Colin,
My children are still below the ages of 5 so they are not accountable yet. It is my goal to train them up in the Lord like you said. I know that verse very well. I am like you said in a real spiritual warfare so prayer is much appreciated. thankyou so much my brother in Christ.

Well………….

Why was the New Testament written? Why did the Apostles and their fellow believers take the time to write the 27 books of the New Testament? Why did the Spirit of God preserve those books to this very day?

The simple answer to this question is yes we do – and we had 13 of them plus other believers who give us that fellowship even today through the things they wrote about the Lord Jesus Christ.

But, to the question of “do we need living apostles today to continue to have fellowship w/ Jesus?”,

the answer to that is NO.

The Apostle John summed up in his 1st epistle that one of the reasons he and the others wrote was so that we may have fellowship with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ.

“We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.”(1 John 1:3-4)

Mary, I just wanted to briefly share this verse of Scripture with you as an encouragement in helping teach your children about the grace and love of Jesus.

I have not seen my own mother since I was 12 years old, I am now 25. Although I knew her for now less than half my life, the things she planted in me when I was young are continuing to grow and starting to blossom.

I attended a Catholic church with my own mother when I was young, but I learned more from her than I ever did in sunday school. She taught me the Bible, not the Catholic catechism. She showed me Scripturally how to discern between truth and error, and how to truly know about the never ending love of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. The first thing I remember her teaching me was from the story of Cain and Abel, and she related Cain’s error to the error of many who deny the Grace of Christ who shed His blood for us by attempting to earn their way on their own.

Only when I was older and after much prayerful study, this verse was illuminated for me and God showed me it’s meaning and the value of those early years.

“Train a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old he will not turn from it.”

From even the little tiny seed she planted, when I was presented with the “revelations” of LLDM’s “apostles”, I was able to see past the facade and discern the truth of the Bible from the error of man’s word.

My prayers are with you, Mary. May God richly bless you.

Sum is 100% correct. Once a person comes to know about the true Christ Jesus, and they come to trust in Him, they are sealed with the Holy Spirit. And they are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. I (and I’m sure others here) will be praying for you, and for your children.

If they truly believe in the Resurrected Christ in their hearts, the Holy Spirit will protect them from all false teachers and they can never be deceived.

“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”(1 John 4:4)

I don’t have any family in LLDM, but I do have very close and very dear friends who are being deceived. I can’t imagine the spiritual warfare that occurs in yours or Christopher’s lives, with the man or woman you love on the other side of the spiritual fence.

Bless your heart, Mary, for praying for the children. My heart also breaks when I see their innocent faces and realize they don’t know any better and, as children do, will believe as they are taught.

The “divine election” of SJF is what is preached in LLDM, not the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Well, I have news for LLDM Members – not only is the Gospel not preached by SJF, but the doctrine of “divine election” as taught by LLDM, is not Biblical.

What I would like to do is address the true Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the true doctrine of divine election by comparing the “election” doctrine of LLDM, and the “election” doctrine of the Bible.

All you need to tell the difference is the introduction to the Epistle to the Romans. I remember reading the entire book of Romans within a few hours last summer, and realizing that it’s so complete and comprehensive – you could remove all other books from the Bible, and still probably learn everything you need from just the book of Romans. As with most of the letters of Paul and most the epistles of the New Testament, tremendous statements are made in just a very few words.

Paul covers the Christian doctrine of “divine election” in great detail within just the first 7 verses of this marvelous epistle.

“Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God”(Romans 1:1)

If you look this up in your Bible, you should notice, first of all, in this verse that the little verb “to be” is in italics. That means it’s not in the manuscripts – it’s not in the original. It should be

“Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,”

Paul identifies himself in this letter first of all, as a servant. The Greek word is ‘duolos’ and it literally means a ‘bond-slave’ of Jesus Christ. Now, Paul is an apostle, but first of all, he calls himself a ‘bondslave’.

That’s very important to see for the very simple reason that Paul took that place willingly. The Lord Jesus Christ, my friends, has loved us and He has given Himself for us. But the very interesting thing is He never makes you be His servant at all. You have to come to Him voluntarily, and make yourself a slave of The Lord Jesus Christ. That is something that is wonderful beyond measure.

When He saves you, why, He won’t force you to serve Him. If you notice, He even said to Jerusalem “Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem! How many times I would have gathered you just like a mother hen gathers her little chicks under her wing. But you would not.” And the Lord Jesus said on one occasion, remember He said “You will not come to me that you might have life.”

He won’t force you, see? You have to do this on your own. You have to come to Him, but when you do, you have the privilege of making yourself a bond-slave of Jesus Christ.

Remember when Paul was saved, what was said to him on the Damascus road? First of all, Paul asked “Who art thou, Lord?” His answer – “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.” Paul came to know Him as his Savior. And then, his question was “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” That is the one, and that is the time he made himself a bond-slave of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is something that is quite wonderful.

Now, notice that he also says here that he is not only a bond-slave of the Lord Jesus Christ, but he is an apostle. And he is a called apostle. That doesn’t mean he was called “to be” an apostle, it means that this is the kind of apostle that he was. The Lord Jesus Christ had called him an apostle, and he was called into that office. He didn’t choose it, the Lord Jesus Christ told him that he was to be his witness. And this man now, first of all, he made himself a servant – a bondslave – of Jesus Christ. But now he is a called apostle.

Now, and apostle is one who had seen the Resurrected Christ (Acts 1:21-26); Paul had seen Him (Acts 9). Paul tells us in his first letter to the church in Corinth “And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.”(1 Corinthians 15:8). But also, there was another mark of an apostle, an apostle had what we would call “sign gifts.”

Paul said “Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds.”(2 Corinthians 12:12) – Paul confirmed his claims by performing signs, wonders and miracles. He did not just ask for blind faith based on how you *feel* about him (As Samuel Joaquin Flores does).

Paul was an apostle, he had the gift of healing. Now today, God does heal, but he doesn’t give that gift to men today. But Paul had that gift. And he not only had the gift of healing – he could raise the dead. That was another mark of an apostle. Peter raised the dead, Paul raised the dead. Has SJF?

Now, Paul is a bond-slave of Jesus Christ. He is a called apostle. And the 3rd thing that’s said about him here – Paul was separated UNTO the gospel of God. I want you to notice this because this is a remarkable thing.

He was separated “unto”, not separated from anything. But separated UNTO the gospel of God. It’s God’s gospel because he originated it. I didn’t think it up, no man thought it up.

2,000 years ago, the Lord did not say “well, I know it’s time for Jesus to go into the world, but maybe Colin won’t like it. Maybe he has a better program, let’s wait till he gets here.” He didn’t do that at all.

I got here and the gospel had already been in existence for over 1900 years, and it’s God’s gospel. And He said to me “take it or leave it.” And BTW, He’s saying that to you – you take it or leave it. He originated the gospel.

But Paul says he’s separated unto the gospel, not separated “from” anything, but separated “unto”. This is a very marvelous word, By the way – “separated UNTO”. There are several words that almost have an opposite meaning. For instance – take the word “cleave”, you can cleave to something, or you can cleave a thing asunder. It actually can sometimes mean ‘to join together’, and other times can mean ‘to separate.’ Well, Paul was a separated Christian, but he was separated TO something, not separated FROM anything.

I hear a lot of preaching in LLDM about how they are supposedly separated from so many things – they say they’ve taken this out, they don’t do that or the other. But, my friend, what are you separated UNTO? Not what you’re separated from. The important thing is to be separated UNTO something.

Paul said about the Thessalonians – they had turned to God from idols. They didn’t get up in a meeting and say “Oh, I don’t go to the temple of Apollo any more.” They didn’t need to say that – they were separated UNTO the Lord Jesus. And when you’re separated unto Him, you don’t need to be separated from anything.

You are to be separated unto Christ, and when you are separated unto Christ, then the separation “from” takes place. It’s like when a couple gets married – they are separated unto each other, not separated from everyone else, but separated unto each other. The church is the bride of Christ, and when you’re separated unto the bridegroom, you’re not going to say on the honeymoon “well, I’ve got an old flame in this town, I think I’ll look em up.”

If you’re separated unto the Lord Jesus, then you’re not going to worry about being separated from anything.

And this word for ’separate’ is very interesting. It’s the same word we get our word “horizon” from (Greek ‘aphorizo’), and it means it would be “off horizon.” If you’ve ever been on a plane, you know you can’t see much on the ground. But when the plane takes off, the horizon widens out and you can see everything – mountains, oceans. How wonderful it is to be separated unto Christ! He brings you to the place where your horizons are enlarged and you’re given life in Christ Jesus. How wonderful that new life is!

It brings you to a new place and an appreciation of life. Paul said “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”(1 Corinthians 13:11). There was I time that I recall as a little boy that I used to play house. There were a bunch of girls in the neighborhood, and only a few boys, so in order to play, we played house. Well, there came a day when I outgrew that and I went out and played baseball instead. And the girls would say “let’s play house,” and I’d say “no, I’m not interested in playing house, I’m playing catcher here on the team. I’m not interested in that.” – A new horizon.

And I don’t play baseball too much anymore, but the thing is I’m interested in something else – horizons have widened out. And if you come to Christ, you’re separated unto Him. Separation doesn’t mean you’re drawn in and you become little and narrow. It means, my friend, that your life is broadened out, and there are so many wonderful things you can do as a child of God. And you can have an appreciation of things today.

May I say to you that it is thrilling to live in Christ. What a glorious, marvelous thing it is! And Paul was separated unto the gospel of God, and he said the gospel is not something brand new. Paul says now:

“(Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)”(Romans 1:2)

And that means that if you go back into the Old Testament, that it was promised all the way through the Old Testament. And it is a message that God loves – that’s good news! That God loves mankind, what a wonderful thing that is! It brings you into a love relationship.

If you read all the way through this epistle to the Romans, you find out that Salvation is a love affair. He loved us and we love Him because He first loved us.

Next, Paul makes one of the greatest statements in this Epistle, and we are told what the Gospel is that was promised in the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament:

“Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;”(Romans 1:3)

The word for ‘concerning’ is the little preposition ‘peri.’ That root is in ‘periscope’ and ‘perimeter’, and it just means that which encircles. The Gospel is all about Jesus Christ, it’s what He has done. It’s His work, and it’s Jesus Christ our Lord. That is His wonderful name, and the Gospel is about what He has done.

A gentleman from LLDM recently said to me that what I need is to have the “religion of Jesus. But, well – He had no religion. He doesn’t need one. He is God. And I felt like saying to this gentleman “no, what you need is a religion that’s ABOUT Jesus.” The Gospel is all about Him, it surrounds Him. It’s what He’s done. Jesus Christ – actually He is God. He cannot worship, He came to be worshipped.

Now, someone may say “but He prayed.” Well, He took the place of humanity. And He did that actually for your sake and for my sake. When He prayed, He did it as a means of accomodation. What I mean is this – remember at the grave of Lazarus?

“Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.”(John 11:41-42)

My friend, He prayed for your benefit and my benefit, to help our faith. But He is the Lord – Jesus Christ. Now, there’s something else wonderful said about Him here – He is the seed of David according to the flesh. That’s the humanity of Jesus.

“and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”(Romans 1:4)

Once again, the little verb for “to be” is not in the original manuscript in this verse. He was declared the Son of God. (not declared “to be”, because He always was). He’s declared the Son of God with power.

You see, the Resurrection didn’t make Him the Son of God, it just revealed what He already was. And we actually have here the same word “horizon” that we had before. He’s ‘declared’, He’s ‘horizoned’ the Son of God. We have here the perfect humanity of Christ, and also the perfect Deity of Christ. He’s not any more man because He’s God, and He’s not any less God because He’s man. He is the “The-anthropic” Person – the God/Man.

Now, it’s according to the Spirit of holiness – a clear reference to the Holy Spirit. We have the Trinity set before us here. It’s concerning His (the Father) Son Jesus Christ. And He is declared the Son of God, with power according to the Spirit of holiness (the Holy Spirit). And it’s by the Resurrection from the dead.

May I say, the Resurrection proves everything He claimed. It is that which confirms to us that He is the Son of God. The Resurrection proves His claims, and it sets Him forth. We have the Trinity set before us here, and we have the Deity of Christ set before us here also.

And, we have the virgin birth set before us here. He is the seed of David according to the flesh. That’s the reason we have 2 genealogies. One is in Matthew – that’s of Joseph, He got the legal title from Joseph.

But He got the blood from Mary, because He’s in the line of Mary, and that’s her genealogy in the Gospel of Luke.

I hope by now, any one reading has discovered the importance of this section of Scripture called the book of Romans – it’s really a guide to all true Christian doctrines. It’s very important.

It’s the Gospel that was promised before by the prophets in the Old Testament. And it’s the gospel of God because He originated it, I didn’t think it up and neither did Paul. And it’s a gospel that ‘concerns’ His Son Jesus Christ our Lord. And that little word ‘concern’ means it’s all around Him, it’s all about Him. It’s a Person.

Today, there is a difference between ‘religion’, and real Christianity. Christianity actually is not a religion, it’s a Person and that Person is Jesus Christ. “Concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.”

And Paul presents the virgin birth here “He was made of the seed of David.” You see, Jesus was conceived in Mary’s womb by the Holy Spirit before she had known a man’s touch. But He was born of the sperm of David. How? Mary was a descendant of King David. That’s why the Old Testament is written the way it is. It’s big on genealogies – who gave birth to whom. The Christ was promised to come in the line of David, and according to His human side – Jesus was the son of a descendant of David’s line. She had royal blood, but she was not royalty. “He was made of the seed of David according to the flesh.” My friend, this is His humanity.

He was virgin born because He is declared, He’s marked out, He’s horizoned, not to be but He is the Son of God with power. And all of this according to the Spirit of holiness by the Resurrection from the dead. The Resurrection of the Lord Jesus confirms everything, it proves everything.

If you read the Bible through – from Genesis to Malachi, to Matthew to Revelation, you will find that it presents the Lord Jesus Christ in the power of His Resurrection. He’s seen in the days of His flesh walking on the earth. He’s despised and rejected by man, even walking in weakness where He sits down and rests at a well. He’s finally brought to humiliation and shame and death on that cursed cross. That’s where we see Him first. But although He was a man with many sorrows and grief, there came a time when He was raised from the dead! And it’s accurate when He said “You are from beneath, I am from above. You are of this world, I am not of this world.”

And so that body came forth from the grave, death cannot keep it’s prey – Jesus my Savior. The days of walking through the dusty roads of that land are over now, and He came back from the dead in Mighty Power. And that is the thing that proves His virgin birth and that He is exactly who He claimed to be. And the other great truth here – we see Him as the Resurrected Christ today, presently seated at the right hand of God, interceding today for His church, for believers; and giving them power and comforting them.

What does the Resurrected Christ mean to you today, my friend? That is the most important thing. Is the Living Christ one you are having contact with?

Because of His Resurrection, we know that He is coming back as the judge and the King. King of kings and Lord of lords, He is going to put down sin and the devil, and He is going to reign in righteousness on this earth. He is going to judge the earth, and He is going to judge mankind.

That’s what Paul said, he said “We ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold or silver or stone gravened by art and man’s device.” And “The times of this ignorance God winked at, but now commands all men everywhere to repent. Because He has appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom He has ordained, whereas He has given assurance to all men in that He has raised Him from the dead.”

May I say to you, my friend that a most solemn fact is that because Jesus Christ came back from the dead, you will one day have to stand before Him. You will either stand before Him as one who has trusted Him as your Savior, or you will stand before Him in judgement. And the very fact that you have not accepted Him, means that the condemnation of God must be upon you.

The Resurrection is the pledge and guarantee that you are going to have to face the Lord Jesus Christ. You cannot stand before Him in your own righteousness. You must be condemned to a lost eternity unless you trust Him as your Savior, my friend. Oh how important and how thrilling this is! Now, Paul goes on to say here:

“Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name,”(Romans 1:5)

Notice this – “Through Him we have received grace…” God saves us by grace. I have been saved by grace – that’s God’s method of Salvation. We never would have been saved if God had not been gracious. “…and apostleship…” Now this means that there were (past tense), those who were technically Apostles.

But every believer is a “sent one”, that’s what “apostelo”, Apostle means. One who has been sent, one who is a witness, one who has a message. “Through Him we have received grace and apostleship…” – and your life ought to be counting somewhere today. You ought to be doing something to get the Word of God out today. I confess, I do get wearied in it sometimes, but I’m thrilled by it!

What are you doing to get the Word of God out today? That is the church’s business and it is every believer’s business.

“for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name,” Now, God saves us by faith, not by works. But after God has saved you, He wants to talk to you about your good works, my friend. And about your obedience to Him. There is a huge difference between this “believism” that a lot of the world talks about and Genuine Saving Faith. A lot of people talk about “I believe in Jesus,” but then they live like the devil and seem to be serving him. Saving Faith makes you obedient to the LORD Jesus Christ.

There surely is a difference between “faith” and “Saving faith”. You see, it’s the object of your faith – the object of Saving Faith is Christ. Faith in SJF will not do anything to save you.

Let me put it like this – I believe in Thomas Jefferson. I think he was a good man – 3rd president, author of the Declaration of Independence. And I believe in Jesus Christ.

Now, faith in Thomas Jefferson has never done anything for me. He doesn’t have a thing to do with my salvation, and very little to do with my life. But faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is something else. That’s saving faith.

And when you have Saving Faith, you are brought to the place where you surrender to the Son of God who loved you and gave himself for you.

Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Joaquin, Aaron Joaquin – none of them ever died on a cross for me. There’s only 1 who loved me enough to do that for me.

Doctrine is important – it’s all important. And you couldn’t be the salt of the earth without combining the 2 – Saving Faith and Good Works.

Ever think about what goes into salt? Salt is made up of 2 poisons – sodium, and chloride. You take sodium by itself, and it will poison you. Chloride by itself is poisonous. But if you put the 2 together – you have salt. That’s something that’s very important for us to see – The Gospel is for the obedience of faith, my beloved. That is Saving Faith and that is what Paul is talking about.

Now, Paul makes clear the Christian doctrine of “divine election”, he says:

“among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;”(Romans 1:6)

“among whom you also are the called” – well, Paul’s talking about the “elect” here isn’t he? Yes, that’s right. Who are the called? The called are those who heard, some don’t hear. The Lord Jesus made it very clear, He said “My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me.”

My friend, if you are following somebody else, or something else, then you just have not heard Him. He must not be your shepherd, because He said “my sheep hear my voice.”

And they’re the ones who are called, I don’t care about arguing over “election.” It’s as simple as this – He calls, and you answer. And if you haven’t answered, you’re not the elect. If you have answered, you’re the elect.

And that’s just about as far as my poor simple mind can follow that, by the way. That is exactly what Paul is talking about here – “the called of Jesus Christ.” Then, he says:

“To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”(Romans 1:7)

Isn’t that lovely? God loves those in Rome. “beloved of God,” isn’t that wonderful? And here we have it “called to be saints”, well that doesn’t get any clearer and once again that little verb “to be” is not in the better manuscripts. They’re called saints. This is the name for every believer.

Actually, a saint is not one who has been exalted, a saint is one who exalts Jesus Christ. There’s a big difference, by the way. You don’t make saints by exalting mankind, a person becomes a saint when he exalts Jesus Christ, and He becomes His Savior.

So really, there’s only 2 categories of people in the world – “the saints”, and “the ain’ts.” You’re a saint if you’ve trusted Christ. It’s not your character that makes you a saint, it’s your faith in Jesus Christ.

Now will you notice how Paul concludes his intro? It’s the same way I’m going to now conclude this post, because I wish the same for all of you reading this. My beloved:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.