Why Is Today’s Church Afraid To Discipline?

 

I don’t know about you, dear reader, but over the last 15 – 20 years I have noticed that the Church has displayed an ever increasing reluctance to discipline wayward Church members! When I talk about wayward, I don’t mean the 'slip ups' we make as  born-again Christians in our spiritual walk to maturity but those that willfully, and continually flaunt their sin on a daily basis with scant regard for God and their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ! Those that show no desire whatsoever to change their sinful attitudes and ways!

And what’s even more disturbing is that they are not being challenged by Church leadership and shown the road to correction and the consequences they face if they are unrepentant.

Why is today’s Church leadership so reticent about applying discipline to wayward congregants?

In my opinion:

1. Their fear of man is greater than their fear of God.

2. Lack of Biblical knowledge.

3. Fear of losing congregants.

4. The Church has become a people pleaser and not a God pleaser.

5. They are not fully committed to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

6. They are set in their erroneous ways and have a fear of rocking the boat.

7. Nepotism within the leadership group.

8. They are not focused on preaching the full truth of the Gospel – Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Let’s have a look at what the Bible says about the discipline that the Church should be applying.

Hebrews 12:5-11 (NIV)

5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,

and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,

6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,

and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”[Prov 3:11-12]

7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Proverbs 3:11-12 (NIV)

11 My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline,

and do not resent his rebuke,

12 because the Lord disciplines those he loves,

as a father the son he delights in.

So, here we have it, God disciplines his children (we the Church) and his motivation in disciplining us, is love. Discipline is in God’s character He corrects us when we go astray so that we can get back on to His path for our lives – not our will but the father’s will be done!

As God’s children we are told to look after each other, to correct each other when we sin and to restore the one who is at fault. As the Church of Jesus our Lord and Saviour, we are charged with the responsibility of bringing and enforcing Biblical discipline in the Church especially those who are in authority in the local congregation.

Matthew 18:15-17 (NIV)

15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

The above verses are the words of Jesus himself. If we know a brother or sister in Christ is in sin, we should go to them and show them their fault. If they refuse to listen take two or three others along and again try to restore them. If they still don’t listen expose them to the Church and if they still don’t listen treat them as unbelievers, have nothing to do with them.

From the above verses and from the other scriptures we will be reading in this article, we will see that God is very serious about maintaining Biblical discipline within His Church without compromise and without interference from man’s personal emotions and feelings!

The Church, when bringing God’s discipline in the Body must be obedient to His Word without compromise. With love, yes, but without compromising the Word! God disciplines the ones He loves as we are told in Proverbs 3:11-12 above.

Dealing with specific sin in the Church.

In 1 Corinthians 5 the Apostle Paul deals with specific sin in the Church.

From verses 1 – 5 in this chapter Paul deals with sexual immorality of the worst kind – incest. In verse 5 Paul states emphatically that this person should be handed over to Satan and tells us why!

1 Corinthians 5:5 (NIV)

hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.

(Note: In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit.)

Now the Bible tells us that sexual sin in any form is particularly abhorrent to God for this reason:

1 Corinthians 6: 18-20 (AMP)

18 Run away from sexual immorality [in any form, whether thought or behavior, whether visual or written]. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the one who is sexually immoral sins against his own body. 19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is within you, whom you have [received as a gift] from God, and that you are not your own [property]? 20 You were bought with a price [you were actually purchased with the precious blood of Jesus and made His own]. So then, honor and glorify God with your body.

Sexual sin (in any form) is a sin against our bodies! When we become born-again, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and thus our bodies become a temple of the Holy Spirit and our bodies become the property of God – they are no longer ours and as such we are to honour and glorify God with our bodies. Sexual immorality of any form, shape or size dishonours God and does not bring glory to Jesus who bought us out of sin at the cost of His life!

The Bible reinforces God’s particular abhorrence of sexual immorality in the Church with a number of other scriptures as well. Let’s examine some of them!

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (AMP)

9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate [by perversion], nor those who participate in homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers [whose words are used as weapons to abuse, insult, humiliate, intimidate, or slander], nor swindlers will inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God.

In the above two verses Paul gets more specific about sin and includes other forms of sin besides sexual immorality. The perpetrators of such sin will have no part in the kingdom of God:

• The unrighteous – unbelievers.

• The sexually immoral – perpetrators of any form of sexual sin.

• Idolaters – those that value the things of the world before God – money, possessions, sport, self-pride, family including children.

• Adulterers.

• Homosexuality – male and female – men who have sex with men and women who have sex with women.

• Thieves – ‘thou shalt not steal.’

• The greedy – those who want more and more and are never satisfied.

• Drunkards.

• Revilers – explained in the verse.

• Swindlers – those that defraud others in any way.

In the Book of Colossians Paul expands upon specific types of sin and tells us to put them to death and deprive them of their power over us.

Colossians 3:5-10 (AMP)

5 So put to death and deprive of power the evil longings of your earthly body [with its sensual, self-centered instincts] immorality, impurity, sinful passion, evil desire, and greed, which is [a kind of] idolatry [because it replaces your devotion to God]. 6 Because of these [sinful] things the [divine] wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience [those who fail to listen and who routinely and obstinately disregard God’s precepts], 7 and in these [sinful things] you also once walked, when you were habitually living in them [without the knowledge of Christ]. 8 But now rid yourselves [completely] of all these things: anger, rage, malice, slander, and obscene (abusive, filthy, vulgar) language from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, for you have stripped off the old self with its evil practices, 10 and have put on the new [spiritual] self who is being continually renewed in true knowledge in the image of Him who created the new self—

In the above verses we are instructed to cast off all these evil things as we are now born-again, Christ has made us new, spiritual creations, our old selves have gone! As such we are told that we are being continually renewed in true knowledge through the Holy Spirit to be conformed in the image of Christ himself.

Now, let’s have a look at what Jesus himself tells us in the Book of Revelation. This is what he told the Apostle John through His angel!

Revelation 21:8 (NIV)

But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

Let’s examine the first three words above the Lord uses, cowardly, unbelieving and vile from their Greek meaning to get a better understanding of what He is saying. The remaining words are more self-explanatory.

“The cowardly” – from the Greek word “deilos” – full meaning is: cowardly, fearful, timid – it is an adjective and it describes a person who has lost their moral fortitude as their fear of man (or the world) is greater than their fear of God – they no longer have faith in Christ Jesus! (Strong’s 1169).

“The unbelieving” – from the Greek word “apistos” – meaning: incredulous, unbelieving (of the things of God) and unchristian. It not only refers to someone who never believed in God, but also to one who once believed but has now lost their faith in God by continuing in acts of deliberate disobedience (sin). (Strong’s 571).

“The vile” – from the Greek word “bdelussomai” – vile, to detest, loathe abhor, abominable. This refers to idolatry as well – those things that people put before God such as money, self, sport, work etc. (Strong’s 948).

Now, having read and examined these verses, what happens if we continue to ignore them and carry on sinning even though we are born-again and, what will happen if the leadership of the local Body of believers do not discipline those in sin? Well, one thing that is for sure, we definitely won’t be more and more conformed to the image of Christ.

What happens when a Christian continues to deliberately and willfully sin?

Hebrews 10:26-29 (AMP)

26 For if we go on willfully and deliberately sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice [to atone] for our sins [that is, no further offering to anticipate], 27 but a kind of awful and terrifying expectation of [divine] judgment and the fury of a fire and burning wrath which will consume the adversaries [those who put themselves in opposition to God]. 28 Anyone who has ignored and set aside the Law of Moses is put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much greater punishment do you think he will deserve who has rejected and trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has considered unclean and common the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and has insulted the Spirit of grace [who imparts the unmerited favour and blessing of God]?

Now, much has been written, debated, and expounded on Hebrews 10 and the above verses in particular. The main bone of contention being, ‘once saved, always saved.’

Let’s have a look at the spiritual and political environment in which the Book of Hebrews was written. This is just a “nutshell” view.

As the title states it was written to the Hebrews, the Jews of the time, and mostly likely specifically to the Jews in Rome, sometime between 40 and 60 AD. These were Jews who had renounced Judaism and were now following or converted to “The Way” as Christianity at the time was often called, they had accepted that Jesus was the Messiah and were thus born-again in today’s terms.

The political arena at the time was extremely harsh towards Christians both to Jewish converts and to Gentiles alike. Nero was the emperor, and he persecuted the Christians to extreme measures, and they became fair game to murder, thievery and destruction of their property and entire families were being wiped out in one horrible way or another.

The author was writing to these Jews as, because of the harshness of the persecution, many of them were renouncing Christianity and publicly returning to Judaism and all its religious laws and ceremonies. The author implores them in different ways not to go back to their old selves in Judaism but to stay as the new creations they are in Christ Jesus.

In Hebrews 10 the Jews were told that once they have publicly renounced and rejected Jesus and moved back to their old sinful lives it will be impossible for them to come back again.

Dear reader I would encourage to read and study Hebrews 10 for yourselves.

Now coming back to our verses in Hebrews 10:26-29 and in the knowledge that all scripture is God-breathed and applies to all believers at all times and no matter what nationality you are, if you continue to willfully sin and disobey the teachings and commands of the Bible, I am of the opinion that you will lose your salvation! Do you not willfully reject Jesus when you continue to willfully sin against Him? Let’s read Hebrews 10:29 again.

Hebrews 10:29 (AMP)

How much greater punishment do you think he will deserve who has rejected and trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has considered unclean and common the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and has insulted the Spirit of grace [who imparts the unmerited favour and blessing of God]?

And just something, dear reader, for you to ponder on, even if my opinion is wrong, why on earth would a born-again Christian who loves the Lord want to continue to deliberately reject Jesus and continue to wilfully sin? We are supposed to allow the Holy Spirit to conform us more and more into His image, are we not?

How should sin in the Church be dealt with?

The Bible gives us four simple points for dealing with sin in the Church and also shows us as individuals that we all play a part in the disciplinary procedure.

1. In a private meeting between two brothers and sisters in Christ.

Matthew 18:15 (NIV)

15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.

If they don’t listen and repent take the step 2.

2. Meet with the person with two or three trusted witnesses.

Matthew 18:16 (NIV)

But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’

If they still don’t listen take step 3.

3. The leadership of the Church should make a public announcement to the congregation. At this announcement the congregation should be instructed to not longer have fellowship with the person/s.

Matthew 18:17 (NIV)

If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

If they still remain unrepentant:-

4. Expel them from the congregation.

The Lord says that the final step is, “Let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax-gatherer” (Matt. 18:17). Paul says, “Remove the wicked man from among yourselves” (1 Cor. 5:13; also, 5:2). It seems to me that Paul combines steps 3 & 4, mentioning the man’s sin before the church and excluding him from the fellowship at the same time. If someone’s sin is damaging the reputation of the church and damaging the faith of other congregants, he needs to be removed from the fellowship quickly.

The goal in all four steps is to lead them to genuine, heartfelt repentance in love so that they can be fully restored to God and fellowship.

If the person expresses genuine repentance, then the church should be informed, and the person should be forgiven and accepted back into the fellowship (2 Cor 2:8). Of course, there should be a time of proving before a repentant person is put into positions of ministry or leadership. Also, the restoration process should include some training or discipling to help the person grow and avoid the sin in the future.

What happens when Church leadership does not address and correct those in their congregation that continue in sin?

What does the Bible say?

1. Sin within the congregation will eventually corrupt others in the congregation and could end up corrupting the whole congregation, especially those that have a weaker faith. One bad apple will spoil the whole barrel! The congregation will collapse or at the very least, stagnate!

1 Corinthians 15:33-34 (AMP)

33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” 34 Be sober-minded [be sensible, wake up from your spiritual stupor] as you ought, and stop sinning; for some [of you] have no knowledge of God [you are disgracefully ignorant of Him, and ignore His truths]. I say this to your shame.

2. Not disciplining the congregation when required is contrary to the Word and thus an act of disobedience to God. This is a sin in itself and will filter down from the leadership to the congregation and instil a ‘lukewarm’ attitude throughout the congregation! Discipline forms part of a leader’s role in caring for the Church – God takes this very seriously!

Church leadership should be ever ready to act quickly to prevent sin permeating the whole congregation!

Acts 20:28 (AMP)

Take care and be on guard for yourselves and for the whole flock over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers, to shepherd (tend, feed, guide) the church of God which He bought with His own blood.

Matthew 18:5-7 (ESV)

5 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

7 “Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!

Failure to ensure Biblical discipline in the Church, both by its leadership and by individual congregant members, leads to an ill-disciplined congregation that lacks the reverent fear of God and commitment to Him! Such a congregation moves out of the perfect will of God and into the realm of ‘lukewarm’. The flesh will begin to dominate in all it does and attempts to do. Such a Church cannot receive the full blessings of God! Such a Church will never move into full unity and maturity of the Spirit that Christ intends for it!

Ephesians 4:11-13 (NLT)

11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

In verse 11 above the Apostle Paul lays out the structure for church leadership, commonly known as the five-fold ministry, if a Church (a local congregation) does not have all these in place, it will not be firing on all cylinders and will just stutter and stumble along – one step forward and three steps back!

Please read my blog ‘The Five-Fold Ministry in a Nutshell’ published on 1 May 2021. https://rayskilton.blogspot.com/2021/05/the-five-fold-ministry-in-nutshell.html

All glory, honour and praise belongs to Jesus!

Jesus the Name above all names!

Remember: Reading this article is no substitute for reading and studying the Bible for yourself! I am flawed the Bible is not!

Pulling Down Personal Spiritual Strongholds

 Hebrews 1:14 (AMP)

Are not all the angels ministering spirits sent out [by God] to serve (accompany, protect) those who will inherit salvation? [Of course they are!]

What are spiritual strongholds?

In 2 Corinthians 10:4 the Apostle Paul explains that a born-again Christian’s weapons in the fight against the devil’s spiritual forces are not the usual weapons of the world like guns etc but are spiritual and have divine power. Divine power (the power of the Holy Spirit) is the only way a Christian can fight the enemy – Satan and his followers!

There are two types of enemy stronghold:

1.The strongholds that Satan has set up to control countries, cities and other areas of the physical world as told to us in the Book of Daniel.

Daniel 10:13 (AMP)

But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was standing in opposition to me for twenty-one days. Then, behold, Michael, one of the chief [of the celestial] princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia.

In the example in the above verse an angel of Lord is speaking to Daniel and telling him he was delayed in reaching Daniel by the kings of Persia. These kings are demonic commanders of the area of Persia set up by Satan.

The Apostle Paul in Ephesians and 2 Corinthians reminds us of the enemy’s territory.

Ephesians 6:12 (NIV)

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

2 Corinthians 4:4 (NLT)

Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.

Satan has his ‘generals and other minions’ set up all over this world! If anyone ever tells you that you shouldn’t look for a demon behind every bush, rebuke them in the name of Jesus, they have believed a lie of the enemy and do not have the things of God in mind!

The Lord himself tells us to drive out demons!

Matthew 10:8 (NIV)

Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

2. The second type of stronghold that we need to combat are the personal strongholds that we have allowed Satan to set up in our minds for various reasons which will be explained as we go along.

These are the strongholds (the second type) that I want to chat with you about in this article! We have all heard the saying, “The mind is the devil’s playground!” Well, the mind is where personal strongholds reside, and they are not playing games.

The devil can only set up shop in our minds if we allow him control of our minds through fear, lies and other ways that he intimidates, but as I have said, only if we allow him to!

A Christian should always be alert and mindful and ready for the attack of the evil one. The devil is out to destroy the Church, God’s children. He is already leading the unbeliever to destruction and does not have to focus on them. But the born-again Christian is his prime target, and the Bible warns us of this.

1 Peter 5:8-9 (AMP)

8 Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour. 9 But resist him, be firm in your faith [against his attack—rooted, established, immovable], knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being experienced by your brothers and sisters throughout the world. [You do not suffer alone.]

James 4:7 (AMP)

So submit to [the authority of] God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him] and he will flee from you.

How are these personal strongholds established in a Christian?

Let me start this section by presenting you with my definition of a personal stronghold.

A personal stronghold is something, situated in a person’s mind, that proves to be a constant hindrance in a Christians walk to maturity. It is caused by an area of a Christian’s life that is not completely submitted to God and is fuelled by unbelief and the lies of the enemy.

Most born-again Christians, including myself, enter the Kingdom of God carrying baggage from their past lives as unbelievers. We can even allow strongholds in our lives after walking with the Lord for a number of years, especially during times lapsed faith in Jesus and willful sinning.

These can include many things such us drunkenness, lying, sexual sin, unforgiveness and many, many more. Even though, once we have come to the Lord, our sins have been forgiven and we are a new creation, we still have to deal with this baggage and release it to the Lord and receive restoration and healing.

The length of this ‘cleansing’ period depends solely on the individuals’ willingness to be obedient to the Word and the willingness to forgive others and oneself!

A mind that is fully submitted to God will heal much faster than the one that is not fully submitted to God!

Romans 8:5-8 (NIV)

5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

From my own experience in my walk with the Lord over the last 34 years I can pinpoint a number of strongholds I have had to overcome at different times, and I know that others of my brothers and sisters in Christ have had the same thing. We have to deal with them and lay them down at the foot of the cross – give them to Jesus for He cares for you. Confess your sins to one another so that you may be healed!

Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

How do we identify a personal stronghold?

A personal stronghold is something in a Christian’s spiritual life that sets itself up against God and continually manifests in our lives to hold our souls in captivity and prevents us from reaching spiritual maturity in Christ Jesus.

A personal stronghold manifests as a constant and relentless battleground in your life that you have been unable to shake off or overcome.

In the above diagram I have identified a number of strongholds that I have dealt with and am still dealing with from my own experience as a born-again Christian over the last 34 years. This list is by no means exhaustive as I am pretty sure you will be able to identify others from your own experiences.

Let’s examine six of these strongholds one by one and examine how we can overcome them ourselves and with the help of others praying for us and with us – spiritual warfare! I have chosen only six as the other strongholds usually manifest through them and can be dealt with in the same way.

1. Unbelief

Are there any areas of unbelief in your heart or areas of the Bible that you choose to ignore? We either believe all the Bible or we believe nothing. There is no fence sitting for a born-again Christian. If you are not for God, then you are against Him! Do you choose to ignore certain parts of the Bible or certain verses because you do not agree with them? Do you still swear when we are told in the Bible not to etc, etc?

Unbelief is a stronghold in your life and needs to be repented from or it will stunt your spiritual growth and cause you to become lukewarm and spiritually useless!

Revelation 3:15-16 (AMP)

15 ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold (invigorating, refreshing) nor hot (healing, therapeutic); I wish that you were cold or hot. 16 So because you are lukewarm (spiritually useless), and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of My mouth [rejecting you with disgust].

2. Unconfessed, hidden sin

Do you have unconfessed sin in your heart? Something that you are deeply ashamed of so you hide it and ignore it hoping it will go away by itself or is it something that has got you so hooked, like watching pornography, that you actually enjoy it?

However, what we keep hidden will remain hidden and continually hinder us until we bring it to light or God shines His light on it. The spiritual enemy of your soul thrives on secrecy and from this will establish a stronghold of unexposed sin in your life.

Hebrews 4:13 (NIV)

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Unconfessed sin is an extremely destructive stronghold. You cannot hide from God and there is no sin He will not forgive apart from blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is attributing the works of God to the devil!

James 5:16 (NIV)

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

Matthew 12:31 (NIV)

And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.

3. Unforgiveness

If you are still nursing bitterness against someone, the enemy will take advantage of that to keep you in bondage. The person or people who wounded you may not deserve to be forgiven but we must forgive others because Jesus Christ forgave us for an even greater sin against God. Secondly, we forgive because it sets us free from the bondage produced by bitterness. If you don’t forgive others how can God forgive you?

Matthew 6:14-15 (NIV)

14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

4. Occult involvement

Have you been involved in any form of occult activity, some of which you may still be participating in? For example: Wicca, Fortune Telling, Black or White Magic (even today’s “magic for entertainment”), Spiritism, conjuring spirits, yoga, secret societies such as Freemasons and the Magic Circle or even the so called “Fellowship of Christian Magicians”.

Many of these organisations have interwoven relationships and have the same patrons that are first and foremost high ranking and demonically controlled Freemasons.

Being involved in occult practices in anyway is like placing a “vacancy” sign on your life for evil spirits to enter freely. Have you knowingly or unknowingly dabbled in any occult-like practices in your past or have you any close relatives and friends that have? This could be where many your issues stem from.

Renounce and repent of any commitments or oaths you made to any of these groups that you have been or are still associated with and declare your submission to Jesus Christ as the Lord and Saviour of your life. As you do, remember that Jesus Christ is Lord of all, including Satan and his demonic followers and beings!

Ephesians 1:20-23 (NIV)

20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

5. Lies you have believed sewn in your mind by the devil through the words spoken by others or by your own vain imaginations.

These include lies about God, about yourself, and lies about how God sees you. Lies that the enemy has been playing over and over in your mind for years, which, in your pain, you’ve unfortunately bought into.

What lies have you believed? The truth of the Bible and the knowledge of Jesus will set you free. When you are in sin you are a slave to sin!

John 8:36

34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

6. Hereditary strongholds

These are strongholds that are passed down through your bloodline. Certain unhealthy behavioural and thought patterns may present in your life that were also present in your father’s (or mother’s) life, and his father, and so on. Sometimes, unhealthy, even ungodly family traditions and family patterns are passed down from generation to generation to generation until someone deals with them Biblically, destroying them forever!

For example, your father may use the name of the Lord in vain as part of his everyday speech, so you do the same or your parents continually argued with each other, so you do the same. Your father was violent and abusive, so you are too. Someone you know was manipulating and controlling over you, so you do the same to others.

How do we deal with strongholds?

We need to be fully submitted to God and consciously resisting the devil, when we do this the devil will flee. A half-hearted and lukewarm attitude and lifestyle towards God is not good enough when engaging in spiritual warfare or indeed for any aspect of your Christian walk!

1. Use the authority you have been given by God in Christ Jesus to overcome the devil.

Luke 10:19 (NIV)

I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.

Every born-again Christian has the authority to bind and cast out the evil one and other demonic activity in one’s life. We can self-medicate spiritually – we can drive out our own demons in the power of the Holy Spirit as we are submitted to Christ.

2. Prayer
Come before God continually in prayer against any stronghold and ask him to fill you with his Holy Spirit and fill you with the Spirit of Truth and you will be set free. Ask others to pray with you, those who you trust and who are mature in Christ. Confess your sins to each other (trustworthy brothers or sisters who are mature in their Christian walk and with whom you have a relationship with) and pray for each other.

James 5:16 (NIV)

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

3. Be in full submission to God
When we are fully submitted to God and are being led by the Holy Spirit, we will bring glory to the name of Jesus. When we are fully submitted to God in Christ Jesus there is no room for the devil to get a hold on us and it is the devil who sews the seeds of strongholds in our minds!

James 4:7 (AMP)

So submit to [the authority of] God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him] and he will flee from you.

4. Be continually filled with the Holy Spirit
The Apostle Paul urges us to keep on being filled with the Holy Spirit. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit and living a life that is continually led by Him, we give the devil no foothold in our lives. Once you have broken down and cast out the strongholds that have gripped you, fill the void with the Holy Spirit and there will be no place in you for the devil and his lies! This is something that we need to be continually working on for ourselves.

Ephesians 4:27 (AMP)

And do not give the devil an opportunity [to lead you into sin by holding a grudge, or nurturing anger, or harboring resentment, or cultivating bitterness (my comment: these are all strongholds)].

Ephesians 5:18 (AMP)

Do not get drunk with wine, for that is wickedness (corruption, stupidity), but be filled with the [Holy] Spirit and constantly guided by Him.

5. Clothe yourself in the full armour of God.
God has given us all a suit of protective clothing – the Armour of God! Clothe yourself in it and never take it off. Wear it permanently around your soul like your skin protects your body! Your armour not only protects you when you are under attack, but also protects you and destroys the enemy when you are on the attack – spiritual warfare!

Ephesians 6:12-18 (NIV)

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

Please read my blog posted on January 31, 2021: Why Is It Important For Christians To Be Clothed In The Full Armour Of God? https://rayskilton.blogspot.com/2021/01/why-is-it-important-for-christians-to.html

REMEMBER THIS:

YOUR VALUE AND YOUR WORTH AS A BORN-AGAIN CHRISTIAN IS NOT DEPENDANT ON THE LIES THE DEVIL TELLS YOU, BUT SOLELY ON WHAT JESUS DID FOR YOU ON THE CROSS AT CALVARY – VICTORY OVER THE ENEMY AND OVER DEATH!

His blood covers your sin! His blood gives you victory – you are more than a conqueror!

His blood set us free form all debt and when we live a life in the Spirit with a forgiving and repentant heart and loving others as He loves us – NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST YOU WILL PROSPER.

Colossians 2:13-15 (AMP)

13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh (worldliness, manner of life), God made you alive together with Christ, having [freely] forgiven us all our sins, 14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of legal demands [which were in force] against us and which were hostile to us. And this certificate He has set aside and completely removed by nailing it to the cross. 15 When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities [those supernatural forces of evil operating against us], He made a public example of them [exhibiting them as captives in His triumphal procession], having triumphed over them through the cross.

Be continually filled with the Holy Spirit and you will not falter. This is what the Word of God says:

Zechariah 4:6 (NIV)

So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.

If you are not sure of how to deal with things and the strongholds the Lord has revealed to you, get help from your brothers and sister in Christ who are mature in their walk and who fully understand Spiritual Warfare!

But never forget that you and you alone are responsible for your walk as a born-again Christian!

Prayer:
Heavenly Father
I pray in the name of Jesus Christ my Lord and Saviour that you would reveal to me the hidden strongholds and the strongholds that I have ignored and have allowed to form in my life and help me to overcome them and cast them out by the power of your Holy Spirit that my life from now on will be filled by your Holy Spirit and will bring all glory to Jesus. Amen.

All glory, honour and praise belongs to Jesus!

Jesus the Name above all names!

Remember: Reading this article is no substitute for reading and studying the Bible for yourself! I am flawed the Bible is not!

Last update: 18/12/2023

Beware a seared conscience!

 

What Should A Christian’s Conscience Be Like?

What is our conscience?

Let’s have a look at how two well-known dictionaries describe our conscience:

Cambridge Dictionary: the part of you that judges how moral your own actions are and makes you feel guilty about bad things that you have done or things you feel responsible for

Collins Dictionary: Conscience is doing what you believe is right even though it might be unpopular, difficult, or dangerous.

So, from these two definitions we see that our conscience is that which is in us by which we can judge our own morality (our own actions), what we do right and what we do wrong according to our own morals and moral upbringing. This also impacts our ‘feelings’, we feel good when we do good things and bad when we do bad things. Using the standards of today’s society, we have a problem in that what one person’s definition of what is right or wrong, may be completely different and even totally opposite to another person’s definition of right and wrong!

But for a born-again Christian our conscience should be governed and modelled in Christ Jesus and the Bible and led and guided by the Holy Spirit in all our actions and speech!

Where is our conscience located?

God created man in three parts, spirit, soul and body – see my blog posted on 9 May 2021. https://rayskilton.blogspot.com/2021/05/how-did-god-create-us-spirit-soul-and.html

Our conscience lies within the realm of the soul in what we call our conscious mind. The conscious mind is where our conscience functions along with our thought and reasoning processes. In the New Testament writings, the soul is often referred to as the ‘flesh’.

Let’s write the below verses indelibly in our hearts and minds so that our conscious minds will always be led by the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:5-8 (AMP)

5 For those who are living according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh [which gratify the body], but those who are living according to the Spirit, [set their minds on] the things of the Spirit [His will and purpose]. 6 Now the mind of the flesh is death [both now and forever—because it pursues sin]; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace [the spiritual well-being that comes from walking with God—both now and forever]; 7 the mind of the flesh [with its sinful pursuits] is actively hostile to God. It does not submit itself to God’s law, since it cannot, 8 and those who are in the flesh [living a life that caters to sinful appetites and impulses] cannot please God.

Now, we’ve had a look at how the world defines ‘conscience’ from two well-known dictionaries, so let’s now have a look at how the Bible defines ‘conscience’ from the original Greek text.

The transliteration of the Greek word used in the New Testament texts is ‘suneidésis’ (soon-i'-day-sis) and means conscience/consciousness. This Greek word is derived from two other separate Greek words, ‘syn’ which means ‘together with’ and ‘eido’ which means ‘to know, to see’ in the moral sense.

Consequently, the expanded meaning is: conscience (in the Biblical context) is that which joins moral and spiritual consciousness together as part of being created in God’s image. Consequently, all people (believers and non-believers alike) have this God-given capacity to know right from wrong because each is a free moral agent.

In the case of born-again Christians, ‘right’ is in accordance with Biblical teaching! In this way our conscience tells us when we are doing right or wrong and we are consciously aware of our right and wrong actions and speech because we have God’s standards by which to judge ourselves! Our conscience is a ‘self-judging’ tool whereby we can examine ourselves to see if we line up with the Word of God in all areas of our lives!

What kind of conscience should we have as born-again Christians?

We should have a clear conscience before God and man!

The Apostle Paul tells us that we should always strive to have a clear conscience before God and man! He tells us that because he is born-again (a follower of the Way) he always strives to keep his conscience clear before God and man! And as he says, we should imitate him as he imitates Christ!

Acts 24:16 (NIV)

14 However, I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets, 15 and I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. 16 So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.

1 Corinthians 11:1 (NLT)

And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.

The writer of the Book of Hebrews tells us this:

Hebrews 9:14 (NIV)

How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

Hebrews 10:21-22 (NLT)

21 And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 22 let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

These verses tell us that when we repent of our sin and accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we become born-again, and our consciences are cleansed by the blood of Jesus and when we are baptised in water our bodies are symbolically washed clean – we become a new creation.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

The Apostle John puts it this way:

1 John 1:7 (AMP)

but if we [really] walk in the Light [that is, live each and every day in conformity with the precepts of God], as He Himself is in the Light, we have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another [He with us, and we with Him], and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin [by erasing the stain of sin, keeping us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations].

The conscience of the born-again Christian is guilt free because of the blood of Jesus and when our ‘flesh’, our soulish realm, slips our consciences should be immediately ‘pricked’ so that we can repent, and the clear conscience restored!

See my blog ‘What Happens When A Born Again Christian Sins?’: https://rayskilton.blogspot.com/2021/09/what-happens-when-born-again-christians.html

In Romans 9 Paul tells us that it is the Holy Spirit that enlightens the born-again Christians conscience, we are convicted of sin by the Holy Spirit. A clear and good conscience can only be maintained through living life in the Holy Spirit!

Romans 9:1 (AMP)

I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me [enlightened and prompted] by the Holy Spirit,

In 1 Timothy 1 Paul is warning Timothy to watch out for and oppose the false teachers and prophets that have risen up in Ephesus and tells him to command these people to not teach false doctrines any longer.

1 Timothy 1:3-4 (NIV)

As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer 4 or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith.

Paul goes on to tell Timothy in verse 5, that the aim of this command, the command to oppose false prophets and teachers, is love (the agapé love of God) which can only come from those of us that have a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith in Christ Jesus!

1 Timothy 1:5 (NIV)

The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

When we lose these three facets by embracing false teachings our Christian walk becomes meaningless. God created us with a conscience to use for aligning ourselves with Him. A conscience fully committed to the Lord is a good conscience, any other doctrine other than Jesus Christ and Him crucified is false and rubbish and will eventually lead to one having a seared conscience!

Today, as born-again Christians it is our duty to foster a good conscience before God and man by following Jesus, being led by the Holy Spirit, and knowing the Word of God, the Bible, and not only knowing the Word but being doers of the Word as well! A good conscience is informed by all things Godly through the Holy Spirit!

1 Corinthians 2:2 (NIV)

For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

Psalm 119:11 (NIV)

I have hidden your word in my heart

that I might not sin against you.

A Christian should have a conscience that immediately convicts them of wrongdoing and sinful behaviour against God and our fellow human beings especially those with weaker consciences than ours. When we sin against a brother or sister in Christ who has a weaker conscience than ours, we wound their consciences and thus we sin against Christ as well!

1 Corinthians 8:12-13 (NIV)

12 When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.

A life free of ongoing and un-confessed sin, lived under the command of the Lord, will produce a good conscience “without offense” to God and man! A good conscience will produce a believer who is “after God’s own heart” and one who is spiritually mature.

A good conscience will testify to the world that you belong to Jesus and that you are truly a Godly and righteous person. It is this kind of testimony that leads people to Christ and us to spiritual maturity.

2 Corinthians 1:12 (AMP)

12 This is our [reason for] proud confidence: our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world [in general], and especially toward you, with pure motives and godly sincerity, not in human wisdom, but in the grace of God [that is, His gracious lovingkindness that leads people to Christ and spiritual maturity].

James 3:13-16 (NIV)

13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

Let the conviction of the Holy Spirit through your conscience lead you to an ever repentant heart and spiritual maturity in Christ Jesus! Cultivate a good conscience without ceasing!

Now that we know what a born- again Christian’s conscience should look like, let’s examine through scripture what will happen to us is we ignore the Holy Spirit’s conviction of our conscience.

We will develop a defiled conscience!

In the Book of Titus, we are told that if we ignore developing our conscience into a “good conscience” by the leading and conviction of the Holy Spirit we will develop a conscience that is defiled and unbelieving towards God. We will then become worthless in the eyes of God. Titus calls this a mind and conscience that has become corrupted through continued sin and an unrepentant heart and by this kind of act we deny God.

Titus 1:15 (AMP)

5 To the pure, all things are pure; but to the corrupt and unbelieving, nothing is pure; both their mind and their conscience are corrupted. 16 They profess to know God [to recognize and be acquainted with Him], but by their actions they deny and disown Him. They are detestable and disobedient and worthless for good work of any kind.

A SEARED CONSCIENCE

If we continue in this way and remain unrepentant, we will eventually develop what the Apostle Paul calls a ‘seared conscience.’ Paul states that, in the end times, people will abandon their faith in Christ Jesus and follow deceiving spirits because their conscience has become seared – false teachers and prophets!

1 Timothy 4:1-2 (AMP)

But the [Holy] Spirit explicitly and unmistakably declares that in later times some will turn away from the faith, paying attention instead to deceitful and seductive spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 [misled] by the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared as with a branding iron [leaving them incapable of ethical functioning],

Seared is a medical term referring to cauterization. A seared conscience becomes desensitized to the Word of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit and thus morally insensitive to what is good in Biblical terms.

If you continue to sin and turn away from God, you will become still more apathetic about moral and spiritual things. This speaks of one losing all moral restraint. The false teachers and prophets we have in the world today have seared consciences and have lost all moral restraint. That are doomed to destruction and lead many others to the same fate.

2 Peter 2:1-3

But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

The Christian’s hope and strength in Christ Jesus is in the convicting and restraining influence of the Holy Spirit working through our consciences.

Repeated willful and unrepentant sinning hardens the conscience so that it becomes seared like cauterised scar tissue. The neglected and resisted conscience becomes more insensitive to the conviction of the Holy Spirit and will eventually stop giving warning signals about wrongdoing.

Prayer
Dear Father in Heaven
I pray in Jesus’ name that you help me to listen to your voice through the Holy Spirit and that you help me to develop an ever repentant heart. I pray too Lord that you would help me to develop a good and clear conscience and take notice of the conviction of the Holy Spirit as He pricks my conscience when I do wrong and to kneel before you in humble repentance. Amen.

All glory, honour and praise belongs to Jesus!

Jesus the Name above all names!

Remember: Reading this article is no substitute for reading and studying the Bible for yourself! I am flawed the Bible is not!

From Resurrection to Ascension: What was happening?

Why Did Jesus Appear to Various People After His resurrection?

Before we examine our main question let’s have a look at how Jesus tried to prepare the disciples for His coming crucifixion!

The first time Jesus predicted His death and resurrection to the disciples was in Matthew 16 just after He asks them, “Who do you say I am”? It was only Peter who was able to say, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” But sadly, not long after this Peter denied him!

Matthew 16:21 (NIV)

From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

The second time He predicted His death was just after He healed a demon possessed boy in Matthew 17:18.

Matthew 17:23 (NIV)

22 When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. 23 They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.” And the disciples were filled with grief.

The third and final time He told them was in Matthew 20 when they were on their way to Jerusalem where Jesus lay down His life for us, His Church!

Matthew 20:17-19 (NIV)

17 Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, 18 “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death 19 and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”

So, here we see Jesus preparing the disciples for what was about to happen, His death on the cross!

In Matthew 16:22 we see Peter taking the Lord aside and saying to the Lord in complete disbelief that His crucifixion will never happen. This of course leads to him receiving a very stern rebuke from the Lord because of his unbelief!

Matthew 16:22 (NIV)

Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

In Matthew 17:23 above the verse ends by telling us that the disciples were filled with grief, a despairing grief. They were unable to grasp that His death would end in great joy at His resurrection and this would bring life to mankind, man’s salvation through Him! Again, unbelief was there!

And, of course in Matthew 20 we read that two of the disciples (brothers) were seeking ‘position’ in heaven either side of Jesus. So very much a fleshly desire which led to the other disciples having a ‘go’ at them – verse 24 tells us that the other disciples were indignant! Very human indeed - self-seeking and totally missing the point of salvation!

So, from what scripture tells us I think we can safely say that at the crucifixion the disciples and the other followers must have been feeling pretty down and defeated and unbelieving!

Now from here let’s go back to our original question and answer it from scripture!

Why did Jesus appear to various people for 40 days after His resurrection?

Well, there are a number of reasons that I have come across from studying the scriptures but I’m pretty sure that you can find many more yourselves. Here is what I’ve found!

1. To fulfil centuries of Old Testament prophecy of His death and resurrection.

Isaiah 53:3-5 (NIV)

3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,

a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.

Like one from whom people hide their faces

he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

4 Surely he took up our pain

and bore our suffering,

yet we considered him punished by God,

stricken by him, and afflicted.

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,

he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was on him,

and by his wounds we are healed.

This is one of many Old Testament prophecies of Jesus, his birth, death and resurrection!

2. To fulfil His own prophecies.

Shown above in Matthew 16, 17 and 20.

These are the two main reasons for the resurrection which prove that God always had His son in mind as mankind’s Saviour. It was always God’s will!

But woven in between the fulfillment of prophecy are many other 'salvationary' facets such as:

• To finish the work of redemption. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, it would mean that he was not the son of God and that he did not conquer death and there would be no route for man to receive salvation and reconciliation with God. It is his resurrection that proved that redemption was finished. Indeed his blood was sufficient to pay for mankind, if not, he would not have been raised from the dead.

• It is proof that death has been defeated, and divine, everlasting life is now available to believers and that we as His children are able to enter God’s presence – the Holy of Holies.

Revelation 1:17-18 (NIV)

17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

• To empower us with the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit so we can rule and reign in this life and to fulfill the command that we call ‘The Great Commission’.

Matthew 28:16-20 (NIV)

16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

• To show us that our future resurrection is assured and that we as believers in Christ will receive everlasting life.

John 11:23-26 (AMP)

23 Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise [from the dead].” 24 Martha replied, “I know that he will rise [from the dead] in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in (adheres to, trusts in, relies on) Me [as Savior] will live even if he dies; 26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me [as Savior] will never die. Do you believe this?”

• For our justification which is what completes our salvation

Romans 5:1 (AMP)

Therefore, since we have been justified [that is, acquitted of sin, declared blameless before God] by faith, [let us grasp the fact that] we have peace with God [and the joy of reconciliation with Him] through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed).

Right, now that we have established why Jesus was resurrected, let’s move on to what He was doing during the forty days between the Resurrection and the Ascension which is something that is rarely preached from the pulpit – at least in my limited experience!

We have already established that the disciples and probably many of the Lord’s other followers were grieving and feeling pretty depressed and sad. Now the Lord knew this, and He knew that He would need to give them both natural and supernatural encouragement.

Now, what better way to get someone’s attention than an earthquake! We read in Matthew 28 that after the Sabbath at dawn there were a number of people at the Lord’s tomb. There were a number of guards and there was Mary Magdalene and Mary, Martha’s sister.

So now an earthquake strikes and and an angel appears and rolls away the stone that seals the tomb. The angel was pretty awesome in appearance as well, he was like lightning and his clothes were as white as snow. Now the guards were so petrified that they became frozen with fright! But the women, obviously made of much sterner stuff, wanted to chat! The angel spoke these famous and encouraging words to them:

Matthew 28:5-7 (NIV)

5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

The two Mary’s, afraid but full of joy, scoot off to tell the disciples but Jesus Himself appears to them (Mary and Martha) on the road where they fell at His feet and worshipped Him. Here He encourages them to also go and tell the disciples that they should go to Galilee, and He will meet them (the disciples) there.

The two Mary’s do as they are instructed, and the disciples head for Galilee to meet Jesus where they worship Him, and He gives them ‘The Great Commission’ – Matthew 28:16-20 above.

In the Book of John, we get more detail of the happenings than we do from Matthew the Tax Collector. John, who had a more intimate relationship with the Lord, gives us a more ‘loving’ view of things when the disciples meet Jesus in Galilee.

In John 20 we are told that Peter and John, when told that the tomb was empty and that Jesus had arisen, didn’t really believe it and ran to the tomb to see for themselves and of course all they found were the grave clothes. They then went back to the other disciples.

It is after this that Jesus supernaturally appears to the disciples who had locked themselves in a room where they were staying because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders – John 20:19-23. Jesus suddenly appears to them from nowhere and says, “Peace be with you!” He then shows them the wounds in His hands and side! It is at this point that the disciples, except for Thomas who wasn’t there, start to truly believe in Him as the Messiah, the Son of God!

Now, when Thomas hears this news from the other disciples, he still doesn’t believe! So, Jesus in His great compassion and love, appears to the disciples again a week later in the same room when Thomas is there. Again, the Lord says to them, “Peace be with you!” He then shows Thomas His wounds, and he touches them. It is at this point that Thomas finally believes and makes this delaration, “My Lord and my God!” – John 20:26-28.

It is only at this point, even after walking with Jesus together for just over three years, that all the disciples, minus Judas Iscariot who betrayed Him, finally and truly believe that Jesus is the Messiah! It is here that their redemption is complete! If Jesus hadn’t have appeared to them this would not have happened, and Christianity and the Church would not exist, neither then nor today!

The third time Jesus appears to the disciples is on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Seven of the eleven had gone fishing at Peter’s suggestion, they were Peter, Thomas (Didymus), Nathanael, James and John the sons of Zebedee and two other unnamed disciples but probably Andrew (Peter’s brother) and Philip.

It is for these disciples that the miracle of the miraculous catch of fish takes place – John 21:1-14. This confirms to the disciples that it is indeed the resurrected Christ that has been appearing to them – blessed assurance.

But even more significant than the miraculous catch of fish, it is on these Galileean shores that the Lord reinstates Peter after his heartbreaking denial of Christ at his arrest and trial. This too is the very place that Peter was first called by the Lord to follow him!

John 21:15-17 (NIV)

15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.

Peter denied the Lord three times and in the above verses Peter confirms to the Lord three times that he loves Him! It here, at this point that I believe that not only does Peter realise that he has been forgiven but just as importantly, he is able to forgive himself and let go of self-condemnation. A lesson many of us today can learn from today!

After his reinstatement Peter emerges to be one of the principal leaders of the Church and the Apostle to the Jews. He remains a pillar of the Church until he Himself is eventually crucified by the Romans (supposedly upside-down) a number of years later in Rome.

If Jesus had not appeared to the disciples to encourage them after His resurrection none of this would have happened. Man would have no way to be saved and reconciled with God! God’s plan revealed!

The Apostle John also tells us that during this time Jesus did many other things, and I mean ‘big time’ many, that were not recorded!

John 21:25 (NIV)

Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.

In Acts 1 the author, the Apostle Luke, tells us in a nutshell what Jesus was doing in these forty days!

Acts 1:3-5 (NIV)

3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

During these forty days the Lord’s focus was on the disciples and telling them about the kingdom of God, proving to them that He was alive and encouraging them and building them up in their faith – Jesus is the kingdom of God. He also gave them the command not to leave Jerusalem until they received the gift the Father had promised – baptism with the Holy Spirit! Jesus knew that if the didn’t receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit they would be unable to fulfill the Great Commission – Matthew 28:16-20 above!

The Holy Spirit will equip them, empower them and lead them in all truth in all things! And He will do the same for us, His Church, today! We just have to receive the Baptism with the Holy Spirit and be continually filled!

John 16:12-15 (NIV)

12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

The Apostle Paul in his letters teaches us so much more about the importance of living life in the Spirit and being led by Him! I would encourage all my readers to study Romans 8 in particular!

Just before Jesus was taken up into heaven, He leaves the disciple with these incredibly powerful and energizing words:

Acts 1:8 (AMP)

But you will receive power and ability when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be My witnesses [to tell people about Me] both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth.”

And after Pentecost that is exactly what the disciples and the Lord’s other followers did! And this is what today’s Church should still be doing, both individually and corporately!

Acts 2:1-4 (NIV)

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

This was the start of the New Testament Church, the Church that today’s Church should be emulating in every way! But sadly, many false prophets have arisen in these times and have led many astray. These Churches are no longer preaching Jesus Christ and Him crucified and modelling themselves on the New Testament Church of the Bible. They are following the whims and fancies of man’s desire for fame and fortune modelling themselves on friendship with the world, turning the Lord’s Church into businesses that are lovers of money and leading many to destruction, including themselves.

James 4:4 (AMP)

You adulteresses [disloyal sinners—flirting with the world and breaking your vow to God]! Do you not know that being the world’s friend [that is, loving the things of the world] is being God’s enemy? So whoever chooses to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

1 Timothy 6:10 (AMP)

For the love of money [that is, the greedy desire for it and the willingness to gain it unethically] is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves [through and through] with many sorrows.

It is only through the Holy Spirit that God’s children have Jesus Christ living in them and apart from Jesus we can do nothing!

It is only through the Holy Spirit that we will fulfill the will of God for our lives!

It is only through the Holy Spirit that we will be able to do on earth even greater things that our Lord!

It is only through the Holy Spirit that we will be overcomers of the world and much, much more!

Prayer
Dear Lord
In the name of Jesus, I pray that you would help me to imitate you in every way. I pray that you would continually fill me with your Holy Spirit and lead and guide me in all truth and on the path that you have willed for my life. I asked that you fill me with your love that I may love others as you love me – unconditionally so that I may glorify your name! Amen.

All glory, honour and praise belongs to Jesus!

Jesus the Name above all names!

Remember: Reading this article is no substitute for reading and studying the Bible for yourself! I am flawed the Bible is not!