FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT

The Apostle Paul one whose teachings seem to be the favorite of many was a man lost until the LORD called him out of darkness on that road to Damascus.

Saul was his name before his life was transformed.

The LORD called Saul twice and he answered saying, Who are you Lord?

Who are you Lord?
That's what I want you to know.
Who The Lord is.

The Lord said, I am Jesus who you are trying to put to flight.
Saul was trying to drive away the teaching of our Saviour.
With much hostility he tried to harass, trouble and mistreat those who believed in and taught the way of Christ, who is the only way to God The Father.

If you know me and have looked into my eyes, you know that I am not timid and the only thing that flees is the devil in the path of righteousness.

Jesus spoke to Saul saying,
But rise, and stand up on your feet: for I have come to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things that you have seen, and of the things which I will show you;

Delivering you from the Gentiles, of whom now I will send you as their teacher,
To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
Acts 22:14-18

Sanctified by Faith In Christ.
Not sanctified by your lifestyle your lifestyle is changed by your sanctification In Christ.

I wrote yesterday about the truth of homosexuality and how no man or woman is born gay.
I didn't write this as an attack but it was written for learning.

I want to be sure that this is understood and that homosexuality not be looked upon as a greater sin than that of covetousness, idolatry, love of money, extortion, hate/murder, being a busy body in other men's matters, lying, perjury, or those who reduce free men to slaves.

Because for some reason there are groups of folks who think that homosexuality trumps their sin and is a greater abomination to God.
Sin is sin.
Proverbs 6:16-19; Revelation 21:8, Revelation 22:15

So many instead of seeking to study the Word would rather debate and listen to someone else who hasn't understood.

LISTEN
Because before I studied the whole text in context I did the same thing.
I plucked out Romans 1:21-28 and omitted to read Romans 1:29-31, Romans 2:1-3, Romans 3:19-28.

I would pluck out 1 Corinthians 6:9 and neglect verse 10 and neglect to study
1 Corinthians 5:1-13.

I would pluck out 1 Timothy 1:10 without understanding 1 Timothy 1:5-9.

I would pluck out Ephesians 5:10,11 without studying what it was there for by understanding all Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:1-8.
Break down everything that he said.

Entirety, in context.
What all was he saying?

This is what Saul did before the Lord shined a bright light that shook him at his core.
In all of his religion he failed to understand the whole counsel of God.

I want you to understand something you who have pledged an allegiance to the Word and are ignorant of it.
You need to understand why Paul was writing when he wrote to the churches.
If it's a letter to the church what does that make those who received the letter?
Saved.

He's not talking to the lost.
Paul is talking to professed saints.
But we like to take the words written to saints out of context and bark them at the lost man.

Those words are for us first.
Our job is to pull them out of the fire first.
That can't be done apart from the knowledge of God.

We will have to answer to The Father for why the homosexual was bent over with this issue and infirmity and hindered from coming to Him.
It's satan that has them bound like he has any who are so stuck in their own pride bound.

Because they hadn't heard and understood the truth about the love and compassion of Jesus.
Because they hadn't learned how they were formed when they do if they are not taught to continue in the word the enemy comes and steals it.

The enemy steals it with doctrine that is contrary.

You ask how else have we hindered them?

By trying to legislate change.
The law brings the knowledge of sin not the ability to change.
The law is good when it's used lawfully for the purpose in which it was given.

You can be adamant in the belief that you have changed because the law was legislated to you, but it is the goodness of God that leads men to change their way of thinking and in turn their way of living.

What is the goodness of God you ask?

It is His teaching in Holy Scripture.
Written that we would all repent and turn to Him.
Romans 2:1-4
But when a Christian despises that goodness of God he judges the sinner instead of leading the sinner to God.

Jude teaches us about keeping our selves in the love of God and pulling them out of the fire.
The Holy Spirit teaches this.

The sin has already been judged wrong by the law, the law has done it's job.
They need to know that while they are sinners, Christ died for them who are ungodly so that they could be made the righteousness of God In Him who knew no sin yet became sin for them.

That Jesus Christ is the fulfilling of the law that cleanses and changes the heart.

Even when a law is passed that states that it is illegal to commit hate crimes, that legislation does nothing for the root cause of hate in the heart of the perpetrator.

Just because we pass a law that says it's illegal to discriminate against another for whatever reason, has that law done anything to work genuine change in the heart of those who discriminate?
No
The heart remains corrupt because the law has no power to convert a man.
You can see this in the hearts of terrorist's and life time criminals.

It was the heart of the racist who denied blacks the right to vote, even when the law was passed hatred continued to make it difficult for that law to be enforced properly.

Outwardly these folks looked as if their lifestyle was exemplary but inwardly they were ravenous wolves full of dead men's bones.

Hearts filled with murder, wearing white gloves,red lipstick, silk stockings, perfume and Sunday morning church hats. Playing baseball in the yard with their sons,working on the car on Friday evening, fishing on Saturday and meeting in church Sunday.

I watched the history of Antisemitism in America and how even quotas didn't remove the hatred for the Jewish people in this nation.

And even with the change of times the hatred in the heart of those who hold certain beliefs have not gone away.
It is masked.

Can you all understand this?
The reason that I use racism and antisemitism as examples are because the root of these are envy and hatred birthed out of ignorance and fear.

You can't happy thought these things away.

The root is the perversion created by the enemy.
The core of these things has to be uncovered.

This is not about accepting sin or tolerating sin in any form.

The honor and reverence of the Lord is to hate evil, pride, arrogance and the evil way, and the mouth that speaks deceitfully and fraudulently.

Nowhere is wickedness and evil found more prevalent than in those who don't understand or have knowledge of God.

Y'all don't want to hear this because of conscious, you are too busy trying to suppress your own sin and prove your self right, so you want to try and flip the script by speaking positive and believe that your good works will put me to shame.

But your good works are not good works when those who are bound remain that way.

You would rather talk about Jingle Bells and how to get out of debt.
Money doesn't answer all things.
But the root cause is needful to be understood.

Justification and Righteousness is not simply by faith, it's by faith In Christ Jesus.
Our lifestyle cannot save us our lifestyle is changed as a result of understanding the way God formed us, how He loves us and His plan for men.

If Saul's' lifestyle could have changed him, no light would have had to be shined on him on his way to persecute the truth.

If the rich young rulers lifestyle could have save him why did he even approach Jesus for answers?

If Nicodemus in all of his religious fervency and living a chaste lifestyle had the power to redeem him from hell, why would he go by night to inquire of the Saviour what is it that I must do to take off this yoke that satan has placed about my neck?

In order for all men, Christians included to have the opportunity to survive the judgment of God, the truth must be told.

The LORD our Saviour said,
To open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me(Christ)

If you have chosen homosexuality The LORD is talking about you.

Consider these words, stay with it because the Lord has placed you on my heart and I will be writing to you as He instructs me.

Prayerfully ask the Holy Spirit to walk you through and help you to understand the scriptures that are written in this blog today.

I want you to know that God made you to walk and talk with Him and that He desires that you run to Him and not away.

Don't allow the ignorance and pride of men to turn you from The Father.

The LORD spoke to the prophet Jeremiah and told him,
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart...
Jeremiah 1:5

Don't allow the devil to cheat and deceive you out of your birthright like he did the first family.
Saul was living a life outside of God's will and he teaches that it was through ignorance, learn about him.

Paul said that it's only when men are ignorant of God's righteousness do they go about to establish their own.

It's when you don't know.
Love Y'all :)

SDWGTMTD