Peter Exhorts the Persecuted Believers Volume 41

 Suffering for Jesus Part 11

1 Peter 4:3-5 "For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you: Who shall give account to Him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead." KJV Note: AMP=Amplified Bible; ESV=English Standard Version

Here are these same verses of 1 Peter 4:3-5 as translated by the ESV=English Standard Version: "For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; but they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead."

Here are these same verses of 1 Peter 4:3-5 as translated by the AMP=Amplified Bible: "For the time already past is [more than] enough for doing what the [unsaved] Gentiles like to do—living [unrestrained as you have done] in a course of [shameless] sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties, and wanton idolatries. In [connection with] all this, they [the unbelievers] are resentful and surprised that you do not [think like them, value their values and]run [hand in hand] with them into the same excesses of dissipation and immoral freedom, and they criticize and abuse and ridicule you and make fun of your values. But they will [have to] give an account to Him who is ready to judge and pass sentence on the living and the dead."

The writers of the New Testament were men born with the same corrupt nature as you and I, also as well as all human beings born into the earth realm. They as well as we received this corruption to our nature from our earthly Father Adam when he sinned against God in the Garden of Eden. Therefore, how utter ridiculous and foolish it is for people who have rejected, refused, or resisted God/Jesus to declare that the Bible was written by mere men 🚹, when we see that the words of the Bible condemn, compel, and command men to a higher 👆way of life or living on the earth 🌎. No sinful man would write these words from his fractured, filthy, and fallen mind. Every natural man and woman (1 Corinthians 2:14) loves to indulge in the gratification of their flesh in the very things that the Apostle Peter here writes that the born again son or daughter of God must desist, destroy, and denounce in their/our lives. It is obvious that the Bible is written by the Spirit of God through men who were inhabited by Him and moved along by Him to write 📝what is the Divine Will of God. So, we have here these words written by the Apostle Peter as he was inspired by the Holy Spirit of God, that is to mean as God's Holy and Divine Word was breathed into Him giving to all of us His sons and daughters what His will for us is and what it is not, as it is written, "For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you: Who shall give account to Him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead." (1 Peter 4:3-5) (KJV). Peter wants to remind us of the filthiness of our past lives before we were resurrected from spiritual death by our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ. Peter knew himself to be a vile and wretched sinner before Christ chose him as one of His Apostles, as we remember him speaking these words to our Lord Jesus directly, "But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, 'Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.'" (Luke 5:8) (ESV). Peter spoke these words right after our Lord Jesus had performed a miracle of several boat loads of fish caught in their nets after they had spent all night fishing and catching not one fish. Peter at that very moment knew that he was in the presence of Almighty God and acknowledged his extreme sinfulness to Him/Jesus. However, now this Peter writing to us is filled with the Holy Spirit and empowered by God the Holy Spirit to live a higher form of life on the earth 🌎, as is everyone of God's 'born ones', so Peter communicates to us that that old man 👨and old woman 👩must be put to death by us in the power of the Holy Spirit that we would 'walk in newness of life' (Romans 6:4). The Apostle Peter list six (6) types of sin that were a natural and normal part of many of our lives before we were 'delivered from the power or domain of darkness' (Colossians 1:13) and that none of them should be a part of our way of living 'in Christ' now at all: (1) Peter declares the English word 'lasciviousness' which is translated by the Greek word aselgeia which means morbid sexual desire or a propensity to lewdness; indulgence in sensual pleasure; every species of lechery, lewdness, and impurity. (2) Peter declares the English word 'lusts' which is translated by the Greek word epithumia which means a longing (especially for what is forbidden): - concupiscence (sexual desire), lust (after); strong irregular appetites, and desires of all kinds. (3) Peter declares the English phrase 'excess of wine' which is translated by the Greek word oinophlugia (which is used this one time only in the entire New Testament) meaning an overflow (or surplus) of wine, that is, (drunkenness): - excess of wine; to be hot, or to boil; to be inflamed with wine; they were in continual debauches. (4) Peter declares the English word 'revellings' which is translated by the Greek word kōmos which means a carousal (as if a letting loose): - rioting; lascivious feastings, with drunken songs. (5) Peter declares the English word 'banquetings' which is translated by the Greek word potos (which is used this one time only in the entire New Testament) meaning a drinking bout or carousal: - banqueting; wine feasts, drinking matches. (6) Peter declares the English phrase 'abominable idolatries' which is translated by the Greek words athemitos eidōlolatreia which means illegal; by implication flagitious (extremely wicked, deeply criminal, brutal or cruel): - abominable, unlawful thing; image worship (literally or figuratively): - idolatry; that is, the abominations practised at their idol feasts, where they not only worshipped the idol, but did it with the most impure, obscene, and abominable rites. Now Peter was here speaking of the things done during the era or time in which he lived. These same type of sins are practiced today, just in different ways than was done in Peter's time ⌚, for example there are still some form of statues that people worship as idols, but we have idol worship today in the form of sporting events, concerts, art museums, cathedrals, plays, and even famous people. The sensual and sexual sins are the same in every era and generation, so to is the use of alcohol and now all kinds of drugs and toxins used to alter the chemicals in the brain making people act or behave in very weird and lude ways. Peter wants to stir up the born again son and daughter of God the Father to put away all of these things that were present in our former selves when we knew not God, even as Paul the Apostle wrote these words to the Colossian Church ⛪, "Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them." (Colossians 3:2-7) (ESV). Paul the Apostle also wrote these words to the Church ⛪@ Rome, "The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." (Romans 13:12-14) (ESV). You see there is a war at hand and we are to be soldiers of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 2:3-4) waging warfare against our old nature and yielding to the Spirit of God and our new nature we were given by Christ when we were 'born again of incorruptible seed by the Word of God' (1 Peter 1:23) and live the higher life being true 'partakers of the Divine Nature' (2 Peter 1:4). They who think we are strange or odd or weird that we do not listen and walk after the lies believed and lived out by today's so-called 'Progressive Christians' who are not true Christians at all will mock us and call us hateful and bigots because we believe the truth and design and desire to walk and live after the truth of the Word of God the actual Word of Truth, for they are those who have done exactly what the Apostle Paul wrote to Brother Timothy and warned him to look out for even during his time ⌚and nothing has changed since then, as it is written, "Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared," (1 Timothy 4:1-2) (ESV). A seared conscience is a dead conscience that can no longer discern between good and evil 😈. Let us remember that man's corrupt nature without the influence of the Spirit of God always wants what is against God and truth, for this is true for every generation and era of mankind, as it is written here, "What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 1:9) (ESV). We must commit ourselves to being good stewards of the grace of God. Amen!!!

Here is what Alexander MacLaren had to say of this passage of Scripture from the Apostle Peter 1 Peter 4:3-5, "The sins in view are those most closely connected with ‘the flesh’ in its literal meaning, amongst which are included ‘abominable idolatries,’ because gross acts of sensual immorality were inseparably intertwined with much of heathen worship. These sins of flesh were especially rampant among the luxurious Asiatic lands, to which this letter was addressed, but they flooded the whole Roman empire, as the works of poets like Martial and of moralists like Epictetus equally show. But New York or London could match the worst scenes in Rome or Ephesus, and perhaps would not be far behind the foul animalism of Sodom and Gomorrah. Lust and drunkenness are eating out the manhood of our race on both sides of the Atlantic, and, if we have ‘the same mind’ as the suffering Christ, we shall put on the armour for war to the knife with these in society, and for the rigid self-control of our own animal nature. Observe the strong motives which Peter just touches without expanding. A sad irony lies in his saying that the time past may suffice. The flesh had had enough of time given to it,—had not God a right to the rest? The flesh should have had none; it had had all too much. Surely the readers had had enough of the lower life, more than enough. Were they not sick of it, ‘satisfied’ even to disgust? Let us look back on our wasted years, and give no more precious moments to serve the corruptible flesh. Further, the life of submission to the animal nature is characteristic of ‘the Gentiles,’ and in sharp contrast, therefore, to that proper to Christ’s followers. That is as true to-day, in America and England, as ever it was. Indeed, as wealth has increased, and so-called ‘civilisation’ has diffused material comforts, senseless luxury, gluttony, drunkenness, and still baser fleshy sins, have become more flagrantly common in society which is not distinctively and earnestly Christian; and there was never more need than there is to-day for Christians to carry aloft the flag of self-control and temperance in all things belonging to ‘the flesh.’ If we have the mind of Christ, we shall get the same treatment from the world which Peter says that the primitive Christians did from the idolaters round them. We shall be wondered at, just as a heathen stared with astonishment at this strange, new sect, which would have nothing to do with feasts and garlands and wine-cups and lust disguised as worship. The spectacle, when repeated to-day, of Christians steadfastly refusing to share in that lower life which is the only life of so many, is, perhaps, less wondered at now, because it is, thank God! more familiar; but it is not less disliked and ‘blasphemed.’ A total abstainer from intoxicants will not getye therefore of sound mind.’ The prospect of that end will sweep away many illusions as to the worth of the enjoyments of sense, and be a bridle on many vagrant desires. Self-control in all regions of our nature is implied in the word. Our various faculties are meant to be governed by a sovereign will, which is itself governed by the Divine will; and, if we see plain before us the dawning of the day of the Lord, the vision will help to tame the subordinate parts of ourselves, and to establish the supremacy of the spirit over the flesh. One special form of that general self-control is that already enjoined,—the suppression of the animal appetites, especially the abstinence from intoxicants. That form of self-control is especially meant by the second of these exhortations, ‘Be sober.’ How could a man lift the wine cup to his lips, and drown his higher nature in a flood of drunken riot, if the end, with its solemnities of judgment, blazed before his inner eye? But this self-command is inculcated that we may be fi

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...

Sincerely in Christ,

Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…

Peter Exhorts the Persecuted Believers Volume 40

 Suffering for Jesus Part 10

1 Peter 4:1-2 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. KJV Note: AMP=Amplified Bible; NKJV-New King James Version

The Apostle Peter now urges those early Jewish converts to Christ who had and were being persecuted vehemently for their leaving Judaism and becoming followers of the Risen Christ to not only endure the outward sufferings from others, but to suffer internally by fighting against the sins of their former lives before they were born again of incorruptible seed by the Word of God (1 Peter 1:23). Peter's words here are likewise for us today and for all truly born again sons and daughters of Christ in every generation and era since the Cross, declaring to them and to us these words, "Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God." (1 Peter 4:1-2) (KJV). In the very first phrase of this verse, Peter says 'Forasmuch then' an English phrase translated by the little Greek word oun is a primary word/adverb meaning certainly or accordingly or likewise then. Certainly what? or Accordingly what? Well Peter makes it perfectly clear what and that is that our Lord Jesus Christ suffered in the physical human body He placed Himself into in order to reconcile us to God, that is, to restore our broken relationship to God because of what Adam did (sin) in the Garden of Eden and passed that sin down to all of us. Christ bore the Wrath of God the Father in/on His Body for us and in our place so the we would not have to and in so doing He has reconciled us with our Father in Heaven, as it is written, "But all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ [making us acceptable to Him] and gave us the ministry of reconciliation [so that by our example we might bring others to Him], that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting people's sins against them [but canceling them]. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation [that is, Note: "Annotations from the Amplified Study Bible, "Ministry of reconciliation. Reconciliation is the change of relation from enmity to peace. We who have been reconciled to God through Christ have the privilege of telling others that they can be reconciled to Him as well. Reconciling the world to Himself. God could change His relationship toward us because our sins have been imputed (charged) to Christ instead of to us. If we believe in Jesus, God counts Jesus' righteousness as our righteousness." Therefore, the Apostle Peter (by the Holy Spirit) commands us to 'arm ourselves likewise with the same mind'. The first English word in this phrase 'arm' is translated by the Greek word hoplizō (which is the only time this word is used here in the entire New Testament) and it means to equip (with weapons [middle voice and figuratively]): - arm self. The last word in this English phrase is 'mind' and it is translated by the Greek word ennoia meaning thoughtfulness, that is, moral understanding: - intent, mind. Well we can recall that the Apostle Paul declares to us what the weapons of our warfare are against the world, our flesh, and the devil and our moral understanding and intention should be regularly as it is written, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your/our obedience is fulfilled." (2 Corinthians 10:3-6) (NKJV). For Peter says that when we arm ourselves with this same mind as our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ, then we will win the battle over our old man 👨or old woman 👩and in so doing we will (as Peter writes it 'ceased' from sin). The little English word 'ceased' used by Peter is translated by the little Greek word pauō (it is a primary verb) meaning to stop 🛑that is, restrain, quit, desist, come to an end: - cease, leave, refrain. We will have to yield our wills to the will of God and come boldly daily to the Throne of Grace to receive grace from Christ Jesus our Lord, as it is written, "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the Throne of Grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

(Hebrews 4:15-16) (NKJV).

Here is what Alexander MacLaren had to say of 1 Peter 4:1-2, "Christ hath suffered in the flesh. That is the great fact which should shape the course of all His followers. But what does suffering in the flesh mean here? It does not refer only to the death of Jesus, but to His whole life. The phrase ‘in the flesh’ is reiterated in the context, and evidently is equivalent to ‘during the earthly life.’ Our Lord’s life was, in one aspect, one continuous suffering, because He lived the higher life of the spirit. That higher life had to Him, and has to us, rich compensations; but it sets those who are true to it at necessary variance with the lower types of life common among men, and it brings many pains, all of which Jesus knew. The last draught from the cup was the bitterest, but the bitterness was diffused through all the life of the Man of Sorrows.

That life is here contemplated as the pattern for all Christ’s servants. Peter says much in this letter of our Lord’s sufferings as the atonement for sin, but here he looks at them rather as the realised ideal of all worthy life. We are to be ‘partakers of Christ’s sufferings’ (5. 13), and we shall become so in proportion as His own Spirit becomes the spirit which lives in us. If Jesus were only our pattern, Christianity would be a poor affair, and a Gospel of despair; for how should we reach to the pure heights where He stood? But, since He can breathe into us a spirit which will hallow and energise our spirits, we can rise to walk beside Him on the high places of heroic endurance and of holy living. Very beautifully does Peter hint at our sore conflict, our personal defencelessness, and our all-sufficient armour, in the picturesque metaphor ‘arm yourselves.’ The ‘mind of Christ’ is given to us if we will. We can gird it on, and if we do, it will be as an impenetrable coat-of-mail, which will turn the sharpest arrows and resist the fiercest sword-cuts.

The last clause of verse 1 is a parenthesis, and, if it is for the moment omitted, the sentence runs smoothly on, especially if the Revised Version’s reading is adopted. The purpose of arming us with the same mind is that, whilst we live on earth, we should live according to the will of God, and should renounce ‘the lusts of men,’ which are in us as in all men, and which men who are not clad in the armour which Christ gives to us yield to. But what of the parenthetical statement? Clearly, the words which follow it forbid its being taken to mean that dead men do not sin. Rather the Apostle’s thought seems to be that such suffering in daily life after Christ’s pattern, and by His help, is at once a sign that the sufferer has shaken off the dominion of sin, and is a means of further emancipating him from it. But the two great thoughts in this paragraph are, that the Christian life is one in which God’s will, and not man’s desires, is the regulating force, and that the pattern of that life and the power to copy the pattern are found in Christ, the sufferer for righteousness’ sake."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...

Sincerely in Christ,

Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…

Peter Exhorts the Persecuted Believers Volume 39

 Suffering for Jesus Part 9

1 Peter 3:21-22 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: Who is gone into heaven, and is on the Right Hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto Him. KJV Note: AMP=Amplified Bible; NKJV-New King James Version

In this very next verse of Scripture here written by the Apostle Peter, he calls what happened for Noah and his family (being saved from the water 💦or flood by virtue of his obedience to God) 'the like figure' of every true born again son or daughter of Christ Jesus our Lord, he says it with these words, "The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: Who is gone into Heaven, and is on the Right Hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto Him." (1 Peter 3:21-22) (KJV). The phrase 'the like figure' is translated by the Greek word antitupon which means a corresponding ('antitype'), that is, a representative, counterpart. This English word 'antitype' means a person or thing represented or foreshadowed by a type or symbol; especially a figure in the Old Testament having a counterpart in the New Testament. Instead of Noah and his family 👪being destroyed by the water 💦,that is the flood, they were saved by or from the water 💦because of Noah's obedience in building the Ark, likewise we true sons and daughters of our Father in Heaven are saved from God's wrath (as His wrath against those disobedient souls then is represented by the flood) by repenting/turning from sin to God through His Ark of safety His Son Jesus Christ the Righteous. Water Baptism should be done by us when we have been born again, born from above, born again of incorruptible seed by the Word of God i.e. it is symbolic of the transformation God the Holy Spirit has made, molded, and modified in our inner man 👨and inner woman 👩. It is our declaration of our now new union with Jesus Christ and is symbolic of His death burial and resurrection from the dead, for just as Christ died (physically) we died (spiritually) with Him to our old man 👨or old woman 👩and just as He was buried, we have now buried our old selves and just as He (Christ) was raised (physically) from death, we too now have been raised from spiritual death, that is, being disconnected from God. God is no longer out there or up there, God is now our Father and we have union with Him and relationship with Him as sons and daughters and fellowship with Him always and anytime through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as it is written by the Apostle Paul with these words to the Ephesians, "Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:20-22) (NKJV). Because of our union with God through Christ our conscience is now cl🌎and all principalities and powers and angels and demons and the devil 👿are subject to Him. Amen!

Here is what Robinson's Word Pictures had to say of 1 Peter 3:21, "Baptism, Peter explains, does not wash away the filth of the flesh either in a literal sense, as a bath for the body, or in a metaphorical sense of the filth of the soul. No ceremonies really affect the conscience (Hebrews 9:13.). Peter here expressly denies baptismal remission of sin." Here is what Vincent's Word Studies had to say of 1 Peter 3:21, "Only here in New Testament. In classical Greek the word means a question and nothing else. The meaning here is much disputed, and can hardly be settled satisfactorily. The rendering answer has no warrant. The meaning seems to be (as Alford), 'the seeking after God of a good and pure conscience, which is the aim and end of the Christian baptismal life.' So Lange: 'The thing asked may be conceived as follows: 'How shall I rid myself of an evil conscience? Wilt thou, most holy God, again accept me, a sinner? Wilt thou, Lord Jesus, grant me the communion of thy death and life? Wilt thou, O Holy Spirilabours and His sufferings upon earth, ascended triumphantly into Heaven, of which see Acts 1:9-11; Mark 16:19. He went to Heaven to receive His own acquired crown and glory (John 17:5), to finish that part of His mediatorial work which could not be done on earth, and make intercession for His people, to demonstrate the fulness of His satisfaction, to take possession of Heaven for His people, to prepare mansions for them, and to send down the Comforter, which was to be the first-fruits of His intercession, (John16:7). 2. Upon His ascension into Heaven, Christ is enthroned at the Hight Hand of the Father. His being said to sit there imports absolute rest and cessation from all further troubles and sufferings, and an advancement to the highest personal dignity and sovereign power. 3. Angels, authorities, and powers, are all made subject to Christ Jesus: all power in Heaven and earth, to command, to give law, issue orders, and pronounce a final sentence, is committed to Jesus, God - man, which His enemies will find to

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...

Sincerely in Christ,

Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…

Peter Exhorts the Persecuted Believers Volume 38

 Suffering for Jesus Part 8

1 Peter 19-20 By which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. KJV Note: AMP=Amplified Bible; NKJV-New King James Version

When we even we who are redeemed, regenerated, and resurrected sons or daughters of our Lord Jesus Christ come to a passage of Scripture as we have written here for us by the Apostle Peter, we must not be so arrogant as to claim that we alone have the true meaning of what Peter is communicating to those early Jewish believers 'in Christ' and make ourselves out to be the singular soul that has been correctly illuminated by God the Holy Spirit. I have read and studied and prayed over these words of Peter as it is written by him, "By which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water." (1 Peter 3:19-20) KJV and I can earnestly say that I am in no wise completely sure as to what Peter truly meant here, but as it is my duty being made a teacher or given the gift and desire of teaching the Word of God 'in truth' by my Lord Jesu📖these words. First, let us realize that the people who were alive on the earth 🌎were not different human beings or human sinners than those before them or after them, however, God was so grieved at the actions of humanity during this time ⌚that it moved Him to act in a manner different than when Cain murdered his brother Abel, for He was surely grieved when Cain did this thing, but perhaps from that first act of bloody murder those who came from Cain multiplied his atrocities to a level that moved God to declare these words as it is written, "The LORD saw that the wickedness (depravity) of man was great on the earth, and that every imagination or intent of the thoughts of his heart were only evil continually (all the day). The LORD regretted (was sorry) that He had made mankind on the earth, and He was [deeply] grieved in His heart. (Genesis 6:5=6) (AMP). So, the Lord God decided to destroy man from the face of the earth 🌎, except for one man (Noah) found favor or grace in the eyes of the Lord God. Why? I do not know, but it was the Sovereign choice of God to save him and his whole family apart from all others on the earth 🌎. Certainly God knew that the wickedness of man would only increase and not decrease, for He is Omniscient. Questioning God's ways, wants, or will is futility upon futility. So, what must we do? Nothing but accept and trust for all His ways are just and perfect. Therefore, this brings us back to 1 Peter 3:19-20. Did our Lord Jesus Christ between His death and resurrection go down into Hades (the realm of the dead) and preach the Gospel to the souls who died in the flood? Well, we know from this same Apostle in 2 Peter 2:5 that he said this of Noah and those destroyed by the flood, "And did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;" (2 Peter 2:5) (NKJV). Noah was 'a preacher of righteousness' according to Peter in his second letter. I must acknowledge that the English word 'went' in 1 Peter 3:19 is translated by the Greek word poreuomai which means to traverse, that is, travel (literally or figuratively; especially to remove [figuratively die], live, etc.): - depart, go (away, forth, one's way, up), (make a, take a) journey, walk. Our Lord Jesus said on the Cross before He died, it is written, "And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, 'Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.' Having said this, He breathed His last.

(Luke 23:46) (NKJV). The Question still remains, where was His Soul those three (3) days and three (3)nights? My answer is I don't know. What do I believe? I believe that God can do anything and by that I mean, if Peter speaks of literal travel by God/Jesus after His body died, then He could have done what it seems Peter is saying He did, however, because Peter in his second letter declares Noah to be 'a preacher of righteousness', it is also more likely that Christ was in Noah (seeing that the Word of God declares this of Noah, "Noah was a righteous man [one who was just and had right standing with God], blameless in his [evil] generation; Noah walked (lived) [in habitual fellowship] with God." (Genesis 6:9) (AMP) ), therefore, for the time it took for Noah and his sons to build the Ark, he preached the Gospel to those who were on the earth at that time ⌚and most likely all the people were moved or compelled to come and see this thing that Noah was doing i.e. building a boat on dry land when it had never rained on the earth 🌎at this time in human history. So, when they came, they heard and they could have repented and entered the Ark.

Here is what Charles W. Draper had to say of this very difficult passage of Scripture (as recorded for us in the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary), "DESCENT INTO HADES Phrase in the Apostles' Creed describing the work of Christ. Acts 2:27 says 'You will not leave My soul in Hades, or allow Your

Holy One to see decay' (HCSB). Acts 2:31 says, 'He was not left in Hades, and His flesh did not experience decay' (HCSB). Ephesians 4:9 says that Christ 'descended to the lower parts of the earth' (HCSB). First Peter 3:19 says Christ 'went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison' (HCSB). Many explanations have been offered for this. The time may be seen as the days of Noah (1 Pet. 3:20) and thus describe the activity of the preexistent Christ or the work of Christ's Spirit through Noah. The time may have been immediately after the death of Christ on the Cross or after the bodily resurrection of Christ. The content of His preaching may have been judgment; it may have been affirmation of His victory over 'angels, authorities, and powers' (1 Pet. 3:22); it may have been release from Sheol or Hades for saints who preceded Him. The spirits may have been the 'sons of God' of Gen. 6:2, the people of Noah's day, OT era sinners, OT people who were true to God, fallen angels (2 Pet. 2:4), or evil spirits (demonic powers) whom Jesus contested in His earthly ministry. The prison may have been Sheol or Hades, special place of captivity for sinners, a place of punishment for fallen angels, a place of security for such angels where they thought they could escape Christ's power, or a place on the way to heaven where the faithful of old waited to hear the message of Christ's final atoning victory. Whatever the detailed explanations, the ultimate effect and purpose is to glorify Christ for His completed work of salvation through His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, demonstrating His Sovereign control of all places and powers.

Here is what Matthew Henry had to say of this difficult passage of Scripture given to us by the Apostle Peter, "The Apostle passes from the example of Christ to that of the old world, and sets before the Jews, to whom he wrote, the different event of those who believed and obeyed Christ preaching by Noah, from those that continued disobedient and unbelieving, intimating to the Jews that they were under a like sentence. God would not wait much longer upon them. They had now an offer of mercy; those that accepted of it should be saved, but those who rejected Christ and the gospel should be as certainly destroyed as ever the disobedient in the times of Noah were.

1. For the explication of this we may notice, (1.) The preacher - Christ Jesus, who has interested himself in the affairs of the church and of the world ever since he was first promised to Adam, Gen_3:15. He went, not by a local motion, but by special operation, as God is frequently said to move, Gen_11:5; Hos_5:15; Mic_1:3. He went and preached, by his Spirit striving with them, and inspiring and enabling Enoch and Noah to plead with them, and preach righteousness to them, as 2Pe_2:5. (2.) The hearers. Because they were dead and disembodied when the apostle speaks of them, therefore he properly calls them spirits now in prison; not that they were in prison when Christ preached to them, as the vulgar Latin translation and the popish expositors pretend. (3.) The sin of these people: They were disobedient, that is, rebellious, unpersuadable, and unbelieving, as the word signifies; this their sin is aggravated from the patience and long-suffering of God (which once waited upon them for 120 years together), whil

2. From the whole we learn that, (1.) God takes exact notice of all the means and advantages that people in all ages have had for the salvation of their souls; it is put to the account of the old world that Christ offered them his help, sent his Spirit, gave them fair warning by Noah, and waited a long time for their amendment. (2.) Though the patience of God wait long upon sinners, yet it will expire at last; it is beneath the majesty of the great God always to wait upon man in vain. (3.) The spirits of disobedient sinners, as soon as they are out of their bodies, are committed to the prison of hell, whence there is no redemption. (4.) The way of the most is neither the best, the wisest, nor the safest way to follow: better to follow the eight in the ark than the eight millions drowned by the flood and damned to hell.

 

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...

Sincerely in Christ,

Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…

Peter Exhorts the Persecuted Believers Volume 37

 Suffering for Jesus Part 7

1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: KJV Note: AMP=Amplified Bible; NKJV-New King James Version

It is no desire or design or determination for any true son or daughter of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords Jesus Christ to suffer at any level while we still reside inside of these feeble, fragile, and fractured physical bodies of ours. Knowing this, the Apostle Peter wanted to remind those early Jewish converts to Christ and all of us today (and of every era and generation since the Cross of Christ) that have been born from above that our Lord Jesus Christ suffered severely for our sins when He never had to, as it is written, "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:" (1 Peter 3:18) (KJV). He voluntarily placed Himself inside of a human body that He created in order to pay all of our penalty for sin. The cost or the payment of sin before a holy and righteous God is death, as it is written, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23) (NKJV). Death is what we owe God the Father for our sin and sinning against Him (physical death and eternal death, that is, separation from Him forever in hell and the lake of fire, as it is also written by the Apostle John with these words, "Then death and Hell [the realm of the dead] were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire🔥[the eternal separation from God]. And if anyone's name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was hurled into the lake of fire." (Revelations 20:14-15) (AMP), but Jesus Christ and the perfect sinless life He lived, voluntarily stepped in between the lake of fire for every human being, becoming our substitute for sin and taking upon Himself our sin and the wrath of God the Father poured out upon Him for humanities sin. So, Peter wants us to recount, recall, and remember this great act of sacrificial love 😍done for each one of us by our loving elder Brother Jesus Christ and in so doing walk through our trials, test, and temptations with patience and endurance knowing that we are not walking alone but that He is with us through every time ⌚of suffering and that any present suffering down here will be nothing compared to the glory that is to be revealed in us when we are made just like Jesus, as Paul the Apostle wrote to the Church ⛪@ Rome with these words, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body." (Romans 8:18-23) (NKJV). Jesus Christ is just and we are unjust, therefore, we owe everything we are to Him alone and must be willing to repay Him by submitting to His rule over our spirit, soul, and body while He keeps us down here on the earth 🌎as His ambassadors. 

Here is what John Wesley had to say of 1 Peter 3:18, "For - This is undoubtedly best, whereby we are most conformed to Christ. Now Christ suffered once - To suffer no more. For sins - Not His own, but ours. The just for the unjust - The word signifies, not only them who have wronged their neighbours, but those who have transgressed any of the commands of God; as the preceding word, just, denotes a person who has fulfilled, not barely social duties, but all kind of righteousness. That He might bring us to God - Now to His gracious favour, hereafter to His blissful presence, by the same steps of suffering and of glory. Being put to death in the flesh - As man. But raised to life by the Spirit - Both by His own Divine Power, and by the Power of the Holy Ghost." Here is what Matthew Henry had to say of 1 Peter 3:18, "The example of Christ is proposed as an argument for patience under sufferings, the strength of which will be discerned if we consider the several points contained in the words; observe therefore, 1. Jesus Christ Himself was not exempted from sufferings in this life, though He had no guilt of His own and could have declined all suffering if He had pleased. 2. The reason or meritorious cause of Christ's suffering was the sins of men: Christ suffered for sins. The sufferings of Christ were a true and proper punishment; this punishment was suffered to expiate (compensate or make reparation for sin) and to make an atonement for sin; and it extends to all sin. 3. In the case of our Lord's suffering, it was the just that suffered for the unjust; He substituted Himself in our room and stead, and bore our iniquities. He that knew no sin suffered instead of those that knew no righteousness. 4. The merit and perfection of Christ's sacrifice were such that for Him to suffer once was enough. The legal sacrifices were repeated from day to day, and from year to year; but the sacrifice of Christ, once offered, purgeth away sin. The blessed end or design of our Lord's sufferings was to bring us to God, to reconcile us to God, to give us access to the Father, to render us and our services acceptable, and to bring us to eternal glory. The issue and event of Christ's suffering, as to Himself, were these, He was put to death in His human nature, but He was quickened and raised again by the Spirit. Now, if Christ was not exempted from sufferings, why should Christians expect it? If He suffered, to expiate sins, why should not we be content when our sufferings are only for trial and correction, but not for expiation? If He, though perfectly just, why should not we, who are all criminals? If He once suffered, and then entered into glory, shall not we be patient under trouble, since it will be but a little time and we shall follow Him to glory? If He suffered, to bring us to God, shall not we submit to difficulties, since they are of so much use to quicken us in our return to God, and in the performance of our duty to Him?"

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...

Sincerely in Christ,

Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…

Peter Exhorts the Persecuted Believers Volume 36

 Suffering for Jesus Part 6

1 Peter 3:16-17 Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing. KJV Note: AMP=Amplified Bible; NKJV-New King James Version

The Apostle Peter wanted those early Jewish converts to our Lord Jesus Christ (and us as well) to know that the fierce acts of violence against them and against us today are not because of what they/we have done to any of them or against any of them, but because they/we belong to our Lord Jesus Christ. The world 🗺 is made up of only two kinds of people now and the first are those of us who have been delivered from the power of darkness just as the Apostle Paul wrote with these words to the Colossian Church ⛪, "For He has rescued us and has drawn us to Himself from the dominion of darkness, and has transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption [because of His sacrifice, resulting in] the forgiveness of our sins [and the cancellation of sins' penalty]. (Colossians 1:13-14) (AMP). Here is an annotation from the Amplified Bible of what Paul is saying in Colossians 1:13-14, "rescued and transferred. God has liberated believers from the dominion of darkness. The Apostle uses the common symbolism of light and darkness for good and evil, for God's Kingdom and Satan's kingdom, that is found throughout the New Testament. The kingdom from which believers have been rescued is the kingdom of darkness.

redemption. The Greek word points naturally to the payment of a price or ransom for the release of a slave. They are freed from bondage to sin by forgiveness through the Blood of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:7)."  And the second kind of people who are still the children of wrath and under the control of the power of darkness and still slaves to sin just as Paul the Apostle also wrote with these words to the Ephesian Church ⛪, "For be sure of this: no immoral, impure, or greedy person—for that one is [in effect] an idolater—has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and God [for such a person places a higher value on something other than God]. Let no one deceive you with empty arguments [that encourage you to sin], for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience [those who habitually sin]. [ Lev 18:24-25] So do not participate or even associate with them [in the rebelliousness of sin]. (Ephesians 5:5-7) (AMP). The Apostle Peter knew from his own experience that some would vehemently scoff or treat the truth of the Gospel of Christ with contempt and disregard it all together because they want to continue to indulge in their personal path of sin without ever turning from it in true repentance from within their inner man 👨 or inner woman 👩, so Peter says, let them mock you or scoff at you or deride you or slander you or speak ill of you or threaten you, for the day will come when they see that it is Christ 'in us' the hope of Glory (Colossians 1:27) that has made us the 'new creation' (2 Corinthians 5:17) that we are. 

Here is what F.B. Meyer had to say of 1 Peter 3:16, "Keep a good conscience! Remember you have to live with yourself! A good conscience is the best bedfellow! Paul exercised himself always to have a conscience void of offense toward God and man, Act_23:1; Act_24:16. This is especially necessary when we are called on to give our witness for our Lord. We must not keep silent when we ought to speak, and when we speak we should do so reverently, simply and without heat."

It is quite easily understood that the Apostle Peter desired to see all believers only suffer for Christ sake for their/our doing of good and not that of their/our doing of evil, for we all (as born again sons and daughters) of our Lord Jesus Christ will give an account to Him directly and personally (Romans 14:12). The eyes of the Lord are in every place watching over the good and evil alike (Proverbs 15:3), therefore, Paul the Apostle wrote these words that must be heeded carefully by each one of us, "Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one's praise will come from God. (1 Corinthians 4:5) (NKJV). When we sin, we bring dishonor to the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and we must repent/turn from our sin that we made be a vessel for honoring Christ and bringing glory to His Name. Paul the Apostle wrote these words to Timothy to exhort and encourage him to live a life of honoring Christ and to teach others who have turned to Christ to do the same, "Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: 'The Lord knows those who are His,' and, 'Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.'

But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart." (2 Timothy 2:19-22) (NKJV). A born again believer can backslide into some very egregious sin from his old man 👨 or her old woman 👩, but when we truly repent/turn and confess our sin to our sin bearer (the One who carried all our sin to the Cross @ Calvary) then He will faithfully forgive us and then cleanse us from  all our unrighteous deeds (1 John 1:9). Let us never forget these words of Paul also written to Brother Timothy, "If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself." (2 Timothy 2:13) (NKJV). Here is what Albert Barnes had to say of 1 Peter 3:17, "That is, if God sees it to be necessary for your good that you should suffer, it is better that you should suffer for doing well than for crime. God often sees it to be necessary that his people should suffer. There are effects to be accomplished by affliction which can be secured in no other way; and some of the happiest results on the soul of a Christian, some of the brightest traits of character, are the effect of trials. But it should be our care that our sufferings should not be brought upon us for our own crimes or follies. No man can promote his own highest good by doing wrong, and then enduring the penalty which his sin incurs; and no one should do wrong with any expectation that it may be overruled for his own good. If we are to suffer, let it be by the direct hand of God, and not by any fault of our own. If we suffer then, we shall have the testimony of our own conscience in our favor, and the feeling that we may go to God for support. If we suffer for our faults, in addition to the outward pain of body, we shall endure the severest pangs which man can suffer - those which the guilty mind inflicts on itself."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...

Sincerely in Christ,

Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…

Peter Exhorts the Persecuted Believers Volume 35

 Suffering for Jesus Part 5

1 Peter 3:14-15 But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: KJV Note: AMP=Amplified Bible; NKJV-New King James Version

The Apostle Peter wanted to encourage those Jewish believers back then who were scattered to many places away from Jerusalem because of the fierce, foul, and furious persecution that they experienced because of their new birth 'in Christ' that was not understood and even hated by the still spiritually dead Jews in Jerusalem and Judea. This Peter wanted them to be joyful over because the Spirit of Christ rested upon them and was back then and still now these many centuries later that the devil 👿 and his demons hate violently the conversion of sinners out of darkness into the light of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Apostle tells us this first, "But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;" (1 Peter 3:14) (KJV). I recently came across the story of a young missionary man in Nigeria who was murdered/martyred for his new birth 'in Christ' (along with his wife and young son) by Islamist who serve and belong to Satan in their false religion of Islam. The young brother 'in Christ' was helping others come out of Islam's spiritual darkness into the light of Christ Jesus our Lord. Let us pray for those who knew them and loved them who are still sojourners here on the earth. Peter wanted those true believers back then and those of us still alive now to be unafraid of the terror because even if we suffer the ultimate persecution (as the young brother and his family did) of being murdered/martyred for Christ sake, we are going to be with our Lord Jesus immediately as the Apostle said with these words, "For we know that if the earthly tent 🎪 [our physical body] which is our house is torn down [through death], we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our [immortal, eternal] celestial dwelling, so that by putting it on we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened [often weighed down, oppressed], not that we want to be unclothed [separated by death from the body], but to be clothed, so that what is mortal [the body] will be swallowed up by life [after the resurrection]. Now He who has made us and prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the [Holy] Spirit as a pledge [a guarantee, a down payment on the fulfillment of His promise]. So then, being always filled with good courage and confident hope, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight [living our lives in a manner consistent with our confident belief in God’s promises]— we are [as I was saying] of good courage and confident hope, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore, whether we are at home [on earth] or away from home [and with Him], it is our [constant] ambition to be pleasing to Him. (2 Corinthians 5:1-9) (AMP). 

The wisdom of the Apostle Peter to these early Jewish converts to Christ and to all of us who have come to Christ long after them is not Peter's own wisdom, but he just went back into the Old Testament and quoted one of the great Prophets of God Isaiah when he said, "For the LORD spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying: 'Do not say, 'A conspiracy,' Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy, Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. The LORD of hosts, Him you shall hallow; Let Him be your fear, And let Him be your dread." (Isaiah 8:11-13) (NKJV). These words undoubtedly were etched into the inner man of the young Nigerian brother formally a Muslim, but born from above by our Lord Jesus Christ, so he took his stand for Christ and brought glory to His Name just as the first martyr of the Church Stephen did (Acts 7:54-60). Here is what Alexander MacLaren had to say of 1 Peter 3:14, "Peter had heard Jesus say that 'all men should honour the Son as they honoured the Father.' I beseech you, embrace the whole Christ, and see to it that you do not dethrone Him from His rightful place, or take from Him the glory that is due to His name. For your love will suffer, and become a mere sentiment, inoperative and sometimes unwholesome, unless you keep in mind Peter's injunction. But, further, there is included in this commandment, not only what Isaiah said, 'Let Him be your fear and your dread,' but also a reverent love and trust. For we do not hallow Christ as we ought, unless we absolutely confide in every word of His lips. Did you ever think that not to trust Jesus Christ is to blaspheme and profane that holy name by which we are called; and that to hallow Him means to say to Him, 'I believe every word that Thou speakest, and I am ready to risk my life upon Thy veracity'? Distrust is dishonouring the Master, and taking from Him the glory that is due unto His name." 

Now Peter declares that we should allow our reverential fear of only our Lord Jesus Christ to set Him apart alone within our inner man 👨 or inner woman 👩 that the whole world may know and see that Christ rules everything around us and not nothing else or anyone else, as it is written by Peter with these words, "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:" (1 Peter 3:15) (KJV). The English word 'sanctify' is translated by the Greek word hagiazō meaning to make holy, that is, (ceremonially) purify or consecrate; (mentally) to venerate: - hallow, be holy, sanctify. Jesus Christ must be Supreme in us. This is what John Wesley said of Jesus Christ being Supreme within us, "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts - Have an holy fear, and a full trust in His wise providence. The hope - Of eternal life. With meekness - For anger would hurt your cause as well as your soul. And fear - A filial fear of offending God, and a jealousy over yourselves, lest ye speak amiss." The desire in the inner man 👨 and inner woman 👩 of true believers to declare the truth of the Gospel of Christ comes from our Lord Himself, because He is on a seek and save mission upon the earth 🌎 even while He sits at the Right Hand of God the Father in Heaven right now, for He is doing it through His truly born again sons and daughters as the Apostle Paul said when he wrote these words to the Church @ Corinth, "Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by

faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life]. But all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ [making us acceptable to Him] and gave us the ministry of reconciliation [so that by our example we might bring others to Him], that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting people's sins against them [but canceling them]. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation [that is, restoration to favor with God]. So we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us; we [as Christ's representatives] pleading with you on behalf of Christ to be reconciled to God. He made Christ who knew no sin to [judicially] be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we would become the righteousness of God [that is, we would be made acceptable to Him and placed in a right relationship with Him by His gracious lovingkindness].(2 Corinthians 5:17-21) (AMP). Here is what Alexander MacLaren had to say of 1 Peter 3:15, "Then there is another point to be noted: 'Sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord.' That is Peter’s addition to Isaiah's words, and it is not a mere piece of tautology, but puts great emphasis into the exhortation. What is a man's heart, in New Testament and Old Testament language? It is the very centre-point of the personal self. And when Peter says, 'Hallow Him in your hearts,' he means that, deep down in the very midst of your personal being, as it were, there should be, fundamental to all, and interior to all, this reverential awe and absolute trust in Jesus Christ—an habitual thought, a central emotion, an all-dominant impulse. 'Out of the heart are the issues of life.' Put the healing agent into it, the fountain-head, and all the streams that pour out thence will be purified and sweetened. Deep in the heart put Christ, and life will be pure."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...

Sincerely in Christ,

Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…

Peter Exhorts the Persecuted Believers Volume 34

 Suffering for Jesus Part 4

1 Peter 3:13 And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? KJV Note: NKJV= New King James Version

In the early days, weeks, months, and years of my conversion/new birth/resurrection to my Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ, I remember reading an article or watching an interview of the late Dr. Jerry Falwell in which he was questioned as to why he did not have security or body guards with him when he went to conferences or preaching engagements or elsewhere that took him away from his home Church ⛪ and city and his response at first to me was interesting and even peculiar but after spending more time ⌚ in the Word of God being taught the Word by the Author of the Word God the Holy Spirit, Dr. Falwell's answer made so much sense to me as his response to the questioner was, "I am bullet proof until my Lord Jesus Christ finishes the work He is doing through me on the earth 🌎." This is the very concept being resounded, rang out, and reverberated by the Apostle Peter to all of those early Jewish men and women converted to Christ with these words, "And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?" (1 Peter 3:13) (KJV). These sons and daughters of our Lord Jesus Christ were being murdered/martyred by the unconverted/spiritually dead Jews in the city of Jerusalem and some were able to leave the city which is exactly what the Apostle Peter acknowledged concerning them in the very opening of this his first letter ✉ written to them, "Peter, an Apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia," (1 Peter 1:1) (KJV). They had been scattered because of persecution, yet Peter wanted them to know and understand as well as we true believers today and of every era and generation that despite the raging attacks from the devil 👿, his demons, and his two-legged devils that they then and we now are safe even though our Lord Jesus might allow our physical murder to take place as He did with the Apostle James, as it is written here, "Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the Church. Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword." (Acts 12:1-2) (NKJV). Herod surmised to do the same thing to the Apostle Peter, but our Lord Jesus Christ was not finished with the work that He would do through Peter, so He(Christ) saved Peter from death at that time ⌚. Why did He(Christ) not save the physical earthly life of James the brother of John? Simple answer, He was finished with the work He would do through James. The Lord Jesus is the One in control of all things and He determines when, where, and how His servants come to Him in Heaven. The little English phrase in 1 Peter 3:13 'is he that will harm' is translated by one Greek word kakoō meaning to injure; figuratively to exasperate: - make evil affected, entreat evil, harm, hurt, vex. This is one of the ways the devils seeks to come against those of us who are true born from above sons and daughters of Yahweh/Jesus/The Most High by trying to exasperate us or aggravate us or make us annoyed and frustrated during our walking/living as sojourners and pilgrims on our way home to Heaven to be with our Lord Jesus. However, as we are reminded above by the life and death of James the brother of John the devils first priority is to kill us physically, but he cannot hurt or harm or kill the real us our soul. Herod thought he was the one who determined, declared, or decided the time ⌚and place, and manner of death of James, but he did nothing that was not allowed by Christ Jesus. We true believers can know and be certain that our enemy can do NOTHING to pull us away from or apart from union with our Lord Jesus Christ as it is so eloquently written with these words by the Apostle Paul to the Church ⛪ @Rome, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: 'For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.' Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35-39) (NKJV). We also know who is with us everyday and everywhere and will never leave us on our own and that is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as it is written with these passages of Scripture, "Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you." (Deuteronomy 31:6) (NKJV) and "No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you." (Joshua 1:5) (NKJV) and "And David said to his son Solomon, 'Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God—my God—will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.'" (1 Chronicles 28:20) (NKJV) and lastly "Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'" (Hebrews 13:5) (NKJV).

Here is what Dr. John Gill had to say of 1 Peter 3:13, "And who is he that will harm you,.... Or 'can harm you'. God will not; for His eyes are upon the righteous, to protect and defend them, and, His ears are open to their cries, to avenge them; He is on their side, and He is the only lawgiver that is able to save, and to destroy. Christ will not; for when He came the first time, it was not to condemn, but to save; and when He comes a second time, though He will rule the wicked with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces as a potter's vessel; yet His people, who are His jewels, He will spare, as a man spares his only son. Good angels will not; these rejoice at the conversion, and in the salvation of sinful men, encamp about the saints, and are ministering spirits to them: nor the devil; though he would devour, he cannot; for greater is He that is in the saints, than he that is in the world: nor can sin; for though it wars against them, it shall not have the dominion over them; and though it often breaks in upon their peace and comfort, it cannot damn and destroy their souls: nor the law; for though it pronounces guilty, and curses those that are under it, and are of the works of it, yet since Christ has fulfilled it for His people, by obeying its precepts, and bearing its penalty, the curse, it lies not against them, nor can it inflict any punishment on them: nor the men of the world; who hate and persecute the saints; these can do them no real harm; they cannot hurt their grace, which shines the brighter, being tried and proved in the furnace of affliction; they cannot destroy their peace and comfort by all the trouble they give them; all the harm they can do them is to their bodies; they can do none to their souls; and even all the evil things they do to their bodies work together for their good; and they must be very wicked men that will do harm in any respect to such as behave well in states, cities, towns, or neighbourhoods: if ye be followers of that which is good; of God, who is essentially, originally, and infinitely good, and does good to all His creatures, by imitating Him in holiness and righteousness, in kindness, mercy, and beneficence; and of Christ, the good Shepherd, following Him in the exercise of grace, as of humility, love, patience, etc. and in the discharge of duty; and of good men, the Apostles of Christ, the first Churches, faithful ministers, and all such who through faith and patience have inherited the promises, and that both in doctrine and practice; and of all good things, whatever is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report, particularly righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and meekness. Some copies, as the Alexandrian, and others, read, 'zealots', or 'zealous of good'; of good works, as in Titus 2:14 and so the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.


Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…

Peter Exhorts the Persecuted Believers Volume 33

 Suffering for Jesus Part 3

1 Peter 3:10-12 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. KJV Note: NKJV= New King James Version

As we continue on into our listening 👂 to the Apostle Peter command these early Jewish converts to our Lord Jesus Christ to refrain from evil words and actions among one another because of disappointments or disagreements or even the diversity of personalities' in their various flocks, we find him here now quoting the words of King David from part of his 34th Psalm. We must remember that these faithful brothers 'in Christ' were being obedient to the leading and guiding of God the Holy Spirit in them and they were not writing these letters 🔤 for any reason other than to build one another up in their 'most holy faith' (Jude 1:20) in order for their own individual spiritual good as well as that of all true believers in our Lord Jesus Christ during those early days and to Glorify Him with their lives. This too applies to each and every one of us today all of these many centuries latter, for as it is written, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." (Hebrews 13:8) (NKJV). Christ Jesus our Lord is unchanging, for He is no different with us than He was with them and He expects and demands from us the same things He demanded from them. So then, we find the Apostle Peter writing these words for them then and for us now and for all true believers in our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ of every era and generation of humanity before He returns and puts an end to time ⌚ which He Himself created or established for we humans to live in and under, "For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil." (1 Peter 3:10-12) (KJV). The Apostle Peter (for the most part) quoted these words exactly as they were written by King David many years before Peter was ever born in order to remind and encourage and 💪 strengthen these brothers and sisters in the faith during their time of tremendous physical and spiritual persecution from the 👿 devils demons and the human two-legged 👿 devils they were working their evil through. We must also understand that King David and the Apostle Peter had no idea what our Lord Jesus would do with the words that were ✍ through them hundreds and even thousands of years in the future, however, their purpose, their process, and their plan was to write words that would build up those that belonged to Yahweh and bring Glory to His Holy Name. Let us also remembered that these original words came from the heart of a warrior. A man (King David) who killed many men in war (in battle) during the time in human history when their were no smart 💣 bombs, no missles, no drones, but every war was fought with only swords, knives, and 🛡 shields in close face to face combat, yet David was a man after God's own heart and this acknowledgement was given to Him by God (Yahweh) Himself, so David wrote with the heart of God these words of refraining from evil, but knowing that our God is against the evil doer (as he declares in the very last part of his words in this Psalm 34), likewise King David also declared these words, "God is a just judge, And God is angry with the wicked every day." (Psalms 7:11) (NKJV). Although these early Jewish believers in our Lord Jesus Christ were being viciously, violently, and vigorously pursued by the devil 👿 through his two-legged devils, Peter wanted them to recall, remember, and respond to these words written by King David so long ago (just as he wants me and you true believer in Christ today to do likewise) and not repay evil perpetrated upon us back with our own evil, however, this has nothing to do with believers in war on the battlefield or any believer defending himself/herself in self-defense and any family from being hurt or killed. In 1 Peter 3:10, the little English phrase 'let him refrain' is translated by the Greek word pauō which is a primary verb meaning to pause; to stop, that is, restrain, quit, desist, come to an end: - cease, leave, refrain. In the original Hebrew written by King David in Psalm 34, he used the English word 'keep' translated  by the Hebrew word nâtsar meaning to guard, to protect, to maintain, to obey. In other words, we believers 'in Christ' have as our responsibility to guard our words and to stop 🛑and quit speaking words that dishonor our Lord Jesus Christ. As I declared of myself in the last study/commentary, this area for me when I am angered is a red flag 🚩that requires me much grace and much prayer, for I pray often these words also from King David, "Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips." (Psalms 141:3) (NKJV). In 1 Peter 3:11, the little English phrase 'Let him eschew', that which is evil 😈 is translaed by the Greek word ekklinō meaning to to deviate, that is, (absolutely) to shun (literally or figuratively), or to avoid, eschew, go out of the way. In the original Hebrew written by King David in Psalm 34, he used the English word 'Depart' translated by the Hebrew word sûr meaning to turn off (literally or figuratively); to turn aside or to withdraw. In other words again we have as our responsibility to withdraw from every, that is, to deviate from it and shun it and any person or people being used by the devil 😈 and his demons trying to lead us into evil, as it is written, "Abstain from every form of evil." (1 Thessalonians 5:22) (NKJV). God the Holy Spirit 'in us', that is, "To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." (Colossians 1:27) (NKJV) will not force us or make us yield to His will for us, but He/Christ will grant us grace/strength 💪 when we yield our will to His will to turn away from that which is evil just as King David declares in Psalm 34:15 and as the Apostle Peter quoting him in 1 Peter 3:12. Amen!!!

Here is what the Expositors' Bible Commentary had to say of 1 Peter 3:10-12, "The psalmists knew much of such trials, and it is from the words of one of Psa_34:12-16 that St. Peter enforces his own lesson. It is a psalm full of the knowledge of the trials of God’s servants: "Many are the afflictions of the righteous"; but it is rich also in plenitude of comfort: "The Lord delivered him out of them all." The father of long ago teaches thus to his children the fear of the Lord: "He that would love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: and let him turn away from evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears unto their supplication: but the face of the Lord is upon them that do evil." A glance at the Psalm will show that the Apostle has not quoted precisely; and though he has much in common with the Greek of the LXX, he does not adhere closely to that. But he gives to the full the spirit both of the Hebrew and the Greek. The life of which the Psalmist speaks is life in this world. The original explains this by making the latter clause of the verse, "and loveth many days, that he may see good." And the love is to be a noble feeling, a desire to make life worth living. Such a life must exhibit watchfulness over words and actions. The precepts begin at the beginning, with control of the tongue. Control that, and you are master of the rest. "It is a little member, but boasted great things." "The world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defiled the whole body". (James 3:5-6) It needs to be kept as with a bridle, and not only when the ungodly are in sight, but constantly. But the words of the Psalm contemplate a further danger. Men may give good words with the lips while the heart is full of bitterness. Then the lips are lying, and this is an evil as great as the former, and more perilous to him who commits it, because the sin does not come to the light that it may be reproved, but contrives to wear the mask of virtue. And the actions need watchfulness also. They must not only possess the negative quality of abstinence from evil, but the positive stamp of good deeds done. "By their fruits ye shall know them." And the work will be no light one. Peace is to be sought, and the Apostle uses a word which implies that a chase is needful to obtain it. St. Paul has a passage very much in the spirit of St. Peter’s teaching here, and the words of which picture distinctly the difficulties which the Christian will have to labor against: "Giving diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (Ephesians 4:3) This tells us why our Apostle urges the pursuit of peace. It is the clasp which binds the Christian communion together. From all sorts of causes men are prone to fall apart, to break the oneness; and peace is able to hold them fast. Hence the diligence in seeking it, the earnestness of the pursuit that it may not elude us. But when all is done, when men have not been sitting with folded hands waiting and dreaming that peace would come without pursuit, but have labored for it, they do not always attain to it. "I am for peace," says the Psalmist, "but when I speak, they are for war". (Psalm 120:7) And so the disappointed struggler is directed to the sure source of consolation amid discomfiture. The Lord marks his efforts, knows their earnest purpose in spite of their ill-success. He beholds also those who have withstood them, but with far other regard. St. Peter has not quoted what the Psalmist says of their fate: "God will root out the remembrance of them from the earth." God’s righteous pilgrim is not forgotten. His prayer is heard, and will be answered for good. No shadow has come between him and God, though his lot seem very dark. Neither can the wrongdoer raise a shadow to screen himself from the all-seeing eyes. All things are naked and open before the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." Here is what Matthew Henry had to say of 1 Peter 3:10-12, "He gives an excellent prescription for a comfortable happy life in this quarrelsome ill-natured world (1Peter 3:10): it is quoted from Psalm 34:12-14. “If you earnestly desire that your life should be long, and your days peaceable and prosperous, keep your tongue from reviling, evil-speaking, and slandering, and your lips from lying, deceit, and dissimulation. Avoid doing any real damage or hurt to your neighbor, but be ever ready to do good, and to overcome evil with good; seek peace with all men, and pursue it, though it retire from you. This will be the best way to dispose people to speak well of you, and live peaceably with you.” Learn, (1.) Good people under the Old and new Testament were obliged to the same moral duties; to refrain the tongue from evil, and the lips from guile, was a duty in David's time as well as now. (2.) It is lawful to consider temporal advantages as motives and encouragements to religion. (3.) The practice of religion, particularly the right government of the tongue, is the best way to make this life comfortable and prosperous; a sincere, inoffensive, discreet tongue, is a singular means to pass us peaceably and comfortably through the world. (4.) The avoiding of evil, and doing of good, is the way to contentment and happiness both here and hereafter. (5.) It is the duty of Christians not only to embrace peace when it is offered, but to seek and pursue it when it is denied: peace with societies, as well as peace with particular persons, in opposition to division and contention, is what is here intended. 3. He shows that Christians need not fear that such patient inoffensive behavior as is prescribed will invite and encourage the cruelty of their enemies, for God will thereby be engaged on their side: For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous (1 Peter 3:12); he takes special notice of them, exercises a providential constant government over them, and bears a special respect and affection to them. His ears are open to their prayers; so that if any injuries be offered to them they have this remedy, they may complain of it to their heavenly Father, whose ears are always attentive to the prayers of his servants in their distresses, and who will certainly aid them against their unrighteous enemies. But the face of the Lord is against those that do evil; his anger, and displeasure, and revenge, will pursue them; for he is more an enemy to wicked persecutors than men are. Observe, (1.) We must not in all cases adhere to the express words of scripture, but study the sense and meaning of them, otherwise we shall be led into blasphemous errors and absurdities: we must not imagine that God hath eyes, and ears, and face, though these are the express words of the scripture. (2.) God hath a special care and paternal affection towards all his righteous people. (3.) God doth always hear the prayers of the faithful, John 4:31; 1 John 5:14; Hebrews 4:16. (4.) Though God is infinitely good, yet he abhors impenitent sinners, and will pour out his wrath upon those that do evil. He will do himself right, and do all the world justice; and his goodness is no obstruction to his doing so.

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.


Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…