Messages

Many use some version of the statement “God Will Never Give Us More Than We Can Handle” as a way to comfort and strengthen those going through tough times. While this is a nice sentiment, it can be misleading in that it implies God has given us hardships in the first place. So, does God give us hardships? No, but He does allow them.

God does not give us troubles. He is the giver of life and the source of love and blessing. However, life (the world) will give us troubles and people can find themselves crying out “I can’t handle this.”
Since the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, humanity has had troubles - sickness, tragedy, violence, etc. Jesus tells us trouble is part of living in this world and He is the remedy, not the source.

John 16:33; “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

Paul reassures us Jesus is the remedy for troubles:

Acts 10:38; “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.”

Paul and his companions endured many trials.

2 Corinthians 1:8-9; “For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life: but we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead.”

It seems Paul believed, for a time, he was being tested beyond what he could bear. However, he recognized he needed to trust in God to get them through it, not in himself. Paul continues to praise the Lord for deliverance in verse 10; “Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us.”

We can endure and overcome anything that comes our way - temptations, tragedy, etc. - by turning to God and trusting His power. We can achieve spiritual victory, through Jesus Christ. Life can be hard at times and we often need a way to escape. We can endure hard times with confidence in God’s gracious promises.

Romans 8:38-39; ”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 creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Free Will: God gave us the free will to choose how we live our lives. If we choose to live in sin it can, and usually does, lead to suffering.
Spiritual Growth: Suffering can strengthen our spirit and our desire to keep our focus on God.

Some estimates put the number of Christian denominations at about 40,000! Most denominations, however, can be attributed to 5 main groups, or families.

The Catholic Church

Orthodox and other Eastern Churches

Mainline Protestant and Anglican Churches

Evangelical Churches and Movements

Pentecostal Churches and Movements

There are others that do not quite fit into any of these groups, such as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) and the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society (Jehovah's Witnesses), or certain indigenous forms of Christianity.

With so many different groups, and so many different denominations within each group, each with its own interpretation of scripture, how is one to know where to go? Who is right? I struggled with this question most of my adult life. As a result, I simply didn't attend any church for a very long time. I was lost, alone and my life certainly reflected that. I often wonder how many others are struggling with this same question, lost and alone.

A few years ago, I don't remember how, I came across this passage of scripture that opened my eyes:

1 Corinthians 1:10-13 - "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?"

Here, Paul directly addresses the notion of what we call denominations. He explicitly denounces the idea of separation in the church.

Paul reiterates this in 1 Corinthians 3:4-7 - "For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase."

Ironically, the basis for the idea of "separate" churches (denominations) may actually stem from Paul's letters to the different congregations. In them he addresses most of the congregations as "the church at" or "the saints who are in". As a result, one may conclude each congregation is a different (separate) church.

1 Corinthians 1:2 - "Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their's and our's:"

2 Corinthians 1:1 - "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia:"

Ephesians 1:1 - "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:"

Philippians 1:1 - "Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:"

Colossians 1:1-2 - "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother, To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

Take a look at the grammar in these verses. Paul is addressing the congregation, the part of the church, located in each of these cities or regions.

Now, there are three letters addressed a bit differently:

Galatians 1:1-2 - "Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia:"

1 Thessalonians 1:1 - "Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ."

2 Thessalonians 1:1 - "Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:"

Although worded differently, Paul is still addressing the different congregations of one church (the Church of Christ), not separate churches.

We know Paul is addressing different congregations of the same church, not separate churches, because in 1 Corinthians Chapter 1 the first thing Paul did, after his greeting, was admonish the Corinthians for claiming to be "of" someone other than Christ. In other words, practicing denominationalism.

There are other Bible verses that address the subject of separation:

Matthew 12:25-28 - "And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them, "And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you."
Jesus said this in response to the Pharisees, who were talking amongst themselves, accusing Jesus of casting out devils by Beelzebub, not God. But the principle is the same; a church divided will fall.

Matthew 16:18 "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
Everyone who accepts Christ as Lord and Savior is a member of one church, Christ's church.

John 17:20-23 - "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me."
Jesus wants us to be one with the Father, as Jesus is one with the Father and as the Father is one with Jesus, not divided. He's not only talking about each person being one with the Father, but the church as a whole.

Romans 12:4-5 - "For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another."
Our bodies have many parts that work together so we can function properly and effectively; arms, legs, eyes, ears, heart, lungs, etc. Each has its own function (different offices). We, as Christians, are the same. We are different parts of the same body, the body of Christ. Each with our own function (different offices). We need to work together, as one, to function properly as a church.

As you can see in the scripture quoted here, as Christians we are all members of one church, Christ's church. We are not Baptist, not Methodist, not Lutheran, not Catholic nor any other so-called denomination. We are Christian. We are the people of Christ. We are the church.

Christianity has been mocked and ridiculed from the day Jesus began His ministry.

John 15:18-19 - "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you."

The denominational division in the church is not helping and must end. Just think of what we could achieve in the name of the Lord if we come together as one voice, one mind, one church. 

Probably the most recited verse in the New Testament is this one:

John 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."

Seems simple enough - believe in Jesus Christ, go to heaven.

However, we later come across this passage which seems to contradict the notion of simply believing:

James 2:14-18 "What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works."

It's not a contradiction. The idea that it is comes from a lack of an understanding of scripture. In the last verse, verse 18, "Show me your faith without works" he's talking about works of the law, trying to "earn" your way in heaven. However, Jesus made salvation by works obsolete. Salvation now comes through Him, because of His sacrifice on the cross. When he then states, "I will show you my faith by my works", he is talking about how he lives his life, a life with Christ.

So, what does this all mean?
We have to look at the wording of John 3:16, specifically "whosoever believeth in him". The phrase "believeth in" or "believes in" means:

To have faith or confidence in the existence of something or someone

To have trust in the value or goodness of something

To have trust in the goodness or ability of someone

The key words in these definitions are faith and trust, which are synonymous with each other in this context. Believing in, having faith in Jesus means trusting or trusting in Him. Trusting in Him means we take His teachings and commandments to heart and follow them, follow Him.

Matthew 7:21 - "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."

Matthew 7:24-27 - "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it."

In these two passages Jesus is talking about works of faith versus the works of false prophets and/or works of the law. He uses fruit trees as a metaphor.

Matthew 7:17-18 "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." He goes on to say that trees bearing bad fruit will be cut down and cast into the fire.

Matthew 11:28-30 - "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

John 14:21 - "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him."

Jesus tells us His "yoke is easy" and it is. Accept Him as Lord and Savior, as the Son of God and man. "Learn" from Him and keep His commandments. That's all there is to it.

Now we can go back to James' statement about faith without works. He goes on to explain further:

James 2:19 - "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble."

He then refers to Abraham, when he offered his son Isaac on the altar.

James 2:21-24 - "Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only."

Abraham was doing what God had instructed him to do, sacrifice his son. Isaac questioned his father because they had no lamb for the sacrifice. Abraham told his son God would provide the sacrifice. Just as Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac, an Angel of the Lord stopped him. Abraham looked behind him and saw a ram caught in a thicket. He took the ram and offered it as a sacrifice instead. It was Abraham's faith in God that saved his son from the altar.

Like Abraham, we must do what God commands of us, follow the teachings of Jesus Christ and practice what he teaches in our daily lives. In other words, learn from Jesus and keep His commandments. Simply believing is not enough, we have to act on that belief. Otherwise, our faith, our belief, is empty and meaningless.

The word "saint" is derived from the Greek verb "hagiazo" - its basic meaning is "to set apart", "sanctify, " or "make holy".

There are many who believe sainthood is a process by which the church recognizes certain Christians as Saints, based on an exhaustive investigation of the person's life. The basis for this belief possibly comes from a misinterpretation of this definition of the word "saint". I'm not going to get into that here, except to say it's a misguided belief.

There are many verses in Scripture that reference saints. I did a quick search and found as many as 98 verses; 36 in the Old Testament - 62 in the New Testament. None of which single out one person as being a saint.

In many of Paul's letters to the different congregations, as well as in his letter to the Romans, he greeted them as saints.

Romans 1:7 - "To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ."

1 Corinthians 1:2 - "Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:"

Ephesians 1:1 - "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:"

Philippians 1:1 - "Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:"

Colossians 1:1-2 - "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother, To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

You'll notice Paul didn't address his greetings to specific people, such as church leaders. They are addressed to all members of each congregation. The only mention of church leaders, in the greetings, comes in Philippians 1:1 where he addresses the letter to all saints who are "with the bishops and deacons". These letters show how God views all members of the church as saints. But that's not the only evidence.

Other verses regarding the saints include:

Old Testament

Deuteronomy 33:3 - "Yea, he loved the people; all his saints are in thy hand: and they sat down at thy feet; every one shall receive of thy words."

2 Chronicles 6:41 - "Now therefore arise, O Lord God, into thy resting place, thou, and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness."

Psalm 31:23 - "O love the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lord preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer."

Psalm 132:9 - "Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness; and let thy saints shout for joy."

New Testament

Acts 9:13 - "Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:"

Acts 9:41 - "And he gave her his hand, and lifted her up, and when he had called the saints and widows, presented her alive."

1 Corinthians 14:33 - "For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints."

Jude Verse 3 - "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints."

As you can see in these few verses, not once did the verses refer to a specific person. They refer to a group of people, all of Christ's followers.

Now let's look at the definition of the word "saint" again - particularly the phrases "to set apart", "sanctify" and "make holy".

To set apart:

John 15:19 - "If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you."

2 Corinthians 6:16-18 - "And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty."

Sanctify:

1 Corinthians 1:2 - "Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:"

1 Thessalonians 5:23 - "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Hebrews 10:14 - "For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified."

Make Holy:

Acts 2:38 - "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."

All believers are equally holy and righteous, not by our own acts, but by virtue of the righteousness of Christ imputed to us at the cross.

2 Corinthians 5:21 - "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."

All believers are equally precious in the sight of God and there is none who can boast of any special place before Him.

Finally, developing a "cultus" (from which we get the word "cult") around a deceased person to whom we offer prayers and petitions borders on necromancy, (communicating with the dead) which is also strictly forbidden in Scripture.

Deuteronomy 18:9-12 - "When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch. Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee."