Goodness

Most of the time I don't feel as if I'm good enough to go to heaven! That seems fatalistic. Aren't we supposed to have joy in our salvation? Questioning our "goodness" is Satan's method of undermining our salvation, but it can also be God's method of testing our humility. How do we know which is which? How do we know if we are in fact "good enough"?

First off? What is goodness? "Good" (Meriam-Webster) is merely defined as "of somewhat high but not excellent quality". Most of us, then, would believe that we are good. We're not excellent, let alone perfect, but we are of high quality in God's eyes... if we are a Christian. There is always that "qualifier". It's always "if".

If we're a Christian are we "good" in God's eyes?

Luke 18:19 "And Jesus said to him (the rich ruler), “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone."

Jesus himself tells me that I'm not good since only God is "good". Some say this verse raises questions. I say that it is merely Jesus' indirect method of making a point: "I am good so that by recognizing my goodness, you see that I am God." Jesus was always meek. He presented his message of who he was in an humble manner.

If one examines "good" in context, it would seem from Strong's Lexicon (agathos)  that rather than "good", "worthy" would be better used. Let me explain. Since "goodness" is not excellence nor perfection, God is more than merely "good". God is worthy because he is perfect!

Psalm 18:30 "This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him."

God, then, is more than "good".  More explanation  for what God is follows:

Romans 12:2 (ESV) "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

Again "good" (agathos) is used. Yes, God is "good", but he is so much more than that! Since his will is these three things, that's what God is. He's not only "good", but he is desirable and even perfect. God does no wrong. He is excellent. Hence, when Jesus said that only God is "good", he was implying that God is "perfection". That's more than good! That's excellence never excelled by any other!  It would appear that mere "goodness" was thought of by the rich ruler, but Jesus's answer was even more profound. God's not just "good", he's perfect!

Since only God is perfect then what are we? We know that we fall short of perfection because only Jesus is without sin. We can be good:

Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

"Agathos" is the context of "good" again. It's the same word used by Jesus to the rich man. However, for those of us who truly love God, God allows all things to work together for "good". Therefore, it seems that man is capable of "good", but "goodness" is supplied by God. We see that in Romans 12:2 that God renews our mind. Our "goodness" his his "goodness", but because we're not him, we will never be perfect. But...

 Matthew 5:48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Here's what makes me fall short! It's more than not being "good", but when I fall short of "perfection" Satan tells me that I'm not good. In that sense I know he's right and won't argue with Satan because I know I'm not perfect. The Greek word is "telios". That's what I must be! I must be "complete" in moral character. I must do God's will and not my own!

Luke 6:46 (ESV) “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?
Psalm 40:8 ESV  "I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”

 The answer to the question "Am I good? lies within these two verses!  We're not "good" if we don't do God's will as best as humanly possible. If we are "good" then we delight in doing God's will! When Satan confuses us or when God challenges us, we are to discern who is speaking to us and that we answer with truth. "Do I do your will, God, or do I do things my way? Do I delight in doing things your way, Lord, or do I only do them because I feel like it's a rule?"

Sometimes I do "good" because I'm trying to work my way to heaven. At other times I delight in doing God's will! It's the confusion of why I'm doing "good" that bothers me. We are to do good to demonstrate love for God. We must always keep that in mind. If we don't do good, then we need to question our spiritual condition. "Do I love God?" If we are doing good, we need to examine the motive. It must be that I'm doing good because I want to do God's will!

The ultimate in doing God's will is demonstrating love for others. If I do things which hurt others, or even myself, since we're told that we're to love others as our self, then I'm not in God's will and fail to be "good". Therefore, loving others is a test of whether we truly love God or not, and whether we're "good" to please him or not.

Most of us think that we love ourselves. Surely we can at least do that! Not so! We abuse our bodies with food, alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, stress, late hours, unnecessary danger, anger, disease, etc. Do we really even love ourselves? We want all the advantages of the flesh, but the comfort of God. We fool ourselves! If we truly loved our self, then we would do God's will. We are told to remain sober, temperate, slow to anger, not to be gluttons, etc., but we do those things (out of God's will) anyway. We're not "good" to our self; how are we possibly "good' to others?

When I think or do things of the flesh, I'm not "good" because I'm out of God's will. Even as I write Satan is saying "You're writing out of pride. You only write because it's a way to get into heaven!" Satan fools me at times. I question why I write.

On the other hand, when I think on not writing, God says, "If even one person is changes by what you write, go ahead and write." One person even thanked me for my thoughts. It meant much to him. I kept writing. I write because I want others to have hope as I do. That's what I call love. I hope I'm right and know that I am.

A problem arises when I sin. Should I go ahead and write? Satan tells me that I'm a hypocrite. God tells me that I'm imperfect and need more thoughts on him to desire to do his will. I listen to God. If I quit writing, I quit thinking on the things of God and begin to do more the will of Satan. My writing God's word is God's way of shielding me from "bad".

We'e all imperfect. We're all incomplete. However, if we do God's will, we can be "good" in the context that some of what we do measures up to God's standard, but we fall short.

Romans 3:23 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..."

That's past tense, because at this moment all the sins I have ever committed are in the past. It's not that I will never sin again, for I will, but that until this moment, I'm a sinner. I'm not "good" in the sense of God being good, but I'm "good" because of God's grace. Jesus redeemed me for my past sins and future ones. God's will is that I seek forgiveness of past sins and pray for protection from future sins. That sincere prayer is "good". I will fail because I'm human, but my desire is to be sin free. My desire is to do God's will.

Thank you for allowing me in your presence to test my "goodness". It's much like a "moral inventory". Am I "good" and why am I "doing good" if I am? Now's the time to test yourself. Are you doing God's will? If not, why not? If so, what's your true motive?

Theology Doesn't Save-Doctrine Leads to Salvation

Someone recently said "theology doesn't save". That's so true. The prime example of theology in the Bible are the Pharisees. This group of "lawyers" were sometimes a political party, at other times a social movement and then even a philosophy. In Christ's time their doctrine became the liturgy (type of worship) and ritual (order of worship) of Judaism. They were good at their job! They knew The Law. Ritual is the regulations of The Law.

For those who don't know, The Law, is the Penteteuch or the first five books of The Old Testament. The Law of Moses (aka, Mosaic Law) are all the regulations around the commandments called The Law of God, which are The Ten Commandments. (Mosaic Law is found in the second through fifth books of The Old Testament and dots all the "i's" and crosses all the "t's" in how to live and worship God. The regulations were so many that "love of God" was lost in theology! It is my belief that supersessionism, The Law of Christ, which fulfills The Law of God, is a reintroduction of "love" into the theology of the Jews.

With that said, the theology of the Pharisees, not only failed to save the people, but it damned them. Therefore, theology without sound doctrine leads to damnation and my friend was right! Does doctrine save? In fact what is doctrine? It's "beliefs that are taught as true". Doctrine isn't "fact", but is believed to be so. People who follow the "doctor" (origin of the word "doctrine") have the doctrine of whom they follow. Christians follow the "good doctor", Jesus, and their doctrine (what they believe is true) must be what Jesus taught! "Sound doctrine" is teaching accurately the precepts of Christ.

Titus 2:1  "But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine: 2 That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience. 3 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things..."

Why do these two lists of things become "sound doctrine"? They follow the truths spoken by Jesus and demonstrate love of God and love of others, the two commands missed in Mosaic Law, but were there all the time in God's Law. As you can see from the list of commandments, love was there all the time:

Genesis 20:6 "And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments."

"Showing mercy" is "loving others". Loving God is crucial in this passage and to show that love of others and God, we are to "keep my commandments". Compare that to what Jesus said:

John 14:15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments."

In a nutshell, this verse is the supersession to The Law. It's why Jesus came and what salvation is about! It's The Law of Christ!  John 14:15 is doctrine. It is truth said by Jesus. It is how we have the "sound doctrine" spoken of in the Book of Titus passages above! However, "sound doctrine" is understanding truth. The truth, though, is in what Jesus actually did! He died for us all by the shedding of his blood. That's "truth" and is "doctrine". It's what we must believe to be saved. Hence, although doctrine leads to salvation, it doesn't save, but without "sound doctrine" we just don't get saved.

Augustine, Luther and Calvin did a great job of putting "love" into doctrine, but they nearly took The Law of God out of their doctrine. As Jesus didn't come to replace The Law, but to fulfill it, Calvin and his predecessors replaced it! Christianity is much like gourmet food: It's not enough to stand back and love it, but to show that love, we must partake of it! That's what Jesus said: love me and show it by "doing". What are we to do? Keep God's Law!

What I just wrote is "theology". It is the study of God. Because I know much of God's word doesn't make me a Christian! However, if I belief the truth that I've learned in theology, then if I accept it and obey, that leads to salvation. It's still Jesus who saved me, but his doctrine is why I'm saved! The best example of this follows:

Acts 8:27 "An he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, 28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. 30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? 31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. 32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: 33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. 34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. 36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."

Philip explained to the eunuch what he had just read. Philip explained that Isaiah was speaking of Jesus way back then!  The explanation of the truth is doctrine and Philip used doctrine which led to the eunuch's salvation. It was sound doctrine because it led to salvation!

Samson was a Nazarite: Are we to be?

We call ourselves Christians! That's a term ascribed to Herod Agrippa in the Book of Acts of the Apostles:

Acts 11:26 "And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch."

Acts 26:28  "Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian."

However, "Christians" were also known at that time known by another name:

Acts 24:5 "For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes:"

In the west, thanks to the early church, we call ourselves "Christians". However, in the Holy Land and beyond in the Arab world, the term used is "Nazarenes". Why? That's what Jesus called himself and others called him that:

Acts 22:8 And I (Paul) answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.
Acts 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power:

Jesus admitted to Peter that he indeed was "Christ" in Matthew 16:15-17, but he never called himself Christ, although at his birth he was announced to be "Jesus Christ"! Christ was his title. "Christ" means "The Messiah". However, Christ was not his name, but a title.meaning "the annointed one". Since Jesus was annointed by God, "Christians" would be those who follow "the one anointed by God".

God's Son's name IS NOT Jesus, nor Emmanuel. That's what he's called. Being God, his name is "I AM" and Emmanuel confirms that Jesus is "God (I AM) with us"! Jesus is no different than "the voice of God" who walked in the cool of the evening back in the beginning. He was Emmanuel then and he still is because God never changes!

God incarnate is CALLED Jesus who is from Nazareth. He lived there for a time so that prophecy could be fulfilled:

Matthew 2:23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.

We have God incarnate to be called three names: "Jesus", "Emmanuel" and "a Nazarene". Hence, it's very understandable why Jews still call followers of Christ "Nazarenes" because Jesus was called one! He wasn't named "Christ", but was "the annointed one"! Therefore, to be called "Nazarene" is just as accurate as "Christian". Actually we are of the sect of Nazarenes who follow the "annointed one", Christ. "Nazarenes" may be more befitting!

Wikipedia explains "The name used by Tertullus survives into Rabbinic and modern Hebrew as notzrim (נוצרים) a standard Hebrew term for "Christian", and also into the Quran and modern Arabic as nasara (plural of nasrani "Christians"). The Arabic word nasara (نَصارى) comes from the Arabic root "n s r" (ن ص ر)."

"Nasrani" are followers of Christ in Arabic and "Nasiri " are people who live in Nazareth. In this day  "Christian" homes are painted with a red Arabic "N" (ن, pronounced "nun") to identify them as Nasrani (Nazarenes). Their homes are marked so they can be converted, taxed or killed!

Some Hebrews were "separated" from other righteous people and were to be an example of righteousness:

Numbers 6:1 " And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the Lord:

As Nazarites were to be "separated" as holy people, Christians today are to be types of "Nazarites". As "Nazarenes" we're to be "set apart". In the New Testament the term used is "santification".

How are we to become "sanctified"? We become "Nazarites" which I believe are a picture of Nazarenes (Christians):

Hebrews 13:12 Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.

As followers of Christ we are "set apart". We're called to be different than the world, not because of actions of ourselves, but because God made us Nazarites. Samson was a picture of what Christians are to be. He was anointed from birth and we are anointed as we're "born again"! It's by the blood, but righteousness is loving God enough to follow his commands. That's our half of being "set apart" or "sanctified".  We know that God did the anointing of Samson, but here's what Samson and the other Nazarites did:

Numbers 6:3 "He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.
4 All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk.
5 All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the Lord, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.
6 All the days that he separateth himself unto the Lord he shall come at no dead body.
7 He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the consecration of his God is upon his head.
8 All the days of his separation he is holy unto the Lord.

There were life-time Nazarites from birth and others could be Nazarites for a time. Nazarenes are meant to be permanent Nazarites because "he shall be holy". We have different methods of being holy than Samsom did because we are anointed by the blood of Jesus. Samson was symbolic of what was to come and his "holiness" was displayed by what's physical. He "did" things not associated with "loving others" whereas our holiness is all about "loving God by showing love to others"!

Basically, Nazarites were not to eat of anything distilled or which was subject to distillation. It would appear that alcohol or even the potential of alcohol was uncleanless. Like Nazarites righteous Christians are to remain sober, as scripture tells us. The "ideal" is to be alcohol free, and for those in early times, that meant that no product of fermentation was to be consumed!

Nazarites were to let their hair grow natural and uncut. This is a testimony that they were "set apart" from other Hebrews. It says to the others "My life is to be righteous". It is a testimony to God that "he is holy unto the Lord".

We have ways that we can show that we're Nazarites! We dress modestly, we remain sober, we love others, we show joy and humility and we tell others why we're that way! That's how Nazarenes refrain from "cutting of the hair" so to speak! The intent of both is "being holy"!

Furthermore, Nazarites were to remain clean! They were not to come near the dead; even close relatives. We are to do the same. Those "dead" are those who fail to accept Christ. Scripture tells us that if they fail to listen to continue in their sins, even after they confess Christ, we are to separate ourselves from them, by shaking the dust from our feet (for unbelievers) or we're "not to eat" with them who claim Christ, but live in sin (for so-called believers). We set ourselves apart from those "dead in sin"!

Also in Numbers are how a Nazarite is to sacrifice upon ending the Nazarite period:

The first of the three offerings is a ewe for a "sin offering", the second is lamb for an "praise offering", and lastly a ram as a "peace offering". After bringing the sacrifices, the Nazirite shaves the head. Unlike Nazarites, Nazarenes never end the Nazarite period. Nazarenes (Christians) are to remain set apart and are to never cut their "spiritual hair" (righteousness). Nazarenes are always to be sanctified (set apart). Hence, Christians are to be permanent Nazarites! Rather than the three offerings of the Nazarites, Nazarenes make only one: they present themselves as a "living sacrfice"! Nazarenes (Christians) are to be holy as God is holy!

Since Jesus was the "sin sacrifice" by his own blood, Nazarenes merely have to make a "peace offering" (accepting Jesus) and a "praise offering" (loving Jesus for his sin sacrifice he made to redeem us!)

There weren't Nazarites in the Old Testament "just for the fun of it"! It meant something then, but more importantly, it was symbolic of sanctification today. Only some were anointed as Nazarites, but all Christians are to be Nazarenes! We're all to be sanctified.

Sanctification is a shortcoming of most Christians. Most believe and have faith, but fail to love God by being righteous. That life of "righteousness" is "sanctification" and is what makes Nazarites Nazarenes.

Disclaimer: None of this commentary is meant to refer to the denomination of Christians called "Nazarenes", but the universal sect of Nazarenes.

Ebola - Almost Convinced?

I write this with sorrow! Plagues make God seem so cruel, but God is just. Death is travesty to man, but a mere blink for God. Death releases man from strife or penalizes those who fail to love. Death is both a reward and a penalty. Some people who die are collateral damage in a war against the principalities who rule this world, since people either follow the powers of darkness or fail to love God and are deceived.

Plagues warn the living that there are consequences. It seems unfair, but we can change. Plagues are a warning and it's time to accept the mercy of God. It seems that people spoiled with prosperity fail to love the provider of those riches, and sometimes God must remind his children that they've done evil. We're at a crossroads now. What shall it be? Obedience or penalty? For me and my household, we'll sprinkle the saving blood in obedience to our door frames. Man is saved by the blood and that blood must be that spilled by Jesus!

More Plagues

A wise God gives fair warning to save the discerning.
A loving God protects the faithful from such sad mourning.
There were ten plagues to make the king a believer.
But plagues were wasted because of the deceiver!

The plagues of Moses all were symbolic you see.
Pharaoh, almost convinced, submitted to apathy.
Ending in terror with the loss of his first born,
the Pharaoh ever after lived a life so forlorn.

The plagues all pointed toward the coming Messiah,
but the people of sin saw only a pariah!
Those who obeyed were saved by the blood,
just as those with Noah were saved from the flood.

It seems that what God does is to help us out,
but it's meaning is lost because of our doubt.
Plaques now are as real as they were then.
Plaques to mankind is because of our sin!

A plague forthcoming like a river flows,
over the world as the wind surely blows.
The Ebola River is the start of the strain,
but the ends of the world is it's only refrain!

As God calls up the winds and beacons the storm,
he can keep us from danger or submit us to harm.
Justice is done because man needs to learn,
to read and study scripture so as to discern!

Man doesn't learn from plagues of the past.
From the times of peril when men were aghast!
Mankind deserves what we are to get,
but God hasn't given up on his creation yet!

Plagues are a warning as a showing of power,
that man with his own devices can only go sour.
We were shown our wrongs with psunamis and AIDs,
but our sorrow is short as those dangers fade!

The world is changing and change we must,
but man wallowing in sin to God is disgust!
Let's go forward now and follow the shine
of God's glory and his magnificence divine!

False Prophets are Without Sin

I write a blog nearly everyday. Although I write of the things of God, let me be honest and transparent. I still sin! I sin everyday in some manner. No, I don't do "acts" of sin very often, but I sin in my heart every day. Even President Jimmy Carter admitted to this form of sin:

Matthew 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Any person can substitute any sin where "lust" appears above and "person" for "woman".  Each of us have different secret sins; the ones which can't be seen because we don't "do" them, but we do think them. Sometimes I think about stealing. Satan uses that against me because when I was a youth I stole from people. Satan doesn't want me to forget that, but God already has! However, I haven't bowed to temptation, but a few times since my teen years, and I rationalized it by thinking "It's just a tablet!" or "It's just an o-ring!" Theft is a sin without degree of theft! (I took the o-ring back after I thought on it).

When I was a youth I admired my church deacons. My thoughts are "They are without sin!" and I knew that I would never be as they were. Surprise!

Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God..."

I suppose this could be interpreted to mean that a Christian sins too, or on the other hand, it applies to non-Christians which includes those Christians before their salvation. However, Paul himself, the model of Christlike behavior sinned, and he was a strong Christian. Paul used the present tense when he said this:

 1 Timothy 1:15 "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief."

Paul, in other places, speaks of his current struggles with sin. He wanted to live free of sin, but his flesh made him do that which he didn't want to do. We all have that struggle! That's not a ticket to sin because we're all called to be holy, but if we were able to, our dependence would be on "self", not on Christ!

I want to "like" Joel Osteen. He seems like he's a really nice guy! He is certainly a great motivational speaker because he draws a huge crowd and has a worldwide following. However, because people "like" a person doesn't make them "right", and it certainly doesn't make them a man of God. I can write about God all day long, but unless I live and teach the words of Jesus, I'm merely a false teacher. In spite of my knowing how bad I really am inside, my desire is still to be as Jesus! He helps me to change and change I must!

1 Peter 1:16 "Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy."

First off, a person should ask "Where 'is it written'?" Among several places here's one:

 Leviticus 19:2 "Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy."

How are we to be holy? Love God and love others! And how is that operationalized? By obeying his commandments!

Let's take a look at the following interview:


CNN LARRY KING LIVE
Interview With Joel Osteen

Aired June 20, 2005 - 21:00   ET (Underlines mine)
KING: The natural scheme of life is temptation. It's in front of you every day.
OSTEEN: Sure.
KING: Have you ever been tempted?
OSTEEN: Absolutely. I think we all are, you know. But you have to resist, and you have to keep your mind and your thoughts pure. But I think we all are. And the Bible talks about, you've got to pray to not enter into temptation. It doesn't say to pray that you won't be tempted. We all are.
KING: Had a near slip?
OSTEEN: I never have.
KING: Victoria?
V. OSTEEN: No.
KING: You get tempted to?
V. OSTEEN: Yeah. I eat that pie when I know I shouldn't. 

Joel Osteen has never sinned, according to him! King asked "Had a near slip?" in answer to the topic on temptation. Slipping from where to where? Temptation to sin! Osteen has never slipped and sinned.

Then he asked the same question of Victoria. Yes, Victoria has sinned! She slipped and ate a piece of pie! That's not sin; eating one piece of pie. In effect neither has Victoria sinned! It's strange that Paul, the most faithful of all apostles, sinned, even as he preached, but Joel and Victoria are without sin. They must be proud of themselves and surely are. (Incidentally, "pride" is a sin as in "lying"!)

Joel's and Victoria's prideful attitude really bothers me! I hope and wish that they don't sin, but I believe they do. Scripture tells me that they are wrong and terribly wrong. Here's how wrong they are:

1 John 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Regardless of how many people love Joel Osteen's ministry, regardless of how many who attend his church and regardless of how many people listen to him on television; Joel's still a false teacher because "his word is not in us", referring to those who deny they've sinned!

 2 Peter 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

By not having the Lord's word in him, Osteen is a false teacher. I wish he wasn't. He may be sincere, but that's because he's deceived by the evil one. Osteen should know scripture better than he does and he doesn't teach what Jesus taught! It may be done in innocence, but as a so-called "preacher" it's his job to know and teach the word without regard to how well people like it! Nice guys are "nice", but "nice" guys can be wrong! The gate is narrow:

Matthew 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

 False teachers make it harder for sincere people to find that straight gate. They narrow the path further; the one which leads to eternal life. Few will find that way because they will be deceived! Yes, God offers a very positive opportunity; eternal life, but on the other hand, Jesus will be the judge:

Romans 14:10b "...we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. 12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God."

Christ will judge each and everyone of us. Judgment doesn't mean that everyone will be condemned, but with a "narrow way" most people will be judged "unrighteous" and their penalty, unfortunately, is eternal death in hell. Yes, the "good' Jesus must administer justice! He died for us all, but most will reject Jesus who already paid for our ransom. It's just like a guilty person going before a judge who says "Joshua paid your fine. You are free to go if you wish!" Then, the guilty person in his pride says "I don't accept that the fine is paid. I'll do my own time!"

People are not thinking that way, but that's what they're doing! Jesus paid the ransom, yet people decline his mercy! They damn themselves while the lenient judge cries for them. It's not Jesus who condemns; it's sinners who condemn themselves!

Pray that Joel Osteen sees the light! His ministry has potential if he really understands God word. Right now he's on the wrong track, but if enough Christians challenge his doctrine and methods, maybe God will give him the gift of discernment which is sorely lacking! This is just one error made by Osteen and there are many! Only God can change him and that IS God's will: "that he get it right"!

The Living Dead Walk

Zombies are in vogue. For some reason people are fascinated by the "living dead". Movies are made where the walking dead stalk the living. Their goal seems to be to lunch on fresh blood. Television has joined in and people can entertain themselves by watching dead people stumble and meander around. Although they move slower than the slowest living person, somehow they are always able to catch up with the living. There is no antidote for the living dead. Death is final.

I have a profound thought for you! We are all born as "the living dead"! The minute we are born we start to physically die, but worse yet, we are born dead. "Not me!", you say. Yes, we all are born dead yet we breath, walk and live. We all meander around searching for "fresh blood"; some sin to feed upon.

Genesis 2:17 "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."

To save the reader much study, this is called "original sin". Because our forebears sin, we inherited it.

Matt Perlman in Imputed and Original Sin sums us my contention that we all inherit Adam's sin:

 "Scripture says that we are born sinners and that we are by nature sinners
Psalm 51:5 states that we all come into the world as sinners: "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me." Ephesians 2:2 says that all people who are not in Christ are "sons of disobedience." Ephesians 2:3 also establishes this, saying that we are all "by nature children of wrath." If we are all "by nature children of wrath," it can only be because we are all by nature sinners--for God does not direct His wrath towards those who are not guilty. God did not create the human race sinful, but upright. But we fell into sin and became sinful due to the sin of Adam.
Scripture speaks of humans as unrighteous from infancy
There are also verses which declare that we are all unrighteous from the time that we are born. Proverbs 22:15 says "Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child." Genesis 8:21 declares, "...the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth." 

We are all born into sin. Babies have an inherent disposition toward wrong. It's a defense mechanism used to protect what we all cherish most, even above God; the idol of "Self". Babies will steal (toys, cookies, etc.), hit and have anger fits; then lie about the actions or repeat the emotions. We are all "children of wrath" because we tend toward anger. Yes, we've all sinners, babes not excluded:

"All have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23) 

Because we all have sinned our punishment is death. Unless we get the antidote we're all dead! "But", you say "I'm alive!" Your flesh may live yet your soul is dead. From the moment Adam sinned his soul died because he disobeyed the Original Commandment! Adam was born with the Holy Spirit residing in him, but when he chose to believe Satan rather than God, he died and so did we! God's Spirit, which resided in Adam, left him. His soul became empty. Adam died that day! Adam did it to himself and when we sin, we do it to ourselves:

Proverbs 8:36 But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.

Not only do those who are in sin block out the Holy Ghost from re-entering the soul, but by doing so, they have antipathy for God who is trying to restore the person from death. Subsequently, the sinner loves death! They prefer to be the walking dead. That's their destiny! In contradiction to those who say "my body yet lives", it's only for a spell until the body joins the spirit and the walking dead die a physical death.

What's strange, poetic justice if you prefer, that when the sinner's body dies, the soul comes alive. With death the soul lives. However, it's not life that we enjoy, but a living death where the soul meanders for eternity in hell fire wishing, as the zombie does, that it could die. Scripture actually points toward the flesh being restored onto the sinner in hell and it too suffers with the soul! Those in hell are truly the "living dead", but their wish is that they were the "dead dead"! Why are people punished?

Romans 6:23a "For the wages of sin is death;"

This is God's justice. By grace God provides the antidote for death, but most refuse to accept it. It seems there are side effects to the antidote which their sinful bodies hate: obedience, forbearance, love, righteousness, meekness, etc. It seems that like most medicines the side effects are numerous! There are twelve to be exact. They are the "fruits of the spirit". The side effects counteract the original disease. They counteract the fruits of "The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil" which are many!  Let's finish the passage:

Romans 6:23  "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

We don't know if Adam has eternal life or not. He may, but we just don't know. However, we don't have to make the same mistake. The minute we accept the antidote "the gift of God" by accepting that Jesus died in our place, then we shall have eternal life! The blood of Jesus revives the dead. Just as Jesus raised the walking dead man Lazarus, his  blood shall revive us all, not just for a spell, but for eternity!

While those who are walking dead today will die only to be revived as walking dead again, we can, through Christ, be alive right now. We shall be the "the alive living" and we shall remain that way for eternity. Rather than seeking "the flesh" to keep us going, we shall live by faith! Faith is what keeps the alive living!

Zombies are fiction aren't they? Not so!

Matthew 27:52 "And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose..."

When Jesus died the dead arose! They lived because Jesus died. They were what the counterculture calls zombies, but they weren't like those portrayed in entertainment. They came back as evidence! They came to show the "living dead" that the antidote to death had just occurred. Jesus died that we might live!

Can you imagine Herod's family when John the Baptist confronted them? Perhaps Salome saw him since Herod was walking dead in hell by that time. Rather than having an aura of death, hope and promise were with those who were dead yet arose! Who knows what happened to them? Nobody, but I an tell you that they kept walking, then arose to heaven and are there now with Jesus. They are the "living alive" and are joyous and vibrant! We can be as they are! Take the antidote. It won't hurt. It won't even sting a little bit. It defeats the sting of death!

1 Corinthians 15:55 "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law."

The Wedding Ring

Marriage is a lifetime commitment, but I failed.  When people look at marriage they assign fault. I readily took the blame for my faults. I'm not proud of my part, but it happened in spite of my strong belief in the institution of marriage.

Sealing the marriage bond has traditional value. Rings have significance being symbolic of an unbroken circle, and unending relationship, is a symbol or power in the unity of two and it also represents wholeness or completeness. Placing a ring on the finger of the one newly wed is a lifetime commitment!

I'm a fountain pen collector. Early fountain pens caps were made by simply turning a piece of rubber so that it slipped securely onto the barrel of the fountain pen. It was soon learned that there was a problem! With use and carelessness the cap would split! With further use it would chip and break up. After a certain point the cap and barrel were no longer one, but two. There was a broken fountain pen cap and a fountain pen which was in danger of damage or abuse. Quickly with a broken and separated cap the fountain pen became useless too. What once was... becomes nothing!

Marriage is much like that fountain pen. Once two are married they become one. The cap and barrel join together and become a unit. Without a ring, which can be looked at as a commitment, the marriage can break, parties can split and the marriage is broken.  With commitment (the ring) the cap is kept from harm. That ring keeps the marriage from careless use, abuse,  inappropriately use and makes the marriage whole. Yes, commitment is the "ring" to a successful marriage. It not only protects the unit from harm, but adds beauty to the marriage.

Some of the most beautiful fountain pens have the most ornamental bands! Some are of silver, but most are of gold. A plain black hard rubber pen becomes a piece of jewelry with the addition of a protective ring. That ring not only "commits" the pen to a long life, but is aesthetic as well.

The commitment in a marriage, signified by the ring, is also multi-purposed. With a "circle of strength" signified by the marriage ring, comes a long unending marriage and and is to be one of beauty! Now you know why fountain pens are like a marriage!