The Loss of Freedom

April 30, 2020 / Charles Cooley / Leave a comment

We are in the midst of trying times as the Covid19 virus is upon us but, it is not the main assault against us – “Justice is far from us, nor does righteousness overtake us” as Isaiah the prophet wrote so many years ago. He accurately described our times; times when our truth is based on world standards and not on God’s standards. He said –

“Their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed innocent blood; Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; Wasting and destruction are in their paths. The way of peace they have not known, And there is no justice in their ways; They have made themselves crooked paths; Whoever takes that way shall not know peace. …. Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands afar off; For truth is fallen in the street, And equity cannot enter. So truth fails, And he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Then the LORD saw it, and it displeased Him That there was no justice.” – Isa. 59:7-15

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The Great Falling Away

July 2, 2019July 2, 2019 / Charles Cooley / 1 Comment

The saints in the Thessalonian Church were worried that the Day of Christ had happened and they had been left behind which prompted Paul to write this word of correction to them –

“Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,” – 2 Thes. 2:3

What is this ‘falling away’ Paul is talking about? It is certainly not talking about the people of the world for they have never found Christ from which to fall away. Rather, it is talking about those who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ, leaders in the Christian Church, who once knew Jesus, falling away from the truth Jesus proclaimed. This falling away happens at the end of this age just before the Antichrist is revealed, or along with his revealing. Continue reading →

The precipice, next the avalanche

April 25, 2018April 25, 2018 / Charles Cooley / Leave a comment

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. – Gal. 1:3-5

Paul was faithful to preach the good news of forgiveness of sins to those who would repent and turn from their sinful ways but, he did not hold back from identifying that wickedness of an evil age as so many preachers do today. Paul was not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ but, clearly taught that the true Gospel does not accommodate sin! Continue reading →

The Church built on Works

March 5, 2017July 1, 2017 / Charles Cooley / 2 Comments

In Revelation 2 and 3 Jesus dictates letters to 7 churches which were in Asia. Each has a vital message for us today – the church that is facing the end of the age. To the first church, the church of Ephesus, He begins by reminding them that He alone is the Head of the Church and that He alone holds them in His hands.

“Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.” – James 1:18

“For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:” – James 1:23

In other words, if a church doesn’t keep His word, they are aborting their own life! Continue reading →

Deliverance

August 30, 2016August 30, 2016 / Charles Cooley / Leave a comment

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me to preach good tidings to the poor: … To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” – Isaiah 61:1, 2

This is the message Jesus began His ministry with, a ministry He passed on to His Church – those who believe in Him and put their trust in Him. It is not a message of “greasy-grace” or “sloppy-agape” as some would teach. God has not changed, nor have His standards changed. God still hates sin because it separates us from Him. What this message does do is present all of us with a way to escape the consequences of sin. The Bible declares –

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” – Romans 6:23

Free at Last

Mankind’s old nature is corrupt and cannot change so God made a way for us to be “born again”, to become a new creation through the Son of God, Jesus Christ. The consequences of sin is death so Jesus stood in for us – though He was sinless, He was willing to die in our place on the cross of Calvary. If we are willing to repent of our sin and acknowledge Jesus as our substitute, His Holy Spirit will do a re-creation in us, then the Spirit will begin to work in us to help our “new man” grow strong enough to overcome the old nature and follow Jesus in a new life. Though this will be a life-long work, as we daily choose to follow the Spirit’s leading, we will begin to look and act like Jesus. Continue reading →