Luke 9:26

Luke 9:26, “For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels.”

In Luke 9:26 Jesus wasn't speaking to the unsaved. He was talking with His disciples, Peter in particular. This is where many Bible students go astray, confusing passages on discipleship with passages on salvation. God specifically authored the Gospel of John to show us how to get to Heaven through faith in Christ (John 20:31). I've heard infidel Billy Graham (1918-2018) and other false teachers cite passages from Matthew, Mark and Luke about discipleship in a lame attempt to preach the lie of "Lordship Salvation."

In uke 9:26, in the prior verses He speaks about carrying your cross, which has nothing to do with being saved. Carrying one's cross is a work! I am tired of hearing corrupt preachers say that turning from one's sins, following Christ as "Lord," surrendering "all" to God, and carrying one's cross are not works. They are WORKS! Jonah 3:10 says that God saw their "WORKS," that the Ninevites turned from their evil ways. Romans 3:20, “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

Christians who are ashamed of Jesus here on earth will not be honored in Heaven for their cowardice. Christ will be ashamed of them. 2nd Corinthians 5:11 warns of the "terror of the Lord." David begged God in Psalms 6:1 not to chastise him in His hot displeasure. Daniel 12:3 promises that they who lead lost sinners to righteousness will "shine" in Heaven. Believers who buried their candle and hid their light while on earth won't shine in Heaven, but will feel shame and contempt. Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

I also feel awkward sharing the Gospel with people. We all do. I heard Brother Hyles say that he still felt awkward. I keep a stack of Gospel tracts attached with two rubber band to my mobile phone, which I keep around my neck with a chain at all times. So, wherever I go I have a cross showing on my chest, that is, covering my cell phone. It helps break the ice when I meet people. The moment that they see the cross, they know I am a Chriatian.

I also bought a couple dozen hard copies of Michael P. Bowen's helpful book in defense of a free grace Gospel, "I Never Knew You." Here is the free .pdf version.

I heard the famous steel guitar artist Jerry Byrd (1920-2005) write in his autobiography: "When you're as good as you want to be, you're as good as you're going to get." Jerry was talking about music as a musician, but I applied his statement to the Christian life. When we're as good a Christian as we want to be, we're as good a Christian as we're going to get. And the same is true of soulwinning. If we become complacent with being mediocre, then we won't lead hardly anyone to Christ. I want to be more soul conscious. There is a whole world without Jesus. Every year in the United States approximately 3,500,000 people die. Sadly, according to Jesus in Luke 13:23-24, most of them perish in their sins and go to Hell forever (Matthew 7:13-15).

In Luke 9:26 Jesus wasn't talking about salvation, He is talking about discipleship (service). There will be many believers in Heaven who escaped going to Hell, but they will receive zero rewards, as evidenced by the saved man in 1st Corinthians 3:15. When a man was shacking up with his step mother in adultery in 1st Corinthians 5:1-5, the Apostle Paul told the church elders to confront the man. If he repented, great; but if not, then Paul said to turn him over to Satan for his destruction, “that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” (verse 5). Clearly, he was saved and safe in God's gift of eternal life.

What will really help you settle the assurance of God's gift of salvation is maintaining a constant separation between service (discipleship) and salvation (sonship). My favorite preacher's quote is from John Bunyan:

“If you do not put a difference between justification wrought by the man Christ without and sanctification wrought by the Spirit of Christ within, you are not able to divide the Word aright; but contrariwise, you corrupt the Word of God, and cast stumbling blocks before the people.” —John Bunyan (1628-1688)

Luke 18:1-8

Luke 18:1-8, “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”

In Luke 18:1-8 Jesus tells the story of an unjust judge, who refused to avenge a widow. But she persistently kept coming and bothering the judge: “Please avenge me judge, avenge me, avenge me, judge avenge me!” So, finally, simply to get rid of her, the judge avenged her of the injustice someone had committed against her. Jesus gave this illustration to teach everyone about the kind of prayer that pleases God. The word is 'IMPORTUNITY' (i.e., insistent begging). God is pleased by our perpetual asking Him for things, whatever it may be. Luke 18:1, “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint...” “Faint not” means don't quit! What saith the Scripture? ...

James 1:5-6, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.”

How do you ask in faith without wavering? The answer is simple, you just keep asking until either God answers your prayer, or you no longer feel led to pray over the matter. There are some prayers that I pray that are ongoing; such as, asking with the Lord to work through me as His humble servant to preach the inspired Word of Truth, contend for the Christian faith, love people more, and preach an accurate Gospel so that lost sinners can be saved through faith alone in Christ alone. My desire has always been to simply get MAD (Make An Impact) in people's lives for Jesus Christ my God, Savior and Lord.

My heart tells me the reason why God wants us to pray with IMPORTUNITY is simply because the Lord desires our continual fellowship and communion. Do you understand dear reader the the omnibenevolent, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, omnisapient and immutable God who spoke over 20 TRILLION known galaxies into existence wants to be your close Friend? I love watching intriguing astronomy videos on YouTube, especially when going to sleep at night.

Sometimes I cry as I learn just how unfathomably large and endless the universe is, realizing that the brilliant majestic Creator of such amazing wonders knows, loves and cares about a wretched undeserving sinner like me. THANK YOU LORD JESUS, MY PRECIOUS GOD AND SAVIOR. 1st Peter 2:7a, “Unto you therefore which believe he is precious...”

If we ask (pray) to the Lord, but then quit early on when God doesn't seem to answer, we are showing God our lack of trust in Him. Jesus exhorts all men to “Have faith in God” (Mark 11:22b). Jesus is almighty God (John 10:33). Prayer does not work like an ATM machine friend, nor a coin operated vending machine. I have learned more times than not, that God answered my prayers in ways I couldn't see at the time. It wasn't until hindsight years or even decades later that I saw the hand of God at work in my youth or years earlier.

I refuse to wickedly place God on trial like the heathen world does, challenging His existence if the Lord doesn't answer their prayers to meet their demands. I trust in the Lord, period. So, if God never seems to answer any of my prayers, that is okay, because the inspired Word of God tells me that everything is still okay in my Father's House, where there is joy, joy, joy! I choose to have faith in the good and loving heart of God at all times, regardless of the circumstances. As a born-again, fundamentalist, Baptist, Bible preacher, I didn't get into the ministry for the INCOME, I became a Bible preacher for the OUTCOME! I've never received a single penny for serving God. My rewards are waiting for me in Heaven (Matthew 6:19-21).

In the 10 chapters of the Old Testament book of “Esther,” not once is “God” mentioned. Yet, we (the reader) beautifully see God's hand at work throughout the amazing true story. The characters involved in Esther couldn't see God's hand at work at the time, but we have the blessed privilege of seeing the whole picture in hindsight. The lesson is simply this—when you cannot see the HAND of God, trust the HEART of God!

Keep on praying and never stop, because God is pleased by our importunity. Don't ever forget this truth, which is exactly what Luke 18:1-8 is teaching. I am not saying that God might not answer your prayer right away. He may or may not. Or the Lord may answer you in a subtle way that you won't discern until a future time. The important thing is to simply TRUST GOD.