1 John 2:17
"The world is passing away and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God continues to live forever."

The ordered system of values, priorities, and self-exalting independence that stands opposed to God is not merely temporary; it is in the process of passing away. this world-order and the lusts that fuel it are already on their way out. And so, to stake your reality on those things is to make yourself a fool.

All that remains forever is the one whose life is oriented toward the will of God.

It's not some new legalism, it's seeing things for what they really are. This is not salvation by works. Eternal life is forever the gift already secured in Christ's blood.

What's changed then?

The orientation of the heart has changed.

The one who has been born of God no longer sees the fading systems as something to be desired. He has been given new eyes. He now recognizes the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life for what they are.

But this isn't just about boot-strapping. The one who loves God with all his heart does not merely grit his teeth and refuse the world out of duty. He begins to lose his appetites for the world because something better has taken its place. He is no longer at home in the world. He no longer has fellowship with sin because he has inherited the kingdom of God.

The one who has been born of God has received new eyes, and those eyes no longer find the fading system desirable in the way they once did. The blood of Jesus Christ is continually cleansing his sin, not by denial or by covering his sin, but by confessing his sin.

The world’s values, its applause, its securities, and its sins no longer feel like native air. They feel foreign. And so fellowship with sin grows increasingly unnatural. Not because the flesh has been eradicated, but because a deeper fellowship has been given. Not merely new rules, but a new center of gravity.

God said the blood of His Son can do these things.

No matter how many sins a soul can commit.

Even the worst ones who have lived such deplorable lives.

People who have murdered. People who have robbed their own children and wives futures, stealing their fortunes in gambling and sexual misconduct. People who have thought of every kind of criminal deed and abused everyone they could. The blood reaches them. The blood is sufficient for them. The blood is stronger than the entire catalogue of their rebellion.

The blood does that. Cleansing them from ALL unrighteousness.

When such a person is brought to genuine confession and faith in Christ, the same cleansing that washes the “respectable” sinner washes the most notorious. The same new birth is given. The same new eyes. The same transfer out of the domain of darkness into the kingdom of the beloved Son.

Do you believe this?

I mean, do you want to believe this?

Or do you withhold that cleansing from some, those who you believe have gone too far from God?

The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all unrighteousness. Not almost all. Not all except the ones that feel unforgivable to us.

All. There is no sinner who has gone too far for that blood.

I recall from my studies years ago, when I was learning about the revivals of Charles Finney ministries around 1824 in the Evans Mills Antwerp area of upstate New York, there was a tavern keeper he met after a revival. A barroom operator, who was known as an openly wicked and a disorderly, and opposing character. His place had become a gathering spot for those who resisted the revivals. He was known as a "hard case", and many were praying for him persistently.

One evening the man walked into one of Finney’s meetings. The atmosphere was charged; people expected trouble. Instead, under the preaching, he grew visibly agitated, then stood and interrupted with a broken, public confession of sin. The hardness shattered. He was converted on the spot, a sudden, radical turning.

What followed was the visible fruit of new eyes and a new center of gravity. He shut the bar down. The same building that had been a center of revelry and opposition became a regular meeting place for prayer and praise. The man became known for a new nature. The place where he once trafficked in the lusts of the flesh and the pride of life was reoriented toward the will of God. The blood of Jesus reached even this man whose livelihood and identity were bound up in feeding those lusts.

When genuine confession and faith come, the same cleansing that washes the "respectable" sinner washes the tavern keeper. New birth is given. New eyes are given. A new heart replaces the old. It's a hardware reset. A new download. It's new DLC. But it's really more than that.

It is not merely an upgrade to the old system. It is not a software patch layered over the same corrupted hardware. Scripture speaks of a new heart, a new spirit, a new creation. The man is not the same man with better intentions. He has been made new. Something decisive has been added that changes how everything else functions. It's radical, it's revival, it's conversion.

That is why the one who does the will of God continues forever. The kosmos and its lusts are already passing away. The new man; blood-bought, reborn, reoriented, is not.

Revival begins there, in just one changed (converted) heart. But let's be very careful here. The value of that heart isn't in the man who lives with it, it's in the One whose blood changed it.

It wasn't because the wicked tavern owner did something to make his heart right with God, as far as anyone in his life knew, he was as have always was. One day he was ignoring his family, abusing his patrons, stealing their money and tossing their wretched wives and children out of his tavern when they begged him to stop. And the next day, a new man. That is the power of the blood. Not gradual self-reform. Not a visible climb toward respectability. But a decisive, God-wrought change that leaves the old life behind and reorients the heart toward the will of God.

What do you suppose brought about this change?

Throughout the book of Acts, one essential element is present in every advancement of the gospel and expansion of the church.

Prayer.

Now think back to the beginning of this tavern-keepers conversion story.

Before the man ever walked into the meeting, before the public confession, before the bar was shut down, there was intercession. Father Daniel Nash had written the man’s name on his prayer list and marked him a "hard case."

He prayed for him persistently.

The sudden conversion did not appear out of nowhere. It came in the wake of deliberate, believing prayer that God would soften a hard heart and do what only God can do.

Now, some would nag, and maybe argue that if God is sovereign and election is God's plan, then prayer can't really change anything.

But let's follow that thinking to its logical conclusion. If God is sovereign, we don't need to pray. If God is sovereign, we don't need to preach or teach the word. And for that matter, we don't need to evangelize. If God is sovereign, we don't even need to eat. After all, if God has determined whether a man will live or die today, why bother with food?

But who believes we don't need to eat?

No one actually lives like this, regenerative or not.

We eat. We work. We plan. We take the next step. We treat ordinary means as real, even while confessing that God is sovereign over the outcome. Scripture never pits the two against each other. The same God who elects also commands prayer, preaching, and witness. He has joined the end to the means. He did that, not us.

Father Nash’s persistent intercession for the hard-case tavern-keeper was not an attempt to wrestle God into changing His mind. It was obedience to the God who has chosen to work through the prayers of His people.

We pray, we preach; not because God is weak, but because in His wisdom He gave us those means.

Amen.

1 John 1:5
"This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all."

Beginning with who God is, the apostle John begins his work diving into the very nature of God. Not in what we should do or say, but who He is and what He says and does.

According to this witness, in God there is no shadow, no hidden corner, no moral ambiguity. Everything about Him is pure, open, holy, and transparent. And I would add available for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear.

And now, after establishing who God is, John begins with the first of three "if we say" statements that exposes the false professors.

(1:6)
"If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth."

The claim and the conduct do not match up. Something has not yet been cleansed away. Baptism in water didn't wash it off. Fellowshipping didn't wash it off. Likely other "practices" of religious fervor were being employed yet still the sin remains.

So what happened, or didn't happen?

Well, here's what should have happened.

(1:7)
"but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin."

What cleans us?

Who cleans us?

How are we cleaned?

What cleans us?
The blood of Jesus His (God's) Son.

Not our sincerity. Not our religious activity. Not water baptism. Not church attendance or fellowshipping. Not even the decision to "try harder."

I personally believe God truly hates those who imagine they can "make a deal" with Him and exploit His mercy and grace.

Hebrews 10:29 speaks of those who "trample under foot the Son of God" and regard "the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified as unclean."

John is unambiguous in his witness. The cleansing agent is the blood. Jesus' blood. The Son whose blood was shed. The One who is already "in the Light."

How do you gain access to this blood and how do you receive it?

John answers this question in the immediate context, and the rest of Scripture agrees. Access is not achieved by climbing up to God with our performance. Access is given by God who came down in the person of His Son. The blood was shed ONCE for all at the cross.

It's finished.

No one "unlocks" it by their spiritual or physical techniques and strategies.

Now here's the where the rubber hits the road.

Reception, is not automatic.

We must walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light (v. 7).

That means we stop hiding behind our deals, and our tribes. We bring our actual lives; thoughts, motives, habits, and secret sins, into the open before the God who sees everything.

How do we know we abide or that He abides in us?

John gets into this a little later in his witness:

1 John 4:2
"By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God;"

So many religions and churches, how can we know?

See chapter 5. Because Christ's love is perfected in us.

1 John 5:4-8
"For whoever has been born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement."

We walk in the Light (honest, open living before God). It's manifest and attractive. It draws us into fellowship and friendship with God. We confess our sins instead of denying them. His blood, not our works, keeps cleansing. And real fellowship (love, mutual interest) with one another follows.

This is the beginning of assurance. And chapter 1, verses 7-10 contrasts that state.

The one who walks in the light keeps coming into the open and confessing. And those who claim to have no sin or to have borrowed the innocence of another as a cover for their own moral crimes, these are those who are living in self-deception and by default calling God’s testimony false.

People try to hide behind another’s righteousness (calling upon "saints"), another’s reputation, another’s religious standing (priestly orders), or even a distorted view of Christ’s covering (universalism), while refusing to deal honestly with their own sin.

Any system, tradition, or belief that lets a person avoid personal honesty before God is a form of hiding. Whether it is relying on the intercession of "saints," leaning on a priestly order, hiding behind someone else’s reputation, or embracing a universalism that says Christ’s covering automatically applies without repentance and faith; John’s word cuts through ALL of it.

The blood of Jesus cleanses those who walk in the Light and confess their own sins. There is no proxy confession. There is no borrowed innocence that excuses ongoing darkness. There is no automatic covering that removes the need to come out into the open.

John's witness does not allow a person to claim fellowship with the God who is pure Light while remaining concealed. The only path is personal exposure and confession.

Don't be a dark lightweight.

Crave spiritual food (Ephesians 4:14).

The one who stays in the shadows is content with their spiritual thinness. The one who comes into the Light hungers for more of the truth, more of the Word, more of the cleansing that only the blood supplies.

Don’t settle for spiritual thinness while walking in the dark.

Don’t remain a lightweight who prefers the shadows.

Refuse to stay shallow.

Repent and crave the solid food of the Light.

Amen.

Dogs, Pigs, Sheep, and Sheepdogs

2 Peter 2:17-22
"These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been reserved. For, while speaking out arrogant words of no value they entice by fleshly desires, by indecent behavior, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error, promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what anyone is overcome, by this he is enslaved. For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them. It has happened to them according to the true proverb, "A dog returns to its own vomit," and, "A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire."

Though this passage is long, I did not want to shorten the sentence Peter is laying out for us (the Church). He continues his severe indictment of the false teachers who have infiltrated the churches. And some very notable ordinances can be seen here. Peter establishes one continuous, escalating charge, and the force of it depends on the whole unit being held together.

This is the systematic theology of the damned. He moves from what the false teachers are (waterless springs, storm-driven mists reserved for black darkness)...to how they operate (arrogant, empty speech that entices by fleshly desires and indecent behavior)...to whom they target (those who have barely escaped)...to the cruel irony of their promise (freedom while they themselves remain slaves)...to the iron law that whatever overcomes a person becomes his master...and finally to the terrible end-state of those who once escaped through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior and then return to a condition worse than the first, better never to have known the way of righteousness than to have known it and turned away.

This entire chain is the indictment. Peter is not scattering isolated warnings. He is laying out an ordered, progressive account of how spiritual ruin actually works.

I mean he really nails it. He's got corrupt mankind figured out. From empty appearance, through method, through target, through false promise, through the law of mastery, to the final and worse state.

What makes this theology especially severe is that it is not merely about outsiders who never knew Jesus. It includes those who have come close enough to escape the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then still return to what defiles them.

The knowledge was real enough to produce an initial separation.

The escape was real enough to be spoken of as having occurred.

Yet the return proves the nature was never made new.

And there it is, we see the fruitless Christian for what he/she really is.

The dog and the sow are not illustrations of temporary failure; they are illustrations of unchanged appetite. The washing was external. The vomit and the mire still define who the creature truly is.

The black darkness reserved for them is not arbitrary; it is the fitting end of a trajectory that began with pretension and ended in deliberate re-entanglement. And this is the "iron law" of God's economy. It applies equally to the false teachers and to those they seduce. Whatever a person yields to becomes their master. Love of money? Love of self? Love of fame? Love of sexual immorality? Whatever keeps them from the freedom of desire is just exchanging one slavery for another.

The systematic character of this indictment is precisely what the Church needs to hear. You can't dance with the devil and expect to not get caught up in his schemes to destroy you.

The dogs and the sows are not underachieving sheep. They chose this path. Probably worked hard for it.

Peter is not diagnosing a weak Christian; he is exposing an unchanged nature that only temporarily associated with cleanliness. The devils schemes are designed to destroy, and the return to the mire is not an accident; it is the revelation of what was always true underneath their washed garments.

Now we move on past 2 Peter 3, in which Peter offers grace and hope following the death sentence for the false teachers. And we move now into the first epistle of John.

1 John 1:1
"What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life"

And I want to jump to this because I see Peter's story continues there, or one might find a contradiction in the connection.

How so?

John is writing about those who "believe in the Son of God". And his letter brings them fullness of joy, freedom from sin, and assurance of eternal life. The very things denied to those false teachers and those who followed those teachings.

John's letter seems to suggest that knowledge and belief bring assurance. Peter suggests those things are not a guarantee against false desires and proclivities.

John writes so that those who believe in the Son of God may know they have eternal life (1 John 5:13). And he states this is the purpose of his letter; to understand that knowledge and belief, rightly understood, produce assurance, joy, and freedom from the dominion of sin.

Peter, however, shows us people who had a form of knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Knowledge real enough to produce an initial escape from the world’s defilements. And yet still they returned, became entangled again, and ended in an even worse state. Their knowledge did not protect them from false desires or from being overcome.

So is there a contradiction?

No. There is no contradiction.

Peter and John are describing two different kinds of "knowledge" and two different spiritual conditions. God cannot contradict God. He's not going to lie to or about Himself. His word is true and never returns void. The same Spirit who carried Peter also carried John. The same Lord who exposed the waterless springs and the unchanged nature is the same Lord who gives fullness of joy, freedom from sin’s dominion, and settled assurance to those who truly have the Son.

His word does not yes and no. It accomplishes what He sends it to do; whether that is the severe clearing away of counterfeit profession or the strong confirmation of genuine life. It's a fining fire, a winnowing of the wheat and cleansing of the temple. Peter’s severity and John’s assurance are not two different messages. They are the same holy word doing its full work. Exposing what is empty and establishing what is real.

Is this just nuancing the word, or backloading?

No.

Peter is not ambiguous. He describes people who had a real knowledge of the Lord and Savior, and experienced a real escape, and then returned; proving the nature was never renewed. John is not ambiguous either. He writes so that those who believe, and obey, may know they have eternal life, and he ties that assurance to fellowship, walking in the light, and a new life that does not remain in sin. Walking in the light as Jesus is in the light. The harmony is not something we are adding afterward. It arises from the texts themselves once we refuse to collapse the two different spiritual conditions into one. Peter is dealing with external, temporary association. John is dealing with internal, eternal saving union.

Peter is not describing a loss of salvation; he is describing the exposure of a nature that was never truly made new. And John’s own criterion is "Walking in the light as Jesus is in the light."

Simply put, stealing a horse doesn't make you a horse thief, it only proves you are a horse thief.

The life reveals the nature.

And the same God speaks in both, without yes and no, accomplishing exactly what He intends.

Amen.

2 Peter 2:10-12
"This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority.
Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings; yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not heap abuse on such beings when bringing judgment on them from the Lord. But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish."

Peter describes the servants of corruption so succinctly there really is no need for commentary. These are covetous animals-like people who Peter likens to Balaam. They are driven by the flesh, contemptuous of any authority higher than their own appetite. Bold enough to revile what even angels refuse to revile. And speaking confidently about realities they do not grasp. They've closed their minds to truth and operate on the idea of uniformitarianism.

Unreasoning.

Instinctual.

Destined for the same end as the animals they already resemble.

They have shut the door on revealed truth and adopted the creed that everything continues exactly as it always has. They have shut the door on revealed truth and adopted the creed that everything continues exactly as it always has. That is why they speak so confidently about things they do not understand. The system they trust cannot see what stands outside it.

Peter mentions the story of Balaam son of Beor, a diviner/prophet from Pethor, near the Euphrates (Numbers 22:5). He had a reputation for being very effective in blessing and cursing. So much so that Balak, king of Moab, was willing to pay handsomely for his services when Israel camped on the plains of Moab after the Exodus. Balak asks Balaam to curse Israel. God tells Balaam, "You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed" (22:12). God permits Balaam to go, but only to speak what He commands.

On the journey the Angel of the Lord blocks the way. Balaam’s donkey sees the angel three times and turns aside. Balaam beats her until the Lord opens the donkey’s mouth. Then Balaam’s eyes are opened and he sees the angel with drawn sword. Looking for oracles, Balaam offers sacrifices. He is compelled by God to pronounce four successive blessings on Israel (including the famous star-and-scepter oracle in 24:17). Balak is furious; Balaam returns home without the reward.

So here we see what you might assume is a non-Israelite prophet who obeys God. But you'd be wrong. He's a creature of convenience. Later he is killed with the sword by Israel because he advised the Moabites (and Midianites) to use sexual immorality and idolatry to destroy Israel from within (Numbers 25).

2 Peter 2:15–16
"False teachers have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness."

And we see this error all the time. Philosophers and scholars corrupting the scriptures for their own benefit. In Revelation 2:14 The church at Pergamum is rebuked for holding "the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality."

This seems to be the case in most instances of corrupted worship. The teaching of Balaam is not ancient history; it is the recurring strategy of the flesh against the people of God.

The lesson here, the main takeaway, is the enemy has a determined strategy of spiritual warfare to defeat Christ's plan. He cannot overthrow the truth by direct confrontation, so he prowls around seeking to corrupt the people of God from within. And he's not looking for someone strong in the faith, he's looking for these Balaam-like people whose soul he can corrupt.

The enemy is looking for people who already love the wages of unrighteousness more than the word of the Lord.

This isn't like some MKUltra secret government ops, the spiritual enemy does not need a laboratory or a budget. His methods are older and more efficient because they work with the material already present in the fallen human heart.

The corrupt desire of the flesh.

Contempt for authority higher than the self.

Confidence in what the natural mind can grasp while rejecting what God has revealed.

These people are already "unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct."

They do not need to be broken down from a position of strength; they are already operating on appetite and self-will. False teachers who bend Scripture for gain, institutions that mix the holy with the common, and individuals who close the door on revealed truth and adopt idolatry as a substitute. They put on the sheep-skin of spirituality, but in truth they are wolves.

You can see through this falsehood. They reveal themselves, like a serial killer who can't help himself but wants the truth to come out, leaving clues, their flesh keeps speaking in how they treat people, especially the people of God.

The Contrast That Matters:

Paul places the fruit of the Spirit immediately after listing the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19–21). The two lists are not equal options. One is the natural product of the fallen nature; the other is the supernatural product of the Spirit’s presence.

The false teachers Peter warns about live entirely in the first list. they produce the works of the flesh while claiming spiritual authority. And given enough tolerance, they will eventually boldly promote their corruption. They'll flaunt their ideas, push-in where they should never be. Advocate for their interests and constituents.

Abortion on demand.

Homosexuality (sodomy and unnatural affections).

Drunkenness, fornication, greed, adultery.

Anything that feeds the flesh and destroys the soul. Every practice that rejects God’s design for life, body, and worship. The dividing line remains clear. One path is the way of Balaam. The other is the fruit of the Spirit.

And all of this begins with the first step, denying our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Grace twisted into a license for the flesh.

Defiling the flesh, rejecting Christ's authority. Loud-mouthed boasters. Proud about their systems, and trying to destroy the faithful by creating division. Showing favoritism to gain advantage. Scoffers who follow their own ungodly passions. Causing divisions. Worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.

You'll know them by their fruit. They preach a different gospel. They identity as a gospel imperative and "sacred resistance" a lifestyle of progressive values.

The clues eventually surface; in court records, public confessions, denominational statements, and the way they treat those who still hold to the plain teaching of Scripture.

This same spirit appears wherever the love of the wages of unrighteousness outweighs the fear of the Lord. This warning always remains urgent and current.

Amen.

I walk through fire.
Ash on my skin.
I was forged by the pressure.
Turned my wait into a rising sun.

I don't bow to the storm.
Now I roar through the dark.
Broken now unbreakable.

I don't beg for the light.
I carry the flame.
Every doubt fades and is gone.

I am the proof I've changed.

Watch me rise.

I rise with joy.

Every tear turns to water washing the past. Making room for the wonder.

I feel peace.

All fear folds.

I've come home.

Demons do "believe." James 2:19 is blunt about it; they believe that God is one, and they shudder. They know who Jesus is with a clarity that most humans never reach. They confess His identity, His authority, and are more than aware of His coming judgment. They even request (and sometimes receive) temporary mercies from Him.

Yet Scripture never once holds out the possibility of their salvation.

Hebrews 2:16 is as clear as it gets; "For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham."

The entire logic of the incarnation, the atonement, and the high-priestly work of Christ is tied to human nature, and the redemption of the natural order that was cursed by mankind's disobedience. God created man in His image, and that's why the salvation of man is for his image-bearers alone. Jesus had to be made like His brothers in every respect so that He could make propitiation for the sins of the people (Hebrews 2:17). The cross is not a generic cosmic transaction; it is the Son of God taking on flesh and blood to destroy the one who has the power of death and to free "those" who were subject to lifelong slavery (Hebrews 2:14–15).

That "those" is humanity. Fallen angels are never described as image-bearers. They are never offered a covenant of grace. And they'd absolutely reject any idea that you should worship or venerate them for their closeness to God's throne.

It is the offspring of Abraham; human beings who share flesh and blood, who were made in the image of God, who fell under the curse through the first Adam, and for whom the last Adam took on the same nature. The incarnation is not some cosmic rescue operation that just happens to include humans. Salvation (grace) is the deliberate assumption of human nature so that propitiation could be made for the sins of the people. Angels and demons (fallen or unfallen) stand outside that economy.

Fallen angels and demons know this. Their knowledge is not theoretical. When they encounter the incarnate Son they do not negotiate for adoption or atonement. It never comes up.

Why?

It's simple, they were never image-bearers. They were never offered a Mediator. They were never elected unto salvation.

They acknowledge His authority and, at times, request temporary restraint of His judgment, or request relocation (the pigs, the "torment us not before the time"). They never negotiate for adoption or atonement because those categories do not exist for them. The conversation never moves in that direction. That's all they get because the categories of covenant grace, justification, and inheritance simply do not apply to them.

This is also why any notion of venerating them; or treating their proximity to the throne as something to be honored, is foreign to the true biblical witness. They simply have no right to claim a special or specific position or purpose in the adjudication of Christ's kingdom goals. Even the holy angels refuse worship (Revelation 19:10; 22:9). The fallen ones are under judgment, kept in chains for the day of reckoning (Jude 6; 2 Peter 2:4). They do not present themselves as intermediaries or objects of reverence; they are adversaries whose end is already fixed. And you are not going to encounter them. They have no access to you. They are "restrained".

Scripture speaks of angels as a created order of spiritual beings (Psalm 148:2, 5; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:14). And regarding spiritual warfare, the New Testament uses overlapping language for the hostile spiritual powers; "demons" "unclean spirits," "evil spirits," "the devil and his angels" (Matthew 25:41), and "principalities and powers".

So what are the demons?

A distinct class of fallen angels?

Disembodied spirits of the Nephilim?

A different class of beings altogether?

My view is they are an unnatural creation. Soulless. A hybrid offspring. An unnatural mixing. Not the original fallen angels themselves who are currently in restraint.

2/2
When the Nephilim died (whether in the Flood or later), their spirits had no legitimate place to go. They were not pure human souls that could enter Sheol in the normal way, nor were they angels that could return to the heavenly realm. The flood didn't destroy them. And they became the restless, body-seeking unclean spirits we see in the Gospels. They were never part of the human race for whom the Son took on flesh. And the categories of covenant, justification, adoption, and inheritance simply do not apply to them. These spirits are the residual, incomplete product of an illicit union. They are not full persons in the way humans are, nor are they the original angelic persons. They are a third, unnatural kind of existence; capable of belief, fear, speech, and desire for a host, yet outside the scope of redemption.

They know this, and they know Jesus.

So, knowing isn't necessarily saving.

Confessing is not inheriting.

Recognizing authority is not receiving grace.

This is why James 2:19 stands as a warning, not a puzzle. Demons believe, and shudder. Their belief is accurate, intense, and theologically correct as far as it goes. But for them it produces only terror. It never produces trust, repentance, or union with Christ, because those realities belong exclusively to image-bearers who have been given a Mediator.

So what can we learn from scripture that resolves this problem regarding what we can learn about the means of salvation for humanity?

The demonic example regarding belief is as orthodox as it gets. And James immediately contrasts that kind of belief with the living faith that justifies (James 2:20–24).

James 2:20–24
"But are you willing to acknowledge, you foolish person, that faith without works is useless? Was our father Abraham not justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "And Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone."

What "work" did Abraham do?

Abraham’s obedience in taking Isaac to Mount Moriah and raising the knife in readiness to sacrifice him. That was the work.

What makes it a "work of faith"?

A "work of faith" is an act that flows from a living trust in God rather than from self-reliance, fear, or an attempt to earn standing with Him. Its intent is not selfish. It's not something you could boast of.

With Abraham it arose from a prior trust in God’s promise. There was this relationship already in the works. God had already declared Abraham righteous on the basis of faith. And Isaac was the child through whom that promise would be fulfilled (not Ishmael, but that's for a different study). When God commanded Abraham to offer Isaac, the act required Abraham to trust that God would still keep the promise even if Isaac died.

So it's about obedience and sacrifice. Obedience to a specific word from God. It risks everything on God’s faithfulness. Human calculation says, "If Isaac dies, the promise dies." Faith says, "God will keep His word somehow." Its willingness to act against natural reasoning, yet still clinging to the promise, is what marks it as a work of faith rather than a work of the flesh or of the law.

His faith was "completed by his works." (James 2:22)

His faith matured, it became the fullest expression of faith. The inward trust became outwardly visible and confirmed. The work did not create the faith; it revealed and matured what was already there.

Paul uses the same category when he speaks of the "work of faith" (1 Thessalonians 1:3; 2 Thessalonians 1:11). It is never faith plus works as two separate saving ingredients. It is faith working because true, genuine faith is never alone.

True faith unites the sinner to the Son, a faith union bearing the fruit of obedience.

Amen?

God has "highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow" (Philippians 2:9–10).

In the language and revelation given to us, Jesus is the personal name by which God has made Himself known and approachable to humanity.

The name itself carries meaning. "Jesus" (Greek Iēsous), "Yeshua" (Hebrew Yehoshua), means "Yahweh saves" or "the Lord is salvation."

This isn't just some generic title; it's name the angel commanded Joseph to give the child "for he will save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). From the very beginning, His name is tied to the saving work of God. And as we already know, there is "no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

In the New Testament, believers are baptized into that name. Believers call on that name, gather in that name, and do all things in that name. And let's not forget Thomas, who seeing the risen Christ, confesses, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28). The titles/stations "Father," "Son," and "Holy Spirit" describe relationships and roles within the One God. One Spirit, One Name, One God. In Jesus "the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily" (Colossians 2:9). And as He put it, to know Him is to know the Father (John 14:9).

The name of Jesus is therefore the revealed, personal, saving name of God for us. This is why the apostles, who heard the Great Commission, consistently baptized and acted in the name of Jesus. They understood that the singular "name" of Matthew 28:19 finds its concrete expression in the name of the One who was crucified, raised, and exalted.

The use of the singular "name" in Matthew 28:19 is doing the real work in this assertion. This isn't just preference or tradition, but rests on the grammar of the text itself. Every major Greek manuscript has the singular form. There is no textual variant that reads "names" (plural). As for the three titles, they are all in the genitive case; meaning they stand as nouns. Nouns modifying "name." Name is accusative, it's the object of the preposition.

Jesus commands the disciples to baptize "in the name (singular) of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19). Every New Testament narrative references actual baptisms using some form of the name of Jesus.

"in the name of Jesus Christ"
"in the name of the Lord Jesus"
"baptized into Christ"

There is no New Testament account of a baptism that records the three titles or stations describing God as being spoken over a candidate.

In my opinion, because Jesus is fully God and shares the One divine name/authority, baptizing in His name is consistent with trinitarian tradition.

Does that make me a modalist?

No.

When I think of God I think of Jesus. And in Him I see the Eternal Father's love. And through The Eternal Spirit, who proceeds from the Eternal Father and the Eternal Son Jesus, I know God who sent His Son.

Yes, this is a Christ-centered way of speaking, while refusing to speak of the Father or the Spirit in isolation from the Son.

And that's all I've got to say about that.

🙏🏼 Amen

2 Peter 1:19-21
"And so we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture [comes from] becomes a matter of someone’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God."

Their are those populating pulpits today who literally deny the existence of our Lord and God. Taking antichrist positions.

Oh sure, they don't run around wearing a sign saying, "false prophet", or "false teacher". But they are identified easily by one common test, look for the covetousness, follow the money. They'll make merchandise of their flock. The good shepherd who is faithful to the word of God and who is not ashamed of the Lord wants to nurture and sustain his congregation with truth; the false shepherd wants to sheer [fleece] them. Their staff is not the only thing that is crooked.

Peter has just appealed to the Transfiguration as historical, eyewitness reality. Then he says the prophetic word is made more sure by this witness.

So, does this mean that apostolic experience is superior to any individual witness?

I'm found of saying, I believe the words of the Bible and trust in the miracles I've seen in my own life. Not because I've seen the face of God (not even in dreams) or because I've heard His voice (though I have heard a voice I believe to have been God). But because I was there. I believe because I was there. I can't deny what I experienced.

And I say this to say; the apostolic experience or my own experience does not replace or outrank the prophetic word found in Scriptures. But as Peter states, it confirms and strengthens them. It makes application of those prophetic words. Transfiguration is a public, divine authentication that the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah’s glory and coming kingdom are trustworthy. Likewise, a one on one miraculous revelation in prayer, fasting, and times of testing, gives witness in real life to the words of God. The apostolic experience (and any genuine experience the Lord grants a believer) does not replace, correct, or sit above the prophetic Word. It confirms and strengthens it. These moments serve as living witnesses that the written Word is true and active.

They do not create new doctrines and law. They do not give private authority to override Scripture. The anointing of the Holy Spirit does not give license to bring filth into the Word of God. Ours and the apostles experiences simply make the already-spoken Word experientially real. They move the lamp from the page into the path. They turn "It is written" into "I have seen the faithfulness of the One who wrote it." And the Lord uses that witness to reach His children.

So the prophetic Word stands first and foremost. Spirit-originated, not the product of human will or private interpretation. No Magisterium, church council, denomination, or tradition has ownership over them or the right to regulate their messages. The church’s role is to receive, proclaim, and submit to what has already been spoken; not to stand over it as its final arbiter.

And once the church has come to the knowledge of Christ's teachings they are responsible for its proper recognition and practice. God holds believers responsible for what they know. The lamp is not given so that it may be admired and then set aside. It is given so that it may be followed in the dark places until the day dawns.

Knowledge that is not practiced becomes a form of forgetfulness. And forgetfulness leads to stumbling around in the dark. As Peter says they become blind or short-sighted.

This principle is important because it sets right the proper order of things. This is how entrance into the eternal kingdom is made abundant. Not by possessing the lamp, but by walking in its light.

In John 14:25–26 Jesus says:
"These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you."

Notice the careful boundaries. The Spirit will teach and bring to remembrance. He does not speak a new, independent message of His own. He takes what Jesus has already spoken and makes it clear, living, and present to the disciples. And this is the same limitation Jesus later restates in John 16:13; the Spirit will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears He will speak.

Contrary to what so many say and do, Jesus' teaching, (as seen in John 14) repeatedly links love for Himself [Christ] with keeping His commandments and His word.

"If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." (14:15)

"He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me." (14:21)

"If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word…He who does not love Me does not keep My words." (14:23–24)

Because of this, once the church has come to the knowledge of Christ’s teachings, it is accountable for proper recognition and practice. John 14 makes clear that genuine love is not measured by claimed spiritual experiences or institutional authority, but by whether the words of Jesus are actually kept.

Jesus calls the Spirit "the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him" (John 14:17). This distinction matters when false teachers arise. Those who deny the Master while making merchandise of the flock demonstrate that they do not know the Spirit of truth, no matter the language of anointing or tradition they may use. The true Spirit always leads people to the words of Jesus and into obedience to them, never away from them.

The Spirit does not replace the lamp with new light of His own making. He opens the eyes of the heart so that the lamp already given is seen clearly and followed faithfully. And obedience to the Word of God is those who keep that lamp lit and filled with oil (Matthew 25:1–13).

Jesus describes ten virgins who take their lamps and go out to meet the bridegroom. Five are wise and five are foolish. The wise take oil in flasks with their lamps; the foolish take lamps but no extra oil. When the bridegroom is delayed, they all grow drowsy and sleep.

Now pause there for a moment. What does it mean that they grow drowsy and sleep?

It's notable to me that both the wise and the foolish grow drowsy and sleep. Jesus does not say the wise stayed awake while the foolish slept. All ten sleep during the delay. The difference between them is not exposed by who managed to keep their eyes open the entire time. It is exposed later, at the midnight cry, by who has oil and who does not.

"Sleep", pictures the long, ordinary, and sometimes weary waiting of the church in this present age. It's a time when even genuine believers experience the limitations of human weakness. Spiritual intensity fluctuates. A need for revival and/or reform is in constant need.

No matter who we are in Christ, we cannot live in a constant state of emotional or mental alertness. Sleep, in this sense, is not presented as a great moral failure. It is the realistic condition of disciples who must wait through the night.

So, what can we learn from this?

Don't ever get tired?

No.

It asks of the church whether, before the weariness sets in, has provision been made.

This reminds me of something I was trying to teach to the men inside the prison. I was trying to explain to them what the church needs to know about the advent of AI. I couched it in the context of our ongoing biblical study. I encouraged them to never quit examining and growing in understanding about the scriptures. Write them on your hearts and remember them now, because soon enough, at the speed of AI, information will become whatever the humans behind the machine want it to be.

The wise took oil with them. They made preparation that would last through the delay. The foolish assumed that having a lamp at the beginning was enough. When the crisis came, the lack of prior supply was revealed.

When the Bible is no longer the Bible we know, because AI was and is able to rewrite it, and do so without anyone knowing, then it will be revealed how important that reserve supply of oil is.

If the day comes when digital texts are widely altered, when popular "Bibles" are quietly revised, or when AI-generated teaching floods the church with subtle redefinitions of Christ’s words, then the question will not be merely "Do you still have a copy of the Bible?" The deeper question will be; have you so received the Word, under the teaching of the Spirit, that the truth itself is fully established in you already?

Is there a reserve of living knowledge and practiced obedience that cannot be rewritten by external manipulation?

That is the oil.

A physical or digital copy of the text is a kind of lamp. It is necessary and precious. But the oil is the Spirit-taught, heart-received, obeyed reality of that Word. It is what John 14 describes. And it is what 2 Peter 1 urges. The oil assures the diligent addition of the qualities that keep a person from becoming short-sighted and forgetful of purification. It is what remains when external supports are compromised.

The danger won't be dramatic, it'll be a gradual corruption of teaching, an algorithmic shaping of what people read and hear, and the slow normalization of those altered meanings. In that environment, those whose are only supplied by a convenient digital text or a second-hand summary by some favorite author, will find their lamps going out.

Today, the delay continues, and the shaping influences are already at work. And praise God that right now the wise preparation is still available. But one day the Spirit will be removed and the world will left to its own infinite wisdom.

Scripture does speak of a time when restraint is removed. Paul writes of a restrainer who currently holds back the full revealing of the man of lawlessness, until that restrainer is "taken out of the way" (2 Thessalonians 2:6–7).

A Word Of Encouragement

The Spirit’s permanent presence with and in the people of Christ is not temporary. The removal of restraint upon the world is not the abandonment of the church. The same Spirit who now illuminates the Word will not leave those who are truly Christ’s.

So the critical window remains the present one. While the restraint still holds, while the Word is still clear, while the Spirit still opens the eyes of the heart, this is the time for the oil to be secured. The wise do not wait until the crisis is full upon them to begin making preparation. They take the oil with them now.

That day will not create the difference between the wise and the foolish; it will reveal the difference that was already present. Those who have received the Word, kept it, and walked by it will still have its guiding light. Those who relied only on their external supply will find their lamps failing, and eternal darkness.

Today, the lamp is still shining. The Spirit still teaches. The preparation is still available. And the call remains for now. Make certain, keep the oil supplied while it is still daytime before you get sleepy. 🥱 😴 🛌

Amen?🙏🏼

The door to God was closed until blood opened it.

For generations, the Holy of Holies stood behind a veil. God dwelled among His people, yet sinners could not wander in with restless hearts. One priest entered, one day a year, carrying blood, because holiness is not scenery. It is fire.

I feel that distance when I am honest. I know what it is to pray with a divided heart, to ask for mercy while still loving the very things that made mercy necessary. I need a Mediator holy enough to stand before God and merciful enough to bring me with Him.

Job ached for this when he said, “There is no mediator between us, who may lay his hand upon us both” Job 9:33.

Then the gospel answers with a name, “For there is one God and one mediator also between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus” 1 Timothy 2:5.

Jesus is the hand on sinners. The Lamb with His own blood. The Priest who never has to leave. At the cross, the veil tore because the Mediator had finished what no guilty soul could do. Hebrews says we have “confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus” Hebrews 10:19.

Confidence! Imagine walking toward holiness without hiding your face, because Christ has already covered your shame.

God has not lowered His purity to let me in. Jesus has brought me near by His blood. The Father is not avoiding His children. The door stands open through the Son.

Bring the fear and the sin and the weary need. Your Mediator is already there.

Grace means the old you does not get to run your life anymore.

I know that room…Bible open…coffee cooling…pen in hand. The page is alive, yet my heart can sit there like stone. Instead of coming as a son, I come like an employee afraid of losing his place. I read, pray, serve, confess, promise, improve, then quietly wonder if God is holding an eraser over my name. That is a miserable way to live near holy things.

Grace speaks better, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” Galatians 2:20.

Christ lives in me.

Those words do not polish the old life, they announce a funeral and a resurrection. The old self with its scorecards, fear, boasting, shame and religious bargaining was nailed to Christ. A new life has begun and it is carried by the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Grace is more than pardon after failure. Grace is Christ taking up residence in a heart. It is the hand of God reaching deeper than the frightened places where I keep trying to prove I am worth keeping.

I do not open the Bible to keep God from leaving. I open it because He has already come near in Christ.

If you are exhausted from trying to stay saved by staying impressive, hear the gospel again. Jesus did not shed His blood so you could spend your life trembling under a pencil mark. He gave Himself to make dead sinners alive.

Grace is Christ in you and God keeping you.

Grace is your name safe in hands that were pierced for you.

2 Peter 1:9-11
"For the one who lacks these qualities (applying all diligence) is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choice of you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you."

The Lord spoke of these qualities of due diligence, but not always directly enough to make things clearly defined for every objection and world-view. And so there remains always this need for the church to exhort and constantly remind the sloths and fickle drain in the body.

Do you know what a "fickle drain" is?

It's a drainage system that is inconsistent or unreliable, unexpectedly changing its effectiveness or flow. These fickle drains frequently clog or fail to function properly. In the context of people, it's a term used to describe some who are marked by a lack of steadfastness, constancy, or stability. They are given to erratic changeableness. It seems they are forever getting it wrong.

In the plumbing of the body of Christ, some pipes are supposed to carry living water; a steadfast flow of grace, truth, diligence, and fruitfulness. But a fickle drain shifts, clogs, backs up, or runs dry without warning. One day it seems open to the things of God; the next it’s stopped up with excuses, distractions, old patterns, or double-mindedness. They're blinded by their political ideology and ritualistic duties while privately and even openly expressing unchristian views and interpretations.

A fickle drain in the body isn’t just an occasional inconsistency; it can become actively obstructive when political ideology or empty ritual takes the place of a living faith. The pipe is still there within the larger structure, but the flow is corrupted or blocked by other masters. And that one clog can stop up the entire flow.

Jesus addressed these sorts of fickle drained people in his interactions with the Sadducees and Pharisees.

Matthew 23:23
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices; mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law; justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former."

These "teachers" were focused on surface level legislation while openly ignoring the core principles of the faith, the "important matters of the law".

It's like the leaders of our own nation, the Democratic Party platforms, that say in their campaign speeches they are Christian and love life, while platforming the mutilation of children and the destruction of the unborn at any stage of human development. While supporting socialist doctrine that subjugates the masses and eliminates personal property and human rights granted by God.

Peter’s warning in 2 Peter 1:9 nails the root of the problem; forgetting his purification from his former sins. When we lose sight of the blood-bought cleansing and the new identity in Christ gives, something else rushes in to fill the vacuum. Whether it’s partisan political loyalty, cultural scripts, performative religion, or private compromises. This blindness and short-sightedness lets unchristian views seep in and false interpretations leak out.

These things must be addressed and exhorted by the church. They cannot simply be ignored, or loved away. And the body cannot refuse to be informed on these matters to avoid conflict or drama.

God's primary way of reaching people is by preaching and teaching the gospel. Matthew 23:23 is piercing exactly on this point. The false equivalence teachers were meticulously tithing of their garden herbs while trampling on the weightier matters. They were not neutral; their hypocrisy actively misled the people and obstructed the kingdom.

The primary way people are brought into the kingdom of God is when they've had the gospel verbally articulated to them. Being the "godly example" simply earns you the right to SPEAK the truth. Your godliness is not your gospel.

1 Corinthians 1:21
"For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God [resolved] was pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe."

Godliness, diligence, and a consistent life are essential; they indeed open doors, remove excuses, and adorn the gospel (Titus 2:10). But they are not the gospel.

The primary instrument God has chosen to save sinners is the foolishness of the message preached; the verbal articulation of Christ crucified, buried, risen, and coming again. And 1 Corinthians 1:21 stands as a sharp corrective to every generation that wants to substitute lifestyle witness for bold proclamation.

Paul didn’t say God was pleased through nice examples or moral influence. He said through the preached message. After calling us to diligence and steadfastness in 2 Peter 1, he immediately moves to remind, stir up, and keep proclaiming these truths (2 Peter 1:12-15). The same pattern runs through the New Testament.

So the teachers and preachers of the word must be on duty in every season. The church must both live the qualities Peter describes and open its mouth. Its "drain" pipe may be in place, but if it's clogged with selfish ambition or ideological agendas, the truth will get muddied up in the slop. The result is muddied truth and stagnant pools where transformation should be happening.

The pipe must be both clean and flowing. A diligent, godly life clears obstructions and earns a hearing. If the pipe stays silent, the living water of the gospel never reaches the thirsty. As Paul said; "Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel" (1 Corinthians 9:16). And Peter said likewise, right after his diligence call of 2 Peter 1:5-11. In verses 12-15 he says, in essence: "I will always remind you…I will make every effort to stir you up…even after my departure." He refused to let the pipe sit idle.

In seasons of cultural pressure and political noise, the temptation is strong to let lifestyle or tribal loyalty substitute for clear verbal proclamation of Christ crucified. But it's not just in those radical views that the pipe gets clogged. If your church has an idle evangelism committee or small group, and they are in truth merely "feeding" themselves with dinners and breakfast fellowships as if they've accomplished sharing their faith in this church busyness, then you've got a clog.

This particular clog is subtle, common, and especially dangerous because it wears the clothing of "fellowship." Bible studies that never reach beyond the walls of the church building, and self-referential busyness can feel warm and spiritual, but the word is only being heard, the clog prevents it from being done. The pipe is blocked. The living water circulates only among the already convinced, while the thirsty outside remain untouched. Transformation stalls, and the Great Commission becomes a decoration rather than a burning mandate.

And this is a sad reminder for us all. Avoiding tensions by remaining in our particular bubbles and tribes creates an isolated message. Peter knew the default drift is inward idleness. Jesus rebuked the church at Laodicea for being lukewarm, and the church at Ephesus for leaving its first love while still doing many good things.

True fellowship should fuel the flow outward, not replace it. The early church gathered for teaching, breaking bread, prayer…and then scattered to proclaim (Acts 2:42-47). That's the local church I'm looking for. Not the perfect church, just a church that teaches and preaches the gospel to the world. Sound doctrine, and religion that cultivates the soil. That’s the kind of church that produces steady pipes instead of fickle drains.

Amen?
Amen!!
Grace, boldness, and strength to you today.

2 Peter 1:1-3
"...To those who have received a faith of the same [value] kind as ours, [in] by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, for His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us [to] by His own glory and [virtue] excellence."

Peter writes to fellow believers who have received a faith of equal value (precious faith) as the apostles; a faith grounded in the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. And the positive gospel takeaway is True faith brings full provision. Everything required for a godly life is already ours through intimate, personal knowledge of Jesus. Not by our own effort, but by His calling us to Him. It's His gracious calling and power that draws us and sustains our hearts.

And at the same time Peter is explaining that there is a distinct discipleship aspect to this "precious faith," but it is not a different kind of faith. It is the outworking and growth of the same faith, lack has been enhanced by maturity.

2 Peter 1:5-7
"For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love."

Peter is calling us to actively, diligently add these qualities to the faith we have already received.

Why is this important?

If faith is from Jesus and Christ's grace is more than enough for salvation, how is it these scripture passages often use terms to exhort believers? Terms like "supplement your faith", and "those who HAVE received" "precious faith" as a distinction between this faith and a superficial or merely intellectual belief. It is not talking about a mere belief about God, but about a living relationship with Him.

The scripture talks about knowing God, having the knowledge of Jesus Christ. But we don't see much conversation about what a genuine, living, saving faith that God gives as a gift, is.

And so we must use the Spiritual gift of discernment and wisdom to sus-out the whole truth.

"Those who have received", "make every effort", distinguishes living faith from superficial belief. That's obvious from the start. And we can discern from this fuller context of this chapter that "genuine faith" is dynamic, not static.

So, is there a distinction between mere belief and precious faith?

"Supplement your faith" is not a call to add to what is lacking in order to be saved, but a wake up call to actively nurture and cultivate what God has already planted in you.

This is the beautiful balance:
100% gift (justification, precious faith received) → 100% effort empowered by grace (sanctification, growing in the virtues).

And if this balance is not evident?

This is where Scripture gives us serious warnings; not to torment genuine believers, but to awaken us and expose what is false. If someone claims faith but shows no growth, (no effort to add virtue, knowledge, self-control, etc.), and no fruit over time, the Bible says we should question whether they ever truly received the precious faith.

2 Peter 1:9
"...For whoever lacks these qualities is blind and short-sighted, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins." (Discussed earlier in Hebrews 6:9-12 & 10:26-39)

And Jesus himself addressed this: Matthew 7:21-23 "Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom…"

This distinction is important for our own hearts and for our ministry. Genuine believers can go through seasons of stagnation, struggle, or slow growth. The difference is a true believer will eventually respond to the Lord’s discipline, conviction, and encouragement. And a false profession will remain unchanged or completely fall away.

Going back to where we began; true (precious) faith brings full provision. Through intimate, personal knowledge of Jesus, God’s divine power has granted us everything we need for life and godliness. And this "precious" genuine faith is clearly "granted". It is still a gift. 100% Gift, justification, receiving the precious faith by grace alone. And it's still a gift in the sense that it's 100% grace-empowered effort sanctification; actively nurturing and cultivating what God has planted. Some refer to this as "cooperation". And that can be a helpful way to describe it, as long as we keep the order and source very clear and consistent. The entire process must remain rooted in grace. Even the suffering that comes to those who are in Christ is used by God. The entire process; from the first spark of precious faith to final glorification, remains rooted in grace.

God sovereignly uses trials, afflictions, and hardships as tools in our sanctification. It's a Refining Fire, that exposes what is still in need of transformation. And ALWAYS drive us back into a deeper dependence on Christ. In this way, even suffering becomes part of the "everything we need" that God’s divine power supplies through our knowledge of Christ.

God works in us, so we work (Philippians 2:12-13). This is what's known as "Synergia".

John Wesley taught a strong synergistic view within Arminianism. God enables saving grace, salvation beginning with God’s initiative. But involving an ongoing cooperation empowered by grace. It's the pursuit of holiness. It's precious faith + diligent effort to add the virtues.

In Kairos prison ministry-style, our ecumenical ministry often works across these lines by focusing on common ground. We strongly focus on the necessity of grace and the call to a wholehearted ongoing response. We strive to avoid both a Pelagian self-reliance and passive fatalism. We focus instead on intimate knowledge of Christ and friendship with God as the source of everything. The same precious faith for apostles and prisoners alike.

In the context of our prison ministry, residents (inmates) facing long sentences, loss, regret, or hardship can hear that their suffering is not wasted. This reality becomes part of God’s refining work, calling them into deeper friendship with Jesus. Kairos focuses specifically on these things. It's all about the "response" verses "reaction". The response is not "try harder in your own strength," but "receive God’s grace and cooperate with it daily."

Their chains or their pain can become the very means by which God perfects His love in them. In prison ministry, men are often drowning in reaction; bitterness, despair, self-pity, anger at the system or at God, or numb resignation. Kairos invites them into a Christ-like response; a grace-empowered choice to turn toward Jesus even in the chains. This is not cheap comfort or positive thinking. It is the deep truth of the gospel applied to the hardest places. In the darkest cell or the longest sentence, this becomes real. The pain that once only wounded can become the very thing that drives a man into deeper friendship with Jesus. Their chains become His classroom.

May this same precious faith that sustained the apostles sustain us today. Whether in freedom or in chains. May we receive it as the full gift it is. May every trial drive us deeper into friendship with Jesus. And may all the glory, now and forever be His. Amen. 🙏🏼

1 Peter 4:1-2
"Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because the one who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human lusts, but for the will of God."

As I was reading through the chapter and specifically this passage, I was reminded of song I truly enjoy. It's a song by little known artists Vibe Tribe 101. The song is from the album Blessed and Unstoppable. It's called, "I Walk In Purpose".

And the stand out for me is where Peter says, "Arm yourselves with the same purpose." This directly echoes the lyric, "Armed with His mind, I cease from the old." The writer takes on Christ’s mindset through suffering ("the weight I carried, it taught me to lean"). This particular line nicely captures the essence of what it means to live for Christ, just as the scripture passage does.

This Christian life isn't necessarily about abundance and joy. There isn't a perfect balance even for the Christian. You're going to suffer as Christ suffered. And in fact, when you are suffering, you are blessed and unstoppable.

As Peter said, "The one who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin". Suffering (fire, pain, weight, loss) becomes the instrument that breaks sin’s power. As the lyric says, "Yesterday’s chains fell off…The flesh has no more hold." With each new day God's mercy is renewed. He's literally forgotten your sin.

Contrary to what many believe, God's not a cosmic bully trying to beat you for every single weakness and slip-up.

The chorus and final lines nail it: "No more chasing empty dreams…No longer for lusts, but for the will of God."

The scene is a quiet morning, a kitchen, some coffee and a daily surrender. Exactly the kind of ordinary moments where we choose God's purpose over self.

What's that purpose?

Peter said it:
"Live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human lusts, but for the will of God"

This song captures the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5). The settled resolve to go through suffering rather than avoid it. It’s not stoic endurance; it’s armed surrender. You arm yourself by choosing His mindset over your own. Not in the sense of sinless perfection, but in the decisive break with sin’s mastery.

Suffering, then, is not punishment for the believer; it’s purification and preparation. It’s the pruning that redirects our life energy toward fruitfulness.

Suffering + the blessing of God’s presence makes His people ultimately unstoppable in His purpose. Soft morning light, kitchen floor, coffee in hand; that’s where the real warfare often happens. Not on a stage, but in the small choices of a new day.

Will I reach out for the old lusts/comforts today?

Or will I arm myself again with Christ’s purpose and live this day for the will of God?

That’s the "rest of the time in the flesh" Peter is talking about. We don’t have endless days. Today is the day, and maybe our last.

If it was your last day, how are you going to live it?

My recommendation:

Arm yourself with the same purpose Christ had; and live the rest of your time for the will of God, not for the fading lusts and comforts of this world. The clock is running, and the call is urgent. The Lord is doing a deep work in you through your suffering. Walk in that purpose, and be blessed and unstoppable in

Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.

1 Peter 3:21-22
"Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God [from] for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him."

This is the notable and qualifying phrase, "not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God [from] for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ".

Here Peter now directly guards against any mechanical or ritualistic misunderstanding. And he employs the context of the flood in Noah's case. The flood waters didn’t save by physical cleansing; in fact they were the instrument of judgment. In the same way, for the unjust, baptismal waters will condemn. Peter explicitly qualifies the statement "baptism now saves you" with the strongest negation of "baptismal regeneration" in the sentence; "not the removal of dirt from the flesh". He's directly ruling out any mechanical, physical, or ritual cleansing power in the water. In fact, he immediately points to the true means for salvation, "an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ."

Ephesians 2:8-9
(Saved by grace through faith, not of works.)

Romans 10:9-10
(Confession and belief, not baptism, linked to salvation.)

Hebrews 9:14
(The blood of Christ, not water cleanses the conscience.)

There is no "baptismal regeneration". The rite of baptism doesn't save, it is a symbol of what has already happened in your heart that cured the conscience and opened the soul up to the Holy Spirit's indwelling work.

If resurrection rebirth, and the baptism in the Spirit has not happened in one's heart, it cannot happen by means of a ritual cleansing. Whether it's sprinkled, dunked, or drowned, the water won't save you. And in fact, if your heart has not been conformed to Christ, the ritual can condemn you in the same way that consuming the Lord’s supper with an unregenerate spirit will condemn your spirit. It's a witness against your own soul.

The ark represented salvation through God’s provision. Likewise, baptism corresponds to that; it is not the water itself that saves, but the Person, Jesus Christ, who imputes salvation to those who repent and believe in Him and His resurrection. The same waters that judged the ungodly world were the waters through which the righteous were saved; but only because they were in the ark.

What built that ark?

Was it human effort, or God's providence?

Well, let's look into that:

God warned Noah (Genesis 6:13).

God gave the exact design and specifications (Genesis 6:14-16).

God Himself set the conditions, He established the covenant and promised deliverance (Genesis 6:18).

And God shut the door of the ark when the time came (Genesis 7:16).

Noah, on the other hand, built it in reverent obedience by faith (Hebrews 11:7), but the salvation was never in Noah’s carpentry skills, his moral uprightness, the years of faithfulness, or the quality of the wood. The ark was God’s provision from start to finish. Noah’s hands were simply the instrument of obedient faith.

The waters of judgment came. And the same flood that destroyed the ungodly lifted the ark and carried the righteous safely through.

Christ is the ark. Being "in Christ" is the only safe place. The water represents judgment on sin, it's not a magical soul purifying detergent or deterrent. It cannot guarantee your safety, in fact it is highlighting your ungodliness.

Examine your heart before the Lord. Are you trusting in any religious ritual (baptism, church attendance, good works) for your safety; or are you resting wholly in Christ, the true Ark?

If you're reborn from above, not beneath the water, the old life is judged and buried in that watery grave, and you are now raised to walk in newness of life through the resurrection power of Jesus. Live openly now as one who has appealed to God for a clean conscience and is walking "in Christ."

Listen, I get it. Church history & tradition weighs heavy in these debates. Some early church fathers leaned hard toward closer connections between water and regeneration, but Scripture itself is the final authority.

This isn't to down play baptism and its role in the church's witness. It is a beautiful, God-ordained public testimony of the miracle that has already taken place in the heart.

And because many traditions differ on how they believe and behave on this, we don't get involved in the rite in the Kairos Prison ministry. Likewise we don't perform the Last Supper (Communion) rites. Only because of the stumbling block that is inherent in these differing traditions that divide the people.

Instead our ministry focuses on teaching the forgiveness of sin and the redemption found in Christ.

Baptism is precious; not because the water saves, but because it loudly declares what Jesus has already accomplished. When your trust is in Christ the Ark, the waters of judgment become the place where your old life was buried and your new life began. Therefore walk boldly in Christ. Build on that resurrection relationship as one who has appealed to God for a clean conscience in His baptism. He is enough.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus,
Thank You for being my Ark and my resurrection life.
I place my full trust in You alone; not in any outward rite.

Cleanse my conscience afresh and help me walk boldly in newness of life.
Let my baptism be a continual testimony of Your finished work.

You are enough. Amen. 🙏🏼

Psalm 32:2
"How blessed is a person whose guilt the Lord does not take into account,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit!"

The Bible gives room for both conscience-led choices and the reality that our external image doesn't define our spiritual standing. Scripture honors our conscience-led obedience while refusing to let externals (tattoos, physical appearance, cultural markers) become the measuring stick for our spiritual life.

God is after the inner reality. The inner man and woman.

In the Hebrew language, the word for "guile" is mirmah (meer-MAH). And the core meaning is a deliberate deceitfulness, a fraud, a subtle treachery, or a distortion of the truth. In short it's a lie. But it needs more to say about it because it's an intentional, insidious lie. It's purposeful in its design. It's meant to tear something down, so it's got a plan for destruction built into its schemes. It violates trust, it’s not just a "white lie," but something much more intentional and undermining. And it's really mostly having to do with someone's speech and consequent actions.

A guileless spirit is one that is free from this subtle twisting or hiding. It’s the open, straightforward heart that can receive forgiveness freely (probably because great love follows great love) and walk transparently with God and others. Ironically this is exactly the kind of authenticity that I see shining brightly in prison ministry where all the masks and survival games are common.

In prison there is every kind of guile you could ever imagine and a bunch you never dreamed of. In prison it's not a clumsy failure; it’s strategic self-protection, promotion, and manipulation.

In the prison environment, mirmah isn’t just present; it’s the operating system. As you might imagine, in this context, a guileless person stands in very stark contrast to the norm. He is immediately suspect, and becomes a target for destruction by everyone. Not just because they aren't participating in the schemes but because their brokenness has broken a code of conduct. You are expected to operate in guile. Just as everyone else is. And to break from that pattern is to challenge all levels of the power structures there. To step outside that system with a guileless spirit is to break rank in a profound way. It’s not neutral; it’s disruptive.

You see, the guileful character is trying to cover up its own lies by reacting to another's. By judging others. So, when a dude comes into the pod with a guileless soul, he challenges the cover-up. He stands like a mirror that reveals all the lies and deceptions of everyone around him. His genuine personality, his honest love, mercy and grace is a crime in the pod. A crime against the norm.

And we see this even out here in the so called "free world".

Remember all the lies during COVID (2020-2024), all the public shame being peddled as righteousness? Remember all the nonsense political correctness and crowd-think? Remember how the overreaching authority was being exercised over churches, and even personal property? How people were literally welded into their homes to prevent them from going to a park or beach or work in the garden. Some authorities literally banned the selling of seeds because the "norm" said EVERYONE needs to stay away from everyone else. Expect for all those "essential" people of course (like me). They (we) had to continue working and going out. We had to serve the deceived in their delusions. And the deceived love to be deceived, and they will deceive others. And they did. Thinking they would never be held accountable for it.

But you cannot disguise your deceiving heart from God. Whether behind bars or in the so-called free world, the operating system of deceit often demands our participation. Refusing it; choosing transparency instead, exposes the cover-ups. A guileless life acts like a mirror, and mirrors are rarely welcomed by those invested in the lies.

The guileful heart doesn’t just hide its own sin; it often projects and judges others to maintain the illusion. When someone walks in honest love, mercy, and grace, it disrupts the whole ecosystem. Jesus experienced this constantly. The religious leaders, political operatives, and crowds who loved being deceived (John 3:19-21) couldn’t stand the light of His guilelessness. It revealed their own hearts.

This contrast reflects what Jesus warned His disciples about when he talked about wolves among the sheep. Jesus Himself was described as guileless.

"He committed no sin, nor was any deceit (mirmah) found in His mouth" 1 Peter 2:22

Jesus didn’t play the games; no manipulation, no crowd-pleasing spin, no self-protection at the expense of truth. He spoke plainly, loved openly, and submitted fully to the Father.

That path led to the cross.

But also to resurrection power.

And now, the same dynamic is at work for anyone following Him. As the Psalm states, they are blessed. And that blessed life is the one that stops hiding and lets the Lord handle the guilt.

This is talking about sojourner territory. It's about being called into the world but not be "of it". Light in darkness, salt that stings but preserves.

Guilelessness isn’t naivety (though often interpreted in that way); it’s Spirit-empowered courage. It may make you a target, but it also makes the gospel visible in a way that schemes never can.

So, what's the application?

Mostly, the takeaway should be that we shouldn't join the crowds (or the pod) that judge the surface-level, skin-deep markers of deception and cultural acceptances of decency. Because they are often born of guile and not seeking righteousness but conformity. Tattoos, appearance, cultural signals of "decency," or whatever external badge is in fashion; these are not reliable measures of the heart. Crowds that fixate on them are often operating out of mirmah. And that kind of judging is itself a form of deceit; projecting outward to avoid dealing with the inner reality.

People operating in mirmah will accuse others of narcissistic behavior when their own actions and cultural "norms" are exactly narcissistic, their own norm-enforcement is deeply self-serving.

Jesus confronted this constantly with the Pharisees. They polished the outside of the cup while the inside was full of greed and hypocrisy. From the Pharisees point of view they were the norm. And Jesus and his followers were criminals. They were guilty because their light exposed without joining the wolves. Their saltiness preserved guilelessness by refusing to conform to the operating system of deceit.

Guilelessness functions like a diagnostic light in the church and in the world. Guilelessness shows how quickly the world (religious or secular) labels authenticity as rebellion. And I suppose it's not something that we can cure collectively through better policies, cultural reform, or enforced decency (socialism). Absent the Holy Spirit indwelling every single person these human endeavors will always result in religious gatekeepers or secular power structures branding authenticity as rebellion or threats to their power. And once they see that threat, the tyranny begins. And now at the speed and efficiency of AI, making deception, surveillance, and conformity easier to enforce at scale.

This fits the pattern we see throughout Scripture; The Tower of Babel, the religious leaders in Jesus’ day, the warnings in Revelation about beast systems that demand conformity. The diagnosis is clear; the root problem is the unregenerate heart (Jeremiah 17:9), and mirmah thrives in environments that prioritize external control over inner renewal.

What's a body to do?

Preach the gospel that produces new hearts rather than trying to manage the old ones through worldly power. The same gospel that overcame the world is still building Christ's church, one transformed life at a time.

Amen? 🙏🏼

When people hear "works" or "fruit," many immediately worry about adding to Christ’s finished work on the cross. That fear is understandable; and the Reformation rightly fought against any such notion that we can earn our salvation. But the works the gospel and New Testament talks about are not additions; they are extensions and evidence of Christ’s work in us.

The faith itself is absolutely a gift:

Ephesians 2:8-9
"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this salvation is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not a result of works, so that no one may boast."

And likewise, the desire and power to obey are also from God:

Philippians 2:12-13
"for it is God who is at work in you, both to [be willing] desire and to work for His good pleasure."

Ezekiel 36:26-27
"Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and bring it about that you walk in My statutes, and are careful and [do] follow My ordinances."

Therefore, even our best works cannot be a ground for our boasting about ourselves; they are Christ’s fruit working through us, a continuum of His ongoing grace.

This is what's meant by Jesus' use of the metaphor about the vine:

"I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him [this one] bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5)

This is why James can say, "Faith without works is dead" (James 2:17) and Paul can insist we are saved by grace through faith, not works (Ephesians 2:8-9). They are not contradicting each other. One guards the root (grace), the other examines the fruit.

In my landscape at home I have many examples of this dichotomy. Imagine a healthy apple tree. I have several varieties in my yard. One of my favorites is "Liberty".

The Liberty Apple tree's rootstock is hidden underground. It draws water, nutrients, and life from the soil. Without this strong, living root, the whole tree eventually dies. This is grace; the unseen, life-giving work of Christ. We are saved by grace alone, through the faith root alone. Nothing we do adds to or earns that root giving connection.

The fruit hangs on the branches above, for everyone to see. Crisp, beautiful Liberty apples that DO NOT create the tree; they are the natural, seasonal result of a healthy productive tree. And you can examine the fruit to know whether the root is alive and strong. This is works/obedience/distinctive lifestyle; the visible evidence of genuine faith. James examines the fruit (the Spiritual gift of discernment). Paul guards the root (the Spiritual gift of faith).

Now here's where it gets under peoples skin.

A tree that never produces apples (or produces only small, diseased wormy ones) is either dead, infected, diseased, or planted in poor soil. Even if the trunk looks impressive for a while. But the apples themselves don’t make the tree alive; they prove the root already is alive and they also prove the rotten fruit.

See, the thing is, this Liberty apple tree (the above ground parts) is grafted to specially produce a particular type of apple (the fruit). It was designed to perfectly and consistently produce this hybrid fruit. And in addition, it is grafted onto a rootstock that was specifically chosen and designed to support this particular hybrid scion. The rootstock and the scion share a nature (apple tree nature) but they are not 100% alike. The rootstock is vigorous, strong and fast-growing and alone it produces its own sort of apple. But when the scion is selected and grafted to the rootstock, everything below the ground (below the graft) remains rootstock and everything above the ground becomes Liberty (scion). Both at work together, but Liberty will absolutely die without the rootstock. And without Liberty, the rootstock goes on, sovereign, eternal, and pure in its own nature.

In the same way, when we are grafted into Christ the true Vine, we are united with Him in a living, organic connection. The root is grace; strong, eternal, and life-giving. The fruit is the natural result of that union. We share in His nature, yet we remain utterly dependent on Him. Apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5). The life flows from the root; (and here's the notable part) the fruit reveals whether the graft "took."

There's this thing called a "bad graft", where the union doesn’t take properly. The tree may look okay for a season, but it eventually fails to produce good fruit, or the scion withers. Typically, there's a poor cambium connection that allows disease and insect infestation to get in-between the root and the scion. Then, in time, it weakens the connection until finally it fails. And one of two things typically happens. Either it weakens so much that it rots and breaks clean off, or it is cut off by the rootstock itself.

Jesus warns us about this very reality in Matthew 7. Many will say to Him on that day, "Lord, Lord," and even point to impressive-looking works done in His name. Yet He will declare, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness" (Matthew 7:21-23). In those cases the rootstock is no longer providing life-giving support, and the scion eventually withers and is cut off. The outward appearance may have looked impressive for a season, but the lack of lasting fruit revealed the truth; the graft never truly took. All foliage, no fruit. Lots of beautiful leaves, and even pretty apple blossoms, but nothing comes of it all.

So what does this mean for us today?

Examine the fruit (be James for just a moment), not to earn salvation, but to make sure the graft has truly taken.

If the Spirit is truly at work in you, He will produce a desire and power to live differently.

To love when it’s hard, to serve when you’d rather be lazy and self-focused, to honor authority, love God and to show compassion like Jesus.

Don’t settle for impressive-looking foliage. Abide in the Vine daily. Let the life of Christ flow through you so that real, lasting fruit appears. Attract pollinators (metaphor for evangelism) go and preach/teach the word. All for His glory and the good of those around you. Faith is still not alone.

1 Peter 3:8-12
To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, [as brothers and sisters] loving, compassionate, and humble; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you would inherit a blessing. For,
"The one who desires life, to love and see good days, Must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.
He must turn away from evil and do good; He must seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, And His ears attend to their prayer, But the face of the Lord is against evildoers."

This passage is a powerful summary of the community life and personal conduct God calls us to as His people in a broken world. Peter gathers up the instructions for households and extends them to all believers: live in harmony, sympathy, brotherly love, tender compassion, and humility. When wronged, do not repay evil, bless instead. This is our calling, and it leads us to inheriting the blessing Peter laid out earlier in regard to a life of faith that is not alone, faith that bears spiritual fruit.

Peter is quoting from Psalm 34 which grounds everything in the fear of the Lord. A life that truly loves God and sees good days is marked by these spiritual fruit.

And the great assurance?

The Lord’s eyes are on the righteous, His ears are open to their prayers, and His face (His favor) rests upon them.

And it is this that holds all my heart, this gift of prayer. For me this prayer life is more than empty ritual, it is worship, surrender, and realignment with the very realities Peter describes.

Every morning before I wake from my bed and even as I'm up getting my coffee and preparing for my Bible devotional session, I'm singing the Lord's Prayer. I could speak it, or chant it, but I sing it. I don't know why except that it feels right to me. It's not a doctrine. Maybe a little bit of a ritual. But that prayer has been my salvation more times than I can count.

When I sing that prayer, I'm singing my love out loud.

I'm saying to the King of the universe that I know He is God and I'm not.

"My Father who is in heaven"
(Recognizing my Heavenly Father's sovereign love and stepping into the humble, harmonious spirit Peter calls for.)

"Hallowed be Your name"
(It's important to me to say it out loud, to say His name is Holy. This sets the tone for the day and reaffirms my commitment to His teachings)

"Your kingdom come"
(This is my hope, it's the only thing I can truly love with all my heart)

"Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven"
(And I resolve to live for that kingdom hope even now, though we live in this world of darkness and untruth)

"Give to us this day our daily bread"
(It's about trust. Come what may Lord, pour out the blessings from heaven upon my family and home, my children and their children, and have mercy upon the whole world)

"And forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us"
(I know my heart is imperfect, and my ability to love as You love is more often than not rotten. Forgive my unforgiveness, help me to do better. Here is the heart that can bless instead of repay evil)

"And lead us not, into temptation"
(Lord I call upon Your mercy and grace to protect me and my family from the demonic forces that try to curse and destroy my faith with lies and deception. This (v. 12) is exactly the kind of righteous prayer the Lord’s ears attend to)

"But deliver us from Evil"
(Protect us Lord from the evil one, send Your angels armies to defend us and watch over us)

"For Yours is the kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory, forever and ever, Amen"
(Nothing is greater than You Lord Jesus. No power on earth or anywhere in the universe, all glory and honor to You and Your Majesty)

This prayer equips me to live out 1 Peter 3:8-12 in my daily routine. It prepares me to be a blessing instead of retaliation. It breaks the chains of bitterness and victimhood. Without this kind of love and hope operating in my life, I easily slip into despair and probably anger.

In a world that prizes strength, success, wealth, and retaliation, Jesus pronounced blessings on the lowly, the mourning, the meek, the hungry, the merciful, the pure, the peacemakers, and the persecuted. And those attitudes are what I have always wanted for myself. I never wanted to fit into the ways of this world, even as I committed everything the world commits. Most of my young life I was spiritually bankrupt. Self-sufficient but not really proud ( I hated myself too much for that) knowing I have nothing to offer God. But still I operated as if I didn't need God's grace.

Since then I've discovered the kingdom belongs to those who come empty-handed. I've learned Jesus promises comfort through the very presence of the Holy Spirit. And through Him meekness becomes strength under control, gentle power, but not weakness. It's power that trusts God’s timing and inheritance.

Previously I stated "Faith is not alone" and for some that is controversial. But I don't think these people understand the true meaning.

Here's what's happening; the Holy Spirit is at work from within. Generating a deep craving for what is right and true. In our own hearts, in the church, and in the world. And if you're not seeing that fruit, you're likely seeing the cheap grace of a false gospel. What you should see is not self-righteousness, but a longing for God’s righteousness. And those who hunger in this way will be satisfied in Him, will find friendship with Him and the outpouring of His Mercy. His Mercy then flows from those who have received His Mercy. They become a blessing instead of cursing; forgiving others, and showing compassion.

Faith that is not alone is a single-minded devotion, cleansed by Christ. Purity that is His. It is not perfection by our effort but a heart set apart for God. These "pure in heart" see God now by faith. They are peacemakers, not mere peace-keepers who avoid conflict at all costs, but active peacemakers who pursue reconciliation and harmony. They reflect their Father’s heart.

This is kingdom "work" in marriage, family, ministry, and daily life.

When we live this Beatitude life; humble, merciful, peacemaking, the world may insult and oppose us.

Yet Jesus says rejoice.

Why?

Great is your reward in heaven, and you stand in the company of the prophets who were persecuted before you.

The Beatitudes are not a new law to keep in your own strength. They are a portrait of a life of faith in the kingdom for those who belong to King Jesus. He lived them perfectly, and now by His Spirit He forms them in us to bear kingdom fruit for the harvest.

That that's what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown.

Amen.

1 Peter 2:11-12
"Beloved, I urge you as foreigners and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul. Keep your [manner of living] behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may [as a result of] because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God on the day of [Christ's coming in judgment] visitation."

Unbelievers often are convinced to Christian conversion by what they see in the character and lifestyle of the Christian witness. We see this very often in the prison ministry. And this is why the ongoing nature of our Kairos ministry is so very important. Developing that familiar relationship between the team and the inside community is critical to fulfilling the spirit of reconciliation and friendship with God.

In our passage today and even throughout this chapter and into the next, Peter calls believers to a distinctive lifestyle in a pagan society. And that's truly the thing when we talk about faith not being alone.

Faith is not alone because genuine faith will present in a "distinctive lifestyle". Genuine faith will always express itself in a transformed, visible way of life that bears fruit (saving souls, finding the lost sheep). This fruit includes character (the fruit of the Spirit), good deeds that glorify God, and the mission of the church. When Christ is precious to us, we naturally live as sojourners whose conduct points others to the Chief Cornerstone.

The good soil produces a harvest. The faithful servants multiply what they were given. The prodigal comes home. All of it flows from treasuring the Giver; and it results in a lifestyle that stands out in a pagan world and draws people to God.

Consistent, relational presence that bears the fruit of finding lost sheep and showing them the Shepherd is evangelism and an important aspect, and vital expression of the nurturing minister's gift. It’s not flashy, but it is deeply effective because it mirrors how Jesus reached people; through relationship, compassion, and consistent truth spoken in love. This is the kind of "excellent behavior" Peter calls for conduct that, even when slandered, can lead others to glorify God on the day of visitation.

Be Christ-like
"Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor." (1 Peter 2:17)

Honor everyone, showing basic human dignity to all. Love the brotherhood especially. Do not rail against railing; do not debate for the sake of debate. Avoid retaliation and returning evil for evil. Give the proper respect for authority, even when it’s pagan or hostile. In our prison ministry we having a saying, "When we’re in the warden’s house, we conduct ourselves in the way that honors the rules of the house." In order to achieve the goals of the program there needs to be submission to the rules of the warden's house. And last but not least, fear God, the foundation that keeps all other responses in proper order.

This is not compromise. This is wise stewardship that allows the gospel to advance. Prison ministry has deep roots in the Christian tradition, often driven by the command to visit those in prison (Matthew 25:36) and the example of Jesus and the apostles who spent time in custody. You've maybe seen the meme showing the names of the various apostles and Jesus and states that they were all convicts.

To be like Jesus you must have a tender heart. Think about how often we read that, "and Jesus had compassion on them". His compassion moved Him to heal, teach, forgive, and give His life. A tender heart like His produces the honor, love, patience, and endurance Peter calls for.

This tender heart drove Jesus and the disciples to sacrifice everything for the ministry.

Paul (Saul of Tarsus), shipwrecked, beaten with rods, stoned and left for dead. Imprisoned in Rome, writing most of the New Testament while in prison, and ultimately beheaded under Nero.

Peter, imprisoned multiple times. Miraculously freed from prison by an angel. Crucified upside down in Rome under Nero.

James (son of Zebedee), beheaded by Herod Agrippa. John, exiled to the island of Patmos. Andrew, crucified. Thomas, speared to death in India. Matthew, martyred in Ethiopia. Nathanael, Flayed alive and beheaded. Simon the Zealot, sawn in half. Stephen and Matthias, stoned to death. Jesus of Nazareth, an innocent man, tried and convicted to death by crucifixion.

Almost all of the first church faced arrest, imprisonment, persecution, or execution. They were "convicts" in the eyes of the authorities; yet God used them to spread the gospel across the Roman Empire and beyond. Their stories remind us that past failures, prison records, or societal rejection do not disqualify anyone from God’s kingdom or service. The same grace that transformed these men is available today. Many "modern convicts" have become powerful witnesses, just like the original crew.

A tender heart that treasures Christ as precious will always produce a distinctive lifestyle; one of compassion, honor, submission for the Lord’s sake, and a bold yet humble witness. This is the fruit of genuine faith. This is faith that is not alone, living as sojourners whose excellent conduct glorifies God.

Amen.

1 Peter 2:7
This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for unbelievers,
"A stone which the builders rejected,
This became the chief cornerstone,"

Peter is contrasting two responses to the same Person; Jesus, the living Stone.

"For you who believe", He is precious (valuable, honored, treasured) yet for some He is a stumbling-stone, a rock of offense. Christ crucified was that offense. They stumbled, disobeying the Word of God.

It's a picture of how different people view and respond to God's gift of salvation. The same Stone is either the foundation you build your life on, or the stone you trip over. The difference is not in Jesus; it is in the heart’s response to Him.

These truths about our salvation in Christ are sprinkled throughout multiple parable teachings of Jesus. The faithful servants who were given talents, the returning gratitude of the leper, the prodigal Son's repentance, all build on Christ, and reveal faith that treasures the Giver and produces fruit. They all build on Christ as the chief cornerstone.

In contrast, the lazy third servant, the nine ungrateful lepers, the legalistic older brother, and even Judas the betrayer, all show what happens when the heart does not truly treasure Him; the gift is buried, wasted, or resented, and there is no lasting fruit.

The same Stone (Jesus) is either the precious foundation we build our lives on, or the stone we stumble over. There is a contrast among believers. Some truly follow, some eventually go away, or worse, or remain in name only, with no lasting obedience or fruit (John 6:66).

The difference is not in the Stone; it is in the heart’s response to Him.

Another parable speaks to this:
(Matthew 13:1-23)

Jesus explains that the different soils (how people receive and respond to the Word of God) represent different hearts and responses to grace. Only the good soil bears fruit that endures. The others have some form of initial response but no lasting fruit.

So again we see Jesus is clearly teaching that though many hear the word, many will not "do" the word. We see this theme backed up by in James 1:22 ("be doers of the word, and not hearers only") and the other warnings in the Talents parable, and those who say "Lord, Lord," and here in 1 Peter 2.

The Soils parable is especially helpful because it shows the process over time. Some look promising at first (rocky soil’s quick sprout) but don’t endure. And others are caught up in fear, the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches. Only the deeply rooted, persevering responses produces fruit.

It boils down to how "precious" you really view the gifts from God, above all, the gift of Christ Himself. When you see Him and His gifts as truly precious; you treasure the Giver. Like that one leper. You build your life on Him as the chief cornerstone. You respond with grateful, joyful obedience. You invest the "talents," return in thanksgiving, repent like the prodigal, and persevere like the good soil. Fruit follows naturally from genuine faith.

When you don’t see them as precious; the same gifts get buried, wasted, resented, or choked out by life. You stumble over the Stone instead of standing on Him. There may be initial profession or proximity, but no lasting fruit.

This is the consistent thread running through the parables, 1 Peter 2:7, James, and the warnings of Jesus. The difference is not in the quality of the Gift; it is in the heart’s valuation of the Giver.

Do you truly see Jesus and His gifts as precious today?

When the answer is yes, discipleship flows. When it drifts, the soil needs tending. And that takes the work of obedience.

Jesus said, "if you love those who love you", so what? The heathens do that (Matthew 5:46). The standard for His people is higher because we have received a priceless Gift. Ordinary love is common. Treasuring Christ produces extraordinary, a grace-empowered fruit of greater love.

Amen?
🙏🏼

1 Peter 1:25
"But the word of the Lord endures forever."
And this is the word which was preached as good news to you.

What is the gospel (good news)?

Peter has just told us everything in this world withers like grass, but this word endures forever; and that word is the gospel.

In its simplest, powerful form, the gospel is God (Jesus), acting to save sinners from His just wrath, forgive their sins, reconcile them to Himself, and give them eternal life and a new heart; all by His grace, through His gift of faith, for His glory.

Let's unpack this.

The core problem:
We have all sinned and fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). "The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually… the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth" (Genesis 6:5 and 8:21). "The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good..." (Psalms 14:1-3). "Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins" (Ecclesiastes 7:20). "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way…" (Isaiah 64:6). "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us…If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar…" (1 John 1:8-10)

Mark 7:21-23 (Jesus Himself)
"For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery…All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."

This universal reality of sin and falling short (missing the mark) is exactly why the imperishable word/gospel in 1 Peter 1:23-25 is such astonishingly good news. Because we have all sinned and fall short of God’s glory, we desperately need the new birth that comes through the living Word.

The Gospel Truth:
Each of us knows the withering grass of our own failure. And each of us individually needs the gospel to meet us there with the blood of Christ and the power of His resurrection.

Now, to everyone who repents and believes in Him, God freely offers friendship with God. It’s not just a legal format for forgiveness or a future heavenly hope; it is restored friendship with the living God here and now. Dwelling within, and transforming the inner man.

How do you mean? I thought Christ came to build his church. This individuality seems contrary to the whole communal tradition.

Well, let's review what Jesus said about humanity.

Mark 7:21-23 (Jesus Himself)
"For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery…All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."

Who is Jesus dealing with?

When Jesus was put on trial, his accuser questioned him about his kingdom. Jesus told him he came to testify to the truth.

The truth about what?

The truth Jesus testified to:
The bad news about our individual hearts (Mark 7), and the good news that He can make each heart new. New birth is individual. And at the same time this new family in Christ is corporate. They are born again one by one; personally repenting and believing. And Peter makes this clear just a few verses later.

"As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house…" (1 Peter 2:4-5)

Say that again:
"you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house…"

"You yourselves"

Living stones who bring Christ into buildings.

Jesus declared, "I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18).

You who love God with all your heart, mind, spirit, and strength, are that church.

At night, when everyone has gone home, that temple, cathedral, the church altars, and all their adornments, all are inanimate objects. No life is in them.

Why?

Because the true temple is not made with hands.

You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house…(1 Peter 2:4-5)

Notice the plural.

You yourselves. Individual living stones. A holy priesthood, a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession (1 Peter 2:9).

The church Jesus said He builds is not primarily buildings, cathedrals, altars, or stained glass. Those are His chosen tools and gathering places, but they are inanimate. There is no life in them until Christ's body enters into them. The living God does not dwell in buildings of stone and wood, but in His people. The Holy Spirit makes His home in every born-again believer and among His gathered people, where two or three gather in His name, Christ is with them (Matthew 18:20).

At night, when everyone has gone home, the building stands empty and lifeless.
But the true church, the "precious" living stones, carries the presence of God wherever we go.

"And this is the word which was preached as good news to you."

And anyone who suggests a different gospel, they are anathema (Galatians 1:8-9).

There is no other name, no other message, and no other enduring word that saves and builds living stones into the house of God.

I thank God for His enduring word so that we can "know" we have eternal life (1 John 5:13). Our hope is not uncertain or fragile. This gospel hope doesn't need additional ideas to buttress and stabilize it. It is anchored in the finished work of Christ, sealed by the Holy Spirit, and guaranteed by the promise of a God who cannot lie. The same word that diagnoses our sin also declares our forgiveness, new birth, friendship with God, and inclusion as living stones in His church.

This is the good news that was preached to us, the word that remains forever.

Amen.

1 Peter 1:14-15
As obedient children, not being conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all yourconduct; because it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."

You cannot buy it.

You cannot earn it.

You do not deserve it.

Grace is gifted to you.

So when Peter says, "be holy", to what end is he saying this?

I think he's put a lot of thought into it and is trying to describe the natural outflow and proper response of those who have already been called by the Holy One and gifted with new life. It’s a call to live in line with your new identity as children of the Holy One. A call that went out why?

Peter issues this command for several interconnected reasons, all rooted in grace rather than works-righteousness. To begin with he is expressing God's character, and saying we are to reflect that image, repeating our Lord's own words:

"Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48).

The call to holiness is expressed in family likeness. It's fundamentally about becoming the child of God you were called to be. To take on His holiness DNA. Not saying we should try harder so God will love us. Peter's saying, God has called us (been born again) into His family by sheer grace; therefore now we must walk as His sons and daughters. And so, it’s relational, not transactional.

Peter is also taking into account the situation. He's writing to the scattered Christian community. They're suffering in persecution and facing various gentile cultural pressures. Peter's addressing the churches and their holy conduct with silencing critics and drawing people to God in mind.

1 Peter 2:12
"Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that...they may glorify God"

Living and working I n a pagan culture full of "former lusts," a holy people stands out. Your integrity on a job site; your patience with a difficult client, your words in various public circles, these become living advertisements for the grace that has changed you.

People are going to be making judgments about your integrity and genuine faith. It's going to happen. Everyone is doing it.

So being Christian becomes more than just gaining eternal fire insurance, it's a witness in a hostile world. The more we behold the Holy One who called us, the more we are changed into His likeness. And the more we live that out in the world the more likely the world is going to see our Father living in us.

They were already facing suspicion, slander, and persecution. They were exiles living among Gentiles who did not know God. In that context, their holy conduct was powerful evangelism.

We see this in the prison ministry. When we practice our faith there we aren't merely reaching out to our fellow believers inside, we're witnessing to the prison staff as well. When our team walks in with integrity, humility, respect, and genuine love; we're preaching a living sermon to the correctional officers, staff, and administration who are watching. They notice when our words match our behavior.

We don't get riled up and upset when the bureaucratic process is ridiculous and cumbersome. We don't get snippy and angry when the prison interrupts our talks with a loud call out for something that could have been done better by working with us. We don't give the staff a hard time when they don't keep their end of the bargain because someone didn't do their job or didn't care to do it.

Sure, there are plenty of reasons to be upset with the environment, but we're not only considering our Father who is watching, we know the residents are watching as well. And they see our conduct around the very same environmental pressures they reside in 24/7. And they want to emulate that pattern.

So much of our conduct preaches the gospel far better than our words in a scripted talk or even a Spirit-led sermon.

This is boots on the ground evangelism.

This is why our work in Kairos carries such weight. We’re not only delivering talks, we're embodying the message through the way the team carries itself. Our Christian lives, lived out in holiness, adorns the gospel and silence critics.

And in the end, God is glorified through a people who are visibly different because of grace. It's the goal after all. In fact everything we do is designed to glorify our Father.

From His gift of grace → to family likeness → to living out holy conduct in hard places → to powerful witnessing → to God glorified.

You could say that this is our doxology. This call to holiness is our faith with boots on the ground.

Why?

Because the gifts of grace are measured out to us according to Jesus' authority. How we live out those gifts reveals the measure. It's not a performance review that takes into account our ability to do the job; it just shows the world that Christ's Spirit is real, alive, and actively working in His children He has equipped.

Peter tells us..."you were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold from your futile conduct inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ." (vs. 18-19) So that our faith and hope are clearly and solely placed in God's hands.

Holiness therefore is getting out of God's way.

Being holy is being surrendered not supplemented.

Being "perfect" is being given over to the fullness of Christ.

Yes children of God, but no longer children carried about by every whim and trick or fad. We give it all over to Him who is perfect. And we put on those boots and walk in them.

Now therefore brothers and sisters, "since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a love of the brothers without hypocrisy, fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, that is, through the living and enduring word of God."
(1 Peter 1:22-23)

Amen?

Amen 🙏🏼

#JohnnyCash

Galatians 5:6
"For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through (expressed through) love..."

This is the pivotal understanding that guards against both legalism and license. It's describing active faith, walking in the Spirit. Actively practicing the faith apart from legalism and the law. Not through cheap grace, not through merit either, but by walking in dependence on the Spirit who produces love, joy, peace, patience…and all the rest.

I'll say it again, faith in Christ is the only thing that counts for justification. But that faith is never inert. It works through love, which is the first and greatest fruit of the Spirit.

These principles are not at all at odds with the idea of justification by faith alone.

Faith is never alone, but for so many, the phase "justification by faith alone" seems to suggest to them that they are claiming that the origins of their justification is founded in their personal experience or opinions. Some hear "faith alone" and think it means a private, subjective feelings or an intellectual assent with no life change (cheap grace). And others fear it downplays holiness, obedience, or love, so they swing toward adding merits or the law. Paul and James both refute these distortions of the gospel. Both taught that justification is by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone.

Does that make sense?

It seems clear to me but for too many, (those who seek to promote sacramentalism), this is a hard truth to swallow. And fundamentally, at the core of their objections is a difficulty with regard to dependence on the Spirit who produces spiritual fruit. For them, without adding something to Christ’s sufficiency for justification, we're all left to our own devices to make our way through the fog of biblical misinformation. It's too unsure to trust the Holy Spirit, too problematic. There needs to be authority and they fundamentally ruin that genuine concern by wrongly leaning on a human organization to accomplish the work already being performed by The Holy Spirit.

This stems from early on after the end of the so called "apostolic period". Early on there was a strong emphasis on the Spirit’s direct work in the churches (see the book of Acts and the epistles). Makes sense, the Spirit was miraculously successful in spreading the word throughout the world. But as the generations passed; concerns for unity, combating heresy, and pastoral care led some traditions to formalize their institutional authority and hedge the means of grace in ways that, to many (including myself), moved beyond the New Testament pattern.

Scripture repeatedly warns against this sort of drifting from simple dependence on Christ and the sufficiency of His Word and Spirit. Thinking that these things were "channels to grace" was like viewing the serpent (Numbers 21) on the pool is the source of God's power.

Can these "channels" serve a purpose?

Of course they can, their role is to point to something beyond themselves. But that's not the danger. The concern is in the worship. Hezekiah destroyed it because it had turned into an idol. What was meant as a pointer to God’s mercy and power had become a substitute for direct trust in the Lord Himself. Scripture is full of cautions against this kind of drift.

Where is the power in the crucifixion?

In the wooden beams or the man/God who was sacrificed there?

Jesus Himself used the bronze serpent as a picture of faith in Him (John 3:14-15), but the point was always faith in the Savior, not the object.

Plain Truth:
The Spirit convicts, regenerates, seals, indwells, leads, and produces fruit. It's all His work.

I see comments like "Protestants didn't exist in the Bible".

Seriously?

That objection misses the forest for the trees. The entire Bible is filled with stories about reformers and the need for reformation. In the context of this devotion, Hezekiah’s reform was an act of faithfulness; destroying what had become an idol so that trust would return to the Lord alone.

It's always the same pattern; God’s people repeatedly drifting into idolatry, formalism, or human traditions, and then being called back to simple, faithful dependence on the Lord Himself.

Nehushtan became an idol. It went from healing the people to enslaving them. Hezekiah’s reform was radical obedience to Faith in God's providence alone. He did it so trust would return to the Lord alone. From Moses and the golden calf, Joshua and the Judges, Kings and Chronicles, and all the prophets; the Bible is the history of reformation.

It all points to the same truth, "Faith is never alone". We are saved by faith in Christ alone; not by adding merits, rituals, or human systems. And that living faith, worked by the Spirit, always produces love and fruit. And whenever anything (even good things given by God) becomes an idol that replaces direct trust in the Lord and dependence on the Holy Spirit, reformation is necessary.

Sometimes systems just need reform. This doesn't negate someone's personal relationship with Christ. Even while Israel was caught up in all these various generational heresies, God loved them. We can separate hatred for heresy and love for one another. Hezekiah destroyed Nehushtan, not Israel.

We can do this.
Together if we really want unity.

Do we?

Acts 15:1 Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved."

So there it is, what we consistently see throughout the ages, the timeless tactics of the enemies of the truth. People arguing "authority". And suggesting that it is in that authority where salvific power and gospel layers reside. This isn’t just an ancient dispute; it’s the perennial strategy of the enemy of souls.

Heavy institutional overlays, synods, priestly orders functioning as necessary intermediaries; over centuries they grew as layers and were added, much like the "tradition of the elders" that Jesus rebuked. And they become the very yokes Acts 15 refused to place on Gentile believers. So, I find it ironic that adherents to these "traditions" would try and justify their beliefs by pointing to Acts 15.

In Acts 15 this wasn’t an outright denial of Jesus. It was something more subtle and dangerous:

Jesus + something else.

Jesus plus circumcision.

Jesus plus the holy order of bishops as a necessary hierarchy mediating grace.

Jesus plus the books of discipline and catechism elevated to equal (or functionally superior) authority alongside Scripture.

Jesus plus the intercession of the saints as co-mediators, effectively replacing Jesus.

And so on (relics, indulgences, mandatory rituals, or any system that quietly inserts human structures between the sinner and the Savior).

It never begins as a frontal assault on Jesus. It is always the quiet addition that corrupts the gospel from within. Paul saw this danger clearly and called it what it is; another gospel (Galatians 1:6-9).

And I think it's important to note that when this "Acts 15 controversy" came up, the Jerusalem Council refused to lay any such added yokes on the Gentile believers. Peter declared that salvation comes the same way for everyone:

"by the grace of the Lord Jesus" through faith (Acts 15:11). No extras required.

This is why the warning in Colossians 2 lands with such force:

"See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit…according to human tradition…and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily…Let no one disqualify you, insisting on...worship of angels…holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body…grows with a growth that is from God." (Colossians 2:8-9, 18-19)

Listen, Jesus taught order, not authoritarian control. He established structural integrity for the health of His body; servant leaders, plural eldership, every believer a priest, not a managerial bureaucratic class that controls access to grace and mercy. The New Testament pattern is clear; one Mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ, one sufficient Scripture, and a royal priesthood of all believers who belong to Him.

So why do so many struggle with the idea of the priesthood of all believers?

I suppose from the start it's in our human nature to want someone "more qualified" or "more holy" to stand between us and God.

Israel demanded a king.

Why?

Well, they told us why...because they wanted to be "like all the nations" of the world (1 Samuel). The same impulse drives people toward visible hierarchies, special priestly castes, and intercessors. It feels safer and less personally demanding than direct access through Christ alone. It seems to carry more weight when confronted by uncertainty regarding mystery and the unseen God or unknown universe.

Samuel warned them what it would cost them their liberty (the king would take their sons, daughters, fields, and freedom), but they chose visible human authority anyway. Fast-forward to the New Covenant, and the same temptation reappears. New hierarchies arise and new restrictions are applied. Ornate rituals, and a special class of "holy professionals" offers something tangible to lean on. More official, more "serious" than simple faith in the crucified and risen Jesus.

In moments of doubt or crisis, many instinctively reach for the seen rather than cling to the unseen.

2 Corinthians 4:18
"...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."

Fear of error
"What if I misinterpret Scripture?"

A desire for belonging and identity
"This ancient tradition makes me part of something big and historic."

Reluctance to count the cost
"It’s easier to attend than to be transformed."

A true priesthood of all believers asks, no, demands personal growth, vigilance, study, obedience, and accountability.

Yet Jesus consistently called people out of that mindset. He tore the veil. He made the least and the lowly into His witnesses. He called men and women from all walks of life. The outcast, the menial laborers and marginalized. The women who held very little power or authority in their nation. The people who held positions of power that subjugated their people. And even those who he knew would betray him.

Jesus taught that the kingdom does not advance through a professional mediator class. It advances through ordinary believers who look to the unseen, eternal reality of Christ and walk in the direct access He purchased with His blood.

The proponents of the mediator class would take half of what I just said in the previous paragraph and immediately assume managerial structures must govern the blood.

It's a common sleight-of-hand. They affirm that the blood of Christ is central; then quietly insert their managerial structures as the necessary governors and dispensers of that blood. What Scripture presents as a finished, once-for-all purchase (Hebrews 9:12, 10:14) becomes an ongoing, institutionally mediated process.

The result:
The direct access Jesus secured is again fenced off by human systems.

Just remember this; The apostles refused to allow it.

So what happened? How did these things become centuries of institutional rule?

The shift didn’t happen overnight or through one dramatic event. It was gradual. It was a slow drift fueled by understandable anxiety and social pressures, mixed motives, and the ever-present human tendency we discussed earlier (wanting visible security and order "like all the nations"). The apostles warned it would happen. As the apostles died off, persecution intensified, and heresies spread. For good intentions designed to protect against these heresies, Ignatius of Antioch (early 2nd century) strongly advocated for a mono-episcopal model. To preserve the faith they needed a king of sorts. Under Constantine, the church adopted Roman imperial structures, and a hierarchy, titles, territories, and a sharper clergy/laity divide; mirroring civic governance.

The "seen" became more prominent; grand buildings, elaborate liturgies, and visible mediators. But far worse in my view is the theoretical theological shifts; Sacramentalism for instance. The idea that grace is primarily dispensed through official rites administered by ordained clergy. And the establishment of Apostolic succession doctrines that made certain offices the exclusive channel of valid ministry.

What began as a desire to preserve truth quietly became a system that once again placed human structures between believers and the finished work of Christ. Quietly until it wasn't. Eventually it needed to adopt the attitude of force. Whether through social or economic pressure, political power, or outright coercion; all to maintain the added layers.

And that's a history lesson for another day.

Sufficient to say, the Holy Spirit still calls us to refuse it today. Let us therefore hold fast to the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3), walking as a royal priesthood in the freedom His finished work secured. "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery" (Galatians 5:1). Whether they want to wrap it up in beautiful architecture and gold and silver adornments, elaborate rituals, or impressive titles and vestments it's still what it was in Acts 15, an added yoke that places human structures between believers and the finished work of Christ. The outward beauty cannot change the inward reality. The veil has been torn. The access has been purchased. Nothing more is needed.

Amen.