WHAT'S IN YOUR SPIRITUAL LEGACY?

  That the generation to come might know,

even the children yet to be born,

That they may arise and tell them to their children,

That they should put their confidence in God

And not forget the works of God,

  But keep His commandments (Psalm 78:6–7)

 It is instructive to note the various age groups of people mentioned throughout Scripture. Concerning children, Jesus advised His disciples to “Permit the children to come to Me; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Mark 10:14). Also recorded of our Lord, that at twelve years of age “The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom” (Luke 2:40). John discussed the fathers (adults) and children who know God the Father; and how young men have overcome the evil one, because they are spiritually “strong and the word of God abides in you” (1 John 2:13–14).

Attention is also given to those of old age. Luke mentions the prophetess, Anna, who was advanced in years—eighty-four years old—as an example for all of us, no matter what our age may happen to be.

She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. (Luke 2:37–38)

It was fitting for Anna at the time in which she lived to proclaim Jesus Christ as Israel’s hope for His return as their Messiah. Her legacy is recorded eternally in Scripture for all believers to observe.

This Generation

David, who God declared to be “a man after My heart, who will do all My will” (Acts 13:22; cf. 1 Samuel 13:14), wrote pertinent advice on this matter of legacy:

O God, You have taught me from my youth,

And I still declare Your wondrous deeds.

And even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me,

Until I declare Your strength to this generation,

Your power to all who are to come. (Psalm 71:17–18)

David had the same moral failings as all mankind, yet he understood the importance of declaring to the next generation the eternal truth and power of the almighty God. The result of David’s endeavor is clearly evident by the wisdom and writings of his son, Solomon (1 Kings 4:29–24).

Note an example of Solomon’s wisdom in Ecclesiastes, as he begins chapter twelve with a stark exhortation to those who are young:

Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no delight in them” (Ecclesiastes 12:1)

This warning is to those believers who have ignored and neglected the study of God’s Word—never having matured in their Christian life. Now when they approach their advanced years they have no delight in the remaining days of their lives. And if they have waited until their old age to seek out God’s knowledge, they may also suffer great regret for all the wasted years, when they could have been building a lasting legacy for their loved ones.

Observe the urgency of the apostle Paul’s directive to all believers concerning these evil days in which we live:

Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15–16)

Our Legacy

Not only should be aware that these are evil days, but that our days are numbered by God, as Job proclaimed: “Since his days are determined, The number of his months is with You; And his limits You have set so that he cannot pass.” (Job 14:5; cf. 12:10; Luke 12:20)

 Moses noted the fleeting nature of our lives and that at the end of our time on earth we die:

  As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years,

Or if due to strength, eighty years,

Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow;

  For soon it is gone and we fly away. (Psalm 90:10; cf. Psalm 73:24)

What will be the substance of our legacy—yours and mine? Will it have an emphasis upon the eternality of God’s truth? Will our loved ones readily identify our lives as having been Christ-centered? Will there be others who we have ensured that they are snatched out of the fires of hell (Jude 23)?

We should be determined not to rest until our loved ones and those in the sphere of our influence have heard the gospel and believed in Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31; John 3:36). For if “we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight” (1 John 3:22), our legacy will be a godly witness for generations to come.

 

© 2026 David M. Rossi

 

YOU WILL KNOW THEM BY THEIR FRUITS — PART II

It was introduced in the last post our Lord’s warning against false teachers (Matthew 7:15–20) who come in sheep’s clothing to spiritually savage believers. For there are many men and women, who for personal gain (financial or notoriety), intentionally lead believers astray from true truth.

So that we might “know them by their fruits,” two examples of erroneous teachings currently advocated today will now be considered.

Knowing What They Are

Today, there are false teachers among us who profess to be teaching God’s truth. Please note that there is a difference between false teachings and inaccurate teachings. With the latter it is sometimes trivial or insignificant, resulting from insufficient study and research, like water baptism, altar calls, arranging the times and order of assembling, etc.

However, there are some deceptive and not so subtle doctrinal errors that have entered into the Church. The assorted motives of those who have espoused these errors can only be determined by the insidiousness of what is taught. The following two examples demonstrate their disruptiveness within the Church today.

Lordship Salvation

This is an erroneous teaching that a person must accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior in order to attain eternal life. The idea behind this is that saving faith must be a full surrender to the Lordship of Christ as evidenced by the believers’ steadfast endeavor of living a spiritually fruitful life under His complete control. The error of this teaching emerged from those over-zealous to ensure that new believers clearly demonstrate that they had made a sincere profession of faith. This has produced (no pun intended) a taskforce of fruit inspectors to determine if someone is truly saved or merely a pretender.

 However, this was never the message of the gospel given in the Acts; it was always “believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31), nothing was added that must be done to prove your expression of faith. The word “Lord” does not of necessity imply a command to submit and to perform “good works” as a condition for obtaining eternal life. The performing of good works is of course the normal walk of an obedient Christian (Ephesians 2:10). Paul addressed this when he admonished the Ephesians on how they should not walk:

So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way. (Ephesians 4:17–20)

 For Paul emphasized that the Christian becomes obedient by the process of learning, concluding that…

…if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. (Ephesians 4:21–24)

Therefore, if the believer is not always obedient every hour, every day, every moment of their life, this does not indicate that they are not “really” saved, but instead they are disobedient and neglecting to learn Christ and the manner in which they are to “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4; cf. 1 John 1:7).

Replacement Theology1

  Briefly, this is the belief that the present day Church of Jesus Christ supersedes Israel and assumes all of the covenantal blessings originally promised to the Jews. This view presupposes that the Church is the fulfillment of the promised kingdom (also known as the “Kingdom Now” or “Dominionism”2) and that the Rapture of the Church and the Tribulation period has already passed or are dismissed; and the next event on God’s agenda is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

First, this is contrary to our Lord’s statement made after His resurrection and just prior to His ascension:

Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” (Luke 24:44)

The angel conveyed to Mary the things written about Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, concerned the fulfillment of the covenant made with David:

“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” (Luke 1:32–33)

What the angel did not state was that if the Jewish leaders reject Jesus as their Messiah then Jesus would not reign over Jacob (Israel), and that Israel would be replaced by another entity (the Church). This would contradict Daniel’s prophecy:

“In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.” (Daniel 2:44) [Emphasis added]

 Second, this rejects the teachings of the apostles Paul and John. The Rapture of the Church is clearly taught in 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17; and John outlined the Tribulation period in Revelation 4–19, as this was foretold by Daniel as “a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time” (12:1). Jeremiah also prophesied:

“Alas! for that day is great, There is none like it; And it is the time of Jacob’s distress, But he will be saved from it.” (Jeremiah 30:7)

It was further declared by our Lord, Himself (Matthew 24:4–28), even characterizing it as “the tribulation of those days” (Matthew 24:29).

The Bottom Line

Our responsibility is to make disciples by teaching them (Matthew 28:19–20), exactly as Paul directed Timothy:

 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate 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 Timothy 4:1–4)

Thus, it is vital that believers are able to identify false teachers—to know them by their fruits. It requires doing the hard work of thoroughly searching the Scriptures to determine if what they teach coincides with the rest of God’s Word.

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[1] Also known as “Supersessionism”

[2] https://www.lighthousetrails.com/false-signs-wonders/2011-booklet-dominionism-kingdom-now-and-what-does-the-bible-say.html [Retrieved September 2, 2026]

 

© 2026 David M. Rossi