Fri, Nov 15th - 12:42PM

PART 1 NONE OTHER NAME

JESUS CHRIST NO OTHER FOUNDATION FOR THE CHURCH: THE ETERNAL HEAD OF THE CHURCH IN HEAVEN AND EARTH

WHO MUST BE UNDERSTOOD ABSOLUTELY, COMPREHENSIVELY WITHIN THE NEW COVENANT AND THE WHOLE OF SCRIPTURE AS NEVER CEASING TO BE FULLY GOD AND FULLY MAN, THE MEANING AND NATURE OF HIS TITLES AS: SAVIOUR, MEDIATOR, HIGH PRIEST, GOOD SHEPHERD, THE DOOR, HIS POWER, HIS LOVE, HIS TRUTH, HIS MERCY.

Act 4:12

Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, 

whereby we must be saved.

1Co 3:11

For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Without me you can do nothing: Jhn 15:5

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

God the Father is the roots, God the Son of God Jesus Christ is the Vine the people of God- you, me, us are those branches that only the Vine can produce and nourish so that they will bear fruit.

JESUS DID NOT NEED ANY HELP TO SAVE US:  Heb 1:3

Brothers and sisters, we know that the New Covenant is God’s everlasting finalized plan of salvation for all men both Jew and gentile through the atoning work of God the Son of God Jesus Christ. The New Covenant was promised to Abraham when He was still an uncircumcised gentile 430 years before the Law of Moses was instituted by God: Gal 3: 17; Ro 4:11.

The New Covenant is God’s Covenant in perpetuity and absolute truth meaning that God commands it to be understood AND TAUGHT as eternal absolute truth, free; insoluble; unbreakable; un-changeable-irreversible; nonnegotiable; exclusive; exhaustive; explicit; final; finished; complete for all eternity.

There are absolutely No man-made programs, man-made doctrines, alternatives, plan b's, multiple choices, No mixtures, admixtures, cherry picking of the New Covenant accepted as God explicitly forbids such.

Therefore, God curses anyone that willfully adds to or take away from it: Gal 1:8-9.  

2Jo 1:10

If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:

2Jo 1:11

For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

In other words, holy brethren, God makes it absolutely crystal clear that the New Covenant absolutely does not need any fixing because it is perfect in all of its parts; nor does it need any revival or reviving seeing that Christ who died revived and lives forever.

Lord Jesus teaches us absolutely that:  Mar 7:7

Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

The New Covenant offers salvation freely to anyone willing to believe in and obey the atoning work of the Saviour Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is forever un-earnable; un-buyable; un-repayable; un-returnable; un-changeable-irreversible. Therefore, dearly beloveds, we understand that salvation is not arbitrarily given by God to some and denied to others.

Jesus teaches us directly:  Jhn 3:16

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not 

perish, but have everlasting life.

Jhn 3:17

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

THE NEW COVENANT OF JESUS CHRIST

 Heb 8:10

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

Tools

 Heb 8:11

And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

 Heb 8:12

For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

The poor Lutheran etc. thinks in error that God made a mistake or forgot to tell the sinner to confess their sins so they could get saved, while the poor Baptist thinks in error that God forgot to add the necessity of water baptism to be saved, and the charismatic thinks in error God forgot to tell people they have to speak in tongues to be saved, and this is just the tip of the iceberg as there are many others who believe in error that you have to be a Calvinist or follower of some other guy or idea to be saved. Not addressing the heretic, but many of these people are sincere but they have never heard the gospel message. The righteous will receive the truth when it is shared with them, but the wicked never will.

Those manifesting these types of errors shows clearly that they are clueless in understanding that Jesus has many titles Saviour, Mediator, High Priest etc. none of which are ceremonial, they are His eternal offices wherein He perfects/authenticates the salvation of every believer before God, which no mere man can do by any works of any kind in the sight of God. 

The New Covenant of Jesus Christ is not automatically fully known or understood by the believer upon being saved. God commands that it be taught to every believer and ongoing studied/lived by the church as a whole, because it is the sole foundation and spiritual food of the church as a whole and each member in particular. There is absolutely no other foundation, power nor source of spiritual food-nourishment for the church of Lord Jesus Christ. You, me, us, we need to eat the Word daily, to read it over and over, record it to listen to, practice it, rehearse it to know, share, live it- get it off the page and into our minds, hearts, spirits to grow up over time spiritually, become mature stable and strong to please God out of love and trust in Him.

TRUST GOD’S WORD OF INERRANT TRUTH

We know, brothers and sisters, that God commands us to test all teachings by scripture. It cannot be said often enough that scripture interprets/teaches scripture, proves, , authenticates, and backs up scripture within the context of the whole of scripture from beginning to end without error AND WITHOUT ANY CONTRADICTIONS WHATSOEVER. The word of God fully defends itself by scripture and corrects those in need of correction by scripture.Heb 4:12

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

 Eph 6:17

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Saints (G40 hagios) let us keep our swords nice and sharp by care of its blades and actively employing it daily in living the Word of God. God commands us to patiently dine on His Word-to be spiritually fed and led to live and share His word with a lost a dying world. 

Mon, Nov 11th - 4:48AM

MORE PEOPLE WILL BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST AND GO TO HEAVEN THAN THOSE WHO WILL REJECT HIM AND GO INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE

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

Some interpret Mt 7:13-14 TO MEAN IN ERROR that Jesus teaches that most people will go into the lake of fire and not be saved. However, the scriptures make it clear that a false doctrine has been made out of these few verses.

Jesus was addressing unbelieving Jews of the flesh, who boasted of being righteous based merely on human genetics, along with those who claimed to be righteous on the basis of said faith with no evidence of love and obedience towards God. See  Mat 8.

it's not uncommon for the ignorant to mistakenly misinterpret scripture, likely due to poor or no teaching. however, the righteous will receive correction, but the wicked never will. 

It is blasphemous to willfully teach that Lord Jesus came to die on the cross, to leave most people lost and condemned to the lake of fire. The children of the devil sneak in amongst the saints in vain to pervert God’s word and turn the good news into toxic bad news that salvation is unachievable for most persons so most will die in the lake of fire: Luk 6:45.  

A doctor once told me whatever you put in your mouth will either kill you or heal you. I think this is true spiritually too. Perverted scripture is a toxic spiritual poison that weakens/hurts any that fail to have discernment to test the scriptures by the scriptures to see whether it is sound in doctrine.  We can only thrive on the truth of God's word, and must study it on going to share with others and in the world. 

However, we know the eternal absolute truth is that salvation is the free gift of God to all that believe in His Son the only Saviour Jesus Christ: Salvation is forever un-earnable; un-buyable; un-repayable; un-returnable; un-changeable-irreversible.

The everlasting absolute truth, therefore, is that there will be too many people to count that will believe and enter into heaven. See and believe the truth of the inerrant absolute authority of scripture in the verses below, and many more than I can put here.

Mat 8:11And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.

Rev 7:9

After this I

beheld, and, lo, a GREAT MULTITUDE, WHICH NO MAN COULD NUMBER; of ALL nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

God commands us to test all teachings by scripture. It cannot be said often enough that scripture interprets/teaches scripture, proves, authenticates, and backs up scripture within the context of the whole of scripture from beginning to end without error AND WITHOUT ANY CONTRADICTIONS WHATSOEVER.

God desires that none should perish and takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked: Eze 33:11; 2Pe 3:9.  However, those who unrepentantly reject the absolute truth and authority of the Bible are the enemies of God, wicked, evil, children of the devil, whom God will destroy along with the devil their father in the eternal lake of burning fire.

We can trust the word of God. It is absolute inerrant truth, eternal, exclusive, exhaustive, explicit, final finished and complete in the New Covenant of Jesus Christ within the whole of scripture. God Curses anyone who unrepentantly adds to or takes away from His word. God’s word is the spiritual food for the whole church. There can be no church, and no growth without the word of God. Therefore, the Bible is absolutely necessary for every believer to partake of to be a part of the church and to grow to maturity.

WINNER TAKES ALL

Brothers and sisters, praise God who left us the record of Lord Jesus’ ministry on earth. Jesus always knows who He is and the power He has. He was shown to be full of love, truth compassion, wisdom, and obedient to His Father in all matters, and never sinned. He loved all men. He could not bear the thought of living without the human race, even if He had to die first to save it, even though we were His enemies and utterly unworthy of being saved.

I have seen so called portraits of Lord Jesus as a milky, soft, girly kind of man. Nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus came to win it all, He knew what He could do for He declared cooly:  Luk 11:21 When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace:

Luk 11:22

But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.

Luk 11:23

He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.

It is true the devil is like a strong man. During the earthly ministry of Christ for the first time in human history the devil openly savagely possessed people, not sparing children making them sick, deranged, and openly trying to kill them.  Satan was wrong if he thought by showing his evil power, that Jesus would be intimidated and run home crying to His Father.

Jesus did not go get some anointing oil or hold a prolonged exorcism ritual, but showed He was stronger than the devil by casting the devil and every last one of his demons out with the finger of God: Luk 11:20

But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.

Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies of the prophets and apostles. He proved He is the Son of God in His living a sinless life, and in unfailing obedience to the will of His Father; He beat his human enemies, He beat the devil and all his demons, took the keys of death and hell, and set the captives free; He overcame the grave- beat death and abolished it when He rose to eternal life as Saviour with the power to save and forgive all sins forever, ratifying the New Covenant in His own sinless blood. That’s our Lord and Saviour all He does is win, win, win: Rev 1:18

I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

Dearly beloveds, be joyous, greatly encouraged, and stay aware of who it is that lives inside of you, me, us.

Mon, Nov 4th - 10:51AM

Fri, Nov 1st - 6:41PM

STUDIES IN HEBREWS

CHAPTER 13 VS 18-19

MORE PEOPLE WILL BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST AND GO TO HEAVEN THAN THOSE WHO WILL REJECT HIM AND GO INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE

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

Some interpret Mt 7:13-14 TO MEAN IN ERROR that Jesus teaches that most people will go into the lake of fire and not be saved. However, the scriptures make it clear that a false doctrine has been made out of these few verses.

Jesus was addressing unbelieving Jews of the flesh, who boasted of being righteous based merely on human genetics, along with those who claimed to be righteous on the basis of said faith with no evidence of love and obedience towards God. See  Mat 8.

It is blasphemous to willfully teach that Lord Jesus came to die on the cross, to leave most people lost and condemned to the lake of fire. The children of the devil sneak in amongst the saints in vain to pervert God’s word and turn the good news into toxic bad news that salvation is unachievable for most persons so most will die in the lake of fire: Luk 6:45.

 However, we know the eternal absolute truth is that salvation is the free gift of God to all that believe in His Son the only Saviour Jesus Christ: Salvation is forever un-earnable; un-buyable; un-repayable; un-returnable; un-changeable-irreversible.

The everlasting absolute truth, therefore, is that there will be too many people to count that will believe and enter into heaven. See and believe the truth of the inerrant absolute authority of scripture in the verses below, and many more than I can put here.

Mat 8:11And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.

Rev 7:9

After this I

beheld, and, lo, a GREAT MULTITUDE, WHICH NO MAN COULD NUMBER; of ALL nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

God commands us to test all teachings by scripture. It cannot be said often enough that scripture interprets/teaches scripture, proves, authenticates, and backs up scripture within the context of the whole of scripture from beginning to end without error AND WITHOUT ANY CONTRADICTIONS WHATSOEVER.

Those who unrepentantly reject the absolute truth and authority of the Bible are the enemies of God, wicked, evil, children of the devil, whom God will destroy along with the devil their father in the eternal lake of burning fire.

Brothers and sisters, family of God, love, peace, and blessings to you in the precious all-powerful name of Jesus Christ God the Son of God our Saviour, Great High Priest, Mediator, Head of the church, Lamb of God, Lion of Judah, Good Shepherd, Mighty God, Prince of peace, Everlasting Father, King of kings, Lord of lords, our First Love, the First Born of creation and from the dead to eternal life, Omnipotent Omniscient Omnipresent Potentate, Creator/Possessor of heaven and earth, Deliverer, Author of the New Covenant,  the sole Standard and Measure of all that is eternal life, love, truth, holiness and right standing in God our Father forever.

We know that God the Father has given every accolade, and praise that can be given in heaven and earth to Jesus His Son and has commanded the worship of His Son even as He the Father Himself is worshipped -showing the Son therefore is equal with God the Father who has both approved and accepted forever the atoning work of His Son: Mt 2:2; Jhn 5:23.

Dearly beloveds, we know that God has given us His Word our spiritual food that we should know, comprehend Him richly, deeply, and fully. Jesus paid with His life and rose from the dead that me you, us- all that believe in Him will have eternal life abundantly. Let us live His abundant life and enjoy the freedom that we have believed and received of Him: Jhn 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. (Gal 5:1; 2Co 3:17). See Gal 5:13.

We know, holy brethren, that God commands us all to take this gospel out to the world. Thanks be to God for the many brothers and sisters taking every opportunity to witness in this present evil world. We also know the monumental work of teaching scriptures to other believers is an on-going work for the whole body of Christ. There is no doctrine within the context of the whole of scripture that supports limiting the number of teachers in the body of Christ, because in the Old and New Covenants is found that God commanded all the people to teach, not just the guarding/guiding bodies of each Covenant. Of course, the church while not limiting teachers are commanded by God to employ all the gifts given to the church.

We know, amongst the multitude of mature overseers, that there are some new believers in the church and some for many years even in the pulpit who have never heard of the New Covenant. We must always be gracious with them, not be angry with them, knowing the righteous gladly receive the truth/correction of scripture, but the wicked never will.

Again, we don’t have to hunt for the ignorant, because they reveal it by their behaviors and what comes out of their mouths consistently showing their ignorance and error. 

We know for one example when we see a brother or sister dressed in sack cloth with ashes on their faces yelling angrily in the streets that the whole nation is sinful, under God’s curse and will be destroyed, we know that brother or sister although they are sincere, are wholly ignorant of God’s new finalized program of Salvation through faith in Christ, not the Law of Moses. 

We understand that God doesn’t get angry at us for being ignorant because none of us have to stay that way. God commands the scriptures to be imparted to all believers initially through being taught. The scriptures are not automatically known. With patience over time, we come to know and understand the Word of God. 

Raise your hand, brothers and sisters if any of you thank our God for the angels of the church- those overseers that faithfully/patiently and lovingly gave you the milk of the Word and over time weaned you off of it to build you up in the meat of the Word, to be established and share/live the whole counsel of God in the gospel in the world, and in the body without cherry picking any of it. I raised both of my hands a few times.

We know dearly beloveds that when we read/study the word of God that they are not just words on pages, this is our spiritual food because we are spiritual beings although we have natural physical bodies. We sit in the presence of God our Father with Lord Jesus the Bread of heaven who feeds us His word with the Holy Ghost our Teacher, by the will of God our Father guiding and opening up our understanding about Jesus in God, searching our minds, hearts, spirits to minister, comfort, give knowledge, admonishment, strength and understanding to us. No man nor woman can ever claim that their understanding of scripture comes from mere men. 

Whenever we are taught/share/teach/preach the gospel, it is God alone that opens up the Word and reveals Himself to us through His Word and Wisdom: Mar 4:14; Jhn 6:45; 1Co 1:30; 1Th 4:9; 1Co 3:19;  Eph 1:17;  Jas 1:5; 2Pe 1:21. 

Brothers and sisters, we return to the study finding Paul requesting prayer for himself and those with him: Heb 13:18 - Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly.

Heb 13:19 - But I beseech you the rather to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner.

Saints (G40 hagios), we realize that Paul’s conscience is absolutely clear. He boldly, confidently asserts the same confidence in those with him. God didn’t twist Paul’s arm or those with him to force them to serve God honestly. They obeyed gladly, willingly/patiently out of love and trust in God. 

God gives us a clear before Christ and after Christ record of Paul’s life and ministry which reflects the new man, who faithfully took heed to his ministry as a faithful apostle and follower of Lord Jesus Christ, although before his conversion he had been a terrible merciless persecutor of believers and a ravaging enemy of the gospel, it is the new man that boldly declares : 2Co 7:2Receive us; we have wronged no man, we have corrupted no man, we have defrauded no man. 

In Paul’s farewell address to his brethren, he also boldly declares: Act20:25 And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more. Act 20:26 Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. Act 20:27 For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. 

Paul understood that much had been given to him and others. Therefore, they had the determination to give God a good return on the unspeakable riches of God given them through the gift of- His only Son Jesus Christ. Heb 13:19But I beseech you the rather to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner. 

Paul frankly expresses his great longing for his brethren. He yearns to be reunited with them and urges them to make it their utmost priority that God would return him to their fellowship quickly without delay. He is confident of his right to seek their intercessory prayer for himself and those with him. 

Paul strips himself naked in a spiritual sense before his brethren, certain, confident of his right to petition them to make intercessory prayer on behalf, of himself and those with him whose conduct and ministry was faithful and honest in word and deed to Christ, His people, and all men. We know that Paul is not bragging on himself or those with him, for he never fails to humbly thank God who strengthened him both to will and to do his work faithfully to the end: Phl 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Brothers and sisters, do we dare do as Paul has done in assessing the integrity/quality of his ministry as well as to mutually evaluate the ministries of those with him openly to the brethren? 

Holy people, at the end of the day,  we know that God commands us out of love and trust in Him to monitor, examine, scrutinize our own ministry and mutually the ministries of those among us, this is not to criticize, but to encourage and aid one another in being consistently faithful, and honest to the glory of God out of love and trust in Him, to receive a Good report in His sight, and before all men, and this we will most certainly do by the power and grace of God.

Love and truth forever, serola     

Sun, Oct 6th - 1:00PM

STUDIES IN HEBREWS 

CHAPTER 13 VS 17

MORE PEOPLE WILL BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST AND GO TO HEAVEN THAN THOSE WHO WILL REJECT HIM AND GO INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE

Mat 7:13Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

 Mat 7:14Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Some interpret the above verses to mean in error that Jesus teaches that most people will go into the lake of fire and not be saved. However, the scriptures make it clear that a false doctrine has been made out of these few verses.

Jesus was addressing unbelieving Jews of the flesh, who boasted of being righteous based merely on human genetics, along with those who claimed to be righteous on the basis of said faith with no evidence of love and obedience towards God. See  Mat 8.

It is blasphemous to willfully teach that Lord Jesus came to die on the cross, to leave most people lost and condemned to the lake of fire. The children of the devil sneak in amongst the saints in vain to pervert God’s word and turn the good news into bad news that salvation is unachievable for most persons so most will die in the lake of fire: Luk 6:45.

However, we know the eternal absolute truth is that: Salvation is forever un-earnable; un-buyable; un-repayable; un-returnable; un-changeable-irreversible. whenever a brother or sister or anyone tells us salvation is by water baptism, belonging to a certain denomination, performing some sort of ritual, arbitrarily given only to some and not others etc. let us lovingly tell them the absolute truth always: salvation is the free gift of God to all that believe in His Son the only Saviour Jesus Christ. The Bible is the sole authority of absolute inerrant truth clearly explicitly declaring NO OTHER NAME BUT FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST SAVES. I thank our Lord and saviour for the elders in a baptist church who believed me when I  shared the gospel message with them and they believed and went and preached the same to their whole congregation, who received it gladly also. I didn’t save anyone We know those who HEAR the gospel and BELIEVE the gospel will be saved. Assume nothing, share the gospel in the world and in the church, for Christ's sake.

The everlasting absolute truth, therefore, is that there will be too many people to count that will believe and enter into heaven. See and believe the truth of the inerrant absolute authority of scripture in the verses below, and many more than I can put here. From the mouth of Jesus He clearly teaches:

Mat 8:11And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.

Rev 7:9

After this I

beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

God commands us to test all teachings by scripture. It cannot be said often enough that scripture interprets/teaches scripture, proves, authenticates, and backs up scripture within the context of the whole of scripture from beginning to end WITHOUT ERROR AND WITHOUT ANY CONTRADICTIONS WHATSOEVER. This is the standard by which we know with absolute certainty whether or not we-or anyone has rightly interpreted scripture. This is also the means and standard by which scripture both defends and  corrects by scriptures: Eph 6: 16-19.

Those who unrepentantly reject the absolute truth and authority of the Bible are the enemies of God, wicked, evil, children of the devil, whom God will destroy along with the devil their father in the eternal lake of burning fire.

Brothers and sisters, let us give thanks and praises to our God, our Guard and our Guide, who teaches us to love and live in the truth of His Gospel. Let us zealously live the word, love, truth as the family of God, ordained as priests under the High Priesthood of Lord Jesus Christ, Saviour, Mediator, King of kings and Lord of lords.

Let us stay consciously alert to practice the love and truth in the Word as salt and light in this present evil world; in our daily speech-when we open our mouths, in our minds, thoughts, hearts, and interactions with one another and all men, even as God commands us all. Let us, saints (G40 hagios), serve God out of love and trust in Him who has not withheld from us His only Son Jesus Christ, who loved us and gave Himself for us by paying for our sins on the cross.

In an earlier verse, brethren, Paul exhorts these Hebrew believers to remember those rulers of the church who ministered the word to them in the past, but now he exhorts them to obey those currently in the office of overseers of the church, and us also.

Heb 13:17 - Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

I.Submit yourselves: to resist no longer, but to give way, yield (of combatants)

II.metaph. to yield to authority and admonition, to submit

We know, dearly beloveds, that some stiffen even at the words obey, submit to a pastor or any authority.  Perhaps it might be that they had a negative experience with inappropriate authority or had been taken advantage of or abused by a pastor or someone in the church. Of course, there are some who have hang-ups, and are hostile regarding any form of authority, legitimate or otherwise.

We must continually urge all believers to study/share the word in order to grow, to serve/live, not be gullible, because they know God for themselves through His word. We know there are no substitutes, programs, plan bs, multiple choices, doctrines of men for the gospel of Jesus Christ-the sole source of right standing before God to enter His kingdom by faith.

The Bible throughout clearly warns believers of ungodly improper pastors, amongst others that should be avoided: Eze 34:8;  Mal 2:7-8;  2Pe 2:3;

For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.

Mal 2:8

But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.

 Isa 56:11

Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.

Jhn 10:12

But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.

Therefore, moving forward as mature Christians, dearly beloveds, we know that Paul is not teaching that anyone should submit themselves to pastors or anyone in the church who suppress the gospel so people will not know or recognize impropriety within a ministry, or who are inappropriate, unbiblical, harsh in treatments or abusive. It goes without saying no one should tolerate any abuse outside of the church as well.

Many of us know and understand that the guarding guiding officers are vital and necessary for the growth of the church, and represents one of the gifts to the church from Lord Jesus Christ Himself.  New believers don't automatically know scripture or how to live holy lives. Through healthy Christ focused caretakers the flock is taught the whole word of God, and to avoid making in error a doctrine out of a verse or two. 

Through these men the church learns who God is, what He has Made them by faith in Jesus, and how the love and truth of God must be applied in every aspect of life internally, externally to family including the family of God, and all men. The lone ranger leader is never the biblical standard of leadership of nor for the church: Tit 1:5-9.

The Bible explicitly, carefully teaches the standards for the character, qualifications, and reputation of the guiding officers of the church the body of Christ. Jesus is our supreme standard, and the Bible leaves us the record of the many faithful men of God who followed after Jesus in the faithful care of the flock WITHOUT COMPROMISE, so that all who come after them can do the same, by the will and power of God. Some question whether pastors should be paid or not. The most important issue to me in this matter is that a pastor whether paid or not stands on the word of God without compromise REGARDLESS OF THE COST. The Bible does teach on the nature and types of pastoral supports to be given them by the churches. Feel free brethren to study this further on your own.

Every member of the caretakers of the church are, without exception, to be tested, tried and proven fit by the local church before setting them in office for the care of the flock.

All guiding officers of the church understand that they are caretakers of the flock not the owners, because Jesus owns both the sheep and their caretakers.

When Jesus returns, we know that the Bible teaches us that we will have no further need of caretakers, because He will oversee His own sheep Himself, but will reward those caretakers well for their care of the flock upon His return.

Women have a role in ministry within the church, but leadership is clearly limited to men only: 1Ti 3:2; 1Ti 3:12; Tit 1:6. Some in error teach that women have no role nor ministry in the church other than to instruct the young women in godly living and rearing their young based on: 1 Cor 14:34 Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also under the law. I don't want to make a study within a study, but we know Paul was speaking of unlearned wives in the church, that their husbands were to  teach and answer any question they had at home, rather than in the church. There is no biblical justifications to silence  all women in the churches who make up 61% of the church in the United States.

If all women were never to speak in the church then God would have to cancel the gospel, and reject anyone who believed in Jesus who heard the gospel through any woman who witnessed to them, and we know that will never happen. We find no admonishment by Phillip the Evangelist to his daughters  to hush and not speak. We know he had four daughters who had the gift of prophecy: Acts 21: 9. We note Aquila didn't tell Priscilla to be quiet when teaching Apollos the gospel in Acts 18: 24-26. There are other passages where Paul  praised women who labored with him in the gospel: Phil 4: 2-3. Jesus has a place for men and women too in His ministry as explicitly laid out within the standard of scripture. 

Priscella cannot be seen as a mere useless muted appendage to her pastoal husband. We clearly see she has been taught the gospel by him and under his authority/leadership she works with him to explain the gospel message to Apollos. This has a wider application beyond pastoral wives. Clearly under the guarding/guiding leadership of the church, tested/proven fit sound teachers whether men or women can teach anyone in the church whether men or women. I encourage attendance at all types of Bible studies. Bible studies where all must teach is important for the growth of the church to avoid spectator syndrome.

Again no one can justify biblically forbidding anyone found fit to teach the gospel from doing so whether in the church or sharing it outside of the church, in this present evil world. We also must note Paul’s approval of unmarried men and women who have the power of celibacy and choose to remain single to devote themselves to serving Christ without distraction. We find no passages stating such women could serve as long as they remained silent. However, if any woman or man changed their minds and choose to marry, Paul notes they have not sinned.

Then the gospel has nothing to do with whose mouth it comes out of. Right? Preaching the gospel is not a mission, it is the command of God to the whole church. Church leaders are charged to teach the gospel to their flock. The flock teaches, refines, confirms correct understanding of scriptures among themselves and share it in the world in tandem of leadership oversite. There is no other foundation other than the gospel for the church. God gives no one authority to silence any proven fit teacher from preaching the gospel. A healthy church is one where church leaders have developed, tested proven fit many teachers, not relying on one or few for this ongoing monumental task. Note this was an important goal of Paul, and no less a goal for church guarding/guiding officers today.

Some in error teach that the Bible conflicts with itself in Paul telling the Hebrew believers that they should all be teachers, but James teaching that there shouldn't be or be not many teachers. Most of us know there is absolutely no conflict here nor in any part of scripture.

Currently there are 2.4 billion Christmas in the world or 33% of the world's population making it the world's largest religion- and its growing continually. Therefore, if teachers are to be limited and few in number then God would have to cancel the gospel and recall all the prophets apostles, disciples and Lord Jesus His Son who commands His people: Mt. 28: 19-20 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations......TEACHING them to obey everything I have commanded you....

We know God will never recall His  Son Lord Jesus nor any of His followers for having a huge number of teachers. We know what James is addressing within the whole context of scripture is the type of teacher unfit for the ministry worthy of God's condemnation due to failure to exercise self control, and allows his ego to harshly speak to and mistreat the flock, which he contrasts to the perfect man walking in the spirit rather than his old man or nature.

Paul gives us a comprehensive understanding that the guiding/guarding officers of the church are equal, not above other church members, although they have  authority in guiding the church. All caretakers are ordained by God with authority to lovingly guard, teach, guide, grow, develop ministries, discipline, the church only within the standards of the New Covenant of Jesus Christ and are absolutely forbidden by God to do otherwise.

We can gladly subject ourselves to the ministrations of such men. Through their wisdom, experience, love of God, and the truth of the gospel they protect the sheep and aid them to grow to maturity.

The ruling body of the church know that they are not acting on their own, but by the authority of Jesus Christ, whom they must give account to regarding their service to HIS flock. They are watching and guarding HIS flock for their spiritual welfare to keep them from danger.

Neglecting to receive their wise care and counsel grieves them because they know the flock is only hurting and putting themselves in danger. The flock too is accountable to God and should not neglect to honor these men standing in the gap over the flock in behalf of Lord Jesus Christ.

We know that the whole church is to receive loving restorative church discipline when necessary. No one, is above church discipline, including the guarding/guiding officers of the church.  The church can excommunicate temporarily or permanently if warranted. All church discipline is to be done in love with the aim of restoration if at all possible.

Everyone including all of it's guarding, guiding officers are to be biblically corrected when needed whether in doctrine, or in any behaviors that does not align with the word of God.

God commands that any members of the body who rejects correction must be lovingly disciplined with the aim of restoration. Church discipline can be temporary or permanent excommunication if warranted. 1 Ti 5:19-20 The officers of the church are not exempt from church correction or discipline. They are to be good examples to the church and lead by example as multitudes of faithful officers of the church do, although we know some amongst them are very poor examples to their members. God commands that the leaders who sin are to be reprimanded before the whole church which would also serve as a warning and deterrent to others. Some churches are destroyed because the leaders are not subjected to biblical correction or discipline. By destroyed I meant disbanded, members leaving to go to different churches.

Amongst the church in general and in  particular we still have heroes of faith among us today, in the multitude of the guarding/guiding officers of the church and many of their supporting wives. Raise your hand brethren if you are a sheep who was taught sound scripture to know and live the love and truth of God, was dealt moral and physical support in a time of need, made strong in a time of weakness,  comforted in grief, and made joyful in the knowledge of the faithfulness of Christ through guarding/guiding officers of the church. I raised mine a couple of times, brothers and sisters.