Two Reasons a Believer Must Forsake Sin

First of all let us define sin. The word of God defines sin as Lawlessness (transgression of the law), knowing the right thing to do and not doing it, and whatever is not from faith is sin (1 John 3:4, James 4:17, and Romans 14:23). God has given us a Holy law a standard by which we are to live life; and we know what His law is, and it is not burdensome. God has written His laws on our heart, the Holy Ten Commandments, and transgression of these laws is lawlessness. We know what the right things are to do, if you pass someone in true need and do nothing that is sin. And whatever is done without faith is sin, without faith in Christ even taking in a breath of air is sin because it is done without faith. This brings me to the first reason that we as believers must forsake sin.

Christ died for our sins so we must hate sin because our sins killed our Lord; He suffered and was forsaken of the Father because of our sins. “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of A fire which will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay." And again, “The Lord will judge His people." It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” ~Hebrews 10:26-31

Sin is offensive to God. If you love God then you do not want to offend Him. You do not purposely offend the one you love. If you love your husband or wife and you know that something offends them you stop doing it; to purposely continue doing so would show that you truly don’t love them, that in fact you hate them. It is the same way with God if you continue to purposely do what is offensive to God (sin), you are showing your true heart, a hater of God. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) Since God showed such incredible love for us should we not love Him and stop doing what offends Him? Is sin truly offensive to God? You know that it is; sin is in fact so offensive to God that the Father forsook the Son who had been with Him before time began when Jesus took upon Himself the sins of men.

This is in no way exhaustive in the least, but simply the truth. Christ was killed for our sins so a true believer hates sin because our Lord died because of sin. Sin is offensive to God, if you love God you turn from sin to God. What are you doing when you go on sinning willfully after coming to the knowledge of the truth?
Two things:

1. You are displaying a disdain for Christ and His sacrifice. By willfully continuing to sin after knowing that it is a crime before God and that Christ died for it, you are displaying a hatred for Christ.

2. You are displaying a love of sin and a disdain for God the Father. Sin is offensive to God. If you willfully sin after receiving that knowledge, it is in a sense taunting God. An in your face action. You are saying by your actions; “I don’t care that it bothers you, I like it so I’m going to do it anyway.”

If you are willfully sinning you should be very afraid. God is not like us and is no pushover. Don’t make the mistake of regarding His slowness to act as His being passive. “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) Do Christians sin? Yes, Christians sin but a true follower of Christ does not make a habit of living a sinful lifestyle. He is a follower of Christ and it would break the true believers heart to trample the blood of his Lord. The true believer loves God the Father and fears Him; his desire is to live a life pleasing to the Lord. True believers sin, but the main difference is this; a true believer falls into sin while the false dives in head first. The true believer hungers and thirst for righteousness while the false seeks to cool his thirst for sin. “Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.” (1 Peter 2:16)

Though you have sinned against God He has provided a way for you to be made right with Him. God the Son, Jesus Christ came in human flesh and lived a righteous life, He never once sinned. The punishment for sin is death, the death of your soul being forsaken of God in hell. Jesus took upon Himself the punishment that you rightly deserve; a perfect sin sacrifice before God. He died, was buried and on the third day arose from the grave defeating sin and death; appearing to several people over a 40 day period. He ascend into heaven in bodily form and sat down at the right hand of God the Father making intercession on behalf of all who come to God through faith in Him. His sacrifice for sin is applicable to you if you repent and believe in Him. So what must you do? Repent and trust alone in Jesus Christ and you will be saved from the wrath of God against sin, through faith in Jesus alone. “and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)


In Christ alone,
Mike Peek a slave of Jesus Christ

What Is Your Will?

I’ve been thinking about repentance lately; what does it mean to repent? The literal translation is to change one’s heart. What exactly is the heart? The heart in scripture is not the blood pumping organ that resides in ones chest; this organ received its name because of its centrality in the body. The heart in scripture is the core, the center of ones being; the heart is the bare essence of who we really are. So when Christ told us to repent and believe, He in essence told us to do something that we are incapable of doing. He told us to change ourselves into a different creature all together. Can an old woman turn herself into a young woman? The answer is no; she cannot, no matter how much she would like to be a young woman she is who she is. So why would the Lord tell us to do the impossible? To change who we are, because He had the authority to do so. “Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also because He is the Son of Man.” (John 5:24-27 NKJV)

Jesus told Nicodemus; “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3 NKJV) To be born again is to be changed; if you were born again of the spirit you have been changed. The Apostle Paul said, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away, behold, new things have come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NASB) This happens because God by the Spirit makes it happen; He has the authority to do so. “Now all these things are from God” (2 Corinthians 5:18 NASB) The word of the Lord God said to the prophet Ezekiel; “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.” (Ezekiel 36:26 NASB)

So the question is; should we, like Jesus, tell people to repent and believe in the gospel? The answer; “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? “So faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:14 & 17) Jesus could tell people to repent and believe because He is the word and He had the authority to do so, it is His word the Spirit uses to transform a heart and it is His word that He said to preach. The apostle Paul said; “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16 NASB)

In Christ alone,
Mike Peek a slave of Jesus Christ

The Word of God in Open-Air

I declare to you the Word; The Lord Jesus, Immanuel, the Christ of God! The Alpha & the Omega, the First & the Last, the King of kings and Lord of lords, the only begotten Son of the Living God; God incarnate, God in human flesh, the sinless Lamb of God. The living One; He was dead, and now is alive forevermore, and He has the keys of death and of Hades. I declare to you the gospel; “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "But the righteous man shall live by faith."

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’” And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.”

The word of the Lord came to the prophet Ezekiel and said; “Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die. “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. "But if a man is righteous and practices justice and righteousness, if he walks in My statutes and My ordinances so as to deal faithfully-he is righteous and will surely live," declares the Lord God. “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment. “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.” Sin is lawlessness it is living life in such away as if there were no moral Law to keep and no moral Law giver; but you know that there is a creator because creation itself is evidence of a creator and you know that there is a moral Law because He has given you a conscience. (Con-Science) Two Latin words; Con means (with) Science means (knowledge) so when you sin, when you break God’s law, you do it with knowledge that it is wrong. And “the soul who sins shall die” the second death, the lake of fire, Hell! The apostle Paul said; “I would not have come to know sin except through the Law.”

• “You shall have no other gods before Me.
• “You shall not make for yourself an idol— You shall not worship them or serve them.
• “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.
• “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
• “Honor your father and your mother.
• “You shall not murder.
• “You shall not commit adultery.
• “You shall not steal.
• “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
• “You shall not covet anything that is your neighbor’s.”

“For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. “Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."

“Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, “While they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be to you." But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit. And He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish; and He took it and ate it before them. Now He said to them, "These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high." And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. “Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, “Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” Jesus said; “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. But there are some of you who do not believe." “Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

“For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.” Repent of your sins trusting in Jesus Christ alone as Lord and Savior, and you will be saved from the wrath of God against sin through Him. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.”

In Christ alone;
Mike peek a slave of Jesus Christ


(Quotes in order of appearance: Romans 1:16-17 NASB, John 1:1-18 NKJV, (Remainder in NASB) Ezekiel 18:4, Revelations 21:8, Ezekiel 18:5&9, Hebrews 9:27, 1 John 3:4, Romans 7:7, Exodus 20: 1-17, James 2:10, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Mark 1:14-15, 1 Corinthians 15:1-6, Luke 24:36-51, Hebrews 10:11-12, Hebrews 7:25, Mark 1:15, John 6:63-64, 2 Corinthians 5:16-21, Hebrews 10:26-27, Romans 5:8-9)

What Law Are We Under Anyways

My favorite verse in scripture is an entire chapter really, Romans chapter3. This passage of God’s word I have written about many times before. There is so much revelation of God and His relationship with man in this chapter it is just astounding. The nature of man, the nature of God, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the perfect justice and wrath of God against sinful man, the love and mercy of God, the righteousness of God through it all, and that it is all of God; man’s only part in all of this is his sin.

I would like to talk today about the very last verse of Romans chapter 3. “Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law” ~Romans 3:31. Up until recently this verse was a conundrum for me. I made the assumption that the writer, Paul, was referring to the Law of Moses (The Ten Commandments) but that did not really fit since he makes it obvious through this chapter that man is saved by faith in Jesus Christ alone. And states in verses 19 & 20 what the purpose of the Law is; to close every mouth and to make all accountable to God, to show that man is not justified by the law in the sight of God, that the Law brings the knowledge of sin. So if the purpose of the Law is to bring the knowledge of sin and close the mouth; what Law then is Paul talking about in verse 31? It seems that he is speaking of a new law, one that is newly established in the heart of the believer.

A brother recently had me listen to a sermon by Charles Leiter called; “The Law of Christ.” After having listened to this sermon and investigating many of the scriptures from the sermon for myself which lead me to many others throughout the new testament, I went back to Romans 3:31 with not only an understanding of this scripture but had began to look at my walk with Christ in a new and exciting way. I began to understand why I thought the way I had since coming to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, and it was quite exciting and liberating indeed.

Let us go to 1 Corinthians 9:20-21 to begin to impart to you this wonderful revelation from the word of God. “To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law; to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law.” Throughout this passage we see that Paul did not consider himself to be under “the Law of Moses” since he said; “though not being myself under the Law”. He also did not consider himself to be without law since he said: “though not being without the law of God”. So what law did Paul considered himself to be under?; the answer, “Under the law of Christ”.

So if Paul and all Christians are “under the Law of Christ”, what then is “the Law of Christ”? Do you think then that this may be of up most importance as a believer? The next time “the Law of Christ” is mentioned is in Galatians and this passage gives us a clue as to what “the Law of Christ” is. Galatians 6:2 says; “Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ”. So if in bearing one another’s burdens we are fulfilling the law of Christ. What are we doing when we bear one another’s burdens? The answer, we are loving one another. So what is “the Law of Christ”?

In the gospel according to John, on Jesus’ last night with His disciples before His arrest and Crucifixion, He gives a wonderful discussion to His disciples and in that discussion he gives them a new commandment. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another” ~John 13:34. So “the Law of Christ” is to love one another. That is the law that we as believers and followers of Jesus Christ are under; “the Law of Christ”, to love one another. This is not a worldly love (I love you because you can give me something I want or need), or effectual love (I love you because you make me feel good), or romantic love. He said to “love one another even as I have loved you”. That is a selfless love. Think about who and what we are; we are sinners from the time we were conceived in our mother’s womb. We have sinned against God our entire lives and yet He loved us. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” ~Romans 5:8. Can you describe a more selfless image of love than that?

“This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me but I choose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give you. This I command you, that you love one another” ~John 15:12-17.

You have probably heard someone say before that we are no longer under the Law that the Law of Moses was done away with in Christ; and guess what, they are absolutely correct. “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” ~Romans 8:1. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’” ~Galatians 3:13. If you have repented and put your faith in Jesus Christ you are saved from the wrath of God in Him. There is nothing that you have done or will do that you will be punished for, all of your sin has been paid for in full by the blood of Jesus Christ. “But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter” ~Romans 7:6.

Understand this, I am writing this for believers only, I would never tell an unbeliever that He is not under the Law because that is simply not true, he is under the Law. Who was the Law made for? “But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers and mothers, for murderers and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted” ~1 Timothy 1:8-11.

Is it a lesser thing to be under “the Law of Christ” rather than the Mosaic Law? I think not, it is in all since of the word a much higher standard of Law, a standard that an unbeliever does not have the ability to abide in. I did not know love until I was born again in Christ Jesus, receiving the Holy Spirit. So until a man or a woman is born of the Spirit of God he/she is under the Law. But once born of God into the faith of Jesus Christ he/she is not under the Law but under the Law of Christ; which is to love one another even as He has loved us and he died for us. Think about this! If I love my neighbor am I going to murder him physically or by hatred in the heart? If I love my neighbor am I going to commit adultery with my neighbor’s wife either physically or by lusting for her in the heart? If I love my neighbor am I going to steal from him and won’t I instead rejoice with him over how the Lord has blessed him rather than coveting the things he has received from the Lord? I could go on with this but I think you see the point. The law of Christ, to love one another even as He has loved us is a much higher standard of Law. And it is the Law of Christ, by the grace of God I intend to live for His glory!



Mike Peek a slave of Jesus Christ

Abortion is a Man's Sin Issue!

The worldly saying that abortion is a women's health issue is a lie. The truth is that abortion is a man's sin issue. In the garden; "The LORD God commanded man, saying, 'From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day you eat from it you will surely die" ~Genesis 2:16-17. The man and the woman consumed the forbidden fruit and sin and death entered into the world.

“God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” ~Genesis 1:27. “Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” ~Genesis 2:7. “So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man said, ‘This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.’ For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed” ~Genesis 2:21-25.

God gave marriage to be between one man and one woman, “they shall become one flesh.” That’s right I’m talking about sex, “And the man and his wife were naked and were not ashamed.” The LORD God created the Garden of Eden and commanded man that he could eat anything in the garden except, “from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” Man and his wife ate the fruit and sin and death entered into the world and they died.

God created man and woman in His own image, and out of man He created woman, “and they shall become one flesh.” God gave marriage as being Holy, created by Him and given by Him. The man and woman become one flesh and it is good. Adultery and Fornication are perversions of what God has given as good, consuming what is forbidden; man takes what God has given as good and uses it for evil. God has given marriage to be between one man and one woman; the man and woman can consume all the fruit in the garden of marriage that they want.

In the Garden man and woman ate the forbidden fruit and they died. Fast forward to America in 2012 man and woman eat from the tree of Adultery and Fornication and murder their child. Is abortion a woman’s health issue? The truth is abortion is a man’s sin issue.

Jesus the perfect Man has paid in full the price for sin in His own blood, He died for the sins of men and women, He was buried, and on the third day He arose from the grave defeating sin and death. What you must do is repent and trust in Jesus Christ alone and you will be saved from the wrath of God against sin.

Mike Peek a slave of Jesus Christ

Judge What is Right

“And why do you not even on your own initiative judge what is right? For while you are going with your opponent to appear before the magistrate, on your way there make an effort to settle with him, so that he may not drag you before the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. I say to you, you will not get out of there until you have paid the very last cent.”~Luke 12:57-59

In this parable your opponent is The Lord, the magistrate and judge are God, the officer are His angles, and the prison, hell.

This parable is telling us to take a look at our sins and judge what is right, to look into the mirror of God's law and judge ourselves according to His Holy standard, on our own initiative before we go before God in judgment. Don't think that your going to be able to go before the judge and plead your own case, then it will be to late. Look at your sins now and judge yourself by your own initiative and make an effort to settle with your opponent before coming before the magistrate and judge; it is God whom you have offended, so it is with God you need to settle.

God has made a way for us to be made right with Him and Christ Jesus is the only way; "whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith." Judge yourself by God's Holy law, then repent and believe in the gospel.

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

Mike Peek a slave of Jesus Christ

Why is it that you were looking for Me?

I went out with my cross today. I see people that rejoice in seeing the cross, and some scorn, but most ignore. There are many brave Christians that go to killing places to plead for the lives of babies as they are being slaughtered in the womb. In my community to the glory of God that is not happening yet, and it will be my prayer that it never does, abortions that is. I took my cross, a 4ft’x2.5’ stained wood cross with 3” letters on the cross beam that say, “ARE YOU READY”. I got this idea from an evangelist in California named Tony Miano, many others have taken up this idea across the country and made their own crosses and go out with them in their communities. “ARE YOU READY” it’s a good conversation starter because people will ask; ready for what?

I took my cross today to the location of Planned Parenthood in Tyler, TX. Why? Because first of all it is on Broadway Ave, one of the busiest roads in Tyler; and secondly, were do most of the women come from who are scheduled to have their babies aborted at the Planned Parenthood abortuary in Dallas? Outlying clinics like this one in Tyler, TX. So my thought and prayer was if I go to this location there just might be a woman who decides not to schedule an abortion after seeing the cross with its message, or cause a man to take responsibility for his child. The cross is a symbol, nothing more. You cannot reach God praying to the cross as some try to do. It is a symbol, a symbol of God’s word. The message of the cross is that we have all sinned against a Holy and just God, that every sin without exception must be punished, that God is love so He made a way for man to be right with Him, and that way is His Son, Christ Jesus, whom God displayed publically as a propitiation in His blood through faith.

So I stood there with my cross. There was not much foot traffic today, the usual case in Tyler, it seems that no one likes to walk. Car after car drove by, some smiled and waved, some looked with scorn, and most ignored. As the afternoon sun light dimmed into evening light, I saw a woman in scrub attire leaving Planned Parenthood for the end of the day. I watched her talk on her cell phone as she waited to pull into traffic, to busy with the trappings of this world to notice the cross and off she drove as so many do.

As the lights dimmed I prayed for all of those who drove by today that in seeing the cross that God would do a work in their heart that they just might ask the question. Am I ready to face God in judgment? And then seek Jesus.

I was reading in (The Gospel According to Luke) how young Jesus was missing from the caravan returning from Jerusalem, His parents went back to look for Him and found Him in the Temple and He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” ~Luke 2:49. Where is He today? He is right where He said He would be, in His Father’s house. “’In my Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going.’ Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.’” ~John 14:2-6


Mike Peek a slave of Jesus Christ

Don't Be Forsaken of God, Repent and Live

I'm a wicked sinner undeservedly saved from the wrath of God against my sin by the grace if God through faith alone in the person and work of Jesus Christ on the cross alone. Because He has saved me my life is not my own I have been purchased at a high price; the price, the precious blood of God the Son, Jesus Christ. I'm a gospel preacher and go into the world and proclaim His gospel as The Lord has command that I do.

All sins can be forgiven of all who repent of there sins and put there faith in Jesus Christ alone. To repent is a change of mind to the way you see God and the way you see sin, to turn from sin and self turning to God by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone.

Have you ever told a lie? Is it not true that if you even tell one lie that you are in fact a liar? And the word of God says; "and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” Jesus said; "You have heard that it was said, ‘ You shall not commit adultery ’; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart."Have you ever looked at a woman to lust for here? And the word of God says" Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor adulterers will inherit the kingdom of God." Those are but two of God's Holy Ten Commandments and this is the third; "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain." These are God's laws, His standard by which we are to live life, breaking these laws is called sin. Jesus said; "Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." God's eyes are so Holy that the prophet Habakkuk said; "He cannot even look upon sin." God is just and because He is just He cannot let sin go unpunished, every single sin without exception will be punished by God and the punishment for sin is death; not the death of your body but the death of your soul in eternal punishment being forsaken of God in hell. And if you are honest with yourself you know that the just thing that God should do is punish you and I in hell, it is what we deserve. But God is love so He became a man in the person of Jesus Christ, He was fully God and fully Man and as a man He did something that no other man had done, He lived a sinless, righteous life before God the Father, never breaking the laws of God once; and at the command if God the Father He went to the cross and bore the just penalty for the sins you rightly deserve to be punished for. "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." God the Father allowed His only begotten Son to die a death we deserve being forsaken of God, Jesus died, He was buried and on the third day He arose from the grave defeating sin and death proving who He was, the Son of God and that the wrath of God against sin had been satisfied in Him. God did this to demonstrate His own righteousness so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. You can be made right with God today; if you will repent (confess your sins and forsake them) and by faith alone receive Jesus Christ as Lord and as Savior.

“ Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come."
There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent and believe, but know this; "For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of A fire which will consume the adversaries." All sins even the sin of blasphemy is forgiven him who repents (confesses his sins and forsakes them) and by faith alone receives Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. "Repent and Live."

May God bless you all,
In Christ alone
Mike Peek a slave of Jesus Christ

Carnal Christians Need Not Apply

For the past three days I have been slowly reading through the gospel of Mark and each day I have asked the Lord to show me something that I haven’t known before. Today as I read I came to a passage in Mark chapter 8 and realized something. Here is that passage: “And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.’” (Mark 8:34-38)

When I read that today my first thought was “That’s the narrow gate and the narrow way from Matthew 7.” I live in what many call the Bible belt. “The Bible belt is defined as the area if the country in which Christian church attendance across the denominations is generally higher than the nation's average.” (Wikipedia) The Bible belt western border begins in Texas and Oklahoma and spreads eastward to the Atlantic Ocean consisting of the South Eastern states of America.

I live in the Tyler, TX area (North Eastern Texas) and you could say that there is a church on every corner. Most church attendees in this area would affirm that there is a Narrow Gate and Jesus Christ is that Gate, but when pressed about the Narrow Way they would be reluctant to agree to say the least. The day that The Lord gave me repentance and faith in Jesus Christ I knew that I had to go out and tell people the gospel. I wasn’t sure how to go about it and no one at my church was doing it and I didn’t know of anyone sharing the gospel at all, no one at that point had ever tried to share the gospel with me. I was saved through the word of God, six years prior I decided to read the Bible and have not put it down since, I can’t. In combination with reading God’s word and the law and the gospel being spoken through the movie Fireproof, God by His grace gave me repentance and faith in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Shortly after the Lord had saved me I came upon a wonderful ministry called; Living Waters/The Way of the Master. The ministries purpose is to teach and equip Christians to fulfill the great commission. To “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Fast forward a few years, I now go out into East Texas preaching the law and the gospel in open-air, in my community of Tyler, TX at least once a week.

One of the things that I have learned and the thing that is most difficult in preaching the gospel in an area that is so religiously rich but at the same time is spiritually dead is apathy. Most people could care less about the gospel, which is a sign that they have not been converted. You try and talk to someone about Christ and they will say, I go to church every Sunday. Well my friend church attendance cannot save you. Or you will here I got saved when I was 6 years old and in the mean time they are living in sexual immorality with their live in boy friend or girl friend.

When you read this Bible the Lord has given us, it is not passive and it doesn’t read like the things Jesus said are suggestions, it is pretty serious. In verse 34 Jesus said; “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” Here he is telling us to repent and die to ourselves. Whatever sins give you pleasure, He is telling us to leave them behind and follow Him; the cross, at the time Jesus said this was an instrument of death.

Then in verse 35 he says; “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.” This one speaks directly to the people of the Bible belt. They want to have Jesus but keep their life just the way it is. I have heard many of these things said: “It’s ok to live with your girl friend if you have Jesus”, its common place to have unmarried young men and women living together and attend a church every Sunday. “It’s ok to go out and get drunk on weekends as long as I’m in church on Sunday.” “It’s ok if I divorce my husband or wife if they are not fulfilling my needs, besides Jesus would want me to be happy wouldn’t He?” “It’s ok if I’m dishonest in my business practices everyone does it.” That’s not what scripture says at all, it says; “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9). What Jesus is calling for here in verse 35 is a total sell out. Dropping everything and following Him alone, for Him to have complete and total lordship over your life. If He says don’t, you don’t and if He says do, you do, to become His slave; a slave does what His Lord tells him to do. Why would anyone be willing to do that? Because He purchased our lives with His own blood, that’s why.

“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36-37) Think about that rationally; the fleeting pleasures of sin for a season verse eternal pleasure in the presence of God, my greatest desire is to look upon the face of Jesus Christ. Are you going to chose sin verses seeing the face of Jesus Christ on the throne? “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.” (Hebrews 11:24-26)

And here is the heart of the matter; are you willing to deny yourself, to die to self so that you can preach the gospel of Jesus Christ? “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:38) Like I said earlier, it has been difficult to find anyone out in East Texas preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. I did happen upon one man about a year ago who handed me a gospel tract outside of a restaurant; now he and I go together and preach at events and festivals in the East Texas area. For something that is so Biblically mandated, for something that Christ repeatedly says to do, for something that every one of the apostles was willing and did give their lives for; wouldn’t you think there would be more people doing it?

If you are saying to yourself that’s works he’s talking about. Guess what? Your right, that is exactly correct; but we are not saved by works are we? We are saved by the grace of God alone; by faith alone; in the person and works of Jesus Christ alone. Read this, one of my absolute favorite passages in scripture. “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10). We have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standard, the only way anyone of us can be made right with God is by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins through faith in Him alone. No amount of good works can accomplish our salvation but God did save us so that we would walk in the good works that He has prepared beforehand for us to do. If God the Father by His grace has granted you repentance and faith in His Son Jesus Christ, you will be willing to deny yourself, take up His cross and follow Him!



Mike Peek a slave of Jesus Christ

Sexual Immorality Kills

I recently read an article by Sarah Fowler of the “Florida Family Policy Council that said “Abortion is the Leading Cause of Death” I back checked the figures from the article with the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and I assure you that the data from that article and the data that I will use for this one are correct. To remain consistent I will use data from the CDC.

Here is what the article said about the United States: “Here in the United States, approximately 6,677 people died per day in 2009 (the most recent data available) of all causes (not including abortion). About 4,000 babies die per day by abortion in the US alone. If we add the victims of abortion to the death rate (making the deaths per day 10,677), they account for more than 37% of deaths in the United States. To put that percentage in perspective, 15.3% of that 10,677 die from heart disease (the leading cause of death according to the CDC) 14.5% from cancer, and so on” (Sarah Fowler).

You may ask why add the 4000 babies to the 6,677 people who died in the United States together? The CDC counts both but keeps the data separate, by acknowledging that the 4000 babies who were aborted are deaths they would be acknowledging that they were human life and they are not going to do that.

This caused me to ask two questions based on my assumptions of the total depravity of Man. If man is totally depraved then the abominable act of murdering a child in the womb has to be the result of another sin, namely sexual immorality. The data that I found not only answers my two questions but it also proves my assumption and the truth is far worse than I would have ever imagined.

Let us define sexual immorality, not man’s definition but God’s. Jesus said; “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become on flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” (Matthew 19:4-6) So God’s definition of marriage and sexual relationship is one man and one woman for life; anything outside of that is sexual immorality, it is sin.

So I had two questions based on my assumption:

1. Of the 4000 babies killed in the womb everyday by abortion what percentage is a result of sexual immorality?

2. Of all babies conceived in sexual immorality what percent are murdered in the womb by abortion?

I received these figures from Patte Smith of “Sanctuary Ministries” on women who get abortions; “64.4% have never been married, 9.4% are divorced, 18.4% are married.” There is 7.8% unaccounted for so at least 75% of all abortions are on unwed mothers meaning that 75% of all babies killed in the womb are a result of fornication. The percentage of babies killed being the result of sexual immorality could be much higher than 75% when you consider the 7.8% unaccounted for and the married women who are having abortions to hide their adultery. So we will go with 75% from unmarried women being the figure for babies killed as a result of sexual immorality since we cannot prove the assumptions.

Question 1) Of the 4000 babies killed in the womb everyday by abortion what percentage is a result of sexual immorality?: About 4,000 babies die per day by abortion in the US alone; 75% would be 3,000 babies die per day by abortion in the US because of sexual immorality. Do you understand what that means? As a result of their mommies and daddies fornicating, these babies are losing their lives at a rate of 3,000 per day.

Question 2) Of all babies conceived in sexual immorality what percent are murdered in the womb by abortion? The second question was a little more difficult to figure out but it just so happens that the CDC has figures on births as well. 1,633,471 per year or 4,475 babies are born to unwed mother per day in the US. Add the 3,000 babies per day that should have been born but were killed by abortion to the 4,475 babies who are born per day, the actual figure of births in the US to unwed mothers should be 7,475 babies born to unwed mothers per day. So that means if you are conceived in sexual immorality you have a 40% chance that your mother is going to have you killed. 40%!!! Put in perspective if any other activity had a death rate of 40% it would be outlawed.

Something else I found out by looking at this data and I wasn’t even looking for it. There are 3,999,386 total births per year or 10,957 births per day in the US. Add in the 4,000 babies killed per day by abortion in the US to the 10,957 births per day, there should be 14,957 babies born per day in the US alone. That means that for every baby conceived in the womb more than 1 in 4, 27% will be killed in the womb. I took this a little further and realized something that I hadn’t assumed and it revealed a country that is sick and rotten at the core. Since I discovered this I mentioned it to a small degree a couple of times on my facebook page and people became immediately offended and got all patriotic and political. This is neither about patriotism or politics this is spiritual and it is warfare. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)

Now if we take the 14,957 babies who should be born per day in the US and use that as conceptions per day. Actual conceptions would be higher because there are natural deaths that occur in the womb that are not part of this data but the percentages should be exactly the same. So 14,957 babies are conceived in the womb per day in the US, 7,475 of those conceptions are by fornication. Do you see it? In the US per day 50% of all babies conceived in the womb are done so out of wedlock, in fornication, in gross sexual immorality. 50%!!!! That is horrific and that does not even account for those who got married before birth and adultery.

This is the United States you live in; 37% of all deaths are by purposefully killing the most helpless defenseless human beings in the country, 27 % that’s more than 1 in 4 babies conceived are killed and that figure rises to 40% if your parents are fornicators, greater than 50% of all babies conceived in the womb per day in the US are done so in gross sexual immorality. You may not like this data and you may be angry at me for putting it forward but it is the truth.

What about us, what are we to do? “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1 John 2:15) “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2) Our society is wicked and we should not take part with it, but that being said, while we shouldn’t be of the world we are to be in the world. “I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world” (1 Corinthians 5:9-10).

So if we are to be in the world but not of the world what do we, who are in Christ, do about this?

1. Meditate on God’s word continually: “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.” (Joshua 1:8)

2. Be angry about it, anger causes action: “BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN” (Ephesians 4:26).

3. Pray: “Pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

4. Preach the gospel: “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” (Mark 16:15)

“Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.” (Matthew 22:9) Go preach the gospel of Jesus Christ; at abortion mills, at the town square, at courthouses, at city hall, at malls, at feast, at festivals, at sporting events, and on the street corners, “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.” (2 Timothy 4:2)

The pastor of my church (Sylvania Church) gave a good definition of love this morning that fits well here. He said, “Love is not doing what people want you to do all the time. Love is doing what is best for the other person, not necessarily doing what they want.” (Phillip Dancey) Take a pregnant mother who is worried about finances and the embarrassment of having a child in fornication. Here killing her baby by abortion first ends the life of her baby, second makes her a murderer. She doesn’t want you to say it, but telling her that aborting her baby is murder, and that Jesus Christ has paid for her sins of fornication in full if she will repent of her sins and put her faith in Him alone is the most loving thing that you can do. Telling people in our society about sin, righteousness, and judgment is not popular, people will not want you to do it but it is the most loving thing that you can do. “Our do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10) Martin Luther said, “Good works do not make a man good, but a good man does good works.” If you have been washed, sanctified, justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ through faith then you are righteous before God in Christ. Our politicians can’t fix this they are as corrupt as the society itself. There is now a 39 year history of abortion in America and it has become big business. But God can! Through the preaching of God’s word, by the working of the Holy Spirit God can bring people to repentance and faith in Christ. “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17).


Mike Peek a slave of Jesus Christ

Christ or Judgment

On 9/21/2012 I took part in a group called project Ezra, reading scripture publicly. I went to the town square in Tyler Texas and read aloud Hebrews chapter 10 then preached the gospel of Jesus Christ in Open-Air. On Good Friday April 6th 2012 I preached my first Open-Air, this is about my 7th Open-Air since then. I'm posting this for three reasons; 1) for the glory of God, 2) that an unbeliever or someone who thinks he is saved may hear it an repent and believe, 3) to encourage all believers to go out and preach the gospel to show that anyone God has saved can do this. This is an audio only, with some pics that have meaning for me. I hope God blesses you and this edifies you.

Mike Peek a slave of Jesus Christ

If you receive this blog by email you probably can't see the video. Here is the website for the video on Youtube, just click on it and it should take you to the video on Youtube. http://youtu.be/y16Die4NvM0

A Dead Man Needs a Miracle

Recently I saw this picture on one of my friend’s facebook page, I told him that I was going to use it and he said that he had gotten it from someone else. I recently found out that the picture originated from Sye TenBruggencate. I really liked this picture and the quote on it by Brian Murray, “Salvation is not for a sick man who needs a doctor, but a dead man who needs a miracle.” I decided to use the picture as the wall paper on my facebook page because the picture and the statement fit me for three main reasons and I would like to discuss those here. I am going to begin with the number 3 reason and end with the number 1 reason this picture fits me.

3. The number 3 reason this picture is such a fit for me is that I am by profession a Cardiovascular Intensive Care Registered Nurse and have been so for fifteen years now. It would be safe to say that I have done actual physical C.P.R. on a lot of people, so many that I have no idea how many. When a person goes into Cardio/Pulmonary arrest there is nothing that they can do to revive themselves, if left to them they are dead. C.P.R. done correctly delivers oxygenated blood to the brain & heart. The goal in C.P.R. is to inject into the vascular system a Vaso-active drug like Epinephrine or Vasopressin, the C.P.R. acts as a pump to get the blood containing the drug to circulate through the body and back to the heart, the drug once circulated to the heart excites the cardiac tissue and the heart begins to beat. The heart then takes over as the pump and C.P.R. is stopped, most times a continues infusion of a vaso-active drug is required to keep the heart beating and the blood pressure up and circulating until such time as the cause of the Cardio/Pulmonary arrest is reversed. Sometimes this works and sometimes it does not.

2. The number 2 reason this picture is such a fit for me is that I am an Evangelist. I spend much time preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. I pass out gospel tracts to almost everyone I meet and talk with people about the gospel. I currently go out in my community at least once a week, sometimes on a street corner with a cross that says “Are You Ready”, sometimes reading scripture in public out loud and preaching the gospel in open-air. I’ve also got an evangelism partner named Seth Capps, we go out to festivals and events; publically reading scripture, preaching the gospel in open-air, passing out tracts, and talking with people. Preaching the gospel is a lot like doing C.P.R. on a dead man, unless the Holy Spirit gives Him life the Word of God is rejected or even reviled. The goal in preaching the gospel is that the Holy Spirit will bring to life a dead man in hearing the gospel preached. Like in the above C.P.R. scenario the preaching of the gospel is somewhat like doing C.P.R. but what actually brings someone to life is the Holy Spirit reaching the heart, causing a dead heart (spirit) to come to life. Every time I preach the gospel my hope is he or she that God has elected for Eternal life will hear the gospel and by the grace of God the Spirit of God will give life, causing them to repent of their sins and by faith alone receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

1. The number 1 reason this picture fits me is that I was dead in my sins and by the grace of God alone He gave me life. I was dead in my sins and there was nothing I could do to revive myself. Often times I was aware that I was sinning, the law of God is written on the heart of every man, but I would try by my own effort to stop sinning and be right back committing the same sins that I loved over and over again. If you asked me I would even have told you that I believed in Jesus Christ and thought myself to be a Christian, but the problem was that I did not trust in Him as Lord and as Savior nor did I even know what that really meant. If someone were to have used those words I probably would have affirmed them and thought that I knew what they meant, but I could not because I was dead. “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.” (1 Corinthians 2:14) By the grace of God I heard the law and the gospel preached, I was crushed I was broken I knew that I had sinned against a Holy, Righteous, and Just God and what I deserved for my sins was eternal separation from God in Hell, I knew that all of my good deeds were rout and that there was nothing I could do to save myself and then I looked unto Jesus my Lord and my Savior and I knew that He had paid the price for my sins in full. I had repented of my sins and trusted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, he took out my heart of stone and gave me a heart of flesh; I was born again. It was at that moment when I gave up all hope of saving myself that God gave me His Spirit of faith in the Holy One of God, His Son Jesus Christ. I was the dead man’s bones lying on his back in the picture; a servant of God did C.P.R on me, he preached the law and the gospel, the Spirit of Faith came upon me and gave me life so that I could hear for the first time. I then repented and believed (trusted) in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Do you understand what I am saying? It wasn’t me who did this, it was God, He saved me.


Mike Peek a slave of Jesus Christ

(Here is Sye TenBruggencate’s website, just click on his name you will be glad that you did he has some really neat things on it.)

It Only Makes Sense

Preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only thing in this world that makes sense. If the gospel is truth does anything else matter? Man is sinful and radically depraved and worthy of all condemnation; that means that man is evil. Now contrast that with the fact that God is good, He is Holy, He is righteous, and because He is good the just thing for Him to do is punish man, to separate Himself from man forever. But God made a Way to be just and justifier at the same time, He Himself became a Man in the person of Jesus Christ His only Begotten Son and lived a good, perfect, and righteous life in Him. He Himself bore in His body the full righteous punishment for the sins of man and gave man His righteousness before God. We deserve death, we deserve to be separated from God in Hell for all eternity but God has given us a Way out by the blood of Jesus Christ through faith in Him. When we repent from our sins and by faith and by faith alone receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, God counts His sacrifice as payment in full for our sins and looks at us as if we had lived the righteous life that Jesus lived. That is substitutionary atonement; He took our place receiving the just penalty for sin, which is death and separation from God and gave us His righteousness.(See Romans 3:23-28). He was raised from the dead on the third day defeating sin and death forever, appearing to His apostles, then ascending to the right hand of the Father in Heaven making intercession for us(Romans 8:34).

Now that being truth does anything else matter, does spending day after day gratifying yourself make any sense at all? Sure you need rest we all need rest and we all need a break at times but America is the most entertainment driven culture in the world. All of our free time is taken up by entertainment; even most church services have become nothing more than entertainment for the masses.

I call this blog “A Slave of Jesus Christ”, that is not a cliché or simply a catchy title it is the reality of being a Christian. I was recently reading brother Paul’s 1st letter to the church at Corinth and it brought this back to reality. In the 7th Chapter he said; “You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men” (1 Cor 7:23). He also said; “Brethren, each one is to remain with God in that condition in which he was called” (1 Cor 7:24). To help us understand what he meant by that he started this paragraph saying; “Were you called while a slave? Do not worry about it; but if you are able also to become free, rather do that” (1 Cor 7:21). As an example before coming to the Lord I had a wife and children, I am bond to provide for the needs of my wife and children both physically and now that I belong to the Lord spiritually. This means that I must work, providing them with enough money to buy food, clothing, and housing. And I am to remain in the condition I was in before God called me. That means you don’t leave your wife and children to go preach the gospel in a foreign land or to take up an itinerant ministry traveling across the country leaving your family to fend for themselves. You know what the word of God says about a man that does that; “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8). Now in the letter to Corinth Paul goes on to say; “For he who was called in the Lord while a slave, is the Lord’s freedman; likewise he who was called while free, is Christ’s slave” (1Cor 7:22). In every aspect of your life were you are bond, like in my example you are the Lord’s freedman. But in every aspect of life were you are free you are the Lord’s slave and be honest with yourself you have some free time. Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior has given us a command not an option but a command “and His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). He has commanded us to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15).

In summary, people don’t like the word slave but we are all slaves of something. Having a wife or children does not keep you from preaching the gospel. “You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men” (1 Cor 7:23). Most people become slaves of a life-style, we are to provide for the needs of our families we are not to keep up with the Joneses (for my non-American readers keeping up with the Joneses is an American fraise about pretence). Your family’s needs are more than food, clothing, and housing it is also our presence in the household. If we can go to a foreign land and preach the gospel while providing for our families needs, then we are to do so, taking them with us. I am not in full time ministry but that does not keep me from preaching the gospel in my community, country, and even in foreign lands for short periods of time. Now marriage and family I used as an example, but there are others. We are to remain in the condition we were in before being called, were we are bond we are the Lord’s freedman but where we are free we are the Lord’s slave. Nothing makes sense in this world outside of preaching the gospel. So take the time the Lord has given you and preach the gospel, nothing else makes sense.



Mike Peek a Slave of Jesus Christ



Here is a very short video that touched my heart, three men preaching the gospel in Nepal. If you read my blog “Sick if Church” back in February of this year you would know that I had read a story about a missionary preaching the gospel in Nepal, getting stoned then after praying for boldness went out to preach again the next day. The Lord used that story to convict me and send me out the door to preach and witness purposefully. In this video the second man preaching with the brown shirt and khaki pants is Jesse Boyd, it was Jesse's story that the Lord used to get me out the door to preach the gospel. Enjoy the video, it is beautiful.

UNLAWFUL PREMEDITATED KILLING

Murder is defined as the unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another (Google) or the crime of unlawfully killing a person especially with malice aforethought. (Merriam-Webster) By either definition it is planned and carried out by one human being taking the life of another intentionally. Irregardless of what laws man makes, the laws of man will never supersede or trump the laws of God, men may suppress this in there unrighteousness or selfish evil intents but every person has the laws of God written on their hearts. The sixth commandment says “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13) and all nations (all people groups) know this in their hearts, even though they suppress this in their unrighteousness. The country that I live in has legalized murder, the murder of children in the womb. This was legalized by a decision of the U.S. Supreme court on January 22, 1973 on a case of, Jane Roe vs. Henry Wade. (Wikipedia) Since that decision there have been over 53 million lives taken through what is called ‘Doctor assisted abortion’. (180movie.com) There are instances for whatever reason that a baby does not make it to term and dies while still in the womb, the natural process is for the women’s body to abort the remains of the life that had ended, this is a horrific tragedy to any expectant couple. I have held the hands of friends who lost there unborn babies in this way and they are crushed. A ‘Doctor assisted abortion’ is much different. In a ‘Doctor assisted abortion the baby in the womb is alive and through many different techniques that I don’t want to even go into, the life of the baby is taken and then the remains are removed. Think about that for a minute, on one hand you have a women who wants to have a child and the child dies in her womb and her body expels the remains, and on the other hand you have a woman with a live baby who doesn’t want it so she has a doctor kill it and forcibly remove it from her body. The woman who wanted her child knew that the child in her womb was at one time a living person and that is why she grieves. The woman who has her child killed by a doctor and forcibly removed does so with the knowledge that the baby in her womb is a living person but suppresses that knowledge in her selfish unrighteousness and the doctor and nurses that perform the act do so with full knowledge that the baby in the womb is a living person but suppress it in there unrighteousness of greed for money. Regardless of what the U.S. Supreme court says it is murder, it is one human being taking the life of another human being with malice aforethought.

Why am I writing this? The reason I am writing this is because in the United States of America is in an election year. While I am not interested in politics or the wrangling there of, in fact I most often do not watch the news because of this and especially the 24 hour news networks of FOX NEWS, CNN, MSNBC, etc. But I have friends that do, I have made mention of my concerns for the two men running for President of this country and I have made mention that I will not vote for either, so I am writing this as an explanation for this decision. As I have made it know in the previous paragraph, assisted abortion is murder and I will not support it in any form. The Democratic Party in their 2012 platform has stated that they; “Strongly support Roe Vs Wade and all assisted abortions regardless of ability to pay”, in another words if you can’t afford to have your baby killed they will pay for it for you. They would actually take money from you and me to pay a doctor to kill someone else’s child. That is deplorable! As long as that is the Platform of the Democratic Party I cannot nor will not vote for a Democrat running for any office. If you are a Democrat and running for office and disagree with your parties platform my suggestion is to leave that party.

The Republican Party in their 2012 platform has called for a ban on all ‘assisted abortions’ by constitutional amendment. It seems crazy that you would have to make and amendment to stop the murder of children but that is the way it is in the city of man. I do applaud this platform, but while I applaud this platform the Republican Party has elected as their Presidential candidate a man who is in support of ‘assisted abortion’. How you say? While running for U.S. senate in Massachusetts, he backed abortion rights. Since running for President he has changed his position to saying that he is against abortion except in cases of rape, incest and where the life of the mother is threatened. Basically, his position has not changed, just his wording and regardless of the wording the intentional premeditated killing of a child is murder. (source, Huffington Post)

Now I ask you, how does rape or incest justify the murder of a child? When making the decision to end a life the question shouldn’t be how that life came into being, the question should be is it a human being or is it not and if it is a human being or even if you are not sure there is no justification for killing the child. We have in this country a law called capital punishment; it is set aside for the most heinous of criminals. So are you telling me, in the case of rape or incest you are going to do to the unborn child what is restricted for only the most heinous criminals in our country? Are you going to punish the child with the death penalty for the crime of the father?

Now let’s look at the threat to the life of the mother. I am a Registered Nurse and have worked with critically ill Cardiac patients for many years and while doing so I have had pregnant women as patients. While I cannot go into detail or talk about any of these patients, all of them have a commonality. In each case in no way was the mother at risk because of her child, in fact in every case it was the child who was at risk because of the mother’s health. And in every case great measures were taken to assure the health of the child, with numerous health professionals becoming involved at beck and call at any moment to assure the life of the child. Now explain to me how if all of these people are willing to be involved to assure the life of these unborn children, how does the child suddenly become worthless if she doesn’t want him or her? Let’s say you witness a car accident and one of the cars goes over the side rail into the lake. You pull over get out of your car jump into the lake and swim to the sinking car, in the car is a mother and her child. You are able to get one door open and the one closest to you is the mother and you only are able to rescue one so you hall her out of the car to safety, then watch in sadness as the car sinks containing her child. You were only able to save the mother now tell me how ridiculous would it have been for you to have killed the child before saving the mother, but that is exactly what the proponents of abortion in case of threat to the life of the mother are doing.

Now I realize the Democratic Party has been taken over by the morally corrupt of the land. As their Party platform is in favor of abortion, homosexual marriage, removed the mention of God in their platform and regularly call good evil and evil good. The candidate and current President while though I respect his office and would not say anything ill of him as many do in political wrangling, he is in full support of his parties’ platform so thus he will not get my vote on Election Day. Now while the Republican Party is for a total ban on abortion they have elected as their Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney who is for abortion in rape, incest and where the life of the mother is threatened. While I know and understand that there are many issues at hand in this election and the candidates are vastly different on many topics I cannot nor will not vote in support of anyone who is for abortion in any since of the word, so Mitt Romney will not get my vote either. So what will I be doing on Election Day? I will trust the creator, sustainer, and redeemer of life, The Lord Jesus Christ.

For anyone who has read this I encourage you to go to 180movie.com and watch a 33 minute documentary that will rock your world.


Mike Peek a slave of Jesus Christ

Faith Is Not Meant to be Private

Our faith is not meant to be private and from the start our faith is and always has been meant to be displayed publically. I hear people say often that my faith is between me and God and while that is true in origin, once you are given faith in the Son of God Jesus Christ the manifestation of our faith is public and meant to be so. I have heard some quote Matthew 6:5 “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.” This is not about keeping our faith quietly but it is about doing things before men just to be seen by men so that they think you are pious. Our confession of Jesus Christ before men is not to bring glory to ourselves but it is to bring glory to the living God. My favorite and I believe to be the most important passage in scripture is Romans 3:23-26. A portion of that passage says; “Christ Jesus; Whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed.” Propitiation means a great deal but a quick definition is a merciful sacrifice. Now this merciful sacrifice was displayed publically in two parts, in the blood of Jesus Christ through faith. Both the sacrificial death of Christ was public and the faith of the elect (those whom God is saving) is public and God did this to demonstrate His righteousness. Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” (Mark 16:15)

I have grown to consider myself to be an evangelist all though very small, and all believers should, for that is the commission the Lord gave us all before ascending to the right hand of the Father in Heaven. As I have become experienced in sharing my faith I have come to realize that there are three different ways I do this, with some blending at times between the three.

1. Passive
2. Passive Aggressive
3. Aggressive

Passive Sharing of faith in Jesus Christ - What do people generally talk about? People generally will talk about what is most important to them, what they think about most. What is on my mind most often is the Lord Jesus Christ, so I naturally will talk about Him given the opportunity, not out of effort and not purposeful, His word is on my mind at all times. I consider this to be Passive because I am not purposefully going out of my way to share my faith but it is the natural manifestation of a spirit filled follower of Jesus Christ to talk about Him, His word, and what God is doing in your life.

Passive Aggressive Sharing of faith in Jesus Christ - In addition to natural conversation as we interact with people throughout daily life God has purposed in my heart to hand out Gospel tracts with a clear doctrinally sound gospel message to most people that I come into contact with, cashiers, wait staff, etc., it is away to communicate the gospel to a large amount of people when you do not have the time or means for a lengthy discussion. Gospel tracts are great; the receiver may read them then or keep them for later, they often will put them in their pocket then they wind up at home for others to read. I have an array of tracts with varying catchy statements on one side transitioning into the law and gospel on the other side. I also carry million dollar bill tracts in my wallet; these are great to pass out to cashiers when you are paying for something. I also like to leave these in waiting rooms and in public places, people will initially think they are money so they will pick them up and hopefully read them. You know those postage paid return envelopes you get in the mail when someone sends you a credit card offer or some other solicitation? I never throw those away, I drop in a gospel tract, and then pray for the person who will open it, then seal it up and put it back in the mail box. I consider gospel tracts to be Passive Aggressive because I am passing them out as I go throughout my daily life but I am doing so with the hope that someone may read it and come to repentance and faith, but at the same time I am dependent on them to actually pick up the tract and read it. I have a few sources where I get my tracts. A few I design myself and have them printed at a local print shop but I also order large numbers of tracts from either Living Waters or One Million Tracts.

Aggressively Sharing faith in Jesus Christ – This has changed over the years, the first aggressive or purposeful witnessing that I did involved gospel tracts. Black Friday 2010 I got 100 gospel tracts, headed to the local mall, walked around the mall and said; “Merry Christmas, God has given us the greatest gift of all” then handed them the tract then moved on. This was aggressive because it was not part of my everyday life; I had set a time and date, prayed about it, then set out with the specific purpose of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with people. Throughout that next year I went out a few times purposefully handing out tracts. The beginning of this year through the internet I saw what some other believers were doing to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ, I came under conviction. I made a 4ftx2 1/2ft wooden cross with these words on the cross beam “ARE YOU READY” I got this idea from an evangelist named Tony Miano. This is great because people will ask you, “Ready for what?” and there opens a door to share the gospel. At the beginning of this year I began going out to street corners in my community with the cross as people drive by for 30-60 minutes at a time at least once a week. At first I was quite and just stood with the cross but I will now sometimes do stop light preaching, a quick gospel message between stop lights or just simply recite scripture, this is best on nice days when people have their windows down. I along with some other men will go to events and preach the gospel in open-air. The first time I did this was on Good Friday this year. Nothing is more aggressive than preaching the gospel in open-air, because people will hear the law and gospel weather they want to or not. Now the word aggressive may have negative connotations in your mind and give you emotional apprehension. I don’t mean ugly or abusive which is what you might think when I use the word aggressive, all though sometimes a hearer may get ugly or abusive when they hear the law and gospel or see the cross because it is offensive to them. I call these things Aggressive Sharing of faith in Jesus Christ because when I do this I am going out with the sole purpose of sharing the law and gospel with as many people as I can, even those who may not want to hear it. Another aggressive type of sharing of your faith is one-on-one witnessing, if you have ever purposed to share the gospel with someone and did so that is aggressively sharing your faith.

The point I am trying to make is this. Our faith is and always has been meant to be displayed publically! Jesus said; “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32-33) This does not mean that we earn our salvation by confessing Jesus Christ before men. Salvation is a gift of God, by the grace of God alone, through faith alone, in the Person and work of Jesus Christ alone. So what is Jesus saying here? If you believe you will confess Him before men and if you do not truly believe you will not, confessing Jesus before men is a natural manifestation of a saving faith. What keeps a true believer from sharing his faith at times? The answer is fear of man. Listen to what Jesus said about fearing men, “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28) So brothers and sisters let us share our faith!


“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” (Mark 16:15)
Mike Peek a slave of Jesus Christ

“For this is the will of My Father” John 6:35-40

Around July 1st of 2011 I by the will of the Lord began to memorize the gospel of John a verse at a time, I am now in John chapter 6. Often I have endeavored to share the thoughts that the Lord has given me as I memorize and meditate on this wonderful gospel of our Lord. I would like to talk about John 6:35-40 today. I am not a theologian; in fact I have no seminary training whatsoever. But what I do have is a love for my Lord and savior Jesus Christ and His word.

Jesus had walked across the sea to Capernaum after feeding the 5,000. He got into a discussion with the people whom He feed on the other side of the sea and the people in Capernaum. In verse 35 Jesus makes an incredible declaration; He declares Himself God and Life when He says to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst”. Then He goes on to tell the people, “But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe”. He declares that He is life itself but this life is not theirs because they do not believe. Like my daughter would say, “Wait, what?” You heard it right, Jesus says that He is life, and states metaphorically that whoever comes to Him and believes in Him will have life. Wait a minute, what happened to repeat this prayer after me, now if you said that prayer you are saved? What happened to you have a God sized hole in your heart that only Jesus can fill so except Him into your heart? Exactly, none of those clichés are in scripture, they are manmade! What we do find in scripture repeatedly is to have “repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Acts 20:21) Now, Jesus told these people that even though they had seen Him with their eyes they didn’t believe. So who then can believe?

Verse 37 tells us how a person comes to believe, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.” So what is a believer? A believer is a gift from God the Father to God the Son. And He says that all that the Father gives Him will come to Him. He doesn’t say that they might come to Him; it says they will come to Him. He doesn’t say I am standing with my arms wide open hoping that you will come, in very plain language He states, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me.” He also states what will happen to those who come to Him, He will keep them, “and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.” Now I have to tell you, this statement by Christ is one of the greatest in scripture. It lets us know who He is and who we are.

I have no delusions of who I am in this world; I am a man of little importance. If the Lord took me tonight there would be few people to even notice or even give a second thought to my departure from this world, except maybe my family and a couple of friends. But I and everyone who has come to Jesus by faith is a gift from God the Father to God the Son. Just think about that for a moment, let that sink in. You may be going through a time of depression and may feel insignificant in this world but if you have come to Jesus Christ by faith you are a gift from God the Father to God the Son, and Jesus says that He will keep you. I personally can’t think of anything more wonderful and amazing than that.

Jesus goes on to say in verse 38, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” Every believer is a gift from God the Father to God the Son, and God the Son was sent by God the Father to redeem His gift. And in verse 39 He tells us, “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.” Then He summarizes in verse 40 stating, “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” So let us summarize. Jesus Christ was sent by God the Father to redeem those who God the Father gave Him as a gift. All that the Father gives Him will come to Him and everyone who comes to Jesus Christ by faith did so because they were given to Him by God the Father. Everyone who comes to Jesus Christ by faith Jesus Himself will raise up on the last day. How awesome is that? What an absolutely wonderful and amazing God that He would save a wretch like me.


Mike Peek a slave of Jesus Christ

God Used FireProof

Just the other night I decided to watch the movie “FireProof” I hadn’t seen the movie for quite some time. I have indicated on this blog before that the Lord used that movie to bring me to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. So before watching the movie again I spent time in prayer and asked God to reveal to me what it was in the movie that He used to bring me to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17); so my question was, what did I hear?

I do not want to go into detail to tell you what this movie is about, so I hope you have seen it and if you have not seen it I suggest you do, it’s an excellent movie. The movie had reached the scene where (Kirk Cameron’s character) Caleb Holt was walking a trail with his father John Holt. John Holt was sharing the law and the gospel with his son Caleb Holt. Caleb was attempting to justify himself when he realized his sinful state before God and came to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. The next scene was at the fire house. Caleb Holt (Kirk Cameron) comes to his friend and confidant Michael Simmons (Ken Bevel) and tells him that they both now shared the same faith. Caleb and Michael begin a discussion about marriage and divorce and Michael said; “You’ve got to beg God to teach you how to be a good husband and don’t just follow your heart because your heart can be deceived, you’ve got to lead your heart!” I realized that was it, which was what God had used to bring me to the knowledge of sin, to shut my mouth, to leave me guilty before him, and to bring me to the foot of the cross. I then remembered that the line had such an effect on me that I had written it down in my phone. So I began to scroll through my phone quickly and I knew that it was on December 19th, 2009 that I had watched this movie. So I get to the bottom of the list of notes on my phone. In fact it was the very first note that I had ever put on this phone. I made a copy of it for you to see.

As you can see there are three statements, dated December 26th, 12:05 PM. I can’t tell you what a treasure it is to find this note. Three statements! I know that morning while in Sunday School I had come to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ writing down on a paper two statements, as the class was writing down goals for the coming year. I wrote:

1. I would give God complete Lordship, I would follow Jesus were ever He lead me.
2. I would love my neighbor as myself.

Given the time of the note on my phone of 12:05 I evidently wrote this note on my phone after Sunday school while sitting in the church service, three things.

1. The quote from the movie, which was what God had used to bring me to the knowledge of sin, to shut my mouth, to leave me guilty before him, and to bring me to the foot of the cross. “You’ve got to beg God to teach you how to be a good husband and don’t just follow your heart because your heart can be deceived you’ve got to lead your heart!”
2. “Good enough!” I’m not absolutely sure what I was saying here, put I’m pretty confident that I was indicating that I was not good enough.
3. “I resolve to let Jesus be the Lord of my life, everyday!”

Yes this is a beautiful gift from the Lord and a wonderful memory from the day the Lord saved me. I give you but a caveat to this. While this is a nice find and a treasure to have and keep, my faith is not in the fact that on that day I wrote these things down, my faith then and now is alone in the Son of God Jesus Christ and His work on the cross. I have one thing to say to you all, repent (turn from your sins and turn to God) and by faith alone receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.


Mike Peek a slave of Jesus Christ

Do Not Be Deceived

There is something that has been bothering me as of late and up until now I haven’t put it into words or rather the Lord has not granted it. In my daily bible reading I have been reading “The Gospel According to Matthew”. The greatest sermon ever preached is in Matthew 5-7, “The Sermon on the Mount” by God incarnate Jesus Christ. There is so much in this message that it just boggles the mind, I have been particularly drawn to chapter 7. The other night I was reading and Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.” (Matthew 7:21-23) Now lawlessness is defined in scripture as sin, to be lawless is to be one who is not following the law specifically in this case the laws of God. So lawlessness is doing what you want despite what the law says. “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.” (1 John 3:4)

While I was reading this passage and meditating on it the Lord drew me to another passage, this one an Epistle written by Brother Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to the church at Corinth. “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11) Do this passage in 1 Corinthians and the passage in Matthew chapter 7 go together? I think so and that is very frightening indeed. Now let’s go back a little further in Matthew 7 to verses 13 & 14. “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14) The narrow gate has been accepted throughout church history as faith in the Son of God Jesus Christ, and the narrow way as an obedient life. That being said, can you be lawless and obedient at the same time? The two are opposed to one another.

There is a system that has cropped up in our culture and I believe that it has come out of American indulgence. Have you ever heard the term, “You can’t have your cake and eat it too”? But this system that has cropped up says that you can. Often times it is not outwardly spoken but has become common practice. The system that I speak of is the thought that you can live like the world, indulge yourself in sin, but if you ever at one time in your life said a prayer asking Jesus into your heart you have eternal life. That my friend is a lie from Satan, who cannot tell the truth, he has never told the truth. He lied to our Father Adam and our Mother Eve in the garden and has been lying to their children ever since. The bible does not say that. What does the bible say, what did the Apostle Paul say he preached? “Solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). Jesus said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15) Before ascending to the Father He said, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:46-47) Isn’t that what Brother Paul did and said as we saw in Acts 20:21?

So what am I saying? There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent (turn from their sin and turn to God) and, by faith alone receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. My friends you don’t get to keep your sins and have eternal life too. Sin is death, Jesus is life. The sins listed in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 are very specific and anyone practicing those will not inherit the kingdom of God. Verse 11 of 1 Corinthians 6 tells us what the Corinthians did to be saved. It says, “Such were some of you”, meaning they had stopped doing those sins, “but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” So they stopped doing those sins and put their faith alone in Jesus Christ, His shed blood on the cross paid for their crimes and they were justified before God, and you can be too. The author of the book of Hebrews tells us, “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.” (Hebrews 10:26-27) Is this to say that a Christian does not sin? No this is not to say that a Christian does not sin, unfortunately a Christian does sin. So what is the difference? The difference as stated in Hebrews 10:26 to “go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth.” The true believer from time to time falls into sin but cannot stay in a continual state of carnality, the Father will not allow him to. As a loving Father he disciplines his children, if the child of God falls off the narrow path the Father God disciplines him and directs him back onto the narrow path. The true believer cannot and will not remain willfully in sin because the pressure from God will be more than he is able to bear. The false convert can and will remain in a continued state of carnality. How many people do you know that say they are Christians but are living in fornication (sex outside of marriage), Adultery, drunkards, or thieves, and yet the bible tells us that anyone practicing these things will not inherit the kingdom of God. So what are you to do? Repent (turn from your sins and turn to God) and, by faith alone receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and you will be washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

Now I realize that this makes people mad for one if two reasons; either they themselves are willfully sinning or they have a family member or friend who is willfully sinning. For them they know that what I and the word of God are saying is true, but they love their sin, so this angers them. For others, they would rather remain deluded that their carnate family members and friends are saved than face the fact that they may be headed to hell. But remember these words of our Lord, “If you right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.” (Matthew 5:29) Do you think Jesus regarded sin as serious? So why talk about this? What do I care? I care because I was one of those people who said he was a Christian and lived in a continual state of carnality sinning willfully but by the grace of God he saved me, I was born again, receiving His Spirit, repenting from my sins, and trusting alone in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. I was truly dead in my sins and He gave me life. Also I know that the majority of people around me; family, friends, coworkers, my community, my country, and the world will die separated from God for all eternity unless they repent (turn from sin and turn to God) and by faith alone receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. That is the motivating factor for writing this blog and for going into all the world and preaching the gospel to every creature. I cannot save anyone but God has chosen to use preaching as the means to bring people to faith. “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14) “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17)


Mike Peek a slave of Jesus Christ