When the Spirit of God shows up, it can and does... loosens chains, opens prison doors, and sets captives free. That probably has to do with the fact that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty and freedom; well, at least for those who want it. (2 Cor. 3:17; John 3:19; 5:6) I’ve actually heard people say that they will ‘choose’ to sin, once in a while, because they ‘want’ to sin, maybe just a little.

If that describes your ‘walk’, then at best, you have a ‘form of godliness...that denies the power of God. (2 Tim. 3:5). And I have no hesitation stating that, ... because the gospel that Jesus came preaching, unlike many ‘other gospels’ today, changes all that. I too, can stand with Paul and declare that: “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes...” (Rom. 1:18)

Yes, I waded in to this topic on being ‘saved’ in yesterday’s post so you might want to review it before continuing on here if you missed it. I know there is no ‘gentle way’ to make this next statement without offending and alarming people, but I am going to say it anyway: There are ‘many’ who believe they are ‘saved’, ...but are not. They have been deceived, or been lulled to ‘sleep’, just like those foolish virgins in Matt. 25 and those we read of in Matt. 7:21-23 were. And because of God’s amazing mercy and grace, we are living in an hour when His Spirit is moving across the face of the dark waters and giving us some ‘light’. (Gen. 1:1-3).

What you do with this light remains to be seen, but I would advise you to ‘trim those lamps’ and ‘come to the light’ so that you too can ‘walk in the light as He is in the light’; because people in darkness don’t know where they are going. (Matt. 25:7; John 3:19; 1 John 1:1-7; John 12:35)

Going back to that passage in Romans 1 regarding the power of ‘this gospel’ (vs. those other gospels Paul mentioned in 2 Cor. 11:3-4), when you read on, Paul then writes how this ‘righteousness of God is being revealed (Not taught) from faith to faith’. (17). Many people today have been taught that because they simply ‘believed’ that Jesus is the Son of God who died and was raised from the dead’ (which demons also believe) that if they ‘accept Him as Savior’ (whatever that means), that they are now ‘saved...and in right standing with God’.

But that is really not the ‘whole picture of truth’ here. Keep in mind: an interesting fact about deception is that there is always a ‘thread of truth’ woven through a lie, which is what makes it so...deceptive. And if Jesus warned us of nothing else there in Matt. 24, it was the fact that in these times we are living in, ‘many’ would be deceived and led astray.

So this word ‘righteous’ or ‘righteousness’ is one of those words I cited yesterday that gets tossed around often without us really knowing what it means. A simple explanation would suggest it is to be “in right standing with God”, as in we are on/in ‘good terms’ with Him. What we fail to see more often than not is He is the one who ‘sets those terms’ as to what it means to be in ‘right standing’. If/when Jesus is not our Lord (King, Master) we tend to ‘do what is right in our own eyes’. (Judges 17:6)

John even suggest this is an area we could be deceived in as he wrote: “Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices...righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. (1 John 3:7)

I’ve heard it taught and preached more than a few times that we humans could ‘never be righteous enough for God, so all we have to do is say we believe in Him and God then sees us as being 'righteous' because of what Jesus did on the cross’. Folks, even con artist do a better job at spinning lies than many ‘preachers’ today. Look once more at what John declares in the preceding chapter there: “IF...you know that He is righteous, you know...that everyone who 'practices righteousness' is born of Him.” (1 John 2:29)

Back to Romans 1 again, ...Paul continues on- not only is God’s righteousness being revealed but so also... is “the wrath of God being revealed (not taught)...from heaven against ALL ungodliness and unrighteousness of men...” (18) and because God is revealing this to us, “we are without excuse” (21) and if we reject this truth (John 3:19; 2 Thess. 2:9-12) then all our thinking will become ‘futile as our foolish hearts are darkened’. We may ‘profess to be wise, yet become fools’ (22) as we follow that other ‘wide road that leads to destruction’ (Matt. 7:13-14) while we “walk in a form of godliness...always learning but never coming to the knowledge of the truth’ that Paul warns about in 2 Tim. 3:1-7.

And this ‘wrath of God’ that is not only being revealed as it comes or falls upon “all ungodly and unrighteous acts of men’... it is the same ‘wrath’ that Jesus came to save us from. (Rom. 5:9). If you look at that verse there, it begins by stating how “now having been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him”. So we may as well address another one of those ‘words’ here before moving on. That word would be ‘wrath’. It is what Jesus came to ‘save’ us from. Would you take a look at Luke 1 where we can read the prophesy given by Zacharias (father of John the Baptist)...

“Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people...that we should be saved from our enemies...” (1:68,71). Friends...who did Peter write and reveal that our ‘enemy’ is, in 1 Pet. 5:8?

When you study the OT, and God was pouring out His wrath and judgments on His people for their continued disobedience...did He not often use the ‘enemies’ of Israel? (yes, He did indeed). But Paul also reminds us that it is not ‘flesh and blood’ that we contend with. (Eph. 6:12). Are you aware of who carries out God’s wrath...and judgements...and ‘curses’? Please take a look at Psalms 78:49-50. You might want to underline that part that says ‘sending angels of destruction among them’.

Those would be the same ‘angels’ that God sent to King Saul after he turned away from God. (1 Sam. 16:14; 18:10). This would be the same powers of darkness that Paul handed over various ‘sinners’ to for the ‘destruction of their flesh...WITH THE HOPES THEIR SPIRITS MIGHT BE SAVED’. (1 Cor. 5:5; 1 Tim. 1:20). And what did God promise to those who keep His commandments and walk in obedience to Him, regarding their ‘enemies’? (Deut. 12:10; Prov. 16:7). And what does John write, assuming that we already ‘know’ in 1 John 5:18? (go look that up real quick)

I know...so much to ponder here and you have to be asking yourself- “Why have I not heard this before and why am I not hearing this from the pulpits where I attend church?” Good question...but for now, just stay in His word here and let God lead you in to more truth.

That reference from Rom. 5:9...’having been justified by His blood’....let’s take a quick look at what that means and I can think of no better word picture than the one found in Luke 15...where we read about the ‘prodigal son’. You can read vs. 11-31 if you need a quick review, but I just want to hit some key points here for today. A father had two sons. The younger wanted his ‘inheritance’ up front. Seems many believers today assume they get that inheritance upfront...when it comes to ‘inheriting eternal life’. (Luke 10:25; Gal. 5:21)

So what happens to this son? He goes his ‘own way’. (Matt. 22:5) and squanders it. Next thing you know...he has hit rock bottom and is eating with the pigs. You might make note that ‘children of God’ have a citizenship in heaven. This son in the story ‘joined himself to a citizen of another country’. And when he bottomed out, he was dwelling with an animal that at best, was not ‘kosher’ and in another story, ‘housed thousands of demons’. (Mark 5)

Let me tell you what we don’t read in this story: This young man did not shrug his shoulders as he fed those pigs and say things like: “Oh well....there’s a reason for everything...even if we don’t understand it. All things work together for good. I’m still a child of his. Nobody is perfect.”

What we do read though, is that he ‘came to his senses’. (Luke 15:17). Sort of like that man who hit rock bottom in Mark 5:15. And what he realized now, is how he had sinned against his father. He was a broken man and was no longer interested in making demands on what he wanted or desired...as his heart now wants to simply return and be made a servant. Talk about being humbled. And who does God bestow great grace to? The humble. (James 4:6-10)

So he begins the journey back home. Oh...what are we told ‘leads us to repentance’? (Rom. 2:4). And while he was ‘still a great way off’, the father saw him and had compassion on him and ran to him, falling upon him in a loving embrace. The son humbly speaks his piece and seeks restoration realizing he was no longer worthy to be called a son.

Here’s the crazy part...many today would want to argue the fact that he never stopped being a ‘son’, and therefore was still...’saved’. Yet, what did the father say about him prior to this beautiful scene of restoration? Look at vs. 24 –“this my son was dead and is alive again; he was ‘lost’...and now is found’. Can a ‘lost’ person be ‘saved’. Is that not an oxymoron, or a ‘contradiction of terms’? This son was ‘dead’ to the father. Sin does that...it brings death and separation. (Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:1-3). But what changed all that? It was the repentant heart of the younger son that ushered him back into a living and loving relationship with the father. And immediately a robe and ring was placed upon him signifying that he was back in the family and then invited in to the house to celebrate. This, is a picture of ‘justification’. It happened that quickly. He did nothing to earn this, nor did the father suggest they all ‘wait awhile for the rebel son to ‘prove’ himself.

Meanwhile...we read where the older brother had some heart issues of his own. And he did not...go into the father’s house.(28). Those things in his heart prevented him from going in. We can pick back up here tomorrow....Lord willing. ;-)