Even Devils Know that Christmas is about Jesus Christ, NOT about a Fat Guy in a Red Suit

James 2:19
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

The question is WHAT do you believe? Do you and I believe God's truth or some man-made philosophy religion that ignores what God has said? Yes, the Santa Claus stuff is a religious cult.

Exodus 20:1-7
¹ And God spake all these words, saying,

²  I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
³  Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
⁴  Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
⁵  Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
⁶  And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
⁷  Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Isaiah 7:14

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Isaiah 9:6-7
⁶  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
⁷  Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Luke 1:26-35
²⁶  And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

²⁷  To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
²⁸  And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
²⁹  And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
³⁰  And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
³¹  And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
³²  He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
³³  And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
³⁴  Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
³⁵  And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Matthew 1:18-25

¹⁸  Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

¹⁹  Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.
²⁰  But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
²¹  And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
²²  Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
²³  Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
²⁴  Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:
²⁵  And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

Matthew 4:1-11

¹  Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

²  And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
³  And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
⁴  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
⁵  Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
⁶  And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
⁷  Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
⁸  Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
⁹  And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
¹⁰  Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
¹¹  Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

Mark 5:1-17 

¹  And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.

²  And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,
³  Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:
⁴  Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.
⁵  And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.
⁶  But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,
⁷  And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.
⁸  For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.
⁹  And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.
¹⁰  And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country.
¹¹  Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding.
¹²  And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.
¹³  And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.
¹⁴  And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done.
¹⁵  And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.
¹⁶  And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine.
¹⁷  And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts.

Obviously, the devils knew the Godhood, Person, and power of Jesus Christ, but, the people of that region loved their worldliness and religion more than they loved God and His Christ, Jesus. Sound familiar?

Acts 17:29-31

²⁹  Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.
³⁰  And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
³¹  Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

Acts 2:37-38

³⁷  Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

³⁸  Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Mark 1:14-15

¹⁴ Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,

¹⁵  And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Luke 13:1-5

¹  There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

²  And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?
³  I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
⁴  Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?
⁵  I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Ephesians 2:8-10

⁸  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
⁹  Not of works, lest any man should boast.
¹⁰  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

By this same Christ, Jesus, His Holy Spirit calls to us through His Word, the Bible, commanding people everywhere to repent of our sins and receive Him, for He alone is God's only plan of salvation for all of humanity, and for all time and eternity, no matter what nation, language, culture, sin, color, God is calling every one of us to repent and receive the resurrected Living God, Jesus Christ, lest you or I be found wanting at God's Final Judgment.

Jesus Christ: the only reason for Christ-mas

Although there are a zillion religions and philosophies floating around, and almost as many people who seek almost anything but God's only Christ, please turn away from sin and the world. Please call on the Lord Jesus Christ to save you from your sin: repent, accept Him, and receive God's greatest gift to humanity, eternal life through Jesus Christ. For surely, as His Word promises, we all shall bow and confess that He is LORD of all, at His Judgment Seat. Better to repent and choose Him now (entering into eternal life), than to scorn or ignore Him, and, by the latter, thus choosing for yourself eternal damnation. Read the Bible books of Isaiah, John, and Romans to get God's blessed answers to life's eternal questions.

Human works, religions, and philosophies all fail, but God's plan of salvation and His call to faith in Christ Jesus last forever.

"But Evil Men and Seducers Shall Wax Worse and Worse..."

2 Timothy 3:1-17¹ This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

²  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
³  Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
⁴  Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
⁵  Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
⁶  For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
⁷  Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
⁸  Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.
⁹  But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.
¹⁰ But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,

¹¹  Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.
¹²  Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
¹³  But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
¹⁴  But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
¹⁵  And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
¹⁶  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
¹⁷  That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. 

Look to the LORD and His Christ to  escape the wrath to come upon all who ignore or reject His salvation. Here is God's only plan of salvation for humanity.

Godly Love and Godly Law Are Always Harmonious

God's love is AMAZING!!! It is NOTHING like our lusty, fickle human passions. Godly love is self-sacrificing, NOT self-serving. Godly love is consistently in line with His Law and His promises, NOT self-deluding the way we humans so often fool ourselves with self-justification, that we might indulge our lusts. By the blood that Christ poured out for us on Calvary's cross, God's love seeks to make us into new creatures in God's Christ, IF we will simply choose to exercise the free will that He has given to us that we should choose to repent of our sin and turn wholly to Him in Christ, for there is no other way to eternal life, but through God's loving gift.

Mark 12:28-33
²⁸  And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?

²⁹  And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
³⁰  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.
³¹  And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
³²  And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:
³³  And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

John 3:1-21

¹   There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

²  The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
³  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.
⁴  Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
⁵  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
⁶  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
⁷  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
⁸  The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
⁹  Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
¹⁰  Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
¹¹  Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
¹²  If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
¹³  And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
¹⁴  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
¹⁵  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
¹⁶  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
¹⁷  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
¹⁸  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
¹⁹  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
²⁰  For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
²¹  But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

James 1:13-16

¹³  Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
¹⁴  But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
¹⁵  Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
¹⁶  Do not err, my beloved brethren.

James 1:19-24

¹⁹  Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
²⁰  For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
²¹  Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
²²  But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
²³  For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
²⁴  For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

1 Timothy 1:5-11

⁵  Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:

⁶  From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling;
⁷  Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.
⁸  But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;
⁹  Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
¹⁰  For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;
¹¹  According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.

James 4:1-10¹  From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?

²  Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
³  Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
⁴  Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
⁵   Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
⁶  But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
⁷  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
⁸  Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
⁹  Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
¹⁰  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

¹³  Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

¹⁴  For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. 

There is only one way to make and have peace with The One True God, through the only salvation that He offers to any of us through His Word and His Christ. Any other attempt at religious living is self-delusion and is a personal choice by which you shall send yourself to eternal torment, alone, and separated from God. If you, yet, judge this as some kind of fiction, read the following linked verses that use the phrase "love of God", and see for yourself what God's view of love really is all about. If you would still choose to neglect what God says, please read Romans Chapter One that you might learn to repent before you have condemned yourself eternally. His love is greater than all your sin and you can be free from the burden of sin, IF you will but choose to repent and accept God's only Christ and His only salvation.

Are You REALLY "all set" Spiritually? God's Word Shows If You Are Or Not

Dear soul,

Are you saved from or lost in your sin? God says that you, alone, choose for yourself where you shall live for all eternity. He has prepared only two places and conditions for us to choose to spend our eternity and we must make our choice here in this life before we die. For the saved who trust His Christ there is eternal peace, joy, fellowship, and security. For the lost who reject and neglect His Christ, they shall have chosen to live in the opposite eternal conditions of darkness, pain, and isolation.

Whether you consider yourself a friend or enemy of God Almighty, or you try to be a bystander or are in denial of such things, I need to challenge you with these MOST IMPORTANT questions you shall ever face in your earthly life, for God challenges us to examine our lives at the foundation of what we claim to believe. Jesus said that what we believe and trust proves to be an eternal difference between unstable sand that gets washed away, betraying those who build on it, versus solid bedrock that withstands storms without any problem. Faith in Christ and God's Word is what Jesus equated to the bedrock. All other beliefs He equated to unstable sand.

The question that God asks us is NOT whether we think we are "all set", or comfortable, or feel good, or following our hearts. God wants us to prove ourselves by His Standards and His Word, according to repentance and faith, to which He calls us. God's challenge scares a lot of people, and, yet, a lot of people mock at such questions. God says that, compared to all the world's population, earthly religions, and philosophies, there are only a few souls who seek, find, and accept the free gift that God is offering to all humanity. How sad that people love themselves and their sin more than God, His Word, and His Christ (who suffered, died, and rose for their salvation).

These are not my questions, but these have been God's challenges to waken all humanity throughout all ages. IF you don't believe it, pick up God's Word, the Bible, and read it through for yourself. Ask God, the Author, to help you understand what He wants and needs to teach you, for God has always offered us all the riches of spiritual wisdom, salvation, and understanding when we submit ourselves to Him and to His Word, IF we are willing to honestly examine ourselves, what He says about our sin, and be open to accept His truth.

In Romans Chapter One God tells us the sad story about how and why so many people push Him and his salvation away. But, He also tells us there in Romans One that everyone starts life knowing who God, our Creator, really is, but, that it is our own personal and culturally based choices and lusts that cause us to reject Him and His call to repentance and faith in Christ. Do not deceive yourself about neglecting or ignoring His call. Ignoring His call or saying, "I'm not ready now.", are both choices that reject Him and what He says. 

To avoid deceiving ourselves, and to get right with God, we all need to scripturally examine what we claim to believe, lest we shall have allowed ourselves to be led into eternal damnation, for it is the devil himself that sneakily and boldly taunts us with his lying question, "Yea, hath God said?". Worldly, fleshly systems and people, also, mock at, deny, and fight against the serious nature of these things, but, God says that the choice of your eternal destiny is yours to make and there are no excuses. We cannot blame anyone else but ourselves, IF we choose eternal damnation.

Have YOU searched God's Word and your soul, then made that great spiritual choice of faith in selecting God's Way for yourself? Or, did someone else try to get you into a religion before you were able to think and speak for yourself, before you sought, read, and searched God's Word, honestly, for yourself? 

Worldly religions contradict God's ways by promising all sorts of false things that God never said. By contrast, as God calls us to His great salvation (Psalm 49:7), He says that no one besides His Christ (Jesus) can pay anyone's sin debt. IF you have not prayerfully or honestly submitted yourself to God's Word and sought His riches already, then, please, do so now. Don't wait. God wants us all to wake up from the deadness of sin and the darkness in which we live, that we should come to and abide in God's Light that only exists in Christ Jesus. Your choice of eternal destiny is up to you, with Christ in glory or without Christ in eternal fire. God, only, gives us two options: eternal salvation or eternal destruction. Throughout His Word, it is clear that we choose our eternal destiny, and He gave us free will to choose.

Most philosophies and religions in this world tell you that either you don't need God or that you can earn your way into God's favor by human works. As the serpent, the devil, tricked Eve by his infamous question, "Yea, hath God said?", worldly faith systems (including atheism) continue to use that satanic lie to trick souls into following their ways instead of encouraging us to follow God's One Way. Don't try to second guess God's Word. Accept it, for it offers you eternal life. 

Throughout His Word, you can see for yourself, God has repeatedly and consistently made it clear that no earthly person, no organization, no saint, no voodoo, no human works, no baptism, no prayers for the dead, no amount of repeated prayers or chants, no beads, no amount of personal suffering, no reincarnation, no purgatory, no neglect or denial of God's truth can ever save you, pay for your sin, OR get you into the family of God. God says that there is no other name by which we must be saved from our sin and eternal death, and that He only accepts our "repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ".

Whether we like it or not, throughout His Word, God has made it abundantly clear that each of us shall live forever, either with Him in Christ or to be cast, as a lost soul at the Final Judgment of God, into the lake of fire. Furthermore, God has made our choice very easy by reducing all spirituality to a choice between one of two destinies. He gives us no other option, and has warned humanity, in His love, that He does not want us to choose eternal damnation, though He allows us to make that choice for ourselves. Death, hell, and the lake of fire are NOT a joke, though many mock the righteous judgment of God.

We are the ones who make this choice difficult on ourselves because of our sinful love of the world, instead of our need to love God more than the world. Choosing to live in the lusts of the world never satisfies our longing for fellowship with God in Christ. Remember that He came and offered Himself for your sin and mine, so that He could set us free to choose to live in Him by faith and obedience to His Word, not in subjection to our flesh and worldly lusts. Our choice is between choosing to enslave ourselves to sin or submitting ourselves to God in Christ. God says that all our decisions boil down to one of those two options: eternal life with Him or eternal death and suffering separated from Him, because of the choice we made to either accept or reject His Christ.

If you really have trusted Jesus for God's salvation, the following passages challenge those of us who say that we believe in God and His Christ, to be sure that we have not only placed our faith and trust in the Christ of God, but, also, that we are really living the life to which He calls us in Jesus Christ.

James 4:1-17
¹  From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?

²  Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
³  Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
⁴  Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
⁵   Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
⁶  But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
⁷  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
⁸  Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
⁹  Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
¹⁰  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
¹¹  Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.

¹²  There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?
¹³  Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
¹⁴  Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
¹⁵  For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
¹⁶  But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
¹⁷  Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

Ephesians 4:1-32

¹  I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,    

²  With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
³  Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
⁴  There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
⁵  One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
⁶  One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
⁷  But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
⁸  Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
⁹  (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
¹⁰  He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
¹¹  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
¹²  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
¹³  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
¹⁴  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
¹⁵  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
¹⁶  From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.    
¹⁷  This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
¹⁸  Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
¹⁹  Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
²⁰  But ye have not so learned Christ;
²¹  If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:
²²  That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
²³  And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
²⁴  And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
²⁵  Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
²⁶  Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
²⁷  Neither give place to the devil.
²⁸  Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
²⁹  Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
³⁰  And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
³¹  Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
³²  And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Righteous Law and Godly Faith Always Point To Jesus Christ

Despite all the religions and philosophizers in this world, God has provided all of humanity with one and only one Savior, Jesus, the Christ of God, and only one plan of salvation through Him for all time and eternity.

Isaiah 9:6-7
⁶  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
⁷  Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Matthew 1:20-23
²⁰  But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
²¹  And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
²²  Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
²³  Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

John 1:1-14
¹  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

²  The same was in the beginning with God.
³  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
⁴  In him was life; and the life was the light of men.    
⁵  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
⁶  There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
⁷  The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
⁸  He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
⁹  That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
¹⁰  He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
¹¹  He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
¹²  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
¹³  Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
¹⁴  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

John 3:1-21

¹ There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

²  The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
³  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.
⁴  Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
⁵  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
⁶  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
⁷  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
⁸  The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
⁹  Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
¹⁰  Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
¹¹  Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
¹²  If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
¹³  And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
¹⁴  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
¹⁵  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
¹⁶  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
¹⁷  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
¹⁸  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
¹⁹  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
²⁰  For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
²¹  But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

John 14:1-7

¹  Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

²  In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
³  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.    
⁴  And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
⁵  Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
⁶  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
⁷  If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

Matthew 5:17-20

¹⁷  Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

¹⁸  For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
¹⁹  Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
²⁰  For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

John 12:44-50

⁴⁴   Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me.

⁴⁵  And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me.
⁴⁶  I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.
⁴⁷  And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
⁴⁸  He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
⁴⁹  For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
⁵⁰  And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.

Galatians 3:1-29

¹  O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?

²  This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
³  Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
⁴  Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.
⁵  He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
⁶ Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.

⁷  Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
⁸  And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
⁹  So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
¹⁰  For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
¹¹  But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
¹²  And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.
¹³  Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
¹⁴  That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
¹⁵  Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.
¹⁶  Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
¹⁷  And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
¹⁸  For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.    
¹⁹  Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.
²⁰  Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.
²¹  Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.
²²  But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
²³  But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
²⁴  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
²⁵  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
²⁶  For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
²⁷  For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
²⁸  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
²⁹  And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Today, you, too, can be born again, as God calls all souls, by repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. God will accept no excuses from anyone who neglects to receive His gift.

Luke 16:19-31

¹⁹  There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:

²⁰  And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
²¹  And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
²²  And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
²³  And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
²⁴  And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
²⁵  But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
²⁶  And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
²⁷  Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:
²⁸  For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
²⁹  Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
³⁰  And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
³¹  And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

God has one Christ and one way of salvation. We all need to admit our sin and receive this singular eternal blessing that God is offering to us in Jesus Christ.

Another Of The Same Is NOT Something Different

Any honest discussion must admit that there is a lot of religious and anti-religious activity, speculation, and philosophizing that goes on in this world. But, how does all that compare to God's true message, even among so-called Christian churches and institutions? 

In the beginning of the world, in the Garden of Eden, the devil tempted Eve with his mantra of, "Yea, hath God said...?" That satanic doubt-casting often instills doubt in those who are weak in godly faith and weak in their relative familiarity with God and His Word. That doubt and weakness grow into practiced willful ignorance in those who neglect to return to God's Word to seek God's answers to the questions raised. That willful ignorance then turns into corrupted beliefs and corrupted practices that are contrary to what God expects of and commands us.

In addressing the first century church in Galatia, Paul points out to them that there is heresy in what some people among them are promoting there. He makes the godly distinction between another message or thing of the same type versus another thing or idea that is different or discrepant from the original. 

God's Word is true and reliable throughout all generations, according to numerous biblical references that span more than 1,500 years of divinely transcribed and preserved revelation pertaining to all manner of things relating to God, humanity, and God's total Creation. It is God who dictated how to write it down, and God alone who has preserved it for us. It is His Word, so, of course He wants us to stick to the same message and not corrupt it. He sternly warns all people against tampering with what He has said, both early on in Scripture and at the end of the Bible.

So, whether we have honest questions or though the devil himself challenges us with doubtful questions, we need to return to God and His Word (even as Jesus did) for the Word of God (the Bible) has the only true answers that have ever been provided for our learning, guidance, and our spiritual and practical profit. Let us not forget that the word "success" is only used once in all of God's Word, and very pointedly. 

Even the longest of our lives is short, therefore, God has directed us to shun dishonest questions and doubtful disputations that others raise, for such things waste our time and energy, of which we all have so little in this life. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus commanded believers to be lights that shine His eternal truth into this dark and decaying world system, because, one day, the very fabric of this present creation shall be put to the torch by God Himself, even as we are warned in 2 Peter Chapter 3. God's biblical message of our fall in sin and His plan of redemption has always has been God's consistent biblical message and mission, throughout all ages, for any soul who says that he/she believes God and His message. If we claim to believe God, His Word, and His Christ, let us NOT be led astray by false teachers and false prophets, but rather, let us cleave unto the Word of God as He has commanded us.

Galatians 1:6-9
⁶  I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:

⁷  Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
⁸  But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
⁹  As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.     

In the Greek of this scripture, the first "another" gospel that Paul mentions is "heteros" meaning different, whereas, the second "another" reference that Paul mentions is 'allos' meaning the same. Those of us who claim to believe God's Word need to be of discerning mind and spirit.

Do NOT accept doubtful attacks from any source for those are attempting to get you to follow another different message and plan that is contrary to what God wants for you and the rest of humanity. 

Do NOT allow yourself to be carried away by fear, doubt, or ignorance. Trust God's Word and His Christ. Walk in the light of God's Word by refreshing yourself in another scriptural helping of the same message that God has always given to humanity.