Will you win, or lose your soul?

Will you overcome the devil?

The New Testament makes it clear that to preserve your soul for eternal life, you must be victorious over the devil (1 Cor. 6; Gal. 5; Rev. 2-3, 21-22). 

How does one overcome the devil? 

Faith in Christ is the main requirement (1 John 5:4-5), which is understandable as the keeping of Christ's commandments and other words (John 15:10-14, Luke 6:46-49 etc.).

Altogether there are seven parts of the armor of God: truth, righteousness, faith, salvation, readiness of the gospel of peace, the sword of the Holy Spirit (which is God's Word), and prayer (Ephesians 6:10-19).

Being led on the paths of righteousness for His name's sake

Everything Christians do must be consistent with the prayer of every Christian: "hallowed be" the name of their Father. It is every Christian's first commitment as a child of God. God's name should be considered to be holy, by everyone. The actions of God's children plays a major role here. 

What happens when a Christian does something that dishonors his or her Father's name? 

This Christian needs to get back onto the paths of righteousness. And that requires understanding how God leads a Christian back onto the paths of righteousness:

(1) Chastizement.
(2) Possibly wrath, if the sin was done willfully.*
(3) Forgiveness, after confession, repentance, restitution to others, and forgiveness of others. 
(4) God's Word, that describes what righteousness is.
(5) God's Holy Spirit, that enables a person to live justly.
(6) Faith and trust in God given to a Christian, so that they continue to believe in their salvation and to work it out through obedience to Christ's words.

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* This is according to one of the possible interpretations of Hebrews 10:26. 

Hearing the stern warnings of Paul to respect Christ's Body

When Christians get ill, do they think about and discuss the warnings given in 1 Corinthians 11:29-32? 

"For the one eating and drinking [wrongfully], eats and drinks judgement on himself, not discerning the body. Because of this, among you are many weak and sickly and a considerable number sleep. Now, if were judging ourselves, we would not judge! Being judged, however, by the Lord, we are chastized, so that we not be condemned with the world."  

One question among many questions to ask about this text is, "what does it mean: 'not discerning the body'?" If one reads the context---chapters 11 and 12, or the whole letter---it is a strong possibility that it is referring to "the body of Christ". Later editions of this text actually have two added words here, perhaps to make that clarification: they read, "not discerning the body of the Lord [tou kuriou]". 

So, what does it mean: to not discern the body of Christ? Again the context gives much support to a particular interpretation. In chapter 11:17-34, Paul has raised a major criticism of the church in Corinth: that when they come together for the Lord's supper, they disregard one another, not sharing their food and drink with one another. This could be "not discerning the body of Christ". One proof that this is the right interpretation is that Paul concludes this argument by saying, "If someone hungers, he must eat at home, so that you do not gather together into judgement" (verse 34a).

If this is correct, then in view of how severe the punishment is for not discerning the body of Christ, we ought to consider how we are properly to discern and respect the body of Christ. One of Scripture's definitions of the body of Christ is given in 1 John 5:1a, "Everyone who is believing that Jesus is the Christ is born of God". In sum, it appears to be the wisest course, to take the Lord's Supper with a heart of regard for all who believe that Jesus is the Christ.

To visit orphans and widows in their tribulation, James 1:27

What does the Christian life look like, according to God's Word?

"Religion pure and undefiled before the God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their tribulation; to keep oneself unstained by the world." (James 1:27)

It would make sense and follow Christ's example to understand "visit orphans and widows" literally and spiritually:
- A "literal" orphan or widow is one who lacks people protecting and helping them.
- A "spiritual" orphan or widow is one who has lost their spiritual relationship with the spiritual Father Almighty in Heaven, and the spiritual husband of the Church, Jesus Christ.

Imagine if every Christian would practice their religion this way: visiting orphans and widows (literal and spiritual ones) in their situation of tremendous difficulty. Let's pray for it for the glory of God in Jesus's name.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, Psalm 111:10

This means that without fear of the Lord, a person cannot even begin to be a little wise. 

It also means that a person without fear of God will not make a great discussion partner on the topic of God's merciful rescue through Christ Jesus. If you are preaching the Gospel to people who don't fear God, it would make sense to help them first of all with learning to fear God. 

Why can't a person become even a little wise if they do not fear God? A good explanation is provided in the New Testament, in the Letter to the Romans. Paul describes that God deprives wisdom from those who do not properly honor God. The foolishness and unintelligence of the ungodly is one of 20+ proofs of God's wrath "over all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness", listed in Romans 1:18-31. 

Christians must still honor all people, and all earthly authorities, whether they are godly or ungodly. There is no license to point out any manifestation of unwisdom in for example a government authority, for whom instead Christians are to give thanks, prayers, petitions and intercessions before God (1 Timothy 2:1). 

How can people come to fear God? Recognizing the evidence of God's wrath is a good start. A person lacking fear of God will manifest in their own lives one or all of the types of wrath listed in Romans 1:18-31. 

God's wrath shown on earth ought to act as a forewarning of God's eternal wrath, which is promised at the time of God's eternal judgement for all who have not believed in Jesus.

Scripture provides an orthodox, protestant and catholic principle

Update: I am sceptical that these three movements have not long dwelt in dreadful apostasy (with very few exceptions of individual members of these movements). Please see my articles at christrescues.substack.com and my Translator's Preface to The Christ Family Bible.

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It is a blessed thing to see that in Holy Scripture, an orthodox, catholic and protestant principle are all clearly described and set forth as principles to follow.

An orthodox principle: All churches must conform to what is the established practice (doxa) of the churches. This is the clear witness of the New Testament, e.g. in 1 Corinthians 11:16.

A protestant principle: All churches must protest against sinful, i.e. mistaken, behaviour, especially by church leaders, even bishops. This is the clear witness of the New Testament, e.g. in Galatians 2.

A catholic principle: All churches must submit to the decisions of a single council led by the Holy Spirit and a single presiding bishop. This is the clear witness of the New Testament, e.g. in Acts 15.