Luciusministry

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With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

Wednesday, March 26, 2025

The sixth applicable law of liberty

6. Know that the Lord judges

The sixth basic principle in the application of the law of liberty is to know, understand and believe that judgement belongs to the Lord, for we have been duly admonished saying; “But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written: "As I live, says the LORD, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God." So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way” ( Romans 14; 10-13).

We have also received the admonition which states; “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord” (Romans 12:19).

And again; “For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. And again, "The LORD will judge His people." It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:30-31).

So we are to be certain that we have a good knowledge and understanding of the law of liberty and not to use liberty as a pretext for sin for we have been duly admonished saying; “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. “Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him,” For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men ---as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God” (Galatians 5:13; 1 Peter 2: 15-16).

And finally; “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences” (2 Corinthians 5: 9-11).

And so let us make sure and make it our aim that we have a very good knowledge and understanding of the liberty that we have in Jesus Christ and do not neglect our responsibility as being slaves of righteousness which produces holiness and ultimately everlasting life (the immorality of the body) and the glorification of the spiritual body from one level of glory to another.

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With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

Wednesday, March 19, 2025

The fifth applicable law of liberty (part 3)

a. Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness

To worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness signifies that in order to have fellowship with the Father one has to be holy and so we have been duly admonished saying; “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord,” The Lord also instructed us saying; “Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Hebrews 12:14; Matthew 5:23-24).

Now since it is by partaking of the body and blood of Jesus Christ that one becomes holy and can now have access and fellowship with the Father and the Son and with one another and one is required to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness as we have been duly instructed saying; “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).

Our duty therefore is to follow the instructions of Jesus Christ who instructed us saying; “Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:23-24).

And holiness of course is the fruit of righteousness, the righteous act which when practiced makes one righteous even as Jesus Christ Himself is righteous and since we are to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness the admonition therefore is; “I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, 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: 9-11).

The eating the apostle Paul is referring to is the participation of the body and blood of Jesus Christ which joins us together as one and allows us to have fellowship with one another and with the Father and the Son, for this is what the apostle Paul wrote; “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to wise men; judge for your-selves what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread” (1 Corinthians 10:14-17).

b. We are to tremble before Him

Because of the Lord’s sovereignty all the earth should tremble before Him and this we do by being obedient to His word; “for the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart: And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4: 12-13).

The word of God must always take precedence over the customs and traditions of men because the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, "He catches the wise in their own craftiness."

To be continued

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With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

Saturday, March 8, 2025

The fifth applicable law of liberty (part 2)

Now the way the families of the peoples give to the Lord Glory and strength which is due to His name is by applying the basic principles stated by the Psalmist David which are applicable in five ways:

a. By singing to the Lord as stated by the Psalmist David who wrote:

“Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! Sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, bless His name; proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples. For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the LORD made the heavens? Honor and majesty are before Him; Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.”

b. Ascribing to the Lord the glory due to His name

The way one ascribes to the Lord the glory due to His name It is by observing His Sabbaths For thus says the Lord; “You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:30; 26:2).

c. Bring an offering and come before His courts

The Lord has ordained specific times for His people to bring an offering and come before His courts because He instructed Moses saying; “Command the children of Israel, and say to them, 'My offering, My food for My offerings made by fire as a sweet aroma to Me, you shall be careful to offer to Me at their appointed time” (Numbers 28:2).

It is important to note that without this offering one has no access to the Father because, this is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness: If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us” (1John 1:5-10).

Please note carefully that it is only if we walk in the light as He is in the light that we have fellowship with one another and it is at this juncture that the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. The cup of blessings which we bless is our password and gateway to the Father because this is what that cleanses us from our sins in order to have fellowship with the Father and the Son and with one another.

According to the apostle Paul this is what gives us the boldness with confidence to approach the throne of grace for thus he wrote; “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:19-22)

This is also the significance of Jesus’ statement when He said; “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” The way signifies His flesh represented by the Unleavened Bread, the truth signifies Himself, the Word of God who became flesh and dwelt among us and is now seated at the right hand of the Father as our eternal High Priest interceding on our behalf: And the life signifies His blood represented by the wine: And as it is written; “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul” (Leviticus 17:11).

In Christ Jesus we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace, and according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission” (Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14; Hebrews 9:22).

It is also very important to note that, the main objective or rationale for having a holy convocation is to offer the Lord the food for His offerings. For thus it is written; “These are the feasts of the LORD which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to the LORD, a burnt offering and a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, everything on its day.”

We should also note carefully that this offering is besides (or in addition to) the Sabbaths of the LORD, besides your gifts, besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill offerings which you give to the LORD” (Leviticus 23: 37-38).

The reason for this it is because this offering is our gateway, our password to the Father for it is the means by which we have our sins forgiven and enables us to have fellowship with the Father who has absolutely no fellowship with darkness (sin).

To be continued

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

Thursday, March 6, 2025

The fifth application to the law of liberty

5. Know that the Lord is Sovereign

The fifth basic principle in the application of the law of liberty is to know, understand and believe that, the Lord is Sovereign and because of His Sovereignty He is in complete control over everything and so we have been duly admonished saying; “For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord': For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living” (Romans 14:7-9).

Now because of the Lord’s sovereignty we are at liberty clearly demonstrated by the apostle Paul who wrote; “One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it” (Romans 14:5-6).

Nevertheless, despite one’s liberty to observe or not to observe if one chooses to observe there is a protocol on how it should be done as instructed by the Psalmist David who wrote: “Sing to the LORD, all the earth; proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples. For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is also to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the LORD made the heavens. Honor and majesty are before Him; Strength and gladness are in His place. Give to the LORD, O families of the peoples, Give to the LORD glory and strength. Give to the LORD the glory due His name; bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth” (1 Chronicles 16:23-30; Psalms 96:1-9).

To be continued

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With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

Saturday, February 22, 2025

The fourth application of the law of liberty

4. Know that the Lord sustains us

The fourth basic principle in the application of the law of liberty is to know, understand and believe that, the Lord sustains us; for according to the apostle Paul; “Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand” (Romans 14:4).

“For none of us lives to himself and no one dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's: For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living” (Romans 14:7-9).

Therefore, there is absolutely nothing one can do that has any kind of effect on one’s salvation or eternal life which is by the grace of God and as a gift from God. In fact we have been duly instructed saying; “But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away” (Isaiah 64:6).

There is however one act of righteousness that we are to practice and that will make us as righteous even as Jesus Christ Himself is righteous and of course we have also been duly instructed saying; “And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness (1 John 3:7; Romans 6:18-19).

Therefore, regardless of the fact that there is absolutely nothing one can do with regards to salvation and eternal life one must however take into consideration the state of holiness, everlasting life and glorification of the body. Holiness for example is attained only by practicing the act of righteousness which produces holiness as we have been duly instructed saying; “I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness” (Romans 6:19).

With reference to receiving everlasting life this is what we have been duly admonished saying; “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life” (Galatians 6:7-8).

And with respect to the glorification of the body we are told that; “There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body” (1 Corinthians 15:41-44).

Therefore, as one can clearly see holiness, everlasting life and glorification of the body comes as the result of practicing the act of righteousness that when practice makes one righteous just as Jesus Christ Himself is righteous for it is written; “But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.” And with respect to the glorification of the body we are admonished saying; “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (Romans 6:22; 2 Corinthians 3:18).

And with the glorification of the body there will be differences in glory just as there are differences between the glory of the sun, the moon and just as every star differs in glory so will be the glorification of the spiritual body and these are not free gifts like salvation and eternal life they have to be attained by sowing to the Spirit.

It is also an important thing to note that, this act of righteousness that produces holiness and ends in everlasting life has a specific ordained time to be offered, for this is what the Lord commanded saying; “Command the children of Israel, and say to them, 'My offering, My food for My offerings made by fire as a sweet aroma to Me, you shall be careful to offer to Me at their appointed time” (Numbers 28:1).

This offering which we are to offer to the Lord at their appointed time is the medium by which one becomes holy as it was in the Old Testament which was a shadow and copy of the reality and states as follows; “They shall eat those things with which the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them; but an outsider shall not eat them, because they are holy” (Exodus 29:33).

The reality of this offering today in our New Testament dispensation is the body and blood of Jesus Christ which by the way is the medium by which one has access and fellowship with the Father who has absolutely no fellowship with darkness and the main reason for having a holy convocation and fellowship with one another.

To be continued

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With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

Thursday, February 20, 2025

The third application of the law of liberty

3, . Know that the Lord receives us

The third basic principle in the application of the law of liberty is to know, understand and believe that, the Lord has received us. So whether one eats or don’t eat, or whether one observes or do not observe days the Lord has received them both, and so we have been duly admonished saying; “Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him” (Romans 14: 1-3).

This sentiment is also applicable in the observation of days as clearly stated; “One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks.”

‘For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's” (Romans 14:5-8).

What is imperative to note and understand by everyone is that; “For by grace we have been saved through faith, and that not of ourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Therefore, whether one eats or not, or observing or not observing days these have absolutely no effect on one’s salvation because, according to the apostle Paul; “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them” (1 Corinthians 6:12-13)

.Nevertheless, what we all need to take into consideration is the fact that, despite the fact that it is by grace that we have all been saved through faith and it is not of ourselves but it’s God’s gift to man; “For we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:9).

Now, before getting into the good works which God ordained beforehand that we should walk in them we should also consider the apostle Paul’s admonition which states; “What then? Shall we sin (transgress the law of God) because we are not under law but under grace? The response is, “Certainly not! (Romans 6:15)

Why, because having been set free from sin (free from transgressing the law of God) one became slaves of righteousness and being slaves of righteousness means that the individual is living within the confines of the law because according to the apostle Paul; “knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine” (1Timothy 1:9-10).

Now the good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in is categorized in two (2) basic categories as stated by Jesus Christ saying; “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 22:37-40).

Now love towards God is expressed through true spiritual worship which has specific protocols and guidelines and although one has the prerogative to observe or not to observe, if one chooses to worship the Lord it must not be done under compulsion, coercion, according to the imagination of one’s own heart or according to the customs and traditions of men, because there are specific protocols and guidelines as to how we ought to worship God.

The second aspect of the good works which were ordained beforehand that we should walk in is to love our neighbor as ourselves which in short means that we are to do unto others just as we would like them do unto us.

As believers therefore, we are to be very mindful and watchful that we do not allow ourselves to be caught up in the rough turbulent waters of legalism or in the calm, placid but deadly toxic waters of liberalism because they are both equally detrimental to our spiritual growth.

To be continued

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