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Matthew 12: Can A Believer Lose Salvation By The Unpardonable Sin? By Blaspheming the Holy Spirit?

Don Gerrity Matthew, Q&A: Holy Spirit July 11, 2021

The Truth About The Unpardonable Sin;
Blasphemy Against The Holy Spirit Of God

“Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.” (Matthew 12:22-32 KJV)

When The Word became human (John 1), Jesus put aside His Godly powers and relied solely on the Holy Spirit to perform the miracles, as He was fully human and fully God.

Jesus was speaking directly to the Pharisees in Matthew 12 , who were attributing His casting out of devils by the power of the Holy Spirit, to satan. This was the sin that Jesus said would not be pardoned. It was utter and complete UNBELIEF and Jesus knew they would never believe in Him as Messiah. The Pharisees knew the prophesies the foretold Messiah would perform. They were without excuse. Even the other Jews seeing such amazing miracles as the passage knew!

“And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?”

So by attributing the miracles as being by power of satan, their UNBELIEF was very clear indeed!

Because Jesus is seated at the right hand of God and not on earth, it is not possible for anyone to commit this sin now. However, outright unbelief and rejection of Christ for salvation is the only sin that dooms a person to remain condemned.

There is no scriptural basis to support any sin committed today to be unforgivable. Their is also no Scripture read in proper context to support that a born again believer can lose salvation either.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM should not perish, but have EVERLASTING life.” (John 3:16 KJV)

“He that BELIEVETH ON THE SON HATH EVERLASTING LIFE: and he that BELIEVETH NOT the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” (John 3:36 KJV)

The ‘whosoever’ is anyone; regardless of what they have done. On this side of the cross event, believers have the Holy Spirit SEALED within us until our bodily resurrection (Eph. 1:13-14, 4:30), so it is not possible for us to commit this sin, nor lose our salvation.

For us living in the dispensation of grace, the Church Age, the unforgivable sin is TO REJECT the FREE GIFT of salvation, the pardon for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2) that Jesus purchased for us with His very life. The same thing the Pharisees had; out right unbelief that Jesus is the foretold Christ.

“For the wages of sin is death; but the GIFT of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

Rejecting Jesus as Messiah, as the foretold Christ, means a person has no other way to be forgiven their sins. The wages of sin is eternal death, and belief on Christ for forgiveness is the only way provided by God for our sin problem.

“He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned ALREADY, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18 KJV)

“Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.” (Hebrews 10:18 KJV)

A believers salvation can never be lost. Salvation is ETERNAL. Anything we do wrong after our moment of salvation is sin. And all a believer’s sins were paid in full by Jesus Christ on that cross. Such sin was already judged regarding condemnation.

We can lose rewards for sin. We will have consequences in our Earthly life for sin. BUT NEVER condemnation in hell. We are COMPLETE IN CHRIST by belief in Jesus’ blood atonement and that happened and was sealed 2000 years ago by Christ (Colossians 2, Hebrews 10).

Matthew 10:21-22: ‘who endureth until the end’

Don Gerrity Matthew January 29, 2021

“And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.” (Matthew 10:22 KJV)

Some are teaching that Jesus is telling us today that a person can lose salvation if they do not believe until their death or until they are raptured. With so many passages showing the opposite to this, such a teching cannot be the case. I am not really sure how such a teaching can be justified unless they take just this one verse out of the context in Matthew 10 and then they make it a doctrine. No doctrine of truth can be made from just one verse, ever! Without proper context being used one verse can be shown to mean anything, including the opposite if the verse’s actual meaning. Doing such is a very dangerous practice and leads people astray about the very foundational truth of the Gospel Of Grace through Christ crucified.

Apostle Paul tells us otherwise,

“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also AFTER THAT YE BELIEVED, YE WERE SEALED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT OF PROMISE, Which is the EARNEST of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-14 KJV)

“And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby YE ARE SEALED unto the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4:30 KJV)

By the Holy Scriptures of the Bible, look what took place when a person believes on Christ and His once for all (Hebrews 10:10) blood atonement for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD (1 John 2:2). Jesus said the person becomes BORN AGAIN (born from above) in The Spirit when they believe on Christ alone for salvation in John 3 and He explains how a person becomes born again in verse 14-17 and then makes a simple straight up statement that,

“He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18 KJV)

Other passages as well, such as 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, show us that a believer in Christ has become a NEW creation in the Spirit and has become the very righteousness of God, IN CHRIST. That is, it is GOD who MADE a believer righteous in our Spirit, our core being. In Colossians 2, we see that a believer’s Spirit was placed on the cross WITH CHRIST 2000 years ago and died WITH CHRIST and already rose again WITH CHRIST. And that a believer is COMPLETE IN CHRIST.

This all happens immediately when a person believes on Christ. So this ‘enduring to the end’ must not be about The Bride Of Christ in the dispensation of grace that we now live within. And if we look closer at the context, it is not.

In the very first verse of Matthew 10, we see Jesus giving power to the disciples to send them out to preach the Gospel to the people. The message of the Kingdom Of God.

“And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.” (Matthew 10:1 KJV)

Then Jesus sent them and in these next verses we see something of significant for the context of verse 22,

“5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 10:5-7 KJV)

Look at verse 6 here. Jesus sent them to who? To THE LOST SHEEP OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL. Jesus does not have the Church age believers in mind here. The Church Age has not even begun as He did not yet go to the cross. He is addressing the Nation of Israel in specific. He sent the disciples out in pairs. Jesus tells them what will happen to those who reject them and their message in verse 14 and 15,

“14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. 15 Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha IN THE DAY OF JUDGEMENT, than for that city.” (Matthew 10:14-15 KJV)

Now that is pretty serious right! Now let us ask did this happen to those places that rejected them yet? No. NOT YET! Jesus mentions ‘the day of judgement’ and so Jesus has now switched to talk about the Jews and Israel during the future End Times starting in verse 16.

In Matthew 10:21-22, Jesus is now talking about the End Times, long after His resurrection as we now know living on this side of the cross, 2000 years later. But His prophecy is still going to come to pass. Again, it is a prophecy not for The Church, The Bride of Christ; it is a prophecy to affect the House of Israel and we can see clearly He is talking about the rule of Antichrist in the Tribulation Period.

Look at Jesus’ prophecies about His 2nd Coming event where He will land His feet on the Mount of Olives and rule on Earth for 1000 years. Jesus describes the signs of His Second Coming at that future time in Matthew 24 and 25. In Matthew 24 Jesus states this about that future time,

“9 THEN shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” (Matthew 24:9-13 KJV)

Well well.. doesn’t that sound familiar to what Jesus is saying to them in Matthew 10? Let’s compare directly ,

“17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; 18 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. 19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. 20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. 21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. 22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.” (Matthew 10:17-22 KJV)

Now we can see the truth about verses 21-22 in Matthew 10. Jesus says the exact same thing. So this enduring unto the End is for the Nation of Israel and all who will believe that the Antichrist is not Christ, who do not worship the Antichrist and accept his mark without which no one will be able to buy nor sell. The Antichrist will be seeking to kill all who reject he Mark in worship of Antichrist. Even many Jewish people will accept the Antichrist as the real Messiah, as they rejected Christ 2000 years ago and are still looking for the Messiah. We see this in the Parable of the Ten Virgins in Matthew 25 (no, this is NOT about the Rapture of the Church!). Unfortunately many Jewish people will think the Antichrist is Messiah come but he will be the false Messiah, imitating Jesus Christ to deceive them.

Many times when Jesus talks to the disciples, He extends the answer forward to the Last days for the End Time Jewish people to read and heed His warnings. That is what we see here in Matthew 10. In our current Church Age, the dispensation of God’s Grace, a believer is saved eternally from the very moment of salvation, and are indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God, just as the passages I mentioned at the start of this article show. Not just these but many many more passages of Apostle Paul as well, clearly show this.

After Church Age believers are Harpazo Raptured, and snatched abruptly off the planet to Heaven, those left will be facing The Seven Year Tribulation Period as the Prophet Daniel foretold. With all believers taken off the Earth, the indwelling Holy Spirit went with them. These Church Age believers are the only thing holding back the Antichrist and when gone, the Antichrist will do his bidding (2 Thessalonians 2:7).

To those living in the Tribulation Period, the Holy Spirit will be operating as during Old Testament times, and those who come to belief on the true Christ and refuse the Mark of the Antichrist in worship, will not be indwelt by the Holy Spirit as The Bride of Christ is today. They are not the Bride of Christ from our current dispensation. They will have to endure the persecution of the Antichrist and refuse the Mark of the Beast until their death or Christ’s Second coming to start His 1000 year Kingdom age on Earth.

Matthew 10:21-22 in no way refutes the Eternal Security Of The Believer in our current dispensation which Apostle Paul called The Dispensation Of God’s Grace in Ephesians 3:2.

Matthew 20: The Parable Of The Worker’s Vineyard. 1st Shall Be Last. Last Shall Be First.

Don Gerrity Matthew, Q&A: Parables Of Jesus February 20, 2020February 18, 2022

“1 For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. 2 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.

5 Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?

7 They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.

8 So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.

9 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.

10 But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.

11 And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,

12 Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.

13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?

14 Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.

15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?

16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

17 And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them,

18 Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death,

19 And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.”
(Matthew 20:1-19 KJV)

Some are using ONLY verse 16 and not using proper context and teaching others that those poor today will be first in Heaven and the rich today will be last in Heaven, or will not even make it to Heaven and lose Salvation. Others teach that this means those who do more good works will be first and those with little good works will be last in Heaven. Is that truth though? Not according to the context of all of Matthew 20.

Looking at just verse 14 alone we see the truth of this parable.

” 14 Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. ” (Matthew 20:14 KJV)

In the previous chapter of Matthew 19 we see the rich ruler and the disciples in wonder at who then could be saved? The disciples then asked Jesus, what about us? We have been with you all this time. Jesus tells THEM they will be twelve leaders in the future Kingdom Age.

In Matthew 20, Jesus tells a parable to further clarify about Salvation and who will make it to Heaven. The Jews and disciple were taught it is their works and Law of Moses (Ten Commandments and 613 other Laws) following that matter. That those who do more good works, who worked longer and harder than others, would be greater in Heaven. This parable is about Salvation. Jesus is explaining to them about the Jews verses the Gentiles in regards to Salvation. This is not just about personal lives and good works.

Jesus told this parable just before verses 17-19 where we read,

“17 And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, 18 Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, 19 And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.” (Matthew 20: 17-19 KJV)

He is telling them, right after the Parable that the Jews are going to reject Him and crucify Him to death! So this is a big part of the context too.

This parable is about the Jewish People who rejected Christ and the Church Age believers after the resurrection of Jesus, The Christ. The Jews rejected Christ so Jesus sent Apostle Paul to the gentiles. The gentiles are THE LAST and the Jews are THE FIRST in the parable.

The Last will be the first and the first will be the last and if we look at the dispensations, this is what it will be. We currently live in the ‘times present’ of Ephesians, called the church age, an age of God’s Grace under the New Covenant. This age was a mystery to the Jews at the time of Jesus’ ministry. They lived in what Paul says in Ephesians ‘times past’. They looked for the coming Messiah to setup the Earthly kingdom but instead, they had misinterpreted the Old Testament/Torah prophecies and when Jesus did not immediately take over and save them from the oppressing Romans, they rejected Christ. Of course, not all rejected Him but the majority did. Jesus died on the cross, rose again and ascended. Jesus foretold them that Israel would be invaded and dispersed and that happen in 70AD.

After Jesus’ resurrection and ascension on the road to Damascus, Saul (a well known top persecutor of believers in Christ and an expert of the Law of Moses, who was present at the stoning to death of Stephen) had an encounter with the RISEN Christ. And God sent HIM to preach to the Gentiles the Gospel that saves us today in this dispensation, the Church age (times present).

Once believers are raptured in the future, the church age will END and God will again turn to Israel to save them during and after the Tribulation Period called the time of Jacob’s trouble, as the prophet Daniel foretold in his 70 weeks prophecy. The time of this is ‘future times’.

So, the first will be last; that is, the Jews will be last saved as a people. The Last will be first; that is, the church age believers will be resurrected first at the Rapture before the new dispensation starts and God turns to save the nation Israel and the Jewish peoples.

Also, as with many of Jesus’ parable, we see a double meaning. Believers come to believe in Christ at different stages of our lives. Some when young, others while old, others in the very last few minutes of their life even! Salvation is ONLY by belief in Christ’s finished work on the cross and NOTHING else is REQUIRED for our justification before God (Ephesians 2:8-9, John 3:14-18, Ephesians 1:13-14, Colossians 2, Romans 5 and 6, John 6:37-40, 1 Cor. 15:1-4 etc etc etc). Just like the thief who came to believe on Christ and asked Him to remember in when He enters His kingdom . That man was saved right hen and there just before he died. No change of life in good works required. No water baptism required. Just BELIEF ON CHRIST.

Those coming to belief in Christ who are young are the first. Those coming to believe in Christ when older, having more sins committed are the last. Yet ALL are SAVED COMPLETELY with ALL sins forgiven by Jesus’ payment.

As believers, we are ALL COMPLETE IN CHRIST (Colossians 2:10). It is not that those with more sins than others will be less forgiven. Jesus paid for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD; all sins (1 John 2:2). And that as Jesus stated in John 3,

“…whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) from the very moment of belief on Christ and His finished work on the cross (Ephesians 1:13-14, Colossians 2 and 3), sealed forever by the indwelling Holy Spirit.

That is the true context of Matthew 20. See how taking just one verse and coming up with opinions does not matter against the true Gospel of our Salvation? The Gospel of God’s Grace Through Christ Crucified, died and risen.

Matthew 24:13: ‘endure unto the end’

Don Gerrity Matthew, Q&A: The Truth About... February 5, 2020

Must believers ‘Endure until the end’ to remain saved based on Matthew 24:13?

“But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. ”
(Matthew 24:13 KJV)

I know many Christians believe that iof they do not endure to the end that they may lose their Salvation because many pulpits misuse this one verse in Matthew 24. Yet, using proper context, that is not correct from Scripture!

Notice that there are many passages of Scripture that state the opposite and that it is God ALONE who does the work of saving, securing, and keeping believers saved eternally.

In John 6:39, Christ states that He will not lose any saint.

“And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. ” ( John 6:39 KJV)

In John 10:28-29, it is Christ and the Father who promises to keep believers eternally saved and will never let go; not believers who hold onto God and keep themselves saved by any works we do.

“And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” (John 10:28-29 KJV)

In John 17:12, it is Christ and the Father who do the keeping. And ‘none of them is lost’.

“While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. ” (John 17:12 KJV)

In Romans 4:5 Paul writes,

“But to him that WORKETH NOT, BELIEVETH ON HIM that justifieth the ungodly, HIS FAITH is counted for righteousness.” (Romans 4:5 KJV)

God IMPUTED our sin to Christ, and Christ’s righteousness to us and GOD MADE US, the righteousness of God, in Christ.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” ( 2 Cor. 5:17-22 KJV)

Paul states in Colossians 2 that this was done without our hands but that we are COMPLETE in Christ (present tense) by the operation of God; not by us.

“For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And YE ARE COMPLETE IN HIM, which is the head of all principality and power: In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision MADE WITHOUT HANDS, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried WITH HIM in baptism, wherein also ye are risen WITH HIM through the faith OF THE OPERATION OF GOD, who hath raised him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together WITH HIM , having forgiven you ALL trespasses; BLOTTING OUT the handwriting of ordinances that WAS against us, which WAS contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to HIS CROSS; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.” (Colossians 2: 9-15 KJV)

So many more Scriptures seemingly in contradiction to believers having to endure to the end to remain saved! And whenever we discover a contradiction in Scripture it means we missed proper context somehow. The many verses in proper context over rule any opposing view regarding Salvation.

“Immediately AFTER THE TRIBULATION of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: “: (Matthew 24:29 KJV)

I personally have come to believe that, by reading the words in Matthew 24 and especially verse 29, it shows it is all about the coming Tribulation Period where in the beginning of the Antichrist rule it will seem peaceful but warning signs will be happening and eventually the Antichrist will show his true evil colours. The Tribulation Period starts at the END of our current church age. So Matthew 24 and 25 are addressing the Jews of that future time period. This is the proper context of Matthew 24 and it makes all the difference in the world to the meaning of ‘endure to the end’. The END here is the END of the Tribulation period!

In fact, if we look not many verses later, at Matthew 24:22, we can see that the ‘enduring’ in verse 13 is referring to the physical state of the person under persecution of the Antichrist; not Spiritual salvation. Physically saved from Antichrist’s persecution.

“And except THOSE DAYS should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. ” (Matthew 24:22 KJV)

What days? The days within the Tribulation period, during the Antichrst’s rule on Earth, where God’s judgment is falling upon the Earth and the Antichrist is persecuting believers and all who do not take the Mark of the Beast (Rev. 13:17 KJV).

That is the true context of enduring in Matthew 24.

Matthew 7:13-4: ‘broad is the way, narrow is the way’.

Don Gerrity Matthew, Q&A: Difficult Passages September 8, 2019

The Two Roads: Wide Leading To Destruction and Narrow Leading To Life

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14 KJV)

Many believe that the WIDE meaning is “WORKS” of a person. And that NARROW must be GOOD WORKS because it is hard to maintain good works in the light that God is PERFECT in every way. But is that the truth of Matthew 7:13-14?

Context matters and so if we look at other passages of Jesus, do see that meaning conveyed for how to become RIGHTEOUS before God? The answer is a resounding “NO”.

Jesus is clear that Salvation is by one thing and that is ‘changing our mind (the Bible definition of the word REPENT) and BELIEF ON Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God. Look at John 3 where Jesus told Nicodemus how a person becomes RIGHTEOUS. It is by being ‘BORN AGAIN’ – not by our works. Jesus goes on to tell us how to be born again in The Spirit in verse 14-17 and it is all about BELIEF ON CHRIST with NOTHING ELSE MENTIONED. And then Jesus makes this very clear statement,

“He that BELIEVETH ON HIM is not condemned: but he that BELIEVETH NOT is condemned ALREADY, because he hath NOT BELIEVED in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18 KJV)

And when we look more into Jesus other words we also see Him say,

“28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you REST.
29 Take MY YOKE upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find REST unto your souls. 30 For my YOKE IS EASY, and my burden IS LIGHT.” (Matthew 11:28-30 KJV)

A LIGHT YOKE? A LIGHT BURDEN? If we are to believe that it is our WORKS that save us and keep us saved, how does that fit Jesus’ words?

Given this is Jesus words as well, we need to look closer at Matthew 7:13-14 for proper context, because Jesus NEVER contradicts Himself and in fact, Apostle Paul does not either.

And Apostle Paul states clearly that this cannot be about works when he wrote,

“8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that NOT OF YOURSELVES: it is the GIFT of God: 9 NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should boast.” (Eph. 2:8-9 KJV)

So what is Jesus really meaning in Matthew 7:13-14?

If you look at virtually every world religion, even much of the ‘Christian’ world religion churches, you will see a strong emphasis on WORKS to be saved or remain saved. Yet, Jesus never taught this about Salvation or justification with God. Nor is it how a person becomes righteous. Righteousness comes only by FAITH – NOT WORKS.

““And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:” (Philippians 3:9 KJV)

“Now to the one who WORKS, his wage is NOT RECKONED on the basis of GRACE, but as what is DUE. But to the one who DOES NOT WORK, but BELIEVES in Him (Jesus) WHO JUSTIFIES the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as RIGHTEOUSNESS.” (Romans 4:4-5 KJV)

“Knowing that a man is NOT JUSTIFIED BY THE WORKS OF THE LAW, but BY THE FAITH OF JESUS CHRIST, even we have BELIEVED in Jesus Christ, that we might BE JUSTIFIED by the FAITH OF CHRIST, and NOT BY THE WORKS OF THE LAW: FOR BY THE WORKS OF THE LAW SHALL NO FLESH BE JUSTIFIED.” (Galatians 2)

Going back to Matthew 7, we also see that Jesus continues on and warns of about FALSE PROPHETS (verse 15) and what are they teaching? Jesus says,

“Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

They are teaching that Salvation is because of and by their works. And Jesus gives a stern warning AGAINST THIS IDEA! In verse 23 Jesus says that on judgement day (the judgement of UNBELIEVERS – not believers) they will hear Jesus say that HE NEVER KNEW THEM. They thought they were saved by works – but they were not. Why? Because Salvation is not by works but by Faith and belief in Jesus as the once for all sacrifice (Hebrews 10:10) for the sin of the whole world (1 John 2:2). It is belief on JESUS’ FINISHED work on the cross that saves as God in the flesh.

The WIDE WAY is works. Not the narrow way. The narrow way is belief that Jesus is THE FORETOLD CHRIST, the Messiah. And this is belief alone by faith on HIS finished work.

Apostle Paul also warned sternly against adding our good works as a requirement of our Salvation and justification in Galatians, calling them ‘foolish’ for believing false teachers adding our good works to remain to be saved,

“Christ is become of NO EFFECT UNTO YOU whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.” (Galatians 5:4 KJV)

NO effect? That is NOT where any believer o Christ wants to be right?

Does that mean a believer’s good works after Salvation do not matter? NO. Good works are…well.. GOOD! But the point is, they are not what saves us nor keeps us saved.

BELIEF ON JESUS , THE CHRIST, ALONE, and HIS FINISHED WORK PAYING FOR THE SINS OF THE WHOLE WORLD… IS THE NARROW WAY.

Matthew 10:38-39: ‘taketh not his cross’

Don Gerrity Matthew, Q&A: Christian Living, Q&A: Difficult Passages July 2, 2019February 18, 2022

“And he that taketh not HIS cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” (Matthew 10:38-39 KJV)

MATTHEW 10: Instructions For Service As Disciples

Up until Matthew 10, the disciples have learned the Gospel message and seen the miracles of Jesus. Now they are about to experience this for themselves. Jesus sends the Disciples out to preach the good news of the Gospel. He sends them to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel”. Jesus knows the threats they will face. He knows the fear they will have in proclaiming the good news to the Jewish people He is sending them to. He is sending them with the message of the Gospel that the Messiah has come and that Jesus from Nazareth is the foretold Messiah that would come and save them from their sins. To share the first hand account of the miracles performed by Jesus even to rising people from death back to life.

The fear in proclaiming the Gospel to the Jewish people is because the teachings of Jesus went directly against the grain of what the Pharisees taught. The nation of Israel at that time, from the religious leaders down to the people themselves, were believing in following the Law of Moses (which was 613 Laws which included the Ten Commandments given to Moses) in order to gain righteousness before God. Jesus’ teachings were threatening this belief and the people were following Christ more and more. The Jewish Pharisee leaders felt threatened about losing the power they had over the people. As Jesus taught, they were all about the ‘letter of the Law’ but ignored the ‘heart of the Law’. Jesus proclaimed that He is the foretold Messiah and that He forgave sins and many called His saying this as blasphemy. Jesus told the Jewish people and Pharisees that He is the Son Of God. He did this right at the start of His ministry to the Jewish people in the synagogue of His home town, by quoting Old Testament prophecy about the Messiah to come, saying ‘in your hearing this has been fulfilled’ (Luke 4:21).

Jesus knew the fear they had and also knew what they would go through in each city and town they were being sent to. He knew they , as He, would be rejected by many, and also threatened in persecution by many in this endeavor.

Jesus did give them powers to heal and to cast out demons from people. He gave them the ability to heal even lepers and to raise people from the dead! These were some serious powers Jesus bestowed on them for their missions to preach the Gospel to the cities and towns in Israel.

However, Jesus also told them that they will have to rely on God for everything. They were denied bringing their own money, no extra cloths, no extras sandals for their journey (a big deal in the sandy region back then!). They could not even bring a staff with them for protection. They will have powers but they would also be vulnerable to an extreme (Matthew 10:9-11). They are being sent out as “sheep among wolves”! I believe what they went through also prepared them for what was to come after Christ ascended and they went out to preach the Gospel.

Jesus explains to them that this is not going to be an easy task, even with the powers He bestows on them. He tells them things that will happen that would give anyone great fear. They will be facing arrest, possible beatings, persecution (even by their own family members and friends). A fear that those being preached to would want to kill them even (Matthew 10:16-23). Jesus explains to them that if the Master is persecuted then so shall they as the disciples preaching the same message that Jesus was preaching to the Jewish people. The Pharisee religious leaders were brutal towards Jesus and so the disciples too are being sent directly into the same kind of situation. After telling them this Jesus encouraged the disciples to not fear these people that will do such to them. Instead FEAR GOD. Trust in God in this task with every fiber of their being.

This is the context of Matthew 10, sending the disciples to preach the Gospel. They were sent to “the house of Israel” and we need to keep that context in focus. At the same time, there is something relative to us today on this side of the cross as well. Telling others about Jesus is not easy. Witnessing can be a fearful endeavor. Even family members are known to turn backs on believers. Even today there is great persecution against Christians in the world. So this whole chapter can apply to believers who choose to be disciples in this way. We may not have all those powers Jesus gave them but we have the complete Word of God today.

This is the context of Matthew 10. In Matthew 10:38-39 we then read,

“And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” (Matthew 10:38-39 KJV)

Some are taking these two verses out of the context for Matthew 10 and making it about our salvation. That would be wrong because Jesus is talking to already saved disciples here. Matthew 10 is all about instructions for service as a disciple. It is not about salvation other then helping others hear the good news of the Gospel to help others believe in Christ for righteousness and salvation.

Some are also saying that Matthew 10 applies to us as well today as believers, fully. Remember that from verses 5 to 10 that the commission here in Matthew 10 is specific to the original Twelve Disciples, not all who came to believe on Jesus at that time. The powerful abilities Christ gave them was for them alone at that time. No one since that time has been given such authority and power. In Matthew 10, this is focused on the disciples alone preaching the truth to the Jewish people of Israel, to the “house of Israel”. That said, once Jesus went to the cross and rose again and then ascended, the Church Age believers too are called to preach the Gospel (See Acts 1:8). So there are points here we too can take to heart.

DISCIPLES: Take The Cross & Follow Jesus

By saying to take the cross and follow Christ, Jesus is telling the disciples they will now have to carry a cross to bear as He has. At this point in time, Jesus has not gone to the cross and so to the disciples, they did not see that cross event. That stated, they certainly knew what the cross bearing meant! It was going against the powerful Roman Authority. The teaching of the Gospel to Israel caused quite a bit of turmoil. The Jewish leaders were in fear of the turmoil Jesus was causing as well. The disciples understood this well. The punishment of death by crucifixion was a very public and painful punishment unto death for anyone convicted and sentenced to face it in those days. Criminals and even those who went against the authority of Rome feared it. Jesus was telling them that they needed to follow Him and preach the Gospel even under the most fearful of all persecutions, even such a horrible death. They did not know it at the time, but Jesus Himself would be crucified and here we see Jesus foreshadowing this event which only those of us on this side of Jesus’ crucifixion see clearly.

DICSIPLES: Lose Your Life For Jesus’ sake And Find Eternal Life

Jesus is encouraging them that even though they are about to face persecution and great fear from some of those who they will proclaim the Gospel truth to, they will be helping others find eternal life and they themselves as well. It is about aligning their lives to God and the Gospel and that means they will forgo living their lives for the worldly.

This is what “making disciples” of others is about. This is sharing the Gospel in face of anything that comes. What the Twelve Disciples did, changed many minds unto salvation for all who believed. And after Christ ascended, look what the Apostles did. Look how they changed people’s minds. Because of what they did, we today know the truth of the Gospel and God continues to bring people around the globe, both Jew and Gentile, to the knowledge of the truth.

Applications Of Matthew 10 For Today, On This Side Of The Cross Of Jesus Christ

A person is saved from the very moment of belief when we TAKE the cross. That is, when we believe the Gospel. This word TAKETH in Strongs Greek Concordance is ‘Lambano’, which means to ‘grab a hold of’. We accept the GIFT of Salvation Jesus paid through the cross of Jesus. God’s hand reaches out to every person and offers the gift of Salvation. It can be accepted and TAKEN or rejected and not taken. When a person takes it and grabs hold of Salvation (Lambano), that person is saved that very moment (John 3:18, Ephesians 1:13-14). This is to be saved by the cross. A person believes by faith and taking the gift is how they receive it.

BEING A DISCIPLE IS THE NEXT STEP OF A BELIEVER

Later, in Matthew 16:24, we notice that Jesus uses a DIFFERENT Greek word, Strongs G142, ‘airo‘. It’s meaning is different that lambano. It is defined as ‘to lift up; by implication, to take up or away; figuratively, to raise ‘:

“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and TAKE UP his cross, and follow me.” (Matthew 16:4 KJV)

So Lambano is simply to ‘grab hold of’ and airo is to ‘lift up’. So we are to grab hold of the cross in Salvation and then lift it up. This is what Jesus asks us to do with the cross. Just as the man who helped Jesus carry the cross when He stumbled and fell carrying the cross. The man grabbed the cross of Jesus and lifted it up (see Matthew 27).

So we are to not only make a decision to take hold of the cross in receiving the unmerited gift of Salvation; We are to lift it up on our shoulders and SHARE IN the cross.

WHICH CROSS BEARING SAVES US TODAY?

Jesus bore the suffering and paid for the sins of the whole world on that cross. Only He can do this! Why? Because He is the only one who never sinned! He is God in the flesh who bore our sins on that cross.

Are we without sin? Nope…we have sin right? So Jesus saying we need to ‘take up’ (airo) is not about our cross bearing and being the once for all sacrifice for sins that Jesus is (Hebrews 10:10).

However, by taking and grabbing hold of the cross, we partake in belief. The cross is about one thing to criminals and that is DEATH! Paying for their crimes with their very lives! Before being saved, it must be understood that by believing Salvation by the cross of Christ that we know where it is going to head… to the death of our Spiritual self.

TWO DEATHS ARE REQUIRED FOR OUR SALVATION

In Romans 6:23, Paul tells us that,

“… the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life THROUGH Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Our self righteous efforts nor good works can save us. These things are not the currency that can pay for our sins committed. In God’s economy, the payment required is death. And looking at the Greek for this word it is actually talking about Spiritual death.

By grabbing hold of what Jesus did on the cross and lifting it up onto our shoulders, we willingly share in losing our life WITH CHRIST as partakers.

“He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” (Matthew 10:39 KJV)

Only Jesus paid for our sins. But by belief on Christ Paul tells us that…

“Knowing this, that our old man is CRUCIFIED WITH HIM, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that IS DEAD is FREED FROM SIN. Now if we be DEAD WITH CHRIST , we believe that we shall also LIVE WITH HIM:” (Romans 6:6-8 KJV)

“Buried WITH HIM in baptism, wherein also ye are risen WITH HIM through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.” (Colossians 2:12 KJV)

The real us is our Spirit. You see, by taking hold of the cross in belief that Christ paid for our sins, our old unsaved Spirit of Man (which Paul referred to as our ‘old man’), was placed on the cross WITH CHRIST. Christ’s death paid the penalty required for our sins; Spiritual death. But we too, as believers in Christ had our sins paid in OUR Spiritual death WITH CHRIST. In that moment, an exchanged happened ON THE CROSS.

When Christ died, we died (in the Spirit). When Christ rose, WE ROSE a new being in the Spirit. In foreknowledge of all who will believe on Christ for Salvation, God placed believers, IN CHRIST, on that cross! God took all our sins and imputed them onto Christ. At the same time God imputed Jesus’ righteousness onto us (2 Corinthians 5). Our spirit was placed in Christ and Christ bore the physical and Spiritual punishment and pain on the cross and we BOTH DIED.

The wages of sin was completely satisfied with the Father!

Paul says clearly, in the present tense, right now, as believers in Christ,

“And YE ARE COMPLETE IN HIM, which is the head of all principality and power:” (Colossians 2: 10 KJV)

Did we earn that? NO WAY. It was imputed to us by belief on Christ alone. Believers are in Christ, FOREVER. Our body is here on Earth but the real us, The Spirit of God is wherever Christ is, because we are in Christ!

In Ephesians Apostle Paul tells us,

“And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:” (Ephesians 2:6 KJV)

We also read this in 1 John 4:

“Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because AS HE IS, SO ARE WE IN THIS WORLD.” (1 John 4:17 KJV)

The seat is about our position in Christ. Our Spirit resides in our soul and is housed in our body. But our Spirit is now also one with Christ, who is one with the Father and the indwelling Holy Spirit.

BEING A DISCIPLE TODAY IS ABOUT LIVING OUT OUR FAITH, FROM SALVATION

The world is offended by Salvation. In pride, the unsaved person thinks they are a good enough person in self righteous good works, Law following and religious rituals to appease God. “Do good…Get good.” Be good to pay for the bad deeds. Do a ritual and God will forgive. DO, DO, DO….but that is a bunch of “doo doo!’ It simply is not Biblical.

Apostle Paul considered everything the law gained him as “skybalon” which is in the Greek the literal word for “poop”! (Philippians 3:4-8) Pretty graphic and strong words again from Paul. See, this is important for a person’s very Salvation and witness to others!

We read in Luke 14:26-27 KJV,

“If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be MY DISCIPLE. And whosoever doth not BEAR his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.”

Again, in proper context, we see here that Jesus is talking about being a disciple. He is sending the future apostles out to preach the Gospel and He is telling them many will be greatly offended and lash out at them.

The Greek word BEARING OUR CROSS is Strong’s G941, ‘bastazo‘ and means ‘to lift, literally or figuratively (endure, declare, sustain, receive, etc.):—bear, carry, take up.’

This word is about our ‘enduring’ and ‘bearing’ the truth of the cross when sharing it with others. Especially with those living under a performance based belief for righteousness with God, steeped in traditions and Law following with no assurance of Salvation. That is so horrible!

Being a disciple of Christ and the atonement for sin by the cross carries with it persecution and suffering by the unbelieving world in response. Mention GOD and some may disagree and others will say they believe there is a God. Well, try mentioning Jesus is the only way to have our sins forgiven because of the cross and we get a very different response indeed! A major offence resulting is persecution and ridicule. I have been called ‘narrow minded’ many times – but they do not understand GRACE!

WHEN IS A BELIEVER, A DISCIPLE?

At what point do we become a disciple then? Is it when we accept the gift of Salvation by belief on Christ and ‘Lambano‘; grab hold of and take the cross? The prerequisite is believing the Gospel of Salvation through Christ’s finished work. Following Christ and sharing the Gospel with others is where discipleship comes into play.

Being a disciple of Christ means that we are willing to live out who we now are in Christ and it means we will have to endure persecution at times. The enduring is not what keeps us saved. It is just a reality of being a disciple of Christ.

Know who you are in Christ. You are no longer your dead old spirit of man, with a very nature to want to sin all the time. Your old self DIED WITH CHRIST, so why walk in the ways of the flesh (Romans 6:2) ? Deny your old self thoughts in the mind by replacing wrong beliefs with right beliefs. This is what Paul tells us to do. Renew our minds by the truth of the Gospel (Romans 12) and who God made us at our conversion; the very righteousness of God, in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21)

“Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:11 KJV)

Is Matthew 7 About Fruit Inspecting?

Don Gerrity Matthew, Q&A: Salvation April 23, 2019

“Beware of FALSE PROPHETS, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them BY THEIR FRUITS. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every GOOD TREE bringeth forth good fruit; but a CORRUPT TREE bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore BY THEIR FRUITS ye shall know them.” (Matthew 7:15-20 KJV)

I have seen the words of Jesus in Matthew 7 to teach that,

That Matthew 7 shows that a believer can lose Salvation.
That a person with good fruit is saved and a person with bad fruit is not saved.

Both of these teachings are WRONG by the very context found within Matthew 7. If you have been taught these, please stop telling others this as truth and I am showing you why in this article. It is the very reason for this article.

These two wrong teachings about Matthew 7 are running very rampant in Christian communities. Many pulpits are also stating these very wrong teachings about Matthew 7. We must watch the CONTEXT very closely! Otherwise, as a believer you will be condemning others in harsh judgement, when Jesus has clearly taught against doing such!

Let’s look closely at this passage of Scripture with proper context to see the true meaning of Jesus.

“15 Beware of FALSE PROPHETS, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
16 Ye shall know them BY THEIR FRUITS. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every GOOD TREE bringeth forth good fruit; but a CIRRUOT TREE bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20 Wherefore BY THEIR FRUITS ye shall know them.
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the WILL OF MY FATHER which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have WE not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I NEVER KNEW YOU: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matthew 7:15-23 KJV)

This is a very power packed passage of truth to decipher and so let’s do just that.

The real context starts at verse 15. Jesus is talking about FALSE PROPHETS. This is the context of this passage. They come to you as sheep, as ‘Christians’. They come with various verses of Scripture, all taken out of context by the way, to tell you it is your WORKS that matters. They teach about Jesus but it is false teaching.

It is these false prophets who are the verse 23 “YE THAT WORK INIQUITY”. Jesus speaks about the false prophets, and what are they doing wrong? What is their iniquity?

They are thinking and telling others that it is WHAT THEY DO that qualifies them for salvation in Jesus. They are combining grace with works for righteousness and mixing Law following with Grace through Christ. We need to take this very seriously! Jesus gives us a stern warning here.

In Matthew 7:22 Jesus makes it clear,

“Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have WE not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?”

Do you See it? They are saying have not WE, and in thine name WE, WE done many WORKS. WE WE WE! They rely on their own ability to please God and by doing such think they are saved.

To them Jesus gives stern warning in verse 23 that on Judgement day for them (The Great White Throne Judgement of the unsaved),

“And then will I profess unto THEM, I NEVER KNEW YOU: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matthew 7:23 KJV)

Notice this one verse does not say they were believers who lost salvation. Not at all. It says that Jesus NEVER knew them. This is definitely about those who think they are saved by their works. They are being judged and condemned to eternal separation from God at the future Great White Throne judgement of unbelievers and in defending themselves, they show nothing but self righteous pride! They will not even mention that Jesus paid for their sins. Instead, they will try and stand as righteous because of their works. That my friends is the devil’s BIGGEST LIE. Satan’s biggest deception to the whole world is deceiving people into believing this.

What About Fruit Inspecting?

What about fruit inspecting in this passage? If salvation is not about works then what is verses 16-20 all about? It is clear that by the comparison Jesus just gave in previous verses that it is a comparison of judging and condemning others verses showing love and mercy as Christ as done for us. Think about this a moment.

Jesus talks about two groups of people as TREES. What a great analogy! In John 15, Jesus teaches this too and states that HE is the vine and WE, as saved believers, are BRANCHES! Where does a branch life come from? The sap, which comes from the ROOT of a tree. Jesus is the VINE of a believer. He is our Root.

An unbeliever has at their core being, as the root, a Spirit of Adam, a sin nature at their very core. They sin because they have a sin nature at their core. They know they have sinned against God. That is the truth. But they think that they can gain God’s favor by their outward living in good works. They fail to realize that this is not the wages for our sins! In God’s economy the wages for sin is not works. The wages of sin is DEATH, eternal death and separation from God (Romans 6:23). Failing to realize this truth, they remain lost in their debt of sins. To them it is all about works and good deeds. And so, how do they live outwardly, in love or condemnation and judging of others?

A person who instead realizes they are a sinner and that they CANNOT work off their sins with good deeds, turns to God and seeks Him for MERCY, just as Jesus states earlier in Matthew 7 as the right way to be saved. Their tree root has been changed and made RIGHTEOUS in the Spirit. Being saved by God’s grace they know God’s love and how He gave His own begotten Son to save us by His death on the cross. The greatest act of love in all of history.

Having received this GRACE, their Spirit inside was REBORN (John 3) and RECREATED (2 Cor. 5:17-21) and have become COMPLETE IN CHRIST (Colossians 2). With this new Spirit, we now work from our new inward Spirit (our tree root), outward into our lives with good works by God’s love through us. It is God’s grace that we have received as believers that encourages us to live outwardly in love to others. Apostle Paul says that we should walk ‘in the Spirit to avoid the lusts of the flesh’ and not by the Law, in the book of Galatians. Saved believers are right now RIGHTEOUS at our core being and this works outward into good works in our lives.

That is what Jesus means in context when He says,

“A GOOD TREE cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a CORRUPT TREE bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” Matthew 7:18-20 KJV)

Remember, this whole passage is about false prophets speaking (starting at verse 15). Yet, these are the same works based false salvation teachers today that use Matthew 7, verse 22 and 23 to claim that works are required for salvation and that believers can lose salvation. They are very wrong! If they would only read the previous verses in context.

These verses have confused many when not seen in the proper context of Matthew 7. Some believers today are mistaking these “fruits” with the “fruit bearing” of John 15 which is about being a disciple bearing good fruit and not about salvation.

However,that is NOT the context here in Matthew 7. It simply cannot be so because Jesus had just previously said that the FALSE PROPHETS come in “sheep’s clothing”. They look like they have good works and people would assume that because such a person has good works that they must be a born again believer. That is actually a completely FALSE STATEMENT! Our works have NOTHING to do with how we are justified in salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9). These false prophets are teaching externals, even while using Jesus’ name in doing so. They have missed the Gospel message entirely which is not about good works for righteousness but only faith and belief on Christ alone.

WHAT IS THE FRUIT IN MATTHEW 7 THEN?

So the ‘fruit’ in Matthew 7 is not a person’s WORKS. It is the WORDS these false prophets are teaching! As soon as a teacher is preaching good works for salvation or good works required to remain saved, they are the false teachers being spoken of here by Jesus. They are relying on their works for righteousness or accepting God’s grace but thinking they then need to work to remain saved.

These two false beliefs are actually UNBELIEF. Either a person is BELIEVING and trusting in Christ and HIS FINISHED work having paid for all sins of the world (1 John 2:2) or they are in UNBELIEF and UNSAVED. The unsaved followers of Jesus in Matthew 7 know nothing about the cross Christ will end up upon and I am stating this with passages after the cross for our understanding and application of Matthew 7. Yet, before the cross the Jews did know, and were looking for the appearance of the foretold Messiah, who would become the final payment for the sins of the people. The Pharisees just rejected He is the Messiah but it is true regardless.

Take notice that I am not saying good works after salvation are wrong. NO! Good works after salvation are ‘…UNTO GOOD WORKS..’ but they only come from our NEW SPIRIT and the indwelling Holy Spirit moving outward in our lives in love towards others (Ephesians 2:10). But the works NEVER SAVE ANYONE! Only belief on Christ saves (John 3:14-18, John 6:37-40, 1 Cor. 15:1-4, Eph. 2:8-9, Eph. 1:13-14 etc).

What is the ‘will of the Father’ Jesus is talking about in Matthew 7:21 then? Is this statement by Jesus about our works and good deeds or Law following? Not at all. Jesus is not saying one thing and then another in the same passage of teaching! Look at Jesus’ words to see the truth.

Jesus tells us this in John 6,

“Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that YE BELIEVE ON HIM whom he hath sent.” (John 6:29 KJV)”

39 And this is the FATHERS’s WILL which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this IS THE WILL OF HIM THAT SENT ME, that every one which seeth the Son, and BELIEVETH ON HIM, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” ( John 6:39-40 KJV)

Today we see many false gospels in so called, ‘christian religions’. False gospels such as, ‘works for salvation’, ‘grace plus works’, ‘social gospel’, ‘prosperity gospel’, ‘Lordship Salvation’, and ‘Word of faith, name it to claim it’; all of which are not the Biblical Gospel of our Salvation.

Matthew 18:35: ‘So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you’

Don Gerrity Matthew, Q&A: Difficult Passages June 11, 2018

MATTHEW 18:35 THE UNFORGIVING SERVANT & Eternal Security of The Believer

First the context in Matthew 18 matters and at verse 21 we read a statement just before Jesus tells the Jews the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant,

“21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.” (Matthew 18:21-22 KJV)

The parable of the Unforgiving Servant ends with verse 34-35:

“34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. 35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.” (Matthew 18:34-35 KJV)

There are those ignoring the context and focus of the Gospels based on verse 35. You must admit, verse 24-25 are some harsh words from Jesus right? Does this mean if we do not forgive a person as Jesus forgave us that we will be condemned to hell then and lose Salvation? It is so important to understand that the context here matters greatly. And what is the context in Matthew 18?

First we must realize that passages in the Gospels that are before the cross are addressed directly to the Israelites; the Jewish people and Pharisees of that time who were believing that Law keeping is the way to be favored by God. There are certainly learning to be had in this parable about how believers today should be forgiving others as Christ forgave us but to make verse 34-25 about a believer who loses Salvation is just not in proper context for the Body of Christ.

Jesus is talking to EARLY DISCIPLES (early learners) of His message to the Jews. We see Jesus throughout His earthly ministry burying the people in their own self righteousness. Jesus through His ministry on Earth took the Law of Moses and RAISED it to the strictest of standards. He is showing the Jewish people and the Pharisees the extreme truth that following the Law of Moses as a means to be justified with God is impossible. By showing the extremes of the Law Jesus is preparing them for what is coming and what is coming is the New Covenant of the Grace of God through Christ which Jesus used Apostle Paul to teach to the Gentiles.

Earlier In verse 8 of the same chapter (KJV) Jesus says, “Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.”

And again in verse 9 (KJV) Jesus said, “And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.”

So, are we believers today to do these things? Anyone cutting off their hand or plucking out their eye because we have sin after our moment of Salvation? I certainly hope not because Jesus is not addressing believers in Matthew 18 who have been saved by the Grace of God through Christ Jesus crucified, died and risen. We already know the truth of the Gospel and that is Salvation is not from ourselves, nor our good deeds and Law keeping. Salvation is a GIFT of God that NONE SHOULD BOAST.

Apostle Paul is the one God sent to teach the NEW COVENANT by the Grace of God and he wrote,

“8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV)

In Matthew 18, Jesus is teaching these people that not only is it impossible to keep the Law of Moses for justification with God but that when you look at the extreme of the Law, it is impossible for the Law to justify us with God. In the end, the self righteousness of such a thought is extremely wrong.

This parable is not saying that once a person is saved and forgiven their sins through the atonement of Jesus Christ that their Salvation can be revoked. That would go against so many Scriptures that show we are secure in Christ from the moment of our Salvation. That would even contradict the words of Jesus Himself many times in Scripture.

The way the servant asks the King for mercy and the request to give him more time (be patient) to pay back the debt shows that this individual does not grasp the reality of the situation. He thinks he can pay back the debt of sin in self effort but we cannot repay for our sins ourselves. Only Christ accomplished this for us on the cross. And being forgiven by the King, he then thinks arrogantly and that he is better than others who are sinning and have a sin debt, as if he does not have sin still. And treats them harshly based on their debt as a sinner. Too full of PRIDE just like Satan is. The King calls this servant ‘wicked’ and that is not a term ever used for the Body of Christ, for believers in Christ’s atonement.

God forgave us with the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. It was not just an easy pass. Salvation is a free gift for us to receive without self effort. But for God and Jesus it was hardly free; it was an extremely painful act in love towards us. As a redeemed person we need to have a forgiving heart towards others, even when they sin against you in a vial manner; forgive others to the extreme! Pray that God open their eyes and save them. Only God can do it!

But realize verse 34 and 35 are not directed to saved believers by the Grace of God that Apostle Paul was commissioned by Jesus to teach to us living after Christ died for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD. (1 John 2:2)

“Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And BY HIM ALL THAT BELIEVE ARE JUSTIFIED FROM ALL THINGS, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.” (Acts13:38-39 KJV)

The Parable Of The Unforgiving Servant. Proper Application For Believers.

Matthew 5:48: ‘be perfect’

Don Gerrity Matthew, Q&A: Difficult Passages May 20, 2018

“43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48 KJV)

Is Jesus saying we need to be perfect as God is to be or remain saved? Some are teaching a false Doctrine called ‘Sinless Perfection’ is required for Salvation but that goes against so many Scriptures on Salvation such as Ephesians 2:8-9.

I have added the previous verses to verse 48 so that what I believe to be the proper context is showing us regarding verse 48.

Jesus is showing us that our love should be like God’s love. Hate our enemy? No… love our enemy. He shows us how God makes the sun to rise on evil and good to the just and unjust. This is the love of God.

A love that is UNCONDITIONAL. If we love only those that love us, that is not how God loves. And so, as believers who have the Holy Spirit indwelling, we should also be loving others as God does. We are the light of the world.

When we read BE YE THEREFORE PERFECT, even as your FATHER is in Heaven perfect the meaning is to love others as God loves others and not as the world loves others.

I see no meaning here in context of the passage meaning we must be PERFECT and without any sin. Sinless Perfection while we stll have this Flesh corrupt body is not possible, though we strive to refuse sinning just as Apostle Paul shows us in Romans 7. There is a war within A BELIEVER that an unbeliver doesn not have. We have a new created Spirit since we believed (Eph 1:13-14) Our sinful Flesh is at WAR with our newly created Spirit and as Apostle Paul tells us, we should walk by the Spirit to avoid the lusts of the Flesh. It is a real struggle and we will at times fail.

This does not mean that a person loses their Salvation. The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin to bring us back to what our Spirit really wants. We confess our sin to God, knowing He already paid for the sin on that cross asking Him to help us overcome the temptation when it arises again.

Matthew 10:33: ‘whosoever shall deny me’

Don Gerrity Matthew February 28, 2018

“But whosoever shall DENY me before men, him will I also DENY before my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:33 KJV)

Some read this verse and think to themselves that if we , as believers, deny Christ with our mouth with others, that when Jesus comes, He will deny a believer from entrance into Heaven by revoking their Salvation.

But wait a minute. what about Peter then? Look at Matthew 26:69-75:

“Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee.

But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee. Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.” (Matthew 26:69-75 KJV)

So what happened to Peter after he denied knowing the Lord three times on that night of great despair? Did Jesus deny Peter when He rose from the dead and suddenly appeared in the upper room? NO. In fact, Peter was fully restored and became a leader in the early Church!

So if Matthew 10:33 and later Matthew 26:69-75 are in conflict in the same book then the belief that Jesus will revoke our Salvation at His return cannot be true. We must remember that the Bible had no chapters – that was added later for our studying benefit. Matthew needs to be read as one continuous work to understand passages in proper context.

In fact, using proper context of Jesus own words, we see Jesus is not contradicting Himself in Matthew 10:33 and Matthew 26:34.

The big confusion here lies with the English translation of the word DENY. In the Greek language two different words are used for the English word ‘deny’ comparing Judas and Peter and the types of differing denial of Christ:

The English translation word ‘Deny‘ in Matthew 10:33 in Greek is :

“ἀρνέομαι arnéomai, ar-neh’-om-ahee; perhaps from G1 (as a negative particle) and the middle voice of G4483; to contradict, i.e. disavow, reject, abnegate:—deny, refuse.” – from Strongs.

The word translated as ‘deny‘ in Matthew 10:33 means to REJECT or REFUSE someone whereas the one where Peter ‘denied knowing Christ‘ as Jesus said he would in Matthew 26:34 means to deny being ACQUAINTED with someone. It is a different Greek word:

“ἀπαρνέομαι aparnéomai, ap-ar-neh’-om-ahee; from G575 and G720; to deny utterly, i.e. disown, abstain:—deny.” – From Strongs.

So in Peter’s case, Jesus was not talking the same word in regards to DENY as in Matthew 10.

In Matthew 26:69-74 Peter repeatedly claimed he wasn’t acquainted with Jesus. He wasn’t being truthful, but he wasn’t rejecting or refusing what Jesus was offering, which is the gift of salvation.

Failing to speak up for Christ when we have an opportunity may be wrong and we , as believers may fail in our faith with regret as Peter, but it is not the same as rejecting Salvation through belief in Jesus as The Christ and Messiah, God in the flesh, and what Christ has offered us. This type of denial will not cause Him to reject us either by proper context.

God always looks at our hearts and knows our true beliefs. Failing to acknowledge Christ to every person you meet will not negate your Salvation. It may grieve God as we see that Jesus had prayed for Peter beforehand, knowing how badly it would affect Peter’s faith in his own belief.

Matthew 10:6 shows the proper context for all of Matthew 10 and it is all about unbelievers. The Disciples were being sent out to reach the lost people in Israel who believed in their good works and Law of Moses obeying to save them.

“But go rather to the LOST SHEEP of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 10:6 KJV)

It is these unbelievers that Matthew 10:33 is speaking about. Matthew 10:33 is a warning to those who reject the Gospel of Salvation through the Messiah, Jesus The Christ.

“But whosoever shall DENY me before men, him will I also DENY before my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:33 KJV)“

If someone hears the Gospel and denies Christ as the Messiah and savior, they, as unbelievers, do not have thier sins forgiven and as such will be denied at Christ’s coming.

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The Truth About The Unpardonable Sin; Blasphemy Against The Holy Spirit Of God