A Biblical Church

AMBASSADORS FOR CHRIST

2Corinthians 5:20 - Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.

There are many false teachings out there on the subject of our ambassadorship for Christ, so it is very important that we understand what it means from the word of God. First, let us start off with a definition of the word ambassador. An ambassador is a diplomatic agent of the highest rank, accredited to a foreign government or sovereign as the resident representative of his own government or sovereign. An ambassador for Christ then is, one who is a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ and the kingdom of heaven here on earth. Following are six truths about ambassadors and how they relate to the biblical truths about our ambassadorship for Christ.

1. Ambassadors are chosen by their government or sovereign. We as ambassadors for Christ, were chosen by the King of Kings. John 15 is very clear about this fact, Jesus tells his disciples, “ye have not chosen me but I have chosen you”. We do not choose to enlist in the service of ambassadorship, we are chosen by the Lord Jesus Christ for this task. At the same time we were chosen for salvation, we were chosen to be ambassadors for Christ, these two cannot be separated. And not only was the Lord Jesus Christ involved in this choosing but the Eternal Godhead was actively involved as we see in 1 Peter 1:2, Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.

2. Ambassadors have a message to proclaim from their government or sovereign. We have been given a message by the Lord Jesus Christ to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). This is not our own message, not the message that we want to proclaim, not a message suited for our culture, but the message of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the same message the apostles preached in Acts 5; - 1)Jesus is risen indeed by the power of God the Father. 2) Every man is responsible for the death of Jesus. 3) Jesus has been highly exalted by the Father to be a Prince and Savior. 4)He gives repentance and the forgiveness of sins to his Elect. Our job is to sow the seed of the word of God (Luke 8:11), by calling all men everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30). It is the Holy Spirits job to regenerate the elect (Titus 3:5).

3. Ambassadors are to be a representative of their government or sovereign. We are called to walk as Jesus walked (1 John 2:6), to be holy even as he is holy (1 Peter 1:15-16). Jesus commands us to let our light shine before men, so that they can glorify our Father which is in heaven (Matthew 5:16). Remember, that the apostles were first called Christians in Antioch, meaning they were Christ like, they walked as He walked, with the fruit of the Holy Spirit being manifested through them (Acts 11:26). Jesus taught us in Matthew 7; that every good tree brings forth good fruit and every corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit, a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit nor can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit, and that by their fruits you shall know them. Many today claim to be the ambassadors of Christ yet the fruit in their lives says otherwise.

4. Ambassadors are living in a different location than their government or sovereign. We are pilgrims and aliens on this earth, we are not of this world, we are seeking a country whose builder and maker is God (1 Peter 2:11; Hebrews 11:10). Jesus in John 18, taught us that His kingdom was not of this world. This is where the first century Jews got tripped up, they were looking for a Messiah to come and rule the earth, yet it was not the appointed time. First, Messiah must come to die on the cross for His elect and bring the gentiles into the fold (John 10:16). We are just passing through this world and we have the promise of a better world to come, eternal in the heavens (2 Corinthians 5:1) . Therefore, we should not be holding onto anything in this world, as the book of James tells us, “friendship with the world is enmity with God.” And 1 John declares, “love not the world neither the things that are in the world, if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him”.

5. Ambassadors are to stay true and loyal to their government or sovereign. You cannot be a double agent, an ambassador for Satan (or self) and an ambassador for Christ. Second Corinthians 6 asks the question, What place hath Christ with Belial? What communion hath light with Darkness? Come out of her and be ye separate saith the Lord! We are to “present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy acceptable unto the Lord, and be ye not conformed to this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:1-2). It is our duty, as ambassadors, to remain true to the word of God, to remain true to the church of the Living God, and to remain true to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. This is not an optional thing, it is a must, that can only be accomplished by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are to persevere all the way to the end, towing the company line, as Paul declared, I have fought the good fight, I have finished my coarse, I have keep the faith (2 Timothy 4:7)

6. Ambassadors are rescued at the sign of war by their government or sovereign. Take heart dear ambassador for Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ will come and take you to heaven, in the Rapture, before the time of wrath, comes upon this earth. 1 Thessalonians tells us, that God has not appointed us unto wrath but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ”. In the book of Revelation chapter 4, John says, “after this I looked, and behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were a trumpet talking to me; which said come up hither.” God has promise to take his church to heaven for the marriage supper of the Lamb before the tribulation period begins (Revelation 19:19). Once God puts his attention back to the Jews, there will be no longer a need for ambassadors of this dispensation upon the earth.

As ambassadors, let us go forth and be about the Fathers business. Let us take the message of the gospel to this "foreign land", looking to call men to reconciliation with God. May we be a strong and faithful representative of the kingdom of God here on earth. And let us always be looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2), who will soon appear, to take us to our true homeland, to be with the HIM forever!

Bro. Pat

HOPE IS A GLORIOUS GRACE

by John Owen (1616-1683)

“Christ in you the hope of glory”—Colossians 1:27

HOPE is a glorious grace, whereunto blessed effects are ascribed in the Scripture, and an effectual operation unto the supportment and consolation of believers. By it are we purified, sanctified, saved. And, to sum up the whole of its excellency and efficacy, it is a principal way of the working of Christ as inhabiting in us: “Christ in you the hope of glory” (Col 1:27). Where Christ evidenceth His presence with us, He gives us an infallible hope of glory ; He gives us an assured pledge of it and worketh our souls into an expectation of it. Hope in general is but an uncertain expectation of a future good which we desire; but as it is a gospel grace, all uncertainty is removed from it, which would hinder us of the advantage intended in it. It is an earnest expectation, proceeding from faith, trust, and confidence, accompanied with longing desire s of enjoyment. From a mistake of its nature, it is that few Christians labor after it, exercise themselves unto it, or have the benefit of it; for to live by hope, they suppose, infers a state not only beneath the life of faith and all assurance in believing, but also exclusive of them. They think to hope to be saved is a condition of men who have no grounds of faith or assurance; but this is to turn a blessed fruit of the Spirit into a common affection of nature. Gospel hope is a fruit of faith, trust, and confidence; yea, the height of the actings of all grace issues in a well-grounded hope, nor can it rise any higher (Rom 5:2-5).

Now, the reason why men have no more use of, no more benefit by, this excellent grace, is because they do not abide in thoughts and contemplation of the things hoped for. The especial object of hope is eternal glory (Col 1:27; Rom 5:2). The peculiar use of it is to support, comfort, and refresh the soul in all trials, under all weariness and despondencies, with a firm expectation of a speedy entrance into that glory, with an earnest desire after it. Wherefore, unless we acquaint ourselves by continual meditation with the reality and nature of this glory, it is impossible it should be the object of a vigorous, active hope, such as whereby the apostle says “we are saved.” Without this we can neither have that evidence of eternal things, nor that valuation of them, nor that preparedness in our minds for them, as should keep us in the exercise of gracious hope about them.

Suppose sundry persons engaged in a voyage unto a most remote country, wherein all of them have an apprehension that there is a place of rest and an inheritance provided for them. Under this apprehension they all put themselves upon their voyage, to possess what is so prepared. Howbeit some of them have only a general notion of these things. They know nothing distinctly concerning them and are so busied about other affairs that they have no leisure to inquire into them; or do suppose that they cannot come unto any satisfactory knowledge of them in particular, and so are content to go on with general hopes and expectations. Others there are who by all possible means acquaint themselves particularly with the nature of the climate whither they are going, with the excellency of the inheritance and provision that is made for them. Their voyage proves long and wearisome, their difficulties many, and their dangers great, and they have nothing to relieve and encourage themselves with but the hope and expectation of the country whither they are going. Those of the first sort will be very apt to despond and faint; their general hopes will not be able to relieve them. But those who have a distinct notion and apprehension of the state of things whither they are going, and of their incomparable excellency, have always in a readiness wherewith to cheer their minds and support themselves.

In that journey or pilgrimage wherein we are engaged towards a heavenly country, we are sure to meet with all kinds of dangers, difficulties, and perils.

It is not a general notion of blessedness that will excite and work in us a spiritual, refreshing hope. But when we think and meditate on future glory as we ought, that grace which is neglected for the most part as unto its benefit, and dead as unto its exercise, will of all others be most vigorous and active, putting itself forth on all occasions. This, therefore, is an inestimable benefit of the duty exhorted unto, and which they find the advantage of who are really spiritually minded.

—From The Grace and Duty of Being Spiritually Minded, John Owen, The Works of John Owen, vol. 7, pp. 321-323, reprinted by Banner of Truth.

Is the Lord Jesus Christ your only Hope? Do you long to spend eternity with Him? Is your particular circumstance proving that you are weak and He is strong? Psalm 43:5 - Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

Bro. Pat

TRUTH ABOUT FAITH

Horatius Bonar (1808-1889)

I shall not attempt a definition of faith. This only let me say in a few words, that the faith which goes no farther than the intellect can neither save nor sanctify. It is no faith at all. It is unbelief. No faith is saving but that which links us to the Person of a living Saviour. Whatever falls short of this is not faith in Christ. Hence, while salvation is described sometimes in Scripture as a “coming to the knowledge of the truth;” it is more commonly represented as a “coming to Christ Himself.” “Ye will not come to me that ye might have life.” “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (Joh 5:40; 6:37).

But whatever view of faith we take, one thing is obvious, that it is from first to last “the gift of God” (Rom 6:23). Make it as simple as you please, still it is the result of the Holy Spirit’s direct, immediate, all-quickening power. (Never attempt, I beseech you, my dear friend, to make faith simple, with the view of getting rid of the Spirit to produce it.)

This, I believe, is one of the wretched devices of Satan in the present evil day. By all means correct every mistake in regard to faith by which hindrances are thrown in the sinner’s way, or darkness thrown around the soul. Show him that it is with the object of faith, even with Christ and His Cross, that he has to do, not with his own actings of faith; that it is not the virtue of merit that is in his faith that saves him, but the virtue and merit that are in Christ Jesus alone. Tell him to look outward not inward for his peace. Beat him off from his self-righteous efforts to get up a peculiar kind of faith or peculiar acts of faith in order to obtain something in himself—something short of Christ, to rest upon. Simplify, explain, and illustrate faith to such a one; but never imagine that thereby you are to make the Spirit’s help less than absolutely necessary.

This, I believe, is the aim of the propagators of the new theology. Their object in simplifying faith is to bring it within the reach of the un-renewed man, so that by performing this very simple act he may become a renewed man. In other words, their object is to make man the beginner of his own salvation. He takes the first step, and God does the rest! He believes, and then God comes in and saves him!

This is nothing short of a flat and bold denial of the Spirit’s work altogether. If at any time more than another the sinner needs the Spirit’s power, it is at the beginning . And he who denies the need of the Spirit at the beginning cannot believe in it at the after stages— nay, cannot believe in the need of the Spirit’s work at all. The mightiest and most insuperable difficulty lies at the beginning. If the sinner can get over that without the Spirit, he will easily get over the rest. If he does not need the Spirit to enable him to believe , he will not need Him to enable him to love . If when a true object is presented to me, I can believe without the Spirit; then when a lovable object is presented I can love without the Spirit. In short, what is there in the whole Christian life, which I cannot do of myself, if I can begin this career without help from God? The denial of the Spirit’s direct agency in faith and conversion is the denial of His whole work in the soul—both of the saint and the sinner! (Chapel Library • 2603 West Wright St. • Pensacola, Florida 32505 USA - Sending Christ-centered materials from prior centuries worldwide. - © Copyright 2007 Chapel Library; Pensacola, Florida.)

Do you have true saving faith? Do you have the faith that is the work of The Holy Spirit?

2Co 13:5 - Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

Bro Pat

Do You Know Christ by Personal Revelation?

by W.F. Bell

"He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven" (Matt 16:15-17).

The most important question you could ever be asked is simply this: Do you in reality know the living Christ? The question is not, Are you religious? — Are you a church member? — Do you read the Bible? You may be very religious, yet not know Christ in the heart. You may be a loyal church member, a regular reader of God's Word, a person who "says" their prayers, or one who loves to study religious books and doctrine. But, these soul-searching questions still remain — Have you ever seen yourself a lost, vile sinner before a holy God? Have you ever been stripped of your self-righteousness and laid low in the dust of humility? Have you ever viewed by faith the glorious person of the Lord Jesus Christ, all because of a direct and personal revelation to you of God the Holy Ghost?

Sinner friend, I plead with you to not be deceived. Do not rest in your religious creeds, your attendance of religious worship, your so-called righteous acts. Rest only in Christ! Look only to him! Be not content with any religion if Christ is not the center and substance of it! Do not be deceived by man-made religion! Seek that which comes by divine revelation, as that which Simon Peter had in the opening Scripture. Simon was blessed to know who Christ was by a personal revelation to him of God the Father! This must also be true of us.

If Christ Jesus is not known to you by the revelation of the Holy Spirit, he is not known as the very wellspring of blessedness to the soul. If you only know Jesus by no more than the world knows, than the learned among men know, you have not the real blessing. If you only know the Lord of glory by what you have found out yourself, in reading or in talking to others, unaided by the Father's drawing power, you are not blessed with true salvation. If you know no more of Christ than what flesh and blood has revealed to you, you are nothing more than a Pharisee or Sadducee — religious, but lost without God — a separatist or a rationalist, but not a recipient of revelation and regeneration. May the eternal Jehovah reveal to you your true and undone condition before him!

Among the vast religious throngs of this earth there is to be found the true people of God. These chosen of the Father are also redeemed by the Son, and quickened by the Spirit. The elect of God know by deep acknowledgement of their sin that they are blind and ignorant by nature. The true children of God have been made humble; they confess their total dependence upon the grace and mercy of Christ, and place their entire confidence and faith in his meritorious righteousness and shed blood. In the Lord Jesus Christ alone do "we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace" (Eph 1:7).

Reader, what do you know of this once-crucified, yet now living Christ? Does his name bring gladness to your heart? Do you love the fragrance of his person? Is he more than just a religious leader to you? Beware of misty and cloudy views of King Jesus! Beware that you only have a head knowledge of him! Make sure that Christ is your Surety, your Substitute, your Sacrifice, your Savior. Beware of any religion which belittles him, or that does not exalt him as the only way to God.

Do you believe in Jesus by an inward discernment of him? Do you clearly see him as the Son of man and the Son of God? Is he definitely your Lord and Savior, your propitiation (satisfaction) before God? If m you know him thus you have not learned this by the instruction of men. You have had a direct and personal revelation made to you and in you by the Father concerning who Jesus Christ really is (Gal 1:16).

It is only when the Lord himself deals with you, taking you in his powerful hand, that you are truly taught who Christ is. You may have heard about Jesus, but you only know him as "the Son of the living God" when illuminated and quickened by God the Spirit. Jesus came forth from God, and the power to know Christ comes forth from God also. If you have Christ, you have the new birth! If you have Christ, you have eternal life! If you have not Christ, you have nothing but dead, lifeless, counterfeit religion! Said our blessed Master: "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him" (John 6:44). May divine power draw you this day, poor sinner! May you see Christ in all his beauty! May you come to worship and serve only him! Christ is to be seen, but in the light which he himself supplies. May that light shine unto you even now, and to our glorious God be all the glory!

Praise God! This is the most important question that we can ask to those we come in contact with; do you know Christ by personal revelation? There are so many today that confess HIM with their mouth but do not posses HIM in their hearts. (Matt. 25) We have a mandate from scripture to, "go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. (Mark 16:15) We must not settle with just knowing that people have an intellectual accent to Jesus. May we not rest until we have challenged all to know HIM and the power of HIS resurrection. (Phil. 3:10)

Bro. Pat

"For it is God which worketh in you"

"The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me."
- Psalm 138:8
- by Charles Spurgeon

Most manifestly the confidence which the Psalmist here expressed was a divine confidence. He did not say, "I have grace enough to perfect that which concerneth me-my faith is so steady that it will not stagger-my love is so warm that it will never grow cold-my resolution is so firm that nothing can move it; no, his dependence was on the Lord alone. If we indulge in any confidence which is not grounded on the Rock of ages, our confidence is worse than a dream, it will fall upon us, and cover us with its ruins, to our sorrow and confusion. All that Nature spins time will unravel, to the eternal confusion of all who are clothed therein. The Psalmist was wise, he rested upon nothing short of the Lord’s work. It is the Lord who has begun the good work within us; it is he who has carried it on; and if he does not finish it, it never will be complete. If there be one stitch in the celestial garment of our righteousness which we are to insert ourselves, then we are lost; but this is our confidence, the Lord who began will perfect. He has done it all, must do it all, and will do it all. Our confidence must not be in what we have done, nor in what we have resolved to do, but entirely in what the Lord will do. Unbelief insinuates- "You will never be able to stand. Look at the evil of your heart, you can never conquer sin; remember the sinful pleasures and temptations of the world that beset you, you will be certainly allured by them and led astray." Ah! yes, we should indeed perish if left to our own strength. If we had alone to navigate our frail vessels over so rough a sea, we might well give up the voyage in despair; but, thanks be to God, he will perfect that which concerneth us, and bring us to the desired haven. We can never be too confident when we confide in him alone, and never too much concerned to have such a trust.

Praise God! Praise, "him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will." Our perseverance is complete in Him and in Him alone. This is the humility the Holy Spirit works out in us, and causes us to say, "We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do." May we continue to anticipate his divine work in us, "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son."

Bro. Pat

Hope in the day of evil.

"Thou art my hope in the day of evil." - Jeremiah 17:17
--C. H. Spurgeon


The path of the Christian is not always bright with sunshine; he has his seasons of darkness and of storm. True, it is written in God’s Word, "Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace;" and it is a great truth, that religion is calculated to give a man happiness below as well as bliss above; but experience tells us that if the course of the just be "As the shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day," yet sometimes that light is eclipsed. At certain periods clouds cover the believer’s sun, and he walks in darkness and sees no light. There are many who have rejoiced in the presence of God for a season; they have basked in the sunshine in the earlier stages of their Christian career; they have walked along the "green pastures" by the side of the "still waters," but suddenly they find the glorious sky is clouded; instead of the Land of Goshen they have to tread the sandy desert; in the place of sweet waters, they find troubled streams, bitter to their taste, and they say, "Surely, if I were a child of God, this would not happen." Oh! say not so, thou who art walking in darkness. The best of God’s saints must drink the wormwood; the dearest of his children must bear the cross. No Christian has enjoyed perpetual prosperity; no believer can always keep his harp from the willows. Perhaps the Lord allotted you at first a smooth and unclouded path, because you were weak and timid. He tempered the wind to the shorn lamb, but now that you are stronger in the spiritual life, you must enter upon the riper and rougher experience of God’s full-grown children. We need winds and tempests to exercise our faith, to tear off the rotten bough of self-dependence, and to root us more firmly in Christ. The day of evil reveals to us the value of our glorious hope.

James 1:3 - Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

Praise God! He is conforming us to the image of His Son. He uses the circumstances of life to try our faith (the faith that He has given us) so that it can work patience in us. May the trials and tribulations of this life, put more of a yearning in our spirits, to "go home" and be with our Lord Jesus Christ for all of eternity.

Bro. Pat