Month: August 2009
Faithful & Righteous to Forgive – 1 John 1, pt 3
The conclusion of a three-part devotional from 1 John 1:
Verse 5 “Now this is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in Him.”
The first part we need to know, is that God is perfect and holy. He has no sin (darkness) in Him. By contrast, we live in darkness and sin. This is what separates us from God and prevents us from having fellowship with Him.
Light and darkness cannot coexist. If it is light, it is not dark. If it is dark, it is not light. So we, in our darkness, cannot have fellowship with God, who is light.
This also prevents us from being able to go to heaven when we die.
That is our problem, and we have a choice to make. One option we have is to try to solve the problem of our sin by ourselves, but that doesn’t work, because:
Verse 6 “If we say, ‘We have fellowship with Him,’ and walk in darkness, we are lying and are not practicing the truth.”
Many people say, “I am a Christian. I was born a Christian. I am very religious. I go to church. I do good things more often than I do bad things. I’m just not bad enough to deserve hell. Hell is for pagans, and I am a Christian.” But they have never come to Jesus personally to trust in Him alone for salvation. They have never repented in their hearts and trusted the fact that He died in their place on the cross for their sins to get them to heaven. They have instead trusted in their own good works. So their sins have never been forgiven. The darkness has never been taken away. They still live in darkness and carry a lifetime of unforgiven sin around on their backs. They may tell others, and tell themselves, that because they are religious, they have fellowship with God. But God’s word says that if we do that, we are lying—to ourselves, to God, and to others. We are not practicing truth. The truth is, we don’t have fellowship with Him when we remain in darkness.
So that’s one option of what we can do, and we’ve seen that it can’t work. So what will work to solve our problem, and give us eternal life and a relationship with God?
Verse 7 “But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
We come into the light. Jesus is the light of the world. He came and lived a perfect life, never sinning, not even once. He is so holy and perfect and righteous, that when we come by faith into His presence, we are exposed for how sinful we are. We believe that He lived a perfect life in our place, and that He died on the cross in our place and rose again. Then we find forgiveness of all our sin, and He places His light within us then. No longer do we walk in darkness, not knowing how to live properly. Now we have a relationship with Him, and the blood He shed for us on the cross takes away our sin and gives us eternal life.
Once we have by faith received eternal life in heaven, we need to live our lives walking in the light. We can continue to have a close relationship with Him, by letting Him continually cleanse us of our sin. We will sin less than we did before He saved us, but we would be lying to say we never have sin. But if we are truthful and honest with God about our sin, He has a solution that keeps our relationship with Him, even when we fail Him:
Verses 8-9 “If we say, ‘We have no sin,’ we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
From this, we learn two things about Christ’s forgiveness of our sins. One, He is “faithful” to forgive us. That means you can trust Him to do it. He will keep His promise. If you have trusted Him as your Savior, you don’t have to worry that on Judgment Day you will come before Him and hear, “You know, I forgave you for a lot. And you kept sinning, and sometimes I felt like forgiving you, but there are these other sins that just offended Me so much that I decided not to forgive them. You’re going to have to go to hell after all.” No, Jesus will not do that to you. He is faithful to forgive us our sins. If you have come to Him and trusted Him alone as your Savior, you can rely on Him and know that you have eternal life, and that He will continue to cleanse you of all unrighteousness.
The second thing we learn is that He is “just” or “righteous” to forgive us our sins. That means simply that He is doing the right thing to forgive us when we confess, and that He is the one that has a right to do so. If you come to confess your sins to me, I have no right to forgive you and cleanse you. I am just a man. I have sinned myself. It would be not right, but blasphemous, for me to claim I can forgive your sin. If you go to a priest to confess your sins, he does not have the standing before God that allows him to cleanse you of your sins.
You must come to Jesus Himself, and confess your sinfulness to Him, and trust Him because He died in your place, to give you forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and a continual close relationship with God.
God: Get to know Me — 1 John 1, part 2
The next excerpt from the study of 1 John 1:
Verse 2 “that life was revealed, and we have seen it and we testify and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us”
Christ is eternal, and He was with the Father from the very beginning. He became a man so that He could reach out to us on behalf of God the Father, revealing to us who God is, and so that He could be our advocate before God the Father, providing us salvation and eternal life.
Verses 3-4 “what we have seen and heard we also declare to you, so that you may have fellowship along with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.”
This message John and the others had seen and heard was being declared to us. This is because God the Father wants to have fellowship with each of us. He wants to have a relationship with us through His Son Jesus Christ.
When we don’t have that relationship, God is just some distant, unknown being. Perhaps we believe He is there. Maybe we just hope He is there. Maybe we want to know Him, but we don’t. We pray and wonder if our prayers can be heard. We don’t know if God loves us and hears us. We want guidance from Him on what to do, but we don’t hear His voice. So we feel a spiritual aloneness.
But this is not what God wants. Jesus came, and this message is being proclaimed to us, so that we might have a relationship with God—knowing Him, living with Him, and sharing all of life with Him. He wants to give us eternal life in heaven. He wants to hear our prayers. And He also knows the joys of this life are made complete only in fellowship with Him and in telling others about Him.
Tune in tomorrow, as in the next paragraph of 1 John 1 we find out what the message is—what we need to believe and trust in so that we can have this relationship with God and receive eternal life.
Witnesses of the Resurrection Weren’t Discredited
Here’s an excerpt of a message on 1 John 1 that I brought a couple years ago:
Verse 1 “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have observed, and have touched with our hands, concerning the Word of life—“
Sometimes people try to deny the truth of the Bible and the truth of Who Jesus is. They have a problem, though. The historical record of Christ, and the eyewitness testimony available from Christ’s contemporaries, make it hard for them to have any way to dispute the claims of Scripture.
Let me give you an example of why this is so. A man who lived in our building died yesterday, so right now, the common ritual of having his body lie there at the home for three days of viewing is going on. People are coming and seeing with their own eyes that he is dead.
Imagine I went out tomorrow morning and started telling people that this man has come back to life. And then I started to write a book claiming he has risen from the dead, as part of a plan in my mind to deceive people centuries into the future into believing this man had arisen.
Well, everyone around would denounce my message. They would go to the body and say, “Look. This man is dead. You can’t fool anyone.” The false record I was writing would be done away with, and I would be proven a fool and a liar. Not a single person would be crazy enough to believe my message or to stand with me in proclaiming it. And time would not improve my reputation or restore my credibility.
But here, John is able to write about Christ as undisputable fact. He can truthfully say, we saw Him bodily before His death. We watched Him die on the cross. We saw Him buried. Then He arose, and we saw Him, listened to Him, and touched Him.
John’s contemporaries couldn’t dispute this message. John didn’t die a discredited fool, nor did the hundreds of others who attested to having seen Christ crucified and resurrected.
As the study of 1 John 1 continues here daily, we will learn more about this all-important message that God wants us all to know and understand.
This is an emergency!
If you’re moved to act, particularly for the people of Asia, you can do something today to support the work of Gospel for Asia. Visit them at www.gfa.org
The perfect book you just gotta read
The Bible is the perfect book–correct in its every claim, authoritative in its every demand, helpful for every worthy pursuit, relevant for every generation and culture, necessary for every individual, accurate in its historical accounts, flawless in its prophecies of things to come, boundless in its ability to make God known, trustworthy in its every promise, consistent and cohesive in all its passages, and reliable and complete as a resource for meeting every spiritual need. It speaks to the intellect, and to the heart. It gives wisdom, and knowledge.
It has stood the test of time, proving itself unlimited in its power to withstand scrutiny of the honest seeker, and even the assault of disingenuous attacks thrust upon it by those of hard hearts who distort what it says or who are just unwilling to read it with an open mind.
What’s more, the Bible is God’s personal message for you. It applies to all of humanity as a whole, but it also speaks to you personally as an individual. It was written with you in mind.
It contains information you must understand if you want to go to heaven. God requires you to know Him, and He will judge you when you die based on your response to what He has revealed in the Bible, whether you’ve chosen to read it or not. God loves you and wants fellowship with you; and He wrote this book so that through it, He could establish a relationship with you, that will begin in this life, and grow, and last forever. You were created in God’s image, so you will never cease to be. You will exist somewhere forever. And whether your eternal state is one of infinite joy or unspeakable suffering is entirely dependent upon whether or not you come in this life to know God personally as He has presented Himself in the Bible. There is no other source of information that can replace the Bible as a guide on the road to heaven. No human teacher of any religion or faith can speak truth apart from what God has said in this book. No religious tradition can help you, if you follow it, instead of the decrees of the Bible.
And the Bible has answers, help, and comfort for every problem or issue you are facing today. If you live to be 110, you will never face any trial or tragedy outside the bounds of the Bible’s ability to help. It contains the answer to grief, to pain, to sorrow, to rejection, to every form of problem in human relationships, to loneliness, to depression, to anger, to violence, to hunger, to guilt, to sins you’ve committed, to sins committed against you, to family problems, to work problems, to money problems, to health problems, to ignorance, to bigotry, to war, to poverty, to terrorism, to fear, to death, to loss, to how to pray effectively, and to every other thing.
Don’t miss out. Read it. Believe it. Study it. Learn it. Find life in Christ through it. Share it with others.
The same message in Romanian:
Biblia este cartea perfectă – corectă în fiecare din afirmațiile ei, cu autoritate în toate cerințele ei, de ajutor pentru orice căutare valoroasă, relevantă pentru orice generație și cultură, necesară pentru fiecare persoană, corectă în înregistrările ei istorice, ireproșabilă în proorociile lucrurilor viitoare, nelimitată în abilitatea de a-L face cunoscut pe Dumnezeu, demnă de încredere în fiecare promisiune, consistentă și coezivă în toate pasajele ei, completă și de încredere ca și resursă de împlinire a fiecărei nevoie spirituală. Vorbește intelectului și inimii. Dă înțelepciune și cunoaștere. A rezistat probei timpului, dovedindu-se nelimitată în puterea sa de a sta în picioare în fața cercetării celui ce caută din toată inima și chiar asaltului atacurilor viclene aruncate asupra ei de cei cu inimi întărite care deformează mesajul ei sau care nu vor să o citească cu o minte deschisă.
Și mai mult, Biblia este mesajul lui Dumnezeu pentru tine. Se aplică întregii umanități ca un întreg, dar de asemenea îți vorbește în mod personal ca și individ. A fost scrisă cu tine în minte. Conține informații pe care trebuie să le înțelegi dacă vrei să ajungi în rai. Dumnezeu îți cere să-L cunoști, și El te va judeca după ce vei muri bazat pe răspunsul tău referitor la ceea ce a fost revelat în Biblie, dacă ai ales să-l citești sau nu. Dumnezeu te iubește și vrea să aibă părtășie cu tine; El a scris această carte ca prin ea să poată stabili o relație cu tine, care va începe în această viață, va crește și va dura o veșnicie. Ai fost creat după chipul și asemănarea lui Dumnezeu, astfel că nu vei înceta niciodată să exiști. Vei exista undeva pentru totdeauna. Iar statutul tău etern va fi ori unul de o fericire infinită ori unul de o durere de nerostit– depinde întru totul de tine – dacă vei ajunge în această viață să-L cunoști în mod personal pe Dumnezeu așa cum s-a prezentat El Însuși în Biblie. Nu există nici o altă sursă de informație ce poate înlocui Biblia ca ghid spre drumul către rai. Nici un om învățător al unei alte religii sau credințe nu poate vorbi adevărul fără ceea ce a spus Dumnezeu în această carte. Nici o tradiție religioasă nu te poate ajuta dacă o urmezi, în locul regulilor Bibliei. Iar Biblia are răspunsuri, ajutor și mângâiere pentru orice problemă cu care te confrunți astăzi. Dacă trăiești până la 110 ani, nu te vei confrunta cu nici o încercare sau tragedie ce nu-și va putea găsi ajutorul în Biblie. Conține răspunsul pentru supărare, durere, necaz, respingere, pentru orice formă a problemelor în relațiile umane, pentru singurătate, deprimare, mânie, violență, foame, vinovăție, pentru păcatele pe care le-ai făcut, pentru păcatele comise împotriva ta, pentru problemele familiale, problemele legate de lucru, de bani, de sănătate, pentru ignoranță, bigotism, război, sărăcie, terorism, teamă, moarte, pierdere, cum să te rogi într-un mod eficient și pentru fiecare alt lucru.
“Repent or you will likewise perish”

Friday afternoon in Iasi, Romania, a train smashed into a microbus that was being unwisely driven across the track in front of it, killing 13 people. The tragic event very much related to the passage we were already going to study at church this morning, in a gospel message.
Praise be to God there were some new professions of faith in Christ at the church this morning, after this message from Luke 13. Jesus gets VERY direct in that passage in His warnings to us to come to repentance and faith for salvation before it is too late. The message is in English and Romanian. I hope that it ministers to you and to anyone you share it with.
Ajay Torres and DISC Choir
Here are two video clips of our friend Ajay, who Lord-willing is coming to Cluj for three weeks in September to train our worship team and minister with us here. In the videos, he is leading the Dallas International Street Church Choir. We praise the Lord and look forward to his time here, and ask you to pray that the Lord will use this special focus on worship in September to glorify Himself in our church fellowship.
Finishing 1 Peter
Lord-willing, tomorrow night at the home fellowship, we’ll have the conclusion of the book study of 1 Peter. After which, you’ll be able to come here for a post of the links to listen to the audio of the entire study, which began at the church on Easter Sunday and continued on Thursday nights afterward.
It Is Written
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”
–Matthew 4:4
How wonderful and reliable is the written Word of God! Here in this passage, even the Author of the Scriptures repeatedly turns to them in the midst of a war of words with Satan. And with those Scriptures, He utterly conquers the enemy.
Jesus IS God, so every word that came from Him was proceeding forth out of the mouth of God. Yet He did not rely only on His words and thoughts of the moment to combat the devil, but recalled the permanent, eternal words that He had inspired men to write down over the centuries.
How much more, then, should we as His people turn not to our own wits or our own words to combat the forces of evil, but turn to these precious words of life found in the Holy Scriptures. The tempter is powerless over the man who knows the Word and commits in his heart to obeying it.
No battle, not even a battle against Satan’s temptations, is unwinable if your chief weapon is the Sword of the Spirit. Satan can’t win a debate against the words of God, because they aren’t like words spoken by men. God’s words are inhabited by His infinite power, so the devil fails to deceive those who know them.
If we’re armed with the Bible, we learn to be victorious in the Christian life. His Spirit within us uses the Word to help us say “no” to the carnal things this world lives on, even though our flesh still craves them. As we walk with Him and grow in maturity of faith, day by day we see our spiritual hunger for the Word grow stronger than the desires of our flesh.
Is your main focus in life seeking to meet your physical desires and needs? If so, you are in danger, because the enemy stands ready to exploit every physical desire and every selfish impulse in ways that will defile and destroy you. However, if you hunger most greatly for the “bread” of God’s Word, you will truly live the abundant life. “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”
Oh, Father, we plead with You: Increase our hunger for Your beautiful word, that we may feed on it and live.
August Newsletter – Harul Domnului
The new edition of our quarterly ministry newsletter Harul Domnului is out today, and you can read it here. Hope you are blessed by it. It contains several brief ministry updates on happenings this summer. Information on how to subscribe to receive future editions by email is found in the newsletter.