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Meet with Christians at 235 Willie Lane, Export, PA 15632

Bible Study: 7:00 P.M. Thursdays

Assembly: 3:00 P.M. Sundays

Try these links to meet with Christians in your area:

  www.goodfight.com OR www.churchzip.com         

Caution! some may NOT be sound in collective organization!

God's Plan For Man!

1. Hear! (Romans 10:10-17)

2. Believe! (John 3:16; 36)

3. Repent! (Acts 17:30, 31)

4. Confess! (Romans 10:9, 10)

4: Be Immersed (Baptized) in water by Jesus name (authority)!  (Acts 2:38; 22:16; 1 Peter 3:21)

5. Live Faithful To His Cause Till Death! (Revelations 2:7, 10) 

Your Purpose Driven Life

By: P. F. Katonka, Jr.

As we endeavor to live our lives to the utmost adbundancy we often forget what our purpose in life really is. We are all too often bogged down day to day with these wordly cares which appease the inner man for a short while. And a short while it is. The apostle James put it this way: (James 4:13-17) "13 Come now, ye that say, To-day or to-morrow we will go into this city, and spend a year there, and trade, and get gain: 14 whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. What is your life? For ye are a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall both live, and do this or that. 16 But now ye glory in your vauntings: all such glorying is evil. 17 To him therefore that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." We fail to realize our TRUE duty on earth in which King Solomon summed up after what pessemistic ignorant folks deem to be in (Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14) "13 This is the end of the matter; all hath been heard: fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every work into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." But pessimistic to whom? To you? To me? Yes, if we are pilgrims passing through this vast land called earth only to plant ourselves six feet deep in the grave without knowing who our God really is. The apostle Paul proclaimed of them of old, (Romans 1:18-21) "18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hinder the truth in unrighteousness; 19 because that which is known of God is manifest in them; for God manifested it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse: 21 because that, knowing God, they glorified him not as God, neither gave thanks; but became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless heart was darkened." Paul went on to say that when they professed to be wise in thier wisdom; they became fools... We think that we are wise just as they; only to become fools when we leave God the Father out of the equation of life. And to say of the Son, one Jesus the Christ, that if He had not risen from the realm of the dead, (1 Corinthians 15:12-19 ) "12 Now if Christ is preached that he hath been raised from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither hath Christ been raised: 14 and if Christ hath not been raised, then is our preaching vain, your faith also is vain. 15 Yea, we are found false witnesses of God; because we witnessed of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, neither hath Christ been raised: 17 and if Christ hath not been raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. 18 Then they also that are fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If we have only hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all men most pitiable." We would be MOST pitiable or miserable... We could enjoy the fruits of our labors as Solomon says; but to no avail without God this life is empty and vain. Ammounting to nothing but sorrow, pain, and woe. But we have a hope. A hope of heaven in eternity without begining; without end. That is... those who remember thier Creator in that they are made wise in His infallable and unreproachful wisdom. Yes, (Psalms 111:10) "The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all they that do his commandments: His praise endureth for ever." We must not despise His eternal wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7) "The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of knowledge; But the foolish despise wisdom and instruction." We need not to be as they in which Paul the apostle described above. Our duty in life is to hearken unto Jehovah. (Psalms 34:11-19) "Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of Jehovah. 12 What man is he that desireth life, And loveth many days, that he may see good? 13 Keep thy tongue from evil, And thy lips from speaking guile. 14 Depart from evil, and do good; Seek peace, and pursue it. 15 The eyes of Jehovah are toward the righteous, And his ears are open unto their cry. 16 The face of Jehovah is against them that do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 17 The righteous cried, and Jehovah heard, And delivered them out of all their troubles. 18 Jehovah is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, And saveth such as are of a contrite spirit. 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous; But Jehovah delivereth him out of them all." But you may say, "How can one become righteous?" To reconcile the world unto Himself once again God had a plan. This plan is commonly refered to as "The Scheme of Redemption." This scheme involves our great God's revealed will. Revealed in that we have compiled before us INSPIRED texts (Literally "God breathed" 2 Timothy 3:16, 17) in which God recorded through inspired men so that we may believe. (2 Peter 1:20, 21) and (John 20:30-31) 30 "Many other signs therefore did Jesus in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book: 31 but these are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye may have life in his name." In this way Jehovah bridged the gap of sin that seperates us from our beloved Creator. (1 John 2:1, 2 [Written to Christians]) 1 "My little children, these things write I unto you that ye may not sin. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2 and he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world." (1 John 4:10) 10 "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

In doing so we will  look at the portion of His scheme for man known commonly as "The Plan of Salvation." The plan God had and still has for mankind is in place unto the end of this age. This plan involves both mankind and our Creator through His Son; Christ Jesus. 

Before the creation of this world God already had a plan. Writing to Christians, Peter says the following. (1 Peter 1:18-21) "... knowing that ye were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from your vain manner of life handed down from your fathers; 19  but with precious blood, as of a lamb without spot, even the blood of Christ: 20  who was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but was manifested at the end of times for your sake, 21 who through him are believers in God, that raised him from the dead, and gave him glory; so that your faith and hope might be in God." And after the foundations of this world were laid we see that all God created through His Word was good. But not just good it was VERY good. (Gen. 1:1) " In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (verse 31a) "And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good... " Mankind was created in a righteous state. And as generation after generation passes by, each generation begotten of mankind is under the curse. What curse?? Well, the curse that our origion traces out clear back as none other than Adam and Eve of course. When God set forth boundries; mankind broke them. (Gen. 2:15-17) "And Jehovah God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 16 And Jehovah God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Of course, mankind had a little assistance. That old devil himself; satan. (Gen. 2:-5) "Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which Jehovah God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of any tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat: 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil." Since he has been a murderer from the begining, he must have been an expert at lies for he was "subtle." Not to mention that he is the father of it. (John 8:22) "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father it is your will to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and standeth not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father thereof." Did you notice what brought forth the transgression of God's law in the garden? ONE WORD ADDED to what the one and only living God had set forth. That one word added was the word "NOT" Then that old nasty serpent was reproved for adding to His words! (Prov. 30:6) "Add thou not unto his words, Lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar." (Gen. 3:14, 15) "And Jehovah God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15 and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." The man and  woman were reproved afterwards... (Gen. 3:16-19) "Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy pain and thy conception; in pain thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. 17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in toil shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18 thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." The "unto dust shalt thou return" signified physical death. And the curse put forth upon every living soul was (Gen. 3:22-24) "And Jehovah God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever- 23 therefore Jehovah God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden the Cherubim, and the flame of a sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life." The tree of life eternal was taken by God in His seperating mankind from Him; bringing forth spiritual death as well. And (Rom. 5:14) "Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the likeness of Adam's transgression, who is a figure of him that was to come." 

After all that mankind has done in the disobedience toward our Creator His plan was still being fulfilled. And praise in the highest that, (John 3:16) "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life." This verse is the most MIS-qouted verse in the Bible just about. Those who use it; lift it from the context and fail to compare it with scriptures such as (John 3:36), which is just a little further in our reading. "He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life; but he that obeyeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him." And (2Thess. 1:8-9) "... rendering vengeance to them that know not God, and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus: 9 who shall suffer punishment, even eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might, ..." And passages such as (1 Peter 4:17) “For the time is come for judgment to begin at the house of God: and if it begin first at us, what shall be the end of them that obey not the gospel of God?” See, Jesus Christ is the writer of salvation to everyone who OBEYS HIM. “… though he was a Son, yet learned obedience by the things which he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became unto all them that obey him the author of eternal salvation; …” (Hebrews 5:8-9) (Hebrews 2:9-10)  “But we behold him who hath been made a little lower than the angels, even Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God he should taste of death for every man. 10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the author of their salvation perfect through sufferings.”

Jesus Christ is no doubt our “Author” or “Originator” of the way we can obtain salvation in fulfilling the Father’s good will. This is where we come to the point in which MANY people mess everything up! Instead of JUST LISTENING to our Author of eternal salvation; man comes up with all sorts of schemes and philosophies on “HOW TO BE SAVED.” The Bible warns heavily against such people: “But in vain do they worship me, Teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men. Ye leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men. And he said unto them, Full well do ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your tradition.” (Mark 7:7-9) The Pharisees were a religious sect in Jesus’ days that set aside what God gave for doctrine making it in a sense void that they replaced God’s words with their own human judgements. Christ was rebuking such foolishness as some do today. “But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them that desire an occasion; that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, fashioning themselves into apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for even Satan fashioneth himself into an angel of light. It is no great thing therefore if his ministers also fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works.” (2 Corinthians 11:12-15) It is no wonder people often “shy away from” religion when imposters such as Benny Hinn and Oral Roberts claiming they can do what the Bible Apostles did but remember that Satan appears as “ministers of light.” That is why they will have their reward… “But for the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part shall be in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8) Hell awaits such men!“But there arose false prophets also among the people, as among you also there shall be false teachers, who shall privily bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master that bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their lascivious doings; by reason of whom the way of the truth shall be evil spoken of.” (2 Peter 2:1-2) When the truth of God’s word is spoken, people don’t seem to believe and then the message and the messenger are rejected and often times evil spoken of. So, in order for you to believe in the truth… “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: and every spirit that confesseth not Jesus is not of God: and this is the spirit of the antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it cometh; and now it is in the world already.”  (1 John 4:1-3) Although the scriptures that are being quoted are primarily directed to already Christians the general principal applies to one trying to be guided in the right direction to live up to our purpose driven lives. The Spirit recorded through the hand of John in, (Revelation 2:2) “I know thy works, and thy toil and patience, and that thou canst not bear evil men, and didst try them that call themselves apostles, and they are not, and didst find them false; …”   They were spoken well of because could not stand evil men and tried them by God’s word finding them to be false teachers. This is the same we should do today. The Bible tells us about those who alter the message of God’s word. (Revelation 22:18-19) “I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any man shall add unto them, God shall add unto him the plagues which are written in this book: 19 and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book.” (Galatians 1:6-12) “I marvel that ye are so quickly removing from him that called you in the grace of Christ unto a different gospel; 7 which is not another gospel only there are some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be anathema. [To bring a curse from God unto himself and those who obey what he teaches. PFK] 9 As we have said before, so say I now again, if any man preacheth unto you any gospel other than that which ye received, let him be anathema. 10 For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? or am I striving to please men? if I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of Christ. 11 For I make known to you, brethren, as touching the gospel which was preached by me, that it is not after man. 12 For neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ.” Paul warns us again in, (Colossians 2:8) “Take heed lest there shall be any one that maketh spoil of you through his philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ: …”

Not after Christ is right! The doctrine of Christ was taught by Christ both on earth and by direct revelation. (Heb. 1:1, 2; John 20:31; Gal. 1:12) (In which the latter no one has ability to claim such today… Jude 3) The Father said of His Son Jesus, “And there came a cloud overshadowing them: and there came a voice out of the cloud, This is my beloved Son: hear ye him.”  (Mark 9:7) The simplest thing to do to be saved is to trust and obey what Jesus says we must do to live out our purpose God has given each and every soul. In this we, “let God be found true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy words, And mightest prevail when thou comest into judgment.” (Romans 3:4) What better way to know assuredly that you are saved in doing God’s will for you than to use the very same teachings the Bible uses? “It is the spirit that giveth life; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, and are life.”  (John 6:63) “Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68)

Have you heard? "So belief cometh of hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." (Romans 10:17 ASV) If you have examined thus far, don't quite now. Here is some imformation dear to you that we all should know. (John 1:1-14 ASV) "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (2) The same was in the beginning with God. (3) All things were made through him; and without him was not anything made that hath been made. (4) In him was life; and the life was the light of men. (5) And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness apprehended it not. (6) There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John. (7) The same came for witness, that he might bear witness of the light, that all might believe through him. (8) He was not the light, but came that he might bear witness of the light. (9) There was the true light, even the light which lighteth every man, coming into the world. (10) He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world knew him not. (11) He came unto his own, and they that were his own received him not. (12) But as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become children of God, even to them that believe on his name: (13) who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (14) And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father), full of grace and truth."  Jesus was there in the begining and nothing was made without Him.

To Be continued...