided, which freed him. But he still has the problem of his old nature, his sinner’s blood, that wants him to think that while he is a Christian there is something good in him, and something he can do to keep himself saved. However, I have said repeatedly there is nothing good in us that we can do, because our part of the transaction would be in the flesh, which would be works; thinking that whatever we do, God would pay close attention and say, “That’s pretty close,” and provides salvation or will keep your salvation. There is nothing you can do. That is why I can imagine Paul probably just raising his pen and saying, “Therefore now there is no condemnation” and to heck with all that I just said in verses 14-25, because that struggle will be there continuously until we die.

“O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Then he answers it in verse 25, “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God;”

What mind? The mind that recognizes that it is not through his merit that he will be able to be a servant to the law of God. It is through Christ, because Paul finishes it up by saying, “but with the flesh the law of sin.” So, any time you bring the flesh into it, any works, it allows you to bring in sin, especially concerning anything that has to do with your salvation. That is why he says, “Therefore now no condemnation,” which is katakrima in the Greek, meaning no judgment, no separation, no divide for those who are in Christ Jesus “who walk not after the flesh.”

Pastor Joseph Cortes
from TeachingFaith.com