In John 15:13,14 Jesus is talking to His disciples.  In order to make a point that is as true today as it was then, He said: “Greater love has no man than He lay down His life for His friends.  You are My friends IF YOU DO WHATSOEVER I COMMAND YOU.”  The first sentence is a general statement that ties in with John 3:16,17 and is directed to all who will ever live on this earth.  The ultimate question is: WHO ARE CHRIST’S FRIENDS–the ONLY people for whom He will die.  He answers the question in the second sentence.  To have His coming death result in salvation we must do whatsoever He commands us.  Note that He said nothing about church doctrine, other books, etc.   Every Word He uttered (Genesis to Revelation) must be believed and obeyed.  The second sentence zeroed in on the men who believed, as do church people today, that they occupied a special place in Jesus’ heart because they had a special association with Him.  In sentence two He served notice that He did not hold one person higher than any other person (Acts 10:34).  Each of us will reap what we sow.  HE GUARANTEED SALVATION NEITHER TO CHURCH PEOPLE NOR TO HIS DISCIPLES.   ALL, INCLUDING THE DISCIPLES, WOULD REAP WHAT THEY SOWED.  Adam and Eve made the mistake of believing that they could sin and get away with it because of their relationship with God.

Another passage that defined the disciples’ spiritual status is Luke 22:32.  Here Jesus is talking with Peter, His #1 disciple, about the immediate future when He would be taken from them: “Simon, Simon, Satan has desired to have you …., but I have PRAYED FOR YOU that you might not fail (to be converted).  WHEN YOU ARE CONVERTED, strengthen your brethren” (so that they also might be converted).  Jesus is saying that the 12 men who had preached the gospel, healed the sick, cast out devils, (Peter had walked on water), who had seen Jesus raise the dead, give sight to the blind, heal multitudes, multiply food, who had been His ever-present companions, heard Him preach numerous times, etc. were as lost as the people they had dealt with over the past 3 1/2 years.  THESE MEN HAD NOT BEEN CONVERTED.  THEY HAD PROVEN THEMSELVES TO BE OBEDIENT TO HIM WHEN HE WAS NO LONGER WITH HIM.  Peter would deny three times that he knew Jesus.  They would all run when things turned bad.  Jesus knew that Judas was a thief, yet He used him in ministry and allowed him to carry the money pouch used by the group to buy supplies.  He knew that Judas would give Him the identifying “kiss of death,” yet He used him in miraculous ways (Acts 1:16,17)  Today He continues to use the ungodly to perform His miracles.

Today there are thousands of preachers who fill Satan’s citadels, living rooms, stadiums and mission fields with his perverted gospel (Gal. 1:6).  Their unscriptural messages have caused their listeners to accept another Jesus (2 Cor. 11:4) (Satan himself).  Satan’s false prophets have lured billions of salvation seekers into his counterfeit church with their ear-scratching “truths.”  John 3:16 is the verse upon which they all hang their religious hats.  The verse (headline) is true, but it only presents part of God’s message.  John 3:16 is meaningless unless one knows the Scriptures upon which it is based.  These verses (the fine print/details) tell God seekers how to appropriate the salvation He wants them to receive.  The fine print is the “map” that, if followed, will lead to the “treasure.”  Knowing that there is salvation awaiting us does us no good if we do not know how to get to it.  The so-called “salvation messages” being preached globally 24/7, 365 by the “angel of light” (Satan) through his “ministers of righteousness” (1 Cor. 11:13-15) are worthless unless one is a “friend” of Jesus Christ.  Recall Him saying that He would go to the cross for His “friends” ONLY.  Satan’s false Catholic and Protestant prophets do not preach the above-stated Truths because they do not know them.  What is more, neither they nor their followers want to know them.  THE COUNTERFEIT CHURCH HATES GOD’S FINE PRINT–  THE VERY WORDS WHICH, IF OBEYED, MAKE THE HEADLINES COME TO FRUITION.  The church hates the fine print because it proves that their “only believe,”  “I’m a sinner saved by grace” and “just repent” mantras come straight from the lips of Satan.  Due to their self-inflicted ignorance of the Bible, billions of people are “ever learning but never coming to the knowledge of the Truth” (2 Tim. 3:7), and are therefore “still in their sins” (1 Cor. 15: 17).  Those in Satan’s church system will remain there until they escape his Counterfeit Church, repent, believe and obey the gospel.  L.J.