Ron Garber Ministries

First Century Christianity for the Twenty-first Century

Ron Garber Ministries
Severance , CO 80550
United States
ph: USA (970) 372-9833
alt: (434) 584-8417
ron@rongarberministries.com

redeemed

"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us - for it is written - "Cursed is every one who hangs on a tree." (Gal.3:13)

Definition for redeem: to get or buy back; recover; regain.

Jesus purchased us with His blood and redeemed us back to the Father. Being redeemed, we recover and regain everything that was lost by the fall of man. Sad to say, very few Christians understand what it means to be redeemed. Before the fall there was no question of sin. Adam didn't have to worry about a herd of elephants running over him and breaking his leg, for he was under the protection of God. There was no need of medical insurance because he never got sick. He didn't have to worry about tomorrow as to what he would eat or drink, what he would wear or where he would live. Adam had been given dominion to rule over the works of God's hands and all things had been put under His feet. (Gen.1:26;Ps.8:6) And finally, he didn't have to worry about dying. So, if we have been redeemed, then we should have regained everything that was given to man in the beginning.

Let's look at the words of the New Testament and see if they tell us the same thing. "He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness." (1Pet.2:24) "We are protected by the power of God through Faith." (1Pet.1:5) "I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over ALL THE POWER OF THE ENEMY, and NOTHING will injure you." (Lu.10:19) "Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?,' or 'What will we drink?,' or 'What will we wear for clothing?'" (Mat.6:31) "He Himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases," and "By His wounds we were healed." (Mat.8:17;1Pet2:24) "Everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die." (Jn.11:26)

So we find that the Scriptures tell that that sin has been removed; we are protected by God's power; we have regained authority and power; worry is taken away; sickness has been dealt with; and we cannot die. That is redemption!!!

To believe the Scriptures, that Jesus saved us from our sins, and not believe the rest of the promises is to fall short of the Salvation that God provided through Jesus our Lord.

A man once said to me, "But we are living in a evil world." What this man needs, is to be, "Given a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge Christ." (Eph.1:17) I agree that, "The whole world lies in the power of the evil one;" (1Jn.5:19) but "He has rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son." (Col.1:13) For God has "Raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." (Eph.2:6) You may see me as in this world, but I see myself where God has put me. "I look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." (2Cor.4:18)

You may see yourself in this evil world, struggling to overcome, worrying what tomorrow may hold, concerned about getting sick, trying to take the world from the evil one by voting and passing laws. I see myself sitting with Christ in heavenly places. It takes faith to see where God has put us. "And without faith it is impossible to please Him." (Heb.11:6)

Many will probably say these promises are for some future time but that is not what the Word says. He 'bore,' we are 'protected,' I 'have given' you authority; 'do not worry' about tomorrow; He 'took' our infirmities; and 'carried away' our diseases; we 'were' healed; he who lives and believes 'will never' die.

All these promises are in the past and present tense, not future. Rescued, transferred, raised, and seated are also past tense verbs. So, if words mean anything, then it is saying these things are now because God has already accomplished these things for us. Therefore, they are facts and are ours to experience through faith.

If anyone says anything contrary to these facts then it is a lie, for God's Word is truth. (Ps.119:160) Men want to "suppress the truth in unrighteousness," and have "exchanged the truth of God for a lie." (Rom.1:18&25) The apostle Paul warned, "For I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray." (2Cor.11:3) These men sometimes come as ministers of the gospel - angels of light; but, in reality, "Such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ." (Vs.13-15)

"That you being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehendwith with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up with all the fullness of God." (Eph.3:17-19)

Ron

THE FALLING AWAY

We are surely living in the time apostle Paul spoke of, saying, "They will not endure sound doctrine, but wanting to have their ears tickled the will accummulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths." (2 Tim.4:3)

Watchman Nee, a Chinese brother who lived in the Twentieth Century, had a great insight into God's revelation of the Word of God. He suffered much for his stand against denominational and organizational churches. He was persecuted for his stand against the tide of accepted opinion by many so-called Christians. He once said, "Outward Christianity is in a sorry state. It manifest all the aliments and weaknesses of the world. Its work has been reduced to a little preaching and a little social service. Its impact on man is negligible. But what should cause us greater distress is that the conscience of God's people is not troubled about this fact."

I have been saying for a long time that because of the lack of the power of God in the church, the battle against spiritual wickedness is being lost. It is a spiritual battle and must be fought with spiritual weapons which are powerful for the destruction of fortresses. (2Cor.10:4) We have more churches today but less power!! Why?? Because the man-made churches rely on the flesh to fight spiritual powers of darkness. They work to get laws passed. Demonstrate and vote for those who they hope will make the world a better place. It has not worked.

It was sixty years ago that Watchman Nee said the church was in a sorry state. At that time I could get on a streetcar as a little child alone, without the fear of the violence that is in the world today.

Divorce was rare. "What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate." (Mat.19:6) Marriage was between a man and a woman. "For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they two shall become one flesh." (Gen.2:24) Homosexuality was something you didn't hear about and those who were gay keep it a secret. It was a disgrace for a woman to have a child out of wedlock and it was even against the law for unmarried people to live together as a man and wife.

Look at how the world has changed dramatically in sixty years. Forty percent of the babies born in the U.S. are to unwed mothers. Most people have been divorced once or twice by the time they are 30 years of age. Gay marriage is becoming the law of the land and homosexuality is being shoved down our throats. All the while, the weak man-made churches continue to think they will stop these things politically. They cannot see that this approach has failed in the past and it will fail in the future.

Only the power of God will stop Satan. And unless Christians forsake their traditions and man-made churches and return to the only true foundation of the apostles and prophets, they will continue to lose the battle.

Already these sins have spilled over into the church. There is as much divorce in the church as there is in the world. Women in the church are having babies out of wedlock. People in the church are having sex and claiming that abstinence is not realistic. We hear of leaders in the church committing adultery, homosexual acts, divorcing their spouses, and numerous other sins. With all this darkness within, how can the church be a light to the world???

"Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." (Gal.5;16)

To walk in the Spirit will cause us to live in the Spirit and replace the 'soul life' in which most all Christians live by. To live in the 'soul life' is to live by one's intellect, feelings and emotions. To live in Spirit life is to live by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and the Word of God.

Ron

Ron Garber Ministries
Severance , CO 80550
United States
ph: USA (970) 372-9833
alt: (434) 584-8417
ron@rongarberministries.com