PREFACE

All Scripture references from the King James Version Holy Bible unless otherwise noted

For far too many professing to be Christian Christianity begins and ends at the cross. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ the Lord. They wear it upon their necks like a millstone vainly imagining a graven image assures them a place in heaven. Without ever venturing towards the empty tomb and thusly walking in the resurrection the remainder of their days.

The cross, Jesus, God coming to earth in the form of man was necessary to anyone’s salvation and the possibility of eternal life. Without God coming to earth in the form of a man, in the flesh, God’s only Begotten Son, Jesus the Messiah and Lord, as the Sacrificial Lamb, spotless, blameless,  shedding His blood there could be no forgiveness of our sins, no salvation.

But it is in the RESURRECTION and not only in the cross where faith COMES ALIVE AND LIVES!

We are crucified with Christ to death and sin and renewed, arisen in Him a new creature.

Unless we remove ourselves from the renting of the Temple veil, the earth quaking, the pitch black stormy skies as our Lord gave up His fleshly life and place ourselves at the empty tomb we are living amiss. Missing everything.

And this is not being redundant or stating a given. Far too many professed Christians end their walk standing at the cross and never venturing to the empty tomb and then walking onward in faith, in renewed life each day God blesses us with.

Yes, without the cross and Christ’s crucifixion we have nothing. No salvation. For it was upon that cross our Lord took upon Himself the sin and iniquity of EVERY PERSON TO EVER BE BORN FROM THAT MOMENT IN HISTORY FORWARD.

Christ, blameless, spotless, sinless, perfect took upon Himself every sin I’ve ever committed and will commit — and the sins of EVERY PERSON TO BE BORN AND LIVE FROM THE TIME HE WAS ON THAT CROSS AND TO THIS VERY MOMENT — and until the door of grace is finally closed.

Oh, the pain and suffering we caused our Lord! Beaten so He didn’t even resemble human form.

As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:

Isaiah 52:14

Just as there were many who were appalled at him — his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness–

Isaiah 52:14 — New International Version

As every so-called Christian church within a 50 mile radius of where I live on April 1st, 2018 will be deep into their Ishtar (Easter) egg pagan hunts claiming they do it for the children and every falling away apostate unsound teaching— rather than teaching them the rock solid foundations of Scripture rather than those of this idol worshipping pagan world. I wonder how many pastors, ministers and practicing homosexual preachers now employed by these churches will be exhorting on the above? Or on anything within this posting? Who preaches on how beaten and disfigured our Lord was made by sinful men at His illegal trial and unlawful imprisonment and sentencing to death? Who preaches on our Lord taking on the sins of EVERYONE from that moment forward on the cross and is capable of bringing that message home?

Not…many…

Since in the ‘feel good’ and ‘let’s appease and preach a false worldly gospel rather than Scripture’ apostate church and those it employs more and more do not believe in the Holy Bible. They do not believe and preach the virgin birth, the miracles of Christ. The creation, the older covenant and the prophets, they do not teach Christ is the only way to the Father and heaven and they do not teach our Lord’s resurrection — they do not believe the Bible. They do not believe God’s word. They believe the words and philosophies and psychologies of man, woman and this world.

Me?

I look to the empty tomb and the blessed assurance the Lord Jesus Christ was raised from the dead as God promised and was among His disciples and those who knew Him for 40 days before ascending right in front of their eyes to heaven, in Spirit, to be with the Father, at His right hand. Until this sin-filled, lost, losing more each day world reaches the point He returns one more time to lift those remaining believers to be with Him to fight in the world’s last battle in which every evil nation following the Antichrist and his false prophet comes against Israel.

Yes, look to the cross…

and the empty tomb…

and to heaven!

And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.

Mark 16:6

He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.

Luke 24:6-7

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

1 Thessalonians 4:14

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

1 Peter 1:3

For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

1 Corinthians 15:21

Ken Pullen

ACP

Wednesday, March 7th, 2018

The Cross And The Christian

by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

Nothing will prove so helpful to a Christian in overcoming sin as an appreciation of Christ’s death for sin at Calvary. The Bible teaches that:

1. The cross stands between the believer and his SINS: the wrong things he does, or is prone to do, in thought, word and deed.

“And you, that were once alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled, in the body of His flesh, through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in His sight” (Colossians 1:21-22).

2. The cross stands between the believer and his SIN. It is not only men’s sins that keep them out of heaven, but their sin; not merely what they have done, but what they are and what they will do; not merely their deeds, but their nature. But Christ’s death took care of this too.

“…by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin… But… much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many… That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 5:12-21).

“For [God] hath made Him to be sin for us, [Him] who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (II Corinthians 5:21).

3. The cross stands between the believer and his SINNING.

“What shall we say, then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? … Our old man [nature] has been crucified with Him… that henceforth we should not serve sin… let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof; neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves to God, as those who are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God” (Romans 6:1-13).