Becoming An Implement For Honor
Part Four
But this is not the end of the story, as the devil and weak, immature, self-centered believers would have us believe.
HOW each individual born-again believer will experience eternity, that being with or without the reward and privileges that are reserved for advancing disciples, is still to be determined.
Born-again believers do NOT serve God for what’s in in it for them. They would serve God if there were no rewards or privileges awaiting them in Heaven. Their desire to embrace discipleship is a manifestation of the LOVE that they (should) have for God (1), in response to the love that God showed to them (2) on the cross.
The inspired (3) Greek word mathetes has been translated disciple in the English Bibles. In the spiritual realm, a mathetes is a technical student (4) and applier (5) of the Word of God.
Discipleship is initially for the spiritual edification and growth of the newly born born-again believer, but with the long-term objective of becoming an advancing disciple by participating the Great Commission (6), being USED by God to evangelize unbeliever’s and to edify fellow believers in his or her personal periphery.
Many pastors are not comfortable with teaching on the subject of eternal security, being intimidated by the fact that many believers will be content to know that they have been forever saved, and therefore will develop no interest in following the Lord down the road of Biblical discipleship with all of its challenges.
Some will go as far as considering eternal security to be a license to sin, rejecting the concept of divine discipline (7).
But properly trained and ordained pastor-teachers have been charged with the responsibility to teach on the whole realm of Bible Doctrine, in season and out of season, for which they are going to give an accounting of to God (8).
God has not given pastor-teachers or advancing disciples a, “spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline (2Tim. 1: 7 NASB2020).”
When given the opportunity to either evangelize or to edify another soul, “Christians” have a duty to perform. The response to what others are presented with, is a matter between them and the Lord, as they reap either the blessings (9) or the consequences (10), in accordance with their chosen response.
Furthermore, the failure to teach on the security of salvation (11) is what contributes to the opening of the door to all of the blasphemous teachings and practices, erroneously promoted as necessary to obtain, retain or to regain salvation.
These false teachings amount to blasphemy because they are a direct attack on the integrity of the Persons, the Words, and Works of God the Father (12), God the Son (13), and God the Holy Spirit (14).
It is through the failure to teach or to promote the truth (accurate doctrine) that contributes to the opening of the door to all of the never-ending, additional, false, list of teachings and accompanying practices that are the products of Man, or that demons (15) promote.
It is through discipleship that a born-again believer becomes, “sanctified and USEFULL to the Master, prepared for , “every good work (2Tim. 2: 21 NASB2020).”
Spiritual sanctification means to be set apart for the purpose of divine activity. The individual soul was already positionally “sanctified” (set apart) from spiritually dead, unbelievers, the day he or she was born again, being sealed (baptized/marked for identification) by the Person and Work of God the Holy Spirit (16). Experiential sanctification, that is a part of becoming an implement of honor, takes place throughout the course of one’s post salvation spiritual life, as one grows in the knowledge and in the application of the Word of God.
Pews are filled weekly with born-again believers who either have not be introduced to the call to discipleship, or have been, but for one reason or another (17), have chosen not to embrace it, or later abandoned the battlefield of Biblical discipleship. In this the devil is well-pleased.
It is by the daily choices tordorhat an individual, born-again believer makes , that results in him or her either becoming a part of the solution, or a part of the problem.
The human desire to live without conflict, by blending in with the devil’s world, is totally contrary to what discipleship requires. We are called to be a light in the darkness. The deeper the darkness, the brighter we are called to shine.
He did not come to bring (interpersonal) peace to the world, and neither will those who follow Him down the road of Biblical discipleship.
“Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword (Matt. 10: 34 NASB2020).”
The peace that was announced by the angel at the First Advent was peace between God and those who would be born-again.
The more one chooses to execute the type of post salvation spiritual life that discipleship calls for, the less peace he or she is going to have with the worldly-minded people that he or she interacts with on a regular basis.
Becoming an implement of honor glorifying God, generates spiritual warfare with the devil (18), the Eph. 6:12 forces of evil, and worldly-minded people that the devil has deceived (19).
If you seldom experience such confrontations, it could be that the devil has you right where he wants you, posing no threat to his agenda. He is clever enough to leave you alone.
He may even promote you with earthly prosperity for helping to make his world a better place to live (20), while neglecting the things of God.
In closing, consider that it will be those who become implements of honor during their appointed time here on Earth, that will be among those who wear a uniform of glory (21) in Eternity future.
(1) John 14: 15 (2) John 3: 16 (3) 2Tim. 3: 16 (4) 2Pet. plav3: rejecting or 18 (5) James 1: 22 (6) Matt. 28: 19, 20 (7) Heb. 12: 6 (8) James 3: 1 (9) John 3: 16/Matt. 7: 24-25 (10) Rev. 20: 15/Heb. 12: 6 (11) Rom. 8: 1 (12) John 3: 16 (13) 1John 2: 2 (14) Eph. 4: 30/Titus 3: 5 (15) 1Tim. 4: 1 (16) Eph. 4: 30 (17_ Mark 4: 19 (18) 1Pet. 5: 8 (19) 2Cor. 4: 4 (20) Luke 4: 6 (21) Rev. 3: 5
End of Part Four
End of Series
Part Four
But this is not the end of the story, as the devil and weak, immature, self-centered believers would have us believe.
HOW each individual born-again believer will experience eternity, that being with or without the reward and privileges that are reserved for advancing disciples, is still to be determined.
Born-again believers do NOT serve God for what’s in in it for them. They would serve God if there were no rewards or privileges awaiting them in Heaven. Their desire to embrace discipleship is a manifestation of the LOVE that they (should) have for God (1), in response to the love that God showed to them (2) on the cross.
The inspired (3) Greek word mathetes has been translated disciple in the English Bibles. In the spiritual realm, a mathetes is a technical student (4) and applier (5) of the Word of God.
Discipleship is initially for the spiritual edification and growth of the newly born born-again believer, but with the long-term objective of becoming an advancing disciple by participating the Great Commission (6), being USED by God to evangelize unbeliever’s and to edify fellow believers in his or her personal periphery.
Many pastors are not comfortable with teaching on the subject of eternal security, being intimidated by the fact that many believers will be content to know that they have been forever saved, and therefore will develop no interest in following the Lord down the road of Biblical discipleship with all of its challenges.
Some will go as far as considering eternal security to be a license to sin, rejecting the concept of divine discipline (7).
But properly trained and ordained pastor-teachers have been charged with the responsibility to teach on the whole realm of Bible Doctrine, in season and out of season, for which they are going to give an accounting of to God (8).
God has not given pastor-teachers or advancing disciples a, “spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline (2Tim. 1: 7 NASB2020).”
When given the opportunity to either evangelize or to edify another soul, “Christians” have a duty to perform. The response to what others are presented with, is a matter between them and the Lord, as they reap either the blessings (9) or the consequences (10), in accordance with their chosen response.
Furthermore, the failure to teach on the security of salvation (11) is what contributes to the opening of the door to all of the blasphemous teachings and practices, erroneously promoted as necessary to obtain, retain or to regain salvation.
These false teachings amount to blasphemy because they are a direct attack on the integrity of the Persons, the Words, and Works of God the Father (12), God the Son (13), and God the Holy Spirit (14).
It is through the failure to teach or to promote the truth (accurate doctrine) that contributes to the opening of the door to all of the never-ending, additional, false, list of teachings and accompanying practices that are the products of Man, or that demons (15) promote.
It is through discipleship that a born-again believer becomes, “sanctified and USEFULL to the Master, prepared for , “every good work (2Tim. 2: 21 NASB2020).”
Spiritual sanctification means to be set apart for the purpose of divine activity. The individual soul was already positionally “sanctified” (set apart) from spiritually dead, unbelievers, the day he or she was born again, being sealed (baptized/marked for identification) by the Person and Work of God the Holy Spirit (16). Experiential sanctification, that is a part of becoming an implement of honor, takes place throughout the course of one’s post salvation spiritual life, as one grows in the knowledge and in the application of the Word of God.
Pews are filled weekly with born-again believers who either have not be introduced to the call to discipleship, or have been, but for one reason or another (17), have chosen not to embrace it, or later abandoned the battlefield of Biblical discipleship. In this the devil is well-pleased.
It is by the daily choices tordorhat an individual, born-again believer makes , that results in him or her either becoming a part of the solution, or a part of the problem.
The human desire to live without conflict, by blending in with the devil’s world, is totally contrary to what discipleship requires. We are called to be a light in the darkness. The deeper the darkness, the brighter we are called to shine.
He did not come to bring (interpersonal) peace to the world, and neither will those who follow Him down the road of Biblical discipleship.
“Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword (Matt. 10: 34 NASB2020).”
The peace that was announced by the angel at the First Advent was peace between God and those who would be born-again.
The more one chooses to execute the type of post salvation spiritual life that discipleship calls for, the less peace he or she is going to have with the worldly-minded people that he or she interacts with on a regular basis.
Becoming an implement of honor glorifying God, generates spiritual warfare with the devil (18), the Eph. 6:12 forces of evil, and worldly-minded people that the devil has deceived (19).
If you seldom experience such confrontations, it could be that the devil has you right where he wants you, posing no threat to his agenda. He is clever enough to leave you alone.
He may even promote you with earthly prosperity for helping to make his world a better place to live (20), while neglecting the things of God.
In closing, consider that it will be those who become implements of honor during their appointed time here on Earth, that will be among those who wear a uniform of glory (21) in Eternity future.
(1) John 14: 15 (2) John 3: 16 (3) 2Tim. 3: 16 (4) 2Pet. plav3: rejecting or 18 (5) James 1: 22 (6) Matt. 28: 19, 20 (7) Heb. 12: 6 (8) James 3: 1 (9) John 3: 16/Matt. 7: 24-25 (10) Rev. 20: 15/Heb. 12: 6 (11) Rom. 8: 1 (12) John 3: 16 (13) 1John 2: 2 (14) Eph. 4: 30/Titus 3: 5 (15) 1Tim. 4: 1 (16) Eph. 4: 30 (17_ Mark 4: 19 (18) 1Pet. 5: 8 (19) 2Cor. 4: 4 (20) Luke 4: 6 (21) Rev. 3: 5
End of Part Four
End of Series