Friday, November 15, 2024
America, under the combined twelve years of the Obama/Biden and Biden/Harris regimes was on a path of ungodly destruction. President-elect Donald Trump’s unexpected landslide victory proves that truth. Continue praying that Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance are safely inaugurated on January 20, 2025. Trump must dismantle lawfare, DEI, woke and illegal agendas and honor the mandate given him while we as true believers maintain our focus on our great commission from Jesus: “’All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen” (Matt. 28:18–20). Thus, while President Trump governs by the people’s mandate, we honor our Savior’s great commission.
First, when the Son of God said “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” we lovingly and by faith believe Him. And since we’re not in heaven, nor has anyone ever gone to heaven, John 3:13, Christ’s authority for believers is right here on earth. For every true believer, Christ and His written testimony is supreme. His authority isn’t subject to men or women, not to theologians, pastors, Bible teachers or government authorities. Christ’s word is subject to no one and God commands every Christian to believe His Son by faith. And if not, then salvation faith has not come to that unbelieving heart, because Christ said “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). It’s being humbled to the truth and authority of God’s word. New birth faith opens one’s spiritual eyes and heart to believe and discern and teach the testimony of Christ, otherwise one does the will of his own flesh, which is not of faith. And the Spirit said “without faith it is impossible to please God” (Heb. 11:6), and “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17). Thus, we believers must be careful to “let God be true but every man a liar” (Rom. 3:4), which is a truth test.
Secondly, equipped in new birth faith, we are to “make disciples of all the nations”, meaning to mature believers in Christ. We do this wherever our lives intersect with the unbelieving world, beginning with leading our own children to faith in Christ, sharing the gospel in our workplace, church, neighborhood or sports venue. To “make disciples” is not a single event, but is a process of continual sanctification, a lifelong process of putting off the old man of sin and putting on the new man in Christ. In this process we will learn the blessedness of the words of the Holy Spirit that “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death” (Rom. 8:1–2). And when we have led others to believe Christ unto salvation, we also lead them to be baptized in water by immersion exampled by Jesus when He was baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist, Matt. 3:13. In this way we publically declare our faith in Christ being “buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4). But beware, the world will hate us for following Christ, John 15:19.
Thirdly, as part of Christ’s great commission we’re commanded to teach “them to observe all things that I have commanded you”. And when Jesus said “all things that I have commanded you”, He meant “all things”, not just some things. Now, understand that we live in a lukewarm church world in which many church leaders, pastors and teachers cherry-pick what they will or will not teach from the truths of Jesus, and that’s corrupt. They cherry-pick to satisfy church traditions, cherry-pick to satisfy their will, cherry-pick to please the culture, cherry-pick to be non-offensive, cherry-pick to make the road of salvation and eternal life appear easier than the “narrow gate and difficult path” that Christ taught at Matt. 7:13–14; they cherry-pick to please government authorities, and to safeguard their 501c3 status. Many are not true Christ-honoring shepherds of their flock, but as Jesus said are instead “a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them” (John 10:12). In this regard many, even evangelical church leaders, are cowardly hirelings using their positions to gain popularity, wealth and a retirement.
Church leaders, pastors and Bible teachers are to be what the Scriptures call “watchman” who see an enemy coming and are thus to sound the alarm and guard the flock, defend against false teachers and their ear-tickling deceptions and traditions. But instead many leaders are corrupted by their own cherry-picked and PC teachings, are weak and scatter the flock. To this the ancient prophet spoke by the Holy Spirit saying, “But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand” (Ezek. 33:6). Especially when it comes to warning people of the end-time tribulation many pastors ignoring Jesus’ words, flee their obligation to warn their people. And in the near future that will lead to the sudden “falling away” (2 Thess. 2:3) from the Christian faith. That sudden “falling away” will occur in part because pastors taught the false pre-trib rapture tradition of men “making the word of God of no effect” (Mark 7:13), and told their people that if they lived to see Antichrist, (and they will) then they missed the rapture and were left behind! What nonsense and loveless message! Such leaders deceive both themselves and their congregations, for Jesus said He gathers His elect “Immediately after the tribulation” (Matt. 24:29–31). In this every believer must decide who they will or won’t believe: traditions of men or the “it is written” word of God.
And lastly, in Christ’s great commission, He promises us true believers, “and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age”. Christ promises to be with us “even to the end of the age” for it is at the end of the age when He gathers us, His elect, “Immediately after the tribulation”. That is a great comfort; it confirms His promise “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb. 13:5). Please understand, many of us, if we do not die beforehand, may have to suffer the wrath of the Antichrist and his false prophet as promised by Dan. 7:21 and Rev. 13:7. But know that Christ is with us by His Spirit which every true believer is given at the moment of true salvation faith, for the promise is stated like this: “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). It is the Holy Spirit who leads and guides us in all truth, John 16:13. And please note, the Holy Spirit will always confirm the “it is written” testimony of God in Christ and never oppose it. But if you hear a teaching that is not according to the “it is written” testimony of God in Christ, it is not of God. God’s Spirit will always confirm what the “it is written” testimony of God in Christ says.
My new book “ON EAGLES’ WINGS” was written with much Bible study and prayer and reveals many truths in preparing unbelievers and believers alike for the 7-year tribulation and finding God’s safety and provision for the last 1,260 days of “great tribulation” (Matt. 24:21).
Marlin J. Yoder
