Author: GinoCascieri

^“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;” Ephesians 5:22-25

The Christian marriage is a type of Christ’s relationship with the church with the two essential ingredients being love and obedience.

^“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;” Ephesians 6:10-18

Here we have the Bible passage on Christian warfare with the “whole armour of God” being recommended to the believer. This armour consists of five pieces of protective gear for the head, the feet, the loins, the chest and a shield. Then there is one offensive weapon, the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. With the word “stand” being used three times in the passage ( verses 11, 13,and 14 ), it appears that God is stressing the point that the Christian must spend most of his life standing his ground and protecting himself from evil influences rather than being a spiritual Rambo who is always taking on the enemy. Yes, we do have the word of God for advancing the cause of Christ, but we must not neglect the call to stand our ground and protect our testimonies, our families, and our churches. To add to this balance, we are admonished to be praying always” in verse eighteen, which explains why the soldier wasn’t given any leg greaves in verses ten through seventeen: he’s on his knees in prayer.

^“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” Philippians 1:6

God will perform His work in us “until the day of Jesus Christ ” which means this is a great verse on eternal security.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:  Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

This is a great memory passage for every believer to use faithfully when witnessing to the lost. Most people believe that works (doing more good than bad) will earn them a place in heaven, but salvation is clearly “not of works.” Salvation is by grace through faith.

^“Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:” Ephesians 4:26

The anger here is to be focused at sin so that we fight it with a passion rather than being comfortable with it, but we are to be careful in such anger and not permit ourselves to sin. For instance, being angry about abortion laws is good, but allowing such anger to eat away at us and lead us to bomb abortion clinics is not good.

^“And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4:30

The Christian has been sealed with the Holy Spirit until the “day of redemption,” not merely until he sins and “loses” his salvation, as some teach. A good companion verse is Philippians 1:6, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”

“Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;” Ephesians 5:19

Notice that it is the “melody” part of music that God likes the most, not the rhythm. Also, bear in mind the fact that the Campbellites use this verse to teach that one should not use musical instruments in a church’s worship service. As the reader can plainly see, the verse isn’t referring to a worship service, and nothing is said about instruments.

“Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.” (Galatians 5:4)

This is one of the most misused verses in the New Testament. We are constantly told by Charismatics that one can “fall from grace,” yet not one in fifty of them can state where the verse is found or what the true context of the statement is. The notion of falling from grace was never presented as something that a blood-bought child of God could do. The statement was given to the Galatians who were still thinking that the law had something to do with salvation, to those who were trying to be “justified by the law,” as the verse says. A person who seeks to be justified by the law clearly does not understand and appreciate the finished work of Christ on Calvary, so he is fallen from grace. He is not fallen OUT of grace, since he never entered grace to start with; he is fallen FROM grace, meaning that he fell a good distance FROM grace before even arriving.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

This is a good passage with which all believers should be familiar since it deals with the fruit that we should all be producing. After all, it is by our fruit that we are truly known as Christians (Matthew 7:20) “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”. Since the number nine is the number of fruitfulness, there are nine fruits named.

^“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” (Galatians 6:7-8)

Here we have one of the most profound truths that God ever gave to man: you reap what you sow. In fact according to Hosea 8:7 “For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.” you reap more than you sow.

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” (Galatians 6:9)

Here’s a good memory verse that reminds us to hang in there because God might not be in as big of a hurry as we are. But if we sow good seed, we will reap in due, season, if we faint not.

^“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.” 2 Corinthians 13:14

Notice that one must go through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ before finding the love of God.

“But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.  As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:8-9

That pretty much rules out any respectability for Joseph Smith and his Mormon Moroni angel.

“For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it:” Galatians 1:13

Just a note for any Campbellite readers: The term “church of God” is found three times in the Bible while the term “church of Christ” isn’t found once.

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

A great memory verse for every believer. As one brother put it, the only good Christian is a dead Christian. Only by being crucified with Christ and being dead to self can we truly serve God by allowing Christ to live in and through us.

^“And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.” Galatians 3:8

Notice how the Holy Spirit attributes a personality to the scriptures. Furthermore, notice that ”the scripture” was preached to Abraham before any written scripture existed. God’s voice, or God’s word, to Abraham was scripture, even though it wasn’t written until over four hundred years later.

^“ For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)

Satan has ministers, and like wolves in sheep clothing, they pass of as ministers of Christ. It is by their fruit, not their words, that we are to know them.

Companion verses – Matthew 7:15-20 –  ^“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.  Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”

“I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.” (2 Corinthians 12:2)

So there are three heavens. The third heaven that Paul speaks of here is up where the Lord and the angels are. Matthew 5:34 – “But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne:” The second heaven is what we call space, the abode of the sun, moon and stars. Deuteronomy 4:19 –  ^“And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.” Then the first heaven is the earth’s atmosphere. Genesis 1:20 – “ And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.” Another way to remember it is that the first heaven is where the birds fly, the second one is where the rockets fly, and the third one is where the angels fly.

“Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds.” (2 Corinthians 12:12)

Notice that the signs of an apostle are spoken of in the past tense, just as they are in Hebrews 2:3-4 – “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;  God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?” The apostolic signs were for the conversion of the first century Jews, not for the entertainment of twenty-first century charismatics.

“But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:” 2 Corinthians 9:6-8

A great passage on giving. Cheerful giving is the New Testament rule. A companion verse – “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” Luke 6:38

^“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:  (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;  And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-6

This is a good passage on spiritual warfare. Our battles are supposed to be spiritual, not carnal, though the only battles that some Christians know how to fight are carnal battles. The focused believer acknowledges that his mind is prone to wander from the will of God and that his fleshy members are prone to do likewise. Being saved just isn’t enough. A conscious effort must be made continually to bring the mind in check and to cast down all that is contrary to Christ. This is a war that is never won while we live in this world. We win and lose battles, but the war continues until the Lord calls us home.

“For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.” 2 Corinthians 10:12

Compare yourself to the Lord, and you will always see room for improvement. Compare yourself to man, and you will become proud and fruitless as a believer.

Your prayers may be for revival, souls to be saved, or any important matter, but God who is unlimited can become limited in your life. He will become as One who is deaf-

When you manifest indifference to the Word of God

“He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination” (Proverbs 28:9).

When you have wrong relationships with your loved one.

“Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered” (l Peter 3 :7).

When you have unconfessed sin in your life.

“Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness” (Isaiah 59: 1-3).

When you are not willing to be reconciled to another.

“Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother” (Matthew 18: 15).

When you are jealous and critical.

“And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:30-32).

When you give in to temptation.

“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1:12-15).

When you know to do good and do it not.

“Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him itis sin” (James 4:17).

When you do not forgive another.

“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15).

When you are not willing to right wrong.

“Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God … ” (Jeremiah 3: 13).

^“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.” 2 Corinthians 5:10-11

The passage deals with the special judgment for Christians called the “judgment seat of Christ,” also mentioned by name in Romans 14:10, “But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.” and described in 1 Corinthians 3:11-15, “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”

No one goes to hell at this judgment. Christians are simply judged for their conduct as believers while living out their lives on earth.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

A great memory verse for all Christians. The new birth produces a new creature, not just someone who makes a profession and continues to live after the world.

“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21

It’s not enough to say that Jesus died and rose again for us; He was made sin for us. What exactly is meant by that, I am not sure. It at least means the He entered a foreign realm, one that was unworthy of His presence, and it at least means the He, the holy Son of God, came in touch with something dirty and defiling so that we could come in touch with God’s holiness. But what it means exactly to be made sin is beyond my comprehension.

^“ Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

This is one of the reasons for Christian suffering: that we might be better prepared to comfort others in their sufferings.

“For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.” 2 Corinthians 2:17

The verse is altered in the new Bible perversions with the word “corrupt” being changed to “peddle” or something similar. Naturally, those guilty of corrupting the word of God do not wish to be exposed.

^“ For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.” For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” 2 Corinthians 4:16 – 5:1.

A great passage that calls us to focus on the unseen world rather than on this present world, and it reminds us that our bodies are nothing more than earthly tabernacles that will be dissolved so we can move on up to our heavenly tabernacle.

Christmas spells the only message of peace and love:

C-Comfort. The Christ of Christmas promises,” … I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5).

H – Hope. ” … Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).

R – Redemption. “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7).

I – Inspiration. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God … ” (2 Timothy 3:16).

S- Salvation. The Bible says,” … now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

T -Truth. Jesus said, ” … I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).

M – Mercy. “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy” (Psalm 103:8).

A-Assurance. ” … the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever” (Isaiah 32:17).

S- Satisfaction. “For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness” (Psalm 107:9).

All these longed-for blessings can by yours today. They are all wrapped up in one ” … unspeakable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15)-Jesus Christ. What better time is there than this sacred season to receive Him into your heart and life? “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12).

“But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come fort unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have I been from of old, from everlasting.” – (Micah 5:2