March Stats ── 2025

GREETINGS! Welcome to a brand new civic month ── April. April on the Gregorian Calendar is commonly associated with the spring season in the Northern Hemisphere on Earth, even though on God's calendar the first day of the new month actually began the 1st of Nisan (March 30, 2025).

We are looking forward to the most important holy day of the whole year ── the LORD's Passover, which is April 11th, beginning at sunset. And then, the Days of Unleavened Bread, from the evening of the 12th to sunset on the 19th.

We have a new website ── https://www.churchofjesuschristonlineministries.org. We'll have it up and running as soon as humanly possible. This website will continue to be available for our older articles and any additional educational material.

God Bless.

AVERAGE MONTHLY PAGE VIEWS: 224.0

AVERAGE MONTHLY UNIQUE VISITS: 217.0

AVERAGE MONTHLY FIRST TIME VISITS: 211.0 

AVERAGE MONTHLY RETURNING VISITS: 6.0

 

Locations:

Traffic:

Systems:

TOP FIVE ARTICLES LAST MONTH

● Unequally Yoked ─ by Guy C LaMar

● True Christians SHOULD NOT Celebrate "St. Patrick's Day"! ─ COJCOM

● Should Christians Celebrate St. Patrick's Day? ─ COJCOM

● A Morning Bible Study  ── What Is Repentance? ─ by Leonard V Johnson

● Lent, Ash Wednesday, and Easter ── Did the [Early] Christians Celebrate These? ─ COJCOM

YOUTUBE

The Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries is pleased to present our YouTube channel's analytics for the month of March 2025. 

Views for March ── 228. Watch Time (hours) ── 11.1

Additionally: Impressions ── 10.1k (105% more than previous 28 days). Impressions click-through rate ── 1.6%. Average view duration ── 2:55.

Returning Viewers ── 6. Unique Viewers ── 110

Device Type

Mobile Phone ── 48.1%

TV ── 38.1%

Computer ── 12.8%

Tablet ── 1.0%

TOP FIVE VIDEOS DURING THIS DURATION

(March 4 - 31, 2025)

●  ¿Por qué estamos llamados ── ahora? (Spanish translated) by Leonard V Johnson

● Why We Are Called  ── Now? by Leonard V Johnson

● Arrepentimiento Real (Spanish translated) by Leonard V Johnson

● Sed Fuertes en el Señor (Spanish translated) by Leonard V Johnson

● Think About This... What is meant, 'Rise, Peter; kill and eat'? 

Brethren, Friends, and Co-Workers in Christ ── have a most wonderful and Spirit-filled April! Thank you for your continued love and support for this work of God! We love you and are always and continually praying for you. May our mighty LORD God bless you and keep you this year! ── 2025.

Yours in Christ Jesus,

What Is Meant... 'Nothing Leavened'?

by Leonard V Johnson

For 2025, the Days of Unleavened Bread begin at sunset on April 12th and run through sunset on the 19th of April.

The LORD God commands us ──

“’ In the first month, on the FOURTEENTH DAY of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. 19) For SEVEN DAYS no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land. 20) You shall eat NOTHING LEAVENED; in all your dwellings you shall eat UNLEAVENED BREAD.’” – Exodus 12:18-20.

Now the leaven here… Is the LORD God saying, “Go grab your box of baking soda and throw it out of the house.” Is that what this here is saying?

No.

The word leaven here is referencing LEAVENED BREAD. And the only other possible meaning is… I don’t know if you’ve ever been around people who make sourdough bread. And I’m told you mix up a batch and then you keep a little lump (the starter) in a moist environment (let it sit out on the cabinet with a moist towel over it). And then you make the rest of the dough go into making the bread–whatever it is, and however it’s shaped. And then the next day, when you’re gonna make some more sourdough bread, you take the starter and mix it in with the new flour and oil and everything else you put into bread. And what happens, the yeast, which is in the starter, spreads throughout the loaf and leavens the whole loaf. So then you also take a chunk of it (probably a little round ball), put that in a moist towel, and save it for the next day. So, that would be a type of leaven that the LORD God would not appreciate on His Days of Unleavened Bread. And, if you’re not making leavened bread, there would be no use in having that around.

But that is what our LORD God is talking about! He is not talking about going through your house and looking for nine-month-old cookie crumbs! And that’s what the Worldwide Church of God taught. They actually made it into what I call a period of ritualistic – as in Jewish traditions – housecleaning. And in doing that, they totally missed the mark, they missed the AWESOME SIGNIFICANCE of the TRUE MEANING of the glorious Days of Unleavened Bread!

Again, the LORD God tells us ──

“’ You shall eat no leavened bread with it; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it, that is, THE BREAD OF AFFLICTION … 4) And no leaven shall be seen among you in all your territory for seven days, …’” – Deuteronomy 16:3, 4.

Now, if you look up in the Concordance, that word “affliction” ── it can mean TROUBLE. The bread of trouble. If you keep the Way of God, you are going to have some problems ever so often! And because of the problems other human beings attempt to create for us, it can at times be very problematic and difficult to be a follower of Jesus Christ. They’ll go out of their way to sort of put things in your path. But, our LORD God here is still speaking of physical leavened bread – no leavened bread shall be seen among you in all your territories for seven days.

Our Lord Jesus did speak of leaven metaphorically ──

“Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. 6) Then Jesus said to them, ‘Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.’

7) And they reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘Is it because we have taken no bread.’

8) But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, ‘O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? 9) Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? 10) Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?

11) How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? ── but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’

12) Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” – Matthew 16:5-12.

He was speaking to them metaphorically.

The ‘doctrine’ of the Pharisees ──

• The importance of keeping rituals.
• The need to convert Gentiles.
• The Way to God was by obeying the physical Law.
• Extending Jewish practices into life outside the temple.
• Instilling greater piety in “the common people.”

To name but a few.

Additionally, they put significant weight on the “oral tradition,” or the traditions of the elders, believing this interpretive framework helped clarify the written Law. Ancient rabbinic sources and later compilations, such as portions of the Talmud, reflect the Pharisaic influence in codifying and teaching these traditions. This oral tradition functioned to address practical questions about Sabbath observance, dietary laws, ritual purity, and other facets of devotion. 1

Our Lord Jesus is showing us that His New Covenant does not match the old rites of the Pharisees, which required a lot of fasting. Our Lord Jesus taught against syncretism ── which is the mixing of beliefs, such as Judeo-Christianity.

Having a show of piety, without true holiness, is like leaven in that it gradually increases and spreads corruption, puffing up a person with vanity. Indeed, friends, the very nature of leaven (or, rather, yeast) is to change whatever it contacts. Yeast does its job slowly, secretly, and silently, but no one can deny its effect on bread. Yeast is microscopic in size, and only a little is kneaded into the dough. Yet, given time, the yeast will spread through all the dough.

The ’doctrine’ of the Sadducees ──

• Rejection of the Resurrection and Afterlife.
• Adherence to the Written Law.
• Temple Worship and Sacrificial System.

The Sadducees’ interactions with our Lord Jesus were marked by theological disagreements, particularly concerning their rejection of a resurrection. In Matthew 22:29-32, our Lord Jesus addresses their unbelief by affirming that there is a resurrection unto life and correcting their misunderstanding of His living word ──

“ …’ You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30) For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven. 31) But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 32) ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.’”

Our beloved apostle Paul wrote to the brethren there in ancient Corinth ──

“Your glorying is not good. …”

Speaking metaphorically involving leaven, concerning piety.

“ … Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7) THEREFORE purge out the old leaven [the leaven of piety; of glorying], that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.” – 1 Corinthians 5:6-7.

True Christians have kept UNLEAVENED BREAD for Passover, and they have kept the Days of Unleavened Bread. So, in every generation the true Church of God is not called to be leaven. Christians are to strive to be spiritually unleavened, and Jesus Christ is “the unleavened Bread of sincerity and truth”!

We, brethren, need to continually purge out of our lives the old leaven ── that being the false doctrines of the churches of this world.

But sadly, most of our peoples will not. They are TRADITIONALISTS.

Our Lord Jesus ── the Savior of all mankind ── has warned us that the overall majority of professing Christians believe that they are “just fine and dandy, thank you!” And, He has told many of us, brethren, that He has a few things against us ──

“ ‘… that you have left your first love. … repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place ── unless you repent. … I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews [or rather, ‘the chosen ones’] and are not, but are a synagogue [or a church] of Satan. … you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam [those who are greedy for power!] … Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth. … you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess [some self-proclaimed prophetess; think of Ellen G. White who was the head of the Seventh-day Adventists, also a Jezebel spirit is running rampant within many woman of this present evil age] to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality [Fornications, as in the worship of a false god or goddess] and eat things sacrificed to idols. And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. … I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. … So then [and He says to some of us, brethren], because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. … I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.’” – Revelation 2 & 3.

PRIDE CAN PUFF PEOPLE UP, just as physical leaven puffs up bread.

Notice what the LORD God truly wants of us ──

“He has shown you, O man, what is good [referring to God]; And what does the LORD require of you …” – and he lists three things – “…But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?” And Jesus says virtually the same thing in Matthew chapter 23, verse 23 – He talks about, “…’ the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith.’” – He said, ‘You know, we’ve got these bean counters up there, their tithing of all these little seeds.’ He said, ‘Yeah, you do that, but you forget the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith.’ I think about the fact that even today there are individuals who get hung up on weird little doctrines, and they forget the weightier matters of the law – judgment, mercy, and faith, to walk humbly before God.

Our physical and spiritual enemy, Satan the Devil, refused to walk humbly before God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ! He was an “anointed cherub.” He was “perfect” in his ways from the day he was created, until iniquity was found in him ── Ezekiel 28:14-15. He allowed his heart to be lifted up because of his beauty. He corrupted his wisdom for the sake of his splendor ── and he was therefore cast to the Earth – Ezekiel 28:17.

Sadly, a great many people allow the wrong kind of pride to get in their way ──

“A man’s pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor.” – Proverbs 29:23.

Do you honestly trust Almighty God and our Lord Jesus Christ? Are you able to humble yourself before God and work on changing your faults?

Yes!

With the LORD God’s merciful help!

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” – Philippians 4:13.

The LORD God wants you to forsake piety and the wrong kind of pride, and humble yourself before Them! Sadly, a great many will not humble themselves before Them ── even on the glorious and holy day of the Day of Atonement!

Millions believe in Jesus, but are unwilling to prostrate themselves before the God of gods! To humble themselves before the King of kings and Lord of lords! Such humility takes faith ──

“’ He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.’” – John 12:25.

Brethren, this time of year, we are to examine ourselves ── are we living by the standards put forth by the LORD God? Are we placing before us anything before the LORD God?

Let us search for any old leaven, before the LORD’s Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread ── and let us put on “the unleavened Bread of sincerity and truth”! □

Springtime Days That the Early Christians Kept

Our Lord Jesus Christ’s faithful in the churches of God will observe the apostle Paul’s admonition to “examine” themselves just before the beginning of this spring’s holy days ── 1st Corinthians 11:28-32.

Sadly, the overall majority within this world’s churches will be observing Easter or perhaps Lent.

Also, the overall majority within this world’s churches realize that our Lord Jesus observed what they consider to be “Jewish” days, yet they have not properly understood nor realized that the faithful followers of our Lord Jesus Christ kept and observed ‘the feasts of the LORD’ in the first few centuries of true Christianity.

The LORD God’s faithful kept and observed all ‘the feasts of the LORD’ listed for us in Leviticus 23. Notice ── in the New Testament that they kept and observed ‘the LORD’s Passover’ along with the ‘Days of Unleavened Bread.’ ──

“THEREFORE purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. 8) THEREFORE let us KEEP THE FEAST, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” – 1st Corinthians 5:7-8.

They kept and observed ‘the Day of Pentecost.’ ──

“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. …” – Acts 2:1-4.

“But I [the apostle Paul] will tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost.” – 1st Corinthians 16:8.

They kept and observed ‘the Day of Atonement’ which was called ‘the Fast.’ ──

“Now when much time had been spent, and sailing was now dangerous because the Fast was already over, Paul advised them.” – Acts 27:9.

They kept and observed ‘the Feast of Tabernacles.’ ──

“but took leave of them, saying, ‘I must by all means KEEP THIS coming feast in Jerusalem.” – Acts 18:21.

They kept and observed what is called ‘the Last Great Day.’ ──

“On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.’” – John 7:37.

Also, notice that the glorious fulfillments of ‘the first day of the month, a sabbath-rest, a memorial of trumpets, a holy convocation’ called ‘the Feast of Trumpets’ is spoken of in the New Testament ── 1st Thessalonians 4:15-18; also, be sure to read “Trumpets and Your Future.”

The Roman Catholic scholars understood and realized that these observances were kept as well ──

The connection between the Jewish Passover and the … feast of Easter is real and ideal. Real, since Christ died on the first Jewish Easter Day; Ideal, like the relation between type and reality, because Christ’s death and resurrection had its figures and types in the Old Law, particularly in the Paschal lamb, which was eaten towards the evening of the 14th of Nisan. In fact, the Jewish feast WAS TAKEN OVER INTO THE CHRISTIAN EASTER CELEBRATION; … The connection between the Jewish and the Christian [Easter] explains the movable character of this feast. … Since Christ, the true Paschal Lamb, had been slain on the very day when the Jews, in celebration of their Passover, immolated the figurative lamb, the Jewish Christians in the Orient followed the Jewish method, and commemorated the death of Christ on the 15th of Nisan and His resurrection on the 17th of Nisan, no matter what day of the week they fell. For this observance they claimed the authority of St. John and St. Philip. 1

In actuality, the true and faithful Christians that were in the Orient were keeping and observing the 14th day of Nisan ── not the 15th! But, the basic point I want to make is that the Roman Catholic Church then ── and now ── admits (in publication and behind closed doors) that our Lord Jesus Christ was slain on the 14th of Nisan – ‘the LORD’s Passover.’ Even though they changed the name, “change times and laws” calling it EASTER - a homonym of the pagan goddess Ishtar.

Pentecost … a feast of the universal Church [speaking about the Roman Catholic Church] which commemorates the Descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles, fifty days after the resurrection of Christ, ON THE ANCIENT JEWISH FESTIVAL CALLED ‘the feast of weeks’ or Pentecost (Exodus 34:22; Deuteronomy 16:10) … 2

What is known as Lent was not kept or observed by any early true Christian. However, ‘the LORD’s Passover’ and ‘the feast of weeks’ (Pentecost) were!

In the THIRD CENTURY (referring to the period from AD 201 – AD 300), the Roman Catholic theologian Origen had listed the following as being celebrated by Roman Catholics ──

Chapter XXII. If it be objected to us on this subject that WE OURSELVES ARE ACCUSTOMED TO OBSERVE CERTAIN DAYS, as for example … The Passover, or Pentecost, … 3

It is also very likely that other spring holy days were being kept by the early Roman Catholics, along with the LORD God’s fall holy days.

Notice this from the SECOND CENTURY (the period from AD 101 – AD 200) ──

The most important in this festival was the Passover day, the 14th of Nisan, … in it they ate unleavened bread, probably like the Jews, eight days through. … there is NO TRACE OF A YEARLY FESTIVAL OF THE RESURRECTION AMONG THEM, … 4

Like the faithful apostle John (the last of the original apostles to die; probably naturally), the early faithful true Christians kept and observed the LORD’s Passover, along with the Days of Unleavened Bread!

We in the Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries keep and observe (In God’s living word, the concept of ‘KEEP’ and ‘OBSERVE’ is related to following and keeping the LORD God’s holy and righteous commandments, including the ‘feasts of the LORD,’ including the holy Sabbath!) the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day that foreshadows the glorious and powerful soon-coming Millennium!

So, the early true Christians kept and observed what are today known as “Jewish” holy days. And since our Lord Jesus Christ and His apostles kept and observed them, shouldn’t ‘the LORD’s feasts’ be kept annually ── and not Easter, Halloween, and the Mass of Christ (Christmas) ── by true and faithful followers of our Lord Jesus Christ? Gradually, as more “converted” pagans entered into the Roman Catholic Church, they stopped keeping and observing “Jewish” holy days.

The Roman Catholic John Chrysostom preached antisemitism in AD 387 ──

What is this disease? The festivals of the pitiful and miserable Jews are soon to march upon us one after the other and in quick succession: the feast of Trumpets, the feast of Tabernacles, the fasts. There are many in our ranks who say they think as we do. … If the Jewish ceremonies are venerable and great, our[s] are lies. 5

Now, truly none of this causes a problem for the Roman Catholic Church of today, because they just simply gloss it all over with excuse after excuse – again, ‘changing the appointed times and laws’ – cf. Daniel 7:25. The modern Roman Catholics claim they still keep a version of Passover (of course, under the name Easter) and Pentecost. This John Chrysostom died on September 14, AD 407, and is venerated by the Catholic Church! So, he did not write anything they are too ashamed of ── they too have the idealism of “What is this disease?”

Although his writings are not a part of God’s inspired Word – the Bible – Polycarp, who was a disciple of the Apostle John, spoke of some possible information. Polycarp, who is considered a saint by the Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries.

Some of this information speaks of the Sabbath, the LORD’s Passover, the Days of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day. And the book ── The Life of Polycarp ── endorses keeping and observing them ──

In the days of unleavened bread, Paul, coming down from Galatia, arrived in Asia, considering the repose among the faithful in Smyrna to be a great refreshment in Christ Jesus after his severe toil, and intending afterwards to depart to Jerusalem. So in Smyrna he went to visit Strataeas, who had been his hearer in Pamphylia, being a son of Eunice the daughter of Lois. These are they of whom he makes mention when writing to Timothy, saying; Of the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois and in thy mother Eunice; whence we find that Strataeas was a brother of Timothy. Paul then, entering his house and gathering together the faithful there, speaks to them concerning the Passover and the Pentecost, reminding them of the New Covenant of the offering of bread and the cup; how that they ought most assuredly to celebrate it during the days of unleavened bread, but to hold fast the new mystery of the Passion and Resurrection. For here the Apostle plainly teaches that we ought neither to keep it outside the season of unleavened bread, as the heretics do, especially the Phrygians, nor yet on the other hand of necessity on the fourteenth day: for he said nothing about the fourteenth day, but named the days of unleavened bread, the Passover, and the Pentecost, thus ratifying the Gospel.

22) And on the sabbath, when prayer had been made long time on bended knee, he, as was his custom, got up to read; and every eye was fixed upon him. Now the lesson was the Epistles of Paul to Timothy and to Titus, in which he says what manner of man a bishop ought to be. And he was so well fitted for the office that the hearers said one to another that he lacked none of those qualities which Paul requires in one who has the care of a church. When then, after the reading and the instruction of the bishops and the discourses of the presbyters, the deacons were sent to the laity to enquire whom they would have, they said with one accord, 'Let Polycarp be our pastor and teacher.' 6

So, there is an ancient book that says that Polycarp did indeed keep and observe the holy Sabbath, along with all ‘the feasts of the LORD’! And, of course, as we’ve shown you here in this article, other various sources also support this fact!

Polycrates ── who actually did not accept what the Roman Catholic Church taught ── who was bishop of Ephesus, wrote this around the year AD 195 ──

Chapter 24. The Disagreement in Asia.

We observe the exact day; neither adding, nor taking away. For in Asia also great lights have fallen asleep, which shall rise again on the day of the Lord's coming, when he shall come with glory from heaven, and shall seek out all the saints. Among these are Philip, one of the twelve apostles, who fell asleep in Hierapolis; and his two aged virgin daughters, and another daughter, who lived in the Holy Spirit and now rests at Ephesus; and, moreover, John, who was both a witness and a teacher, who reclined upon the bosom of the Lord, and, being a priest, wore the sacerdotal plate.

He fell asleep at Ephesus.

And Polycarp in Smyrna, who was a bishop and martyr; and Thraseas, bishop and martyr from Eumenia, who fell asleep in Smyrna.

Why need I mention the bishop and martyr Sagaris who fell asleep in Laodicea, or the blessed Papirius, or Melito, the Eunuch who lived altogether in the Holy Spirit, and who lies in Sardis, awaiting the episcopate from heaven, when he shall rise from the dead?

All these observed the fourteenth day of the Passover according to the Gospel, deviating in no respect, but following the rule of faith. And I also, Polycrates, the least of you all, do according to the tradition of my relatives, some of whom I have closely followed. For seven of my relatives were bishops; and I am the eighth. And my relatives always observed the day when the people put away the leaven. 7

Praise be forever for our mighty LORD God ── this shows that Polycrates and others (who are considered to be saints by the Roman Catholic Church) kept and observed the LORD’s Passover ON THE 14th of Nisan. So, there is no doubt that the feasts that are called by a great many today as “Jewish” were still being kept and observed by the true and faithful Christians there in Asia Minor and elsewhere centuries after the death and glorious resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ!

What WAS NOT BEING KEPT OR OBSERVED ── until at least the 4th century (the period from AD 301 – AD 400) ── by the Roman Catholic Church or even the Eastern Orthodox churches, was CHRISTMAS! Nor what is known as Lent, or Valentine’s Day, or Halloween, that multiple millions keep and observe today.

The LORD God’s feasts are still observed by the faithful true Christians around the world in this 21st century!

Do you follow the commands of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, or are YOU BUT A TRADITIONALIST? □

1 Wynes, J.J., The Catholic Encyclopedia Volume V, “Easter”, 1909, pgs. 224, 225.

2 The Catholic Encyclopedia Volume 15, “Whitsunday,” Knights Of Columbus Special Edition, 1914, pg. 614.

3 by Tertullian, Part Fourth; Minucius Felix; Commodian; Origen, Parts First and Second, Ante Nicene Fathers, Vol 4, 2000, pg. 1513.

4 by Gieseler, Johann Karl Ludwig, 1792-1854, A text-book of church history, “§ 53. ECCLESIASTICAL LIFE.” 1857-80, pg. 166.

5 John Chrysostom, Against the Jews. Homily 1, https://www.tertullian.org/, HOMILY I § 5, VI § 5.

6 Lightfoot, J.B., Pionius, Life of Polycarp (1889) from J. B. Lightfoot, The Apostolic Fathers, vol. 3.2, pp.488-506. LIFE OF POLYCARP.

7 New Advent, Church History (Book V), Chapter 24, § 2-6.

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Commentary: History of the Sabbath ── Brethren and Friends – I feel compelled by God’s Spirit to share this revealed truth. I haven’t got the time at the moment to fully expound upon this – although it is all throughout God’s living word. The factual history of the Sabbath. [...]

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Personal From... Armstrong Religion ── Throughout my proclaiming God’s living Word, Truth, and Plan of God ─ the glorious Gospel message. The very message preached by JESUS CHRIST and His Church, concerning the history of our Lord Jesus of Nazareth, and His soon-coming kingdom to this earth. Including the very message of what our Lord Jesus had done in the past, what He is doing now, and what He will do. The message of the NEW COVENANT ─ I had never been called a “spiritual murderer”! But, today I have!

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Letter to our Friends - April 18, 2019 UPDATE ── Dear Friends: The Spring Holy Day season is here!

True Christians SHOULD NOT Celebrate "St. Patrick's Day"!

March 17th of 2025 will once again be what is called St. Patrick’s Day. The majority of people view it as a Roman Catholic holiday, while many others look at it as an Irish holiday. But for most, it has become a major drinking holiday!

It has both spiritual and physical risks to your life and health.

Notice this from ABC News –

St. Patrick's Day tales from the emergency room

On St. Patrick’s Day, emergency room staffers prepare themselves for an uptick in patients, likely with several of them injured themselves in some sort of hilarious calamity. It differs from holidays such as Christmas or New Year’s, when patients in need of emergency care often wait a day or two before seeking it, preferring to wait for a more “convenient” time, said Dr. Michael Lynch, a toxicologist and an emergency physician at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

The holiday is on a Friday this year, allowing millions to perhaps take their celebration of Irish heritage to the next — and possibly painful — level.

“It’s not a fun day to work because of the number of alcohol-related injuries,” said Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan. …

Beware of green food coloring

One St. Patrick’s Day, Glatter witnessed a group of advertising executives panicking after they had lunch outside the office, he said.

During the meal, they decided to take part in the day’s festivities by drinking green beer. The food coloring altered the appearance of not only the beer but the executives’ teeth as well — just before an important meeting.

“Four or five of them came to the ER,” Glatter said. “They were freaking out because they had to see the client.”

The food coloring stained the plaque buildup on their teeth, he said, and getting rid of it was no easy task.

“It takes time,” Glatter said. “It doesn’t go away immediately.”

Even with whitening strips, mouthwash, toothbrush and toothpaste, it can still take up to a week for the coloring to disappear and teeth to return to their normal shade, he said.

“People do stupid things on St. Patrick’s Day,” Glatter said. “And certainly the novelty of different foods is something that is interesting.”

(https://abcnews.go.com/US/st-patricks-day-tales-emergencyroom/story?id=46153678).

Also, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, one shouldn’t trust their luck this or any other St. Patrick’s Day –

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration urges everyone to drink responsibly during this year’s St. Patrick’s Day. The international celebration is often recognized by adults as a time for gatherings at bars and pubs. Unfortunately, one night of drinking can lead to deadly consequences if plans aren’t made to get home safely.

During the 2020 St. Patrick’s Day period (6 p.m. March 16 to 5:59 a.m. March 18), more than a third (36%) of crash fatalities involved a drunk driver. In fact, from 2016 to 2020, 287 lives were lost in drunk-driving crashes during the St. Patrick’s Day period. …

According to NHTSA, 11,654 people were killed in drunk-driving crashes in 2020. On average, one person was killed in a drunk-driving crash every 45 minutes in 2020. …

(https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/dont-test-your-luck-st-patricks-day).

Now, aside from the fact that it DOES have spiritual and physical life-altering side effects and that driving while intoxicated IS DEADLY – what else is completely wrong with celebrating St. Patrick’s Day!? What does God’s living, immutable word say about NO LONGER participating in this world’s ways?

“Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with THE SAME MIND, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2) that he NO LONGER should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. 3) For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles─ when we walked IN LEWDNESS, LUSTS, DRUNKENNESS, REVELRIES, DRINKING PARTIES, and ABOMINABLE IDOLATRIES.” – 1 Peter 4:1-3.

Now, is not this “St. Patrick’s Day” a time that is focused primarily on drinking parties, lewdness, revelries, and drunkenness!? Are these not the lusts of the flesh that God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ tell us that true Christians are no longer to participate in?

The Apostle Paul – through the living Spirit of the LORD God – tells us without a doubt that those who continue to participate in the lusts of the flesh WILL NOT be in the kingdom of God!

“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery [including spiritual adultery; the worship of false gods and goddesses], fornication [including spiritual fornication; false religions], uncleanness, lewdness, 20) idolatry, sorcery [which is witchcraft], hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21) envy, murderers [including spiritual murder of the heart], drunkenness [both physical and spiritual], revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” – Galatians 5:19-21.

The LORD God’s living word – the Holy Bible – is adamant and WARNS against drunkenness. What is drunkenness? Here is the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary definition –

drunk▪en \ ‘drən-kən \ adj [ME, fr. OE drunken, fr. pp. of drincan to drink] (bef. 12c) 1: DRUNK 1 <a ~ driver> 2: obs: saturated with liquid 3: a: given to habitual excessive use of alcohol b: of, relating to, or characterized by intoxication (they come from … broken homes, ~ homes ─P. B. Gilliam) c: resulting from or as if from intoxication (a ~ brawl) 4: unsteady or lurching as if from alcoholic intoxication ─ drunk▪en▪ly adv ─ drunk▪en▪ness \ ▪kən-nəs \ n 1

Physical drunkenness is habitually drinking alcohol or taking a substance that makes you intoxicated. Spiritual drunkenness is continually ingesting into one’s mind false religions and false doctrines and continuing in spiritual blindness – as in –

“ … ‘Come I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, 2) with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth WERE MADE DRUNK with the wine of her fornication.’” – Revelation 17:1, 2.

When it comes to celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, the definition of drunkenness can be both physical and spiritual.

The wisest man to have lived in the East at that time, King Solomon, wrote –

“Hear, my son, and be wise; And guide your heart in the Way. 20) Do not mix with winebibbers [the warning against riotous living (zōlēl) and drunkenness (sōbē) as leading to sloth and poverty seems well taken (Prov. 23:20-21) 2 ], or with gluttonous eaters of meat; 21) For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.” – Proverbs 23:19-21.

And, the Apostle Paul wrote –

“The night is far spent, the day [speaking of the terrible and dreadful Day of the LORD!] is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13) Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 14) But PUT ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” – Romans 13:12-14.

“But now I have written to you not to keep company with ANYONE named a brother [speaking of brethren in Christ Jesus our Lord], who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner─ not even to eat with such a person.” – 1 Corinthians 5:11.

St. Patrick’s Day is NOT Christian!

Notice this blasphemous report from the Bishops of Ireland back in 2014 –

The Bishops of Ireland have published the following message for the Solemnity of Saint Patrick 2014.

We pray through the intercession of our national patron, St Patrick, for the faith and well-being of the people of Ireland. Saint Patrick was called to serve and bring God to a people far from his homeland. As Saint Patrick’s Day is a Holy Day of Obligation for Catholics in Ireland, the best way to honour him is to attend Mass. …

[We pray the blessings of the feast of Patrick on all the people of Ireland. We think especially of all our people who are exiles far from home: may the Christian faith of Patrick be their support and comfort always. We pray also through the intercession of Saint Patrick, for the many people who have come into this country in recent years seeking shelter, asylum and a new life: may the welcome amongst us they receive be generous; let us see to that, as people of God and of Saint Patrick.]

(https://zenit.org/2014/03/16/bishops-of-ireland-say-st-patrick-s-day-is-time-to-pray-for-migrants/).

Pay attention that these bishops are saying that one should “pray also through the intercession of Patrick”! The LORD God’s living word is crystal clear just who is the ONE AND ONLY Intercessor between God and men –

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” – 1 Timothy 2:5, KJV.

“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” – 1 Timothy 2:5, ESV.

“For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” – 1 Timothy 2:5, NAS.

“For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, himself man, Christ Jesus.” – 1 Timothy 2:5, Catholic Challoner-Rheims Version.

There is no ambiguity! JESUS CHRIST IS THE ONLY “INTERCESSOR” BETWEEN GOD AND MEN!

So, ANYONE who claims that another is a mediator or an intercessor clearly contradicts the LORD God’s living word! And they cannot be of God.

Every year, multiple millions of people observe St. Patrick’s Day, but those of the Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries DO NOT! We observe the LORD God’s Holy Days and commandments in the Holy Bible. □

Bibliography:

1) Webster M. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, convocation, 1996, pp 356.

2) Harris L. R., Archer, L. Gleason, Jr., and Waltke K. Bruce. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, 1980, #1455a, 1455b pg. 615.

ADDITIONAL ITEMS OF INTEREST –

ChristMas… It’s Origin. Once again we are faced with this eight-decade-old question – “Where did Christmas come from!?”

The Truth Concerning Christmas. Audio articles.

Should Christians Keep Halloween? Sermon.

Halloween Is Not Christian. Multiple millions of people will soon be observing “Halloween.” And, multiple millions consider that it is a worldly holiday appropriate for Christians.

Is Halloween Biblical? The greater majority of Americans will be observing and celebrating what is known as Halloween. Yet, is this holiday - or rather, this world's "holy day" - biblical!?

Should Christians Observe Halloween? October 31st will soon be here again, along with a strange festival – Halloween. With demons, goblins, witches, ghosts, human skeletons – which are glorified. But, what do all these have to do with All Hallows Eve!? And why the demonic-looking masks and gaudy decorations!?

Should Christians Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Does it make any difference if true Christians observe St. Patrick's Day? Does God's living word - the Holy Bible - establish whether we, as Christians, are to keep certain God-ordained holy days? Were these holy days ONLY given to the Jews!? Does Leviticus 23:1 say, "'The feasts of the children of Israel'"!? Hence, the feasts of the Jews!? Are these God-ordained holy days binding TODAY on true Christians? WHICH DAYS SHOULD TRUE CHRISTIANS KEEP!? Audio Article.

Easter or Passover? It's so very sad that so many people - especially among the English-speaking nations of the world - do not understand that the holiday they call Easter is truly supposed to be Passover.

Lent, Ash Wednesday and Easter - Did the Original Christians Observe These!? Now, indeed to the Catholics and others this all seems just fine. The majority considers this to be inspirational. Yet, THIS IS NOT INSPIRED BY GOD!

When Does God’s New Year Begin? Let me begin today by asking these questions – “How did the celebration of New Year’s ever begin!?” “Why is the beginning of a new year placed in the dead of winter!?” “Where did this custom originate!? Did it come from Almighty God!?”

A Morning Bible Study - What Is Repentance?

Leonard V. Johnson    About

Just what does it mean to repent? Is real repentance just an emotional feeling? Is it just merely feeling sorry for having made some mistakes in life!? What is God's definition of true repentance? Let us here in this Bible Study examine what true repentance is and is not, detailing what God's definition of real repentance truly is.

1) What is sin, defined by the LORD God?

“Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness” – 1 John 3:4.

Has every human being since Adam sinned?

“Therefore, just as through one man [Adam] sin entered the world, and death [the second death; see Revelation 20:14; 21:8] through sin, and thus death [the second death] spread to all men, because all sinned” – Romans 5:12.

Lawlessness against the Government of God!

From the very foundation of the world the LORD God’s Law was given to man – summed up in the TEN COMMANDMENTS – cf. Romans 4:15!

The transgression of the LORD God’s Law constitutes sin.

What is the ultimate penalty of sin?

“What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death [eternal death]. … 23) For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” – Romans 6:21, 23.

The churches of this world teach as doctrine – you’ve all heard it many times – the immortality of the soul. Oh, do they love to talk about the immortality of the soul! And yet, not one place in the Bible can you find that concept! Not one! Now, you can find where Jesus Christ is the only One who has immortality within Him. And, obviously, God the Father has immortality within Him. But as far as us!? You know, Ezekiel 18 two times says, “The soul who sins SHALL DIE.” And, in the Book of Romans 1:32 – “…that those who practice such things are deserving of DEATH, …” Romans 6:16 – talks about a ‘sin leading to death.’ Nothing about immortality!

Romans 7:5 – talks about the ‘motions of sins, which did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto DEATH.’ And then, Romans 8:6 – “For to be carnally minded is DEATH.” I think you get the idea. The Bible, over and over says, if we don’t walk the correct path and have the correct relationship with God, that we are subject to death.

The ultimate penalty is eternal death─ a complete cessation of life forever.

2) Has the LORD God (the family of God, which consists at this present time of God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ), in Their infinite mercy and love, provided the Way by which we can avoid paying this ultimate penalty─ eternal death?

“Jesus said to him, ‘I AM the Way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me’” – John 14:6.

“Nor is there [eternal] salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we MUST be saved” – Acts 4:12.

And of course a most cherished passage─ and it’s a beautiful passage!

“’ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life’” – John 3:16.

Again, perish – DEATH!

Our Lord Jesus Christ would become our Atonement – it was prophesied – we often read this during the Passover – or the Lord’s Supper – because it’s such a description of what Jesus endured – Isaiah 53:1-3.

The LORD God’s Master Plan is laid out before us!

“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [atonement] for our sins” – 1 John 4:10.

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9) Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10) For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” – Romans 5:8-10.

The LORD God explains to us in 1st Corinthians –

“For since by man [Adam] came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22) For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23) BUT EACH ONE IN HIS OWN ORDER: Christ the firstfruits [Our Lord Jesus Christ HIMSELF], AFTERWARD those who are Christ’s at His second coming [a first resurrection of the dead – in Christ]. 24) Then comes THE END, …” – 1 Corinthians 15:22-24.

3) How can a person─ no matter where they are on this planet─ have their sins blotted out by our Lord Jesus Christ’s sacrifice─ be completely forgiven of their transgressions against the Law of God, and be delivered from the ultimate penalty of eternal death?

First, let’s notice –

“But before faith came [speaking of the faith we have in our Lord Jesus Christ], we were kept under guard by the law [the Mosaic Law; the Law of Moses, in which the Ten Commandments is of a separate covenant], kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed [speaking of the New Covenant under our Lord Jesus]. 24) Therefore the law [the Mosaic Law] was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25) but after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

26) For you are all [children] of God THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST JESUS. 27) For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28) There is neither Jew nor [Gentile], there is neither [bond] nor free, there is neither male nor female; for YOU ARE ALL ONE IN CHRIST JESUS” – Galatians 3:23-28.

Jesus Christ would come from the descendants of Abraham – through Abraham. And friends, I have to say, that includes all nations. Not just a certain group, nationality, or race of people – but all nations. The apostle Paul next says, “if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

Those Gentile nations – God’s glorious plan all along was to allow for the Gentile nations to also see the light of Christ. Recall, the prophet Isaiah wrote, “The people who walked in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined” – Isaiah 9:2. God’s revelation – primarily through the apostle Paul – to all of those Gentile nations.

So, how can a person be completely forgiven of their transgressions against the Law of God, and be delivered from the penalty of death?

Our Lord Jesus Christ’s very first recorded words at the beginning of His ministry state, “’ The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel’” – Mark 1:15.

The apostle Peter, filled with God’s Spirit, unequivocally says─

“ … ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’” – Acts 2:38.

“Repent therefore and be converted [be changed through God’s love and graciousness and through His Spirit], that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing [talking about the resurrection and being a part of the Kingdom of God!] may come from the presence of the Lord” – Acts 3:19.

Or, you can continue living under your bubble of a world, with your own belief that if you just live behind an entrance gate you’ll be safe.

“Do not love the world OR THE THINGS IN THE WORLD. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16) For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world. 17) And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever” – 1 John 2:15-17.

You must admit to yourself the true conditions of this present evil age! STOP living in your own little bubble – believing that “things aren’t really that bad!”

Look into God’s spiritual mirror of His living word – and let His words reflect every rotting and putrefying sore you have – every evil, every deception, every resentment, every rebellion, or hostility of your mind and heart.

Then REPENT unto the LORD God!

Just what is real repentance as defined by the LORD God? What does it involve? What must be done in order to repent?

It’s one thing to say to someone, “you’re a sinner.” But it’s another thing to show that person why they are a sinner.

The Greek word for repent is metanoeō, which means “to change any or all of the elements composing one’s life; attitudes, thoughts, and behaviors concerning the demands of God for right living.” 1

True repentance is exactly that. It is a complete about-face from the disobedience against the LORD God in not keeping the Law of God─ summed up in the TEN COMMANDMENTS. True repentance is far more than just a mere emotional experience or human feeling of remorse. It is “godly sorrow”─ notice –

“’ If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, … 12) I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people’” – Leviticus 26:3, 12.

“Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, ‘Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ 19) So Jesus said to him, … 20) ‘You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ 21) And he said, ‘All these things I have kept from my youth.’ 22) … ‘ … come, follow Me’” – Luke 18:18-22.

“So they said, ‘Believe on the [name] Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household’” – Acts 16:31.

“’ If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16) And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that [it] may abide with you forever─ ’” – John 14:15-16.

“Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. 10) For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death” – 2 Corinthians 7:9-10.

Sadly, multiple millions of our peoples have been taught that Colossians 2:13-17 is teaching that the Ten Commandments were “nailed to the cross.” Well, He did take something out of the way, nailing it to His cross!─ but, what was it?

What are the ‘wiped out the handwriting of ordinances’!? It’s the Old Covenant. Right here Paul just plainly says, ‘Jesus Christ blotted all of the Old Covenant out.’ Not the Ten Commandments. But the Old Covenant – the old Jewish ideas!

“Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. 16) So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbath’s, 17) which are a shadow of things to come, [but let the Body of Christ judge you]” – Colossians 2:15. 2

Certainly, no man can prove this to you─ this truth from the LORD God is something you must prove to yourself, beyond any shadow of a doubt. We should all be as those people who lived in the ancient city of Berea in Macedonia─ they were “more fair-minded” who “received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.”

What are we to repent of!?

The LORD God says –

“’ But if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die [speaking of the second death]’” – Ezekiel 18:21.

“’ Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity [sin; wickedness] will not be your ruin’” – Ezekiel 18:30. 

Change your ways, change the way you think, change the way you act, change the way you speak, change the way you interact with other people, and change the way you interact with God. Just because you go to a church doesn’t mean your pleasing God. The only way you’re going to please God is if you’re doing, believing, and teaching, the things which He says. And that’s very difficult to get people to understand. If you truly want to honor God and to respect God and to love God, then it’s incumbent upon you to know what He actually teaches. And what He believes. And what He wants you to believe.

“’ Cast away from you all the transgressions, …’” – all of your mistakes. Be it mistakes in your own personal life, or whether it’s mistakes in your religious life – like false doctrines, or incorrect doctrines. “…’ and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit’” – Ezekiel 18:31.

Referring to the New Covenant! The New Covenant emphasizes Jesus Christ and the promise of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ being the Head of that Church, the ministry, the High Priesthood of Jesus Christ. And it talks about having the Ten Commandments written on your heart and on your mind. And having the Spirit of God within you. And looking forward to the promises of God, the promise of forgiveness, and the promise of eternal life.

The LORD God’s holy commandments show us the Way to peace, prosperity, happiness, and true joy. And they are very much relevant in this 21st-century world! The ever-increasing and worsening evils that humanity is suffering from today are not caused by the Law, but because of the breaking of it!

4) Should true repentance be heartfelt, deep, and moving!?

“’ Now, therefore,’ says the LORD, ‘Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning’” – Joel 2:12.

However, sadly, a great many of our peoples believe that they should practice self-flagellation! The disciplinary and devotional practice of flogging oneself with whips or other instruments that inflict pain.

Our heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ will not accept those whose “repentance” is merely an outward show. The LORD God continues, “’ So rend your heart, and not your garments.’” Also, there are some who believe that repentance is merely a matter of understanding God’s truth intellectually. None of this is repentance at all. It is self-righteousness.

Every time that you start to think of yourself as doing something really well, you need to remember these words –

“But we are all like an unclean thing, [and at our best; I’m adding editorially] And all our righteousness are like filthy rags; …” – when compared to the might, the grandeur, the power, the righteousness of God the Father and Jesus Christ!

Truly by studying God’s living word─ and allowing our Lord Jesus Christ to lead us in all right understanding─ we begin to see and hear that we fall short of the glory of God! – Romans 3:23. And that we NEED His loving and merciful forgiveness and help.

Yet, how is it possible for a human to come to the kind of repentance that can begin to change one’s life!?

In truth, this repentance must come from the LORD God.

Notice here the living words of the LORD─

… “who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, …”

People that conduct themselves this way – in the back of their minds somewhere know that this conduct will not go unpunished. They know about the judgment of Almighty God and Jesus Christ! Now, they may not understand the truth about the judgment of God – but they do know about it.

“ … that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them” – Romans 1:18-32.

“But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. 3) And do you think this, O man [or woman], you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?

Or do you despise the riches of His [the Lord God’s] goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?” – Romans 2:2-4.

And, by the very inspiration of God’s living Spirit, the apostle Paul continues with a promise of the Eternal our God, “Eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality.” – Romans 2:7.

Now, did you catch that!? A man must seek God’s free gift of immortality!

Why!?

Because it is only God Who has immortality to give. “Which He will manifest in His own time, He Who is the blessed and ONLY POTENTATE, the King of kings and Lord of lords [referring to our Lord Jesus Christ], 16) who ALONE has immortality.” – 1 Timothy 6:15-16.

PRAISE ALMIGHTY GOD THE FATHER!

The LORD God is patient, merciful, and loving in leading one to repentance.

5) So, does true repentance come from the LORD God!?

“in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, 26) and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will” – 2 Timothy 2:25-26.

True repentance involves a complete and unconditional surrender to the LORD God─ placing the family of God above all else! Notice –

“’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38) And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me’” – Matthew 10:37-38.

In other passages, He talks about father and mother, children, lands, country, homes, your job, and your career. If you put anything BEFORE God you are committing a form of idolatry. And all of us – whatever spiritual “works” we’ve been asked to do that’s what we’re supposed to do. And do it to the best of our ability.

The apostle Luke adds – “’ If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple’” – Luke 14:26.

The Greek word hate is miseō, which means “to hate.” The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament helps us better understand the word “hate” and its root meaning. In Hebrew it’s śānē’, which means “hate, to be hateful.”

“The verb śānē’ and its derivatives have the root meaning “to hate.” It expresses an emotional attitude toward persons and things …

There is also a hating on the part of man which is acceptable to God. Man must have an aversion to and depart from evil, hence the Psalmist [King David] says, ‘I have hated the assembly of evildoers’ (Ps 21:5). This hatred is also in diametric opposition to a believer’s trust in the Lord, for the man of God says, ‘I hate them who regard vain idols but I trust in the Lord’ (Ps 31:6).” 3

In essence, if a person does not “hate” the way his unconverted father, mother, wife, children, brothers or sisters, and yes, even the way he himself is living, that person cannot be His disciple. Our Lord Jesus Christ is truly talking about giving one’s life entirely to the LORD God!

6) Did our Lord Jesus clearly say to us that no one can come to Him unless the Father draws him?

“’ No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day’” – John 6:44.

I can preach until I’m blue in the face and beg people to open their eyes and put aside their fluffy religious garbage, but UNLESS God the Father has called them, then they will NEVER know the REAL JESUS!

And then to make it even clearer─

“’ You did not choose Me, but I chose you and [ordained] you that you should go and bear fruit, …’” – John 15:16.

No, you didn’t pick the LORD God. You didn’t set out on your quest for God! If you ever did sort of, “I’m gonna look into the Bible!” It was God that put the motivation in you! Somewhere on that trip, He put you into contact with human beings or literature that had been produced by His people, by His Church, and that kept the process going and gave you the fuel to continue to learn.

7) How can YOU know that YOU truly repented before the LORD God?

“’ Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance” – Matthew 3:8.

God provides all true Christians with the WILLPOWER, the FAITH OF CHRIST, and MOTIVATION to do His good pleasure. God the Father and Jesus Christ have gone to great lengths to provide the grace – the unmerited favor of Their divine mercy – to help Their begotten children to succeed in their calling. But They expect results!

At John the Baptist’s preaching, the people began to ask him, “What shall we do then.” In other words, “What is this─ bearing fruits worthy of repentance?” And he answered them, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.” He also told the tax collectors who came to be baptized, “Collect no more than what is appointed for you.” He also told the soldiers, “Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely and be content with your wages.” Such actions were fruits worthy of repentance.

Spiritually what are these fruits!? The fruit of the Spirit.

“But the fruit of the Spirit [the attributes] is love [godly love], joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23) gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. … 25) If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” – Galatians 5:22-23, 25.

“but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance” – Acts 26:20.

Our Lord Jesus Christ tells us that a person who truly repented bears the fruits of the Spirit of God─

“’ You will know them by their fruits. 17) Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18) A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19) Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire’” – Matthew 7:16, 17-19.

Verse 20 translated from the NLT – “’ Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.’”

That is the kind of repentance the LORD God will accept – that is the Way you must repent.

I pray that the LORD God will grant YOU repentance. □

1) Strong, J., LL.D., S.T.D., #3340 metanoeō – The Strongest Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Zondervan, © 2001, pp. 1626.

2) Verses 16-18 do not abolish the dietary laws of clean and unclean meats, the festivals or the weekly Sabbath of God. Rather, Paul is clearly affirming that the Gentiles in Colosse were to continue to observe these commandments as they had been taught. Paul was instructing the Colossians to disregard the criticisms and harsh judgments of those outside the Church, because the observance of these days are a continuing foreshadow of the things that are yet to come in God’s Plan. By being faithful and keeping these commandments of God, they would always be worshiping the true God, be built up in Jesus Christ and never lose the understanding of God’s Plan. By true repentance to God the Father and Jesus Christ, they would not be deceived by vain philosophies of men, nor would they be seduced into the worship of fallen angels ─ Satan and his demons. The Holy Bible In Its Original Order A New English Translation by Fred R. Coulter. York Publishing Co., 2007, 2009, pg. 1199.

3) Harris L. R., Archer, L. Gleason, Jr., and Waltke K. Bruce. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, 1980, #2272, pgs. 879, 880.

Scriptural Index:

Old Testament - Leviticus 26:3, 12; Psalm 2:5; 31:6; Isaiah 9:2; 53:1-3; 64:6; Ezekiel 18; 18:21, 30, 31; Joel 2:12, 13.

New Testament - Matthew 3:8; 7:16, 17-19, 20; 10:37-38; Mark 1:15; Luke 14:26; 18:18-22; John 3:16; 6:44; 14:6, 15-16; 15:16; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 4:12; 16:31; 26:20; Romans 1:18-32; 2:2-4, 7; 3:23; 4:15; 5:8-10, 12; 6:21, 23; 7:5; 8:6; 1 Corinthians 15:22-24; 2 Corinthians 7:9-10; Galatians 3:23-28, 29; 5:22-23, 25; Colossians 2:13-17; 1 Timothy 6:15-16; 2 Timothy 2:25-26; 1 John 2:15-17; 3:4; 4:10; Revelation 20:14; 21:8.