If it's truth, most won't like it! Truth offens those who deny it. Truth hurts because it is in opposition to us - the one premise, that we are not gods. That is ultimate truth!
Many philosophers have posed the question: What is truth? Because reality is so hard to define, truth remains elusive if it must be scientifically explained. Ultimately, that is what philosophy is - endeavoring to prove reality. Whatever the philosophy, truth will never be explained scientifically because human beings will never accept the truth.
As I sit here at the keyboard, I feel the response as I hit the keys. That is one of my senses. I taste my cappuccino as well. My taste testifies that that is truth. Essentially, I know that I am because I feel inputs to my mind, but what if all those sensory inputs are merely my mind's creation? What if I am only mind?
Of course, I feel pain but perhaps my mind creates the pain. In the end, I know that I exist because of my mind. What I accept as truth makes me exist.
Others can scientifically prove that I exist but perhaps it is only their minds which do. We interact with the world, but suppose the interaction is no more than a lucid dream? We accept that we are real because our minds accept our existence. All that we perceive makes us who we are. If we had no perception - perhaps comatose, do we exist? Science says we do not, and society agrees.
All this talk of truth is to get one to think. Our minds our limited in what we perceive, and what becomes our truth. When I tell people that they have horrendous looking creatures living in their eye-brows and lashes, they look at me with incredibility. I don't perceive them there, but microscopes seem to have revealed the monsters dwelling and feeding on me. I believe that to be true although I can't sense them at all. Others have convinced me that that is true.
I can't sense God. I can't prove his existence, but yet I believe that He is real and who He says He is. Even though everyone accepts that they are more than mind without proof, they fail to accept that God is real without being able to prove it. Although people can't perceive the mites dwelling in their own eye, they can detect God if they merely accept what they cannot see.
We can see the cosmos and giant red stars. Perhaps those are merely a projection on a dome over the world. Does that sound foolish? Not any more foolish than the belief that the earth is flat. However, we believe that there is a bizarre universe unseen to the eye - the matter of which we are told we're made. Just as the planets revolve around a great sun, inside us all, they say, are tiny electrons revolving around nuclei. I accept that as truth, although I have never seen that micro-universe.
That material universe is alleged to be my existence - the matter that holds my mind. We can explain matter and mind, but what of our soul? I perceive my mind because I think, and I my matter makes me believe that I am real but what of my soul?
My soul is the container for God. My soul is filled with truth if God is in me. God is a God of truth. He said that I was made in His image. He called that our image! I think of me as one but I have identified matter and mind. God says that I am different than the animals. I am told that I can be imbued with Spirit. That spirit must have a place to reside, and mankind calls that the soul. It's the container - cup, if you will, that holds the pneuma which flows from God to the Creation. Being told that, we are God's children and are in His image, God's most known attribute is His Spirit. It's His Spirit which our mind has communion. Christians can actually sense God when they accept Him as truth - reality if you prefer.
At birth, our souls are empty. There is an unborn desire to have that container filled. Immediately pleasure starts to fill it, leaving little space for anything else. The mind becomes seemingly satisfied with pleasure, but inside the mind there exists the yearning for real meat. Our minds sense that. Perhaps yearning is another sense which cannot be measured.
God calls out: "I can sense your yearning, and I am here to fill it!" We can either accept that truth or deny it because God speaks only truth. That is circular reasoning but we seem to accept that often! Testing the existence of fact may all only be circular reasoning because we need to know. The emptiness of the soul is a yearning to know the truth. Truth is calling to explain Himself. The emptiness of the soul welcomes God, or if we are so caught up in pleasure, we fail to sense this yearning.
Satan's way is to provide continual pleasure so that the yearning to know God - our Father, is held at bay. There is an instinctual need to know who we are. No orphan is ever satisfied not knowing his own parents. Satan, because he nourishes us with continual pleasure, becomes our father. He is always there, when we desire something, he always knows your pleasure. He knows what is in your cup, and has plenty more of the same. What he knows you like best is your stronghold. Those are the things which are so important to you,, that God is diminished in comparison.
Satan knows your heritage. You are the same as Adam who he tempted first. He knows that there is nothing new under the sun, and what tempted Adam to lust will tempt us all. As long as he provides what is our will, we will never realize God's will. Oh, we may sense it by the Spirit which calls often but we push God's will aside for our own satisfaction, never really being satisfied.
I know that I am tempted. Perhaps temptation is another sense. It must be because we can sense it. Temptation is therefore truth. It is because we are tempted and react to it. Our mind detects it although it can never be measured. There is much truth which we cannot see. It is real even though it can't be proven.
Our minds evaluate what we sense. It considers pleasure and compares it to hope. What is hope? Perhaps another immeasurable sense. I know that I have hope because I can detect it. Neither can it be measured but it is still real.
As our mind evaluates pleasure and hope, another unseen presence seeks in. Evil is its name. We can sense evil because we are somewhat receptive to the Spirit. We are not reprobate, or what psychologists call psychotic. A new sense erupts. It makes us feel despair because it is the antithesis to temptation. It's the antibody which delivers us from future evil. It is of God as all things are. That is truth. God is always nearby, even to those whose father is the devil. When they disappoint God, He tells them how disappointed He is by His Holy Spirit. That is God convicting as He lets we realize how we are guilty. Guilt is a consequence of knowing you have wronged God. Your mind, realizing how disappointed your true Father is, ruminates unto sickness. You become disappointed in yourself. You come to realize that your other god - you, is imperfect. That is truth! We are imperfect. Everyone has sinned and come short of God's will.
Guilt makes divine criminals decide. We had the freedom to do God's will which we know by His Spirit, and our own will which temptation teases. We know it is our will, because we desire to do it. The Spirit changes our own will to God's. God wants us to sacrifice our own free will for his will. We all attempt to hang on to our own little other god and keep God at the same time. We serve two masters by doing so. We want our True Father, but our worldly father deceives us. By offering pleasure, we buy into his fatherhood. Ironically, parents in real life attempt to buy the same love by offering pleasure. In effect, they train their offspring to be children of Satan.
When we finally realize that our soul is empty, and that it must have hope, it dawns on us that Satan won't, and we can't in ourselves provide any real hope. Satan tells is that we can, but we can't. That is truth. We are born-again when we conclude that all this time, God offered hope, and we constantly rejected it. Our mind realizes - perhaps another sense, that we have been deceived. True hope lies not in ourselves, and it must come from elsewhere. Hope is very real and it can be terribly sensed when it is absent. Psychologists call this divine emptiness depression. The truth is, it's lack of eternal hope.
Depression is the extreme lack of purpose. Death is inevitable. There is a sense that there is nothing which can be done. Anxiety comes about when this distraught condition comes upon us: someday I will cease to exist. Existence is of utmost importance. That is life. We believe that we exist because of our minds. The thought of ceasing to exist seems to be unreal, but Satan plants within our minds to accept that as fate. Ceasing to exist is deterministic. It creates a fear of death. Satan loves our misery, and tells us to accept his pleasure, that we have but one chance to enjoy it. We believe the lie!
Each time we do our own will, we obey the law of sin. It is Satan's law and we choose to follow it. It tells us, "What's the use, you will die!" On the other hand, the Law of God says, "Repent and you shall not die." We choose to believe the lie, if we even consider God, because with truth, pleasure is withheld - at least we're told. That too is a lie.
Pleasure is in the mind of the beholder. What is pleasure is in the attitude of the mind. The Spirit can clean the memories of pleasure, and give the mind a fresh start. This change in mind-set is the new creature. God changes the attitudes of the old creature back to what it was before Adam's fall. This is His new creation, and is called regeneration. When we are born-again, that's who we are to become!
Unfortunately, Satan never forgets. He remembers well how Adam rejected truth - you will die, and accepted the lie - oh, no you won't! He tempts the new creature even more than the first because he doesn't want to lose to God. Safety is a hedge which God provides to help protect the new creature from the devil's barbs. God keeps us safe from the evil one until those who persevere are saved.
I can sense God's Safety. He comforts me. My soul becomes imbued with God. His Holy Spirit resides in me. I can sense Him. Perhaps that knowingness is a sense as well. It
is called the assurance of salvation.We know that our soul is no longer empty because our attitude changes. We go from unwilling to obey God to willing to do so, even in the face of temptation.
All these invisible and unmeasurable senses are as real as what we can detect by the other senses. Hence, they are as much of truth as the reality of the other senses.
We must accept the truth which we know exists, and that is the reality of God. Even when our mind tells us that there is no God, our the lack of hope says there must be! Being born-again is when we accept the reality of that truth as God enlightens us!
By the way, what is this truth which I must come to realize? That I am a sinner and destined to die unless I am born again. That truth will set you free!
Saturday, October 7, 2017
Friday, October 6, 2017
Shall We Just Give Up?
Society was permissive. The rule was autocratic. Slavery was accepted. The religion was either pagan or fake. Should they give up?
Then along came Jesus!
Roman society was much as it was in the days of Noah before the world was baptized of evil. This time it was not just water which cleansed the earth, but water and the blood. For those who don't know it, the days of Noah are the standard of evil as presented in scripture. All that we need to do is look at Rome, and we realize the evil of Noah's time.
How evil are we now? We are as barbaric as Rome. Although, they were more civilized than Noah's world, civilization in Roman times was just more organized evil. Rather than chaos, evil had become institutionalized.
The world is all barbaric in this sense. We have organized evil. Indeed, governments all over were founded on evil but most with good intentions. Unlike much of the world, God was gracious to America. Our very existence, although not founded on righteousness, was founded on right thinking. Democracy and republicanism are not God's divine will, but if done fairly, are a fine habitat for God to be worshiped. Ironically, both democracy and republicanism were founded more on pagan concepts, but pious Americans used that platform to plant the Christian religion in America. It didn't turn away lesser denominations but welcomed them in. It had very little to do with pagan religions because at that time they were not part in the sphere of influence.
However, even deists and atheists were welcome, and lived by Christian rules. America was founded upon a hidden principle - fairness. Fairness is for some an individual construct, but for others, a community. Our Constitution was written for the community. Things as the electoral college made our rules more fair. States rights was fairness in action. Federalism was akin to the monarchy and avoided at all costs. In fact, the weak federalists of the time would be considered democrats of today!
We have nearly returned to the days of Noah. We are "civil barbarians". That expression is an impossibility but America has two natures: We behave as barbarians but it is done in an orderly fashion. Who would have thought in 1776 that individuals were risking their lives such that their seed could be destroyed centuries later? Who would have thought that patriots were dying so that men could have sex with men, and women with women? Who would have known that the weapon which created freedom would be attacked by those who fail to cherish liberty? Who would have known that blood was shed for this country so that unmotivated people could leach off society? Who would have rode through the night in alarm so that the country would still be run by despots? Who would have fired the first shot at Lexington against taxation if they had known that America would tax its citizens to death?
When Patrick Henry said, "Give me liberty or give me death!" who would have thought liberty would be eroded to the point that patriots would prefer death? Most of those patriots were wealthy landowners who risked the sweat of their brow for a civilization free of coercion. Now, those hard workers are the object of coercion so that even one objector, coerces all others. Of this, I am referring to the track toward atheism in America - the killing of liberty!
Who would have thought that poor farmers would have enlisted in their militias so that America would become the Prozac nation - or even thought of meth and heroin? If the founders had been smoking marijuana, they would have been burnouts rather than thinkers. Now, even our leaders encourage self-destruction and malaise! America is on the decline, and God sheds tears for us? We are corporately, his prodigal children. We live for pleasure, and that is what will destroy us! We are now effectually the other tree - the one with the forbidden fruit. Noah would be building an ark right now if he were alive but alas, it is not God's water which is destroying us but millions of little gods each with colliding worlds which each individual rules as if they are a king or queen.
Rather than America being a melting pot, it is more of a stink pot as more and more people do what is right in their own eyes, as they return to barbarism as in the days before kings. Ironically, liberty can destroy if there are not firm rules which protect others. The quest for "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" was the reason for independence, but America has become a dependent society. It's purpose in practice is the pursuit of pleasure, but pleasure is not why men fought!
I was speaking to an older gentlemen this week. He was stooped from hard work, and wisdom could be seen in his face. He was part of the depression era and realized how great our wealth has become since people begged for a dime for a cup of coffee. Poverty is a great motivation for success! This man is successful. He has a modest home, an old car, a loving family and happiness. He doesn't have much but he is wealthy because his prosperity is contentment.
In his eyes, Americans are discontents. He didn't say that, but it was clear what he meant. He said to me, "Maybe we should just give up!" He was basically saying, let them do what is right in their own eyes. His suggestion was that we just allow the people to return to their barbarian beginnings. As a Christian, he knows that in the end of times, it will again be as in the days of Noah. Shall we just accept that? Should we just give up?
One of my favorite expressions is, what would Jesus do? Would Jesus give up? Jesus never did that! Oh, he said "give to Caesar what is Caesar's" but he never suggested to give in to Caesar. He declined giving into the world. Doing as the world does is living in the flesh. We are to submit the flesh for crucifixion. We are to put the pleasures of the world on a cross for cleansing as Jesus did. Rather than destruction by water as in the days of Noah, Roman society was cleansed by Jesus... for a time until it again returned to the days of Noah. Rome is dead. It died a slow death because of pleasure. The Romans did what they wanted to do. They ate of the forbidden tree, and they certainly died. We are Rome. We are dying!
Rather than merely what we want, we should want God's will. What is it that God wants from us? Our love! Not only love for Him but for others. How much love can you see for God out there? How much love do you see for others? I'm not speaking of drinking buddies or pot gatherings but brotherly love. If we love others, we want their soul to rest in eternal living, not for just this life. "Progressives" want what they desire; Christians what is right! "Rightness" is not dynamic. God's Law is eternal and immutable and there for a reason - to foster love and avoid divine catastrophe. It keeps us from killing ourselves - the very core of the Abrahamic Covenant.
I will never give up on me, and never give up on my fellow man. I arose from bed this morning to lecture my readers because I can't give up! God won't either. There are just eight people who were righteous and God saved them from peril in the flood. If there were just ten people found, Sodom and Gomorrah would have been spared! God doesn't give up.
We are we now?
Like Martin Luther King had a dream, God does too. He knows the future of the dream but with his patience, he dreams it anyhow. His dream is that his children love Him. That is His expectation. That love is demonstrated by obedience, and to God's dismay, His children are prodigal, and far from obedient. The kingdom of God, His Church, even leads the disobedience, and crucify Him day after day after day!
What is it that we must do? Don't give up! Before God gives up, the gospel must be heard by all.
Then along came Jesus!
Roman society was much as it was in the days of Noah before the world was baptized of evil. This time it was not just water which cleansed the earth, but water and the blood. For those who don't know it, the days of Noah are the standard of evil as presented in scripture. All that we need to do is look at Rome, and we realize the evil of Noah's time.
How evil are we now? We are as barbaric as Rome. Although, they were more civilized than Noah's world, civilization in Roman times was just more organized evil. Rather than chaos, evil had become institutionalized.
The world is all barbaric in this sense. We have organized evil. Indeed, governments all over were founded on evil but most with good intentions. Unlike much of the world, God was gracious to America. Our very existence, although not founded on righteousness, was founded on right thinking. Democracy and republicanism are not God's divine will, but if done fairly, are a fine habitat for God to be worshiped. Ironically, both democracy and republicanism were founded more on pagan concepts, but pious Americans used that platform to plant the Christian religion in America. It didn't turn away lesser denominations but welcomed them in. It had very little to do with pagan religions because at that time they were not part in the sphere of influence.
However, even deists and atheists were welcome, and lived by Christian rules. America was founded upon a hidden principle - fairness. Fairness is for some an individual construct, but for others, a community. Our Constitution was written for the community. Things as the electoral college made our rules more fair. States rights was fairness in action. Federalism was akin to the monarchy and avoided at all costs. In fact, the weak federalists of the time would be considered democrats of today!
We have nearly returned to the days of Noah. We are "civil barbarians". That expression is an impossibility but America has two natures: We behave as barbarians but it is done in an orderly fashion. Who would have thought in 1776 that individuals were risking their lives such that their seed could be destroyed centuries later? Who would have thought that patriots were dying so that men could have sex with men, and women with women? Who would have known that the weapon which created freedom would be attacked by those who fail to cherish liberty? Who would have known that blood was shed for this country so that unmotivated people could leach off society? Who would have rode through the night in alarm so that the country would still be run by despots? Who would have fired the first shot at Lexington against taxation if they had known that America would tax its citizens to death?
When Patrick Henry said, "Give me liberty or give me death!" who would have thought liberty would be eroded to the point that patriots would prefer death? Most of those patriots were wealthy landowners who risked the sweat of their brow for a civilization free of coercion. Now, those hard workers are the object of coercion so that even one objector, coerces all others. Of this, I am referring to the track toward atheism in America - the killing of liberty!
Who would have thought that poor farmers would have enlisted in their militias so that America would become the Prozac nation - or even thought of meth and heroin? If the founders had been smoking marijuana, they would have been burnouts rather than thinkers. Now, even our leaders encourage self-destruction and malaise! America is on the decline, and God sheds tears for us? We are corporately, his prodigal children. We live for pleasure, and that is what will destroy us! We are now effectually the other tree - the one with the forbidden fruit. Noah would be building an ark right now if he were alive but alas, it is not God's water which is destroying us but millions of little gods each with colliding worlds which each individual rules as if they are a king or queen.
Rather than America being a melting pot, it is more of a stink pot as more and more people do what is right in their own eyes, as they return to barbarism as in the days before kings. Ironically, liberty can destroy if there are not firm rules which protect others. The quest for "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" was the reason for independence, but America has become a dependent society. It's purpose in practice is the pursuit of pleasure, but pleasure is not why men fought!
I was speaking to an older gentlemen this week. He was stooped from hard work, and wisdom could be seen in his face. He was part of the depression era and realized how great our wealth has become since people begged for a dime for a cup of coffee. Poverty is a great motivation for success! This man is successful. He has a modest home, an old car, a loving family and happiness. He doesn't have much but he is wealthy because his prosperity is contentment.
In his eyes, Americans are discontents. He didn't say that, but it was clear what he meant. He said to me, "Maybe we should just give up!" He was basically saying, let them do what is right in their own eyes. His suggestion was that we just allow the people to return to their barbarian beginnings. As a Christian, he knows that in the end of times, it will again be as in the days of Noah. Shall we just accept that? Should we just give up?
One of my favorite expressions is, what would Jesus do? Would Jesus give up? Jesus never did that! Oh, he said "give to Caesar what is Caesar's" but he never suggested to give in to Caesar. He declined giving into the world. Doing as the world does is living in the flesh. We are to submit the flesh for crucifixion. We are to put the pleasures of the world on a cross for cleansing as Jesus did. Rather than destruction by water as in the days of Noah, Roman society was cleansed by Jesus... for a time until it again returned to the days of Noah. Rome is dead. It died a slow death because of pleasure. The Romans did what they wanted to do. They ate of the forbidden tree, and they certainly died. We are Rome. We are dying!
Rather than merely what we want, we should want God's will. What is it that God wants from us? Our love! Not only love for Him but for others. How much love can you see for God out there? How much love do you see for others? I'm not speaking of drinking buddies or pot gatherings but brotherly love. If we love others, we want their soul to rest in eternal living, not for just this life. "Progressives" want what they desire; Christians what is right! "Rightness" is not dynamic. God's Law is eternal and immutable and there for a reason - to foster love and avoid divine catastrophe. It keeps us from killing ourselves - the very core of the Abrahamic Covenant.
I will never give up on me, and never give up on my fellow man. I arose from bed this morning to lecture my readers because I can't give up! God won't either. There are just eight people who were righteous and God saved them from peril in the flood. If there were just ten people found, Sodom and Gomorrah would have been spared! God doesn't give up.
We are we now?
Genesis 18:10 And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous...This can as easily be said, because "America's sin is very great!" And we are the "civilized" ones even though we murder our unborn children and elderly with impunity. Impunity is the "civilized barbarism" in which we live.
Like Martin Luther King had a dream, God does too. He knows the future of the dream but with his patience, he dreams it anyhow. His dream is that his children love Him. That is His expectation. That love is demonstrated by obedience, and to God's dismay, His children are prodigal, and far from obedient. The kingdom of God, His Church, even leads the disobedience, and crucify Him day after day after day!
What is it that we must do? Don't give up! Before God gives up, the gospel must be heard by all.
Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.We teach them that they might be safe, and put them on the Ark with Noah, not so that the end shall come. I got up at 3:00 A.M. so that I could share this with America. My readership is now more the nations rather than America. France leads among my readers of other nations. They too have sought freedom and liberty but tried it without God. It has failed many times, and continues to fail. I ask of the French people, the Russians, the Ukrainians, and even the Chinese who read this: Don't give up!
Thursday, October 5, 2017
Were the Apostles Christians Before the Crucifixion?
Albeit, all the biblical patriarchs were Christians because they knew of Jesus - they spoke with Him, his death on the cross, and the reason for it. They had great faith because they believed in what would happen before it ever came about. We know that they were Christians because Lazarus was put in Abraham's bosom which is heaven.
However, although Jesus hand-picked all the original apostles, they were anointed of God but were they born again? I use that expression in the same sense as Jesus used it with Nicodemus. Nicodemus was not yet born-again after he learned about the second birth. He was, however, enlightened. He knew how to be converted from the old creature to the new. It is reasonable to assume that most of the apostles knew about the second birth, but because Jesus had not yet made the propitiation for sin, the second birth was not available. One must remember that the Holy Spirit had 400 years of silence until John the Baptist was conceived.
When John baptized, Jesus was the only one to get the Holy Spirit and keep Him. No one else received the Holy Spirit. Nicodemus didn't when he was enlightened, and there is a reason for this:
David had the Holy Spirit, as did any of the prophets. Without going into detail, the Holy Spirit is God's omnipresence, omnipotence and omniscience. He is always present, all-powerful, and all-knowing. He does not come and go, just remains silent or acts, or not. The Holy Spirit was with Jesus on the cross because the Holy Spirit had remained on him.
However, because the substance of the Holy Ghost is God's Holy Spirit, He took on new meaning. He could now provide the second birth whereas before, since Jesus had not yet died, that was impossible because of the silence of the Holy Spirit.
Because he believed, and because Jesus had made the sacrifice, Nicodemus could finally be born-again. He surely was because he had been enlightened. He understood what it took to be a Christian, and that was Jesus's death on the cross! The enlightenment is the conversion from old creature to new - the second birth:
None of the apostles were transformed until Jesus died. After he descended, the apostles were imbued with the Holy Ghost, Him remaining on them, and then the transformation was complete. They were finally converted.
Peter, had not been converted when he was sifted by Satan. Let's look at the story:
Jesus ridded the Jews of the law of primogeniture - that the eldest was the most deserving. just as he had with Adam and Isaac. Status meant nothing to Jesus. Simon Peter was yet to be converted. He could have as easily been Satan's as God's! He could have been Judas but for God's grace!
Jesus prayed that Simon's faith would not fail him. Why because it could have! He had faith in Jesus because he followed him, but yet his faith had yet to transform him because of the silence of the Holy Spirit. Jesus prayed for Simon's safety because he had yet to receive the Comforter's safety. Why? Because Simon had yet to receive the Holy Ghost because Jesus had yet to do what he came to do! It takes the shedding of blood to save. (Hebrews 9:22).
Peter proclaimed that he would even make a sacrifice to God even unto death but since Jesus had not shed his blood yet, Peter's life was worthless. Once Jesus had sacrificed his, then Peter could make himself a "living sacrifice" without having to mortally die. (Roman 12:1).
Peter later denied Jesus three times as Jesus foretold. He lost his faith because he feared for his own life, let alone worry about Jesus's. However, with the loss of his faith, he did not lose his opportunity for Jesus prayed for his safety. After Jesus's death, he could be brought to safety because of his conversion - from untrusting to trusting in Jesus for eternal life. After Jesus's Ascension, Peter, as the others, were imbued with the Holy Ghost. Whereas, only Jesus had been before, now they all were.
Jesus acknowledged that Simon would be changed when He used the word converted. The prerequisite for this was, "They should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart." When Jesus died, was resurrected, ascended, and came back in Spirit - they finally were converted. They became new creatures as they were enlightened with that knowledge!
All the apostles were Jews. For them to be persuaded took a miracle. Jesus said that!
When the Holy Ghost came on those we had been born-again, He came visually and perceptibly - as wind and as fire. (Acts 2). However, the sign in them was more than what was visible. They understood each other in their own tongue. That was apparently evidence to persuade the Jews there that day!
When mankind was apart from God and people sought wisdom, back at the Tower of Babel, God encrypted their languages to reduce their power because of strife they created. At Jerusalem, on the day of Pentecost, God decrypted what he had encrypted before. Each understood, not an unknown tongue, but an encrypted previously known tongue. Ironically, this satisfied the sign requirements of the Jews and the wisdom requirements of the Gentiles. (Incidentally the unknown is not part of the "unknown tongues" but was added by the translators for clarity, which ever since, as confused many!)
All that were in Jerusalem were of one accord with each other but also with Christ. We see throughout scripture that accordance is a pre-requisite for the appearance of the Holy Ghost. If we look back at Simon Peter arguing with the other apostles, they were not of one accord. There was discord sewn there by Satan himself with his sifter.
With Christ's death, Satan was defeated! He was no longer able to sift Simon as wheat: (Luke 22:31) because after his conversion - transformation, Simon was no longer just Simon, he was the new creature who Jesus called Peter! That conversion brought safety to Peter. Satan had to quit the agitating of the apostles. He could only tempt, and the apostles were left alone - them and God, who protected them until the known world knew about Jesus! (Evidence shows that from Asia to Britain the people in the apostolic age knew about Jesus!)
The apostles were assured of their safety and coming salvation with the speaking in tongues that they became that sacrifice which Peter promised when he was unable to make it of consequence. All the apostles, except the beloved John, were baptized with their own blood, and history tells of John being boiled in oil but came out alive. Jesus wasn't through with his beloved friend yet! He wrote Revelation so that Christians know who wins the spiritual war. That is the wisdom we who do not speak in tongues need for assurance.
Were the apostle's Christians? Indeed they followed Jesus because they believed in Him. They just didn't know what to believe until what Jesus told them came about. They all became Christians when Jesus died on the cross, saw the Light when the tomb was empty, were assured of the resurrection when Jesus displayed his scars, had joy when Jesus ascended, and came to one accord when His Holy Ghost came down! Finally, after the strife among them for what would never be, accord came to them in the hope of salvation as they felt the presence of the Holy Ghost - the Spirit of Jesus, dwelling in them! They became part of the kingdom of God of which they argued. That was the Universal (catholic in Latin) Church
Why do I say that Jesus's presence is now the Holy Ghost? "Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost." Jesus, after his resurrection, baptized them all during Pentecost with His Holy Ghost!
Not until the Holy Ghost came down were the disciples called "Christians" because until then they followed Jesus blindly. It took Paul, who was struck blind by the invisible God, before he could see He who had been visible. Paul was then accepted as an apostle by them all.
Side note: Judas wasn't a Christian even though he followed Christ. Why not? For the reasons stated above. Jesus had not died for him yet, and he had not been converted as the others were soon to be.
However, although Jesus hand-picked all the original apostles, they were anointed of God but were they born again? I use that expression in the same sense as Jesus used it with Nicodemus. Nicodemus was not yet born-again after he learned about the second birth. He was, however, enlightened. He knew how to be converted from the old creature to the new. It is reasonable to assume that most of the apostles knew about the second birth, but because Jesus had not yet made the propitiation for sin, the second birth was not available. One must remember that the Holy Spirit had 400 years of silence until John the Baptist was conceived.
When John baptized, Jesus was the only one to get the Holy Spirit and keep Him. No one else received the Holy Spirit. Nicodemus didn't when he was enlightened, and there is a reason for this:
Romans 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)This is essential doctrine, and the translators of the King James Version are the only ones who caught the difference between the Holy Spirit and the Holy Ghost. The Greek word is the same - pneuma but the context makes the difference. Jesus's Ghost had yet to return because Jesus had yet to die.
David had the Holy Spirit, as did any of the prophets. Without going into detail, the Holy Spirit is God's omnipresence, omnipotence and omniscience. He is always present, all-powerful, and all-knowing. He does not come and go, just remains silent or acts, or not. The Holy Spirit was with Jesus on the cross because the Holy Spirit had remained on him.
John 1:32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. 33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.Jesus had the Holy Spirit; the other's who were baptized had Him not. They were baptized for the remission of sins. That is John's baptism. There was no Holy Ghost given, because the Spirit could not act as yet. Why? Because Jesus had yet to be glorified. After Jesus ascended in Acts 1, the Holy Ghost descended in Acts 2. It was at that time that the Holy Spirit could act on the others. All there, who were in one accord, and were believers in Jesus were filled with the Holy Ghost. Essentially, since a Man had died, his Ghost came back, not to haunt but to Comfort.
However, because the substance of the Holy Ghost is God's Holy Spirit, He took on new meaning. He could now provide the second birth whereas before, since Jesus had not yet died, that was impossible because of the silence of the Holy Spirit.
Because he believed, and because Jesus had made the sacrifice, Nicodemus could finally be born-again. He surely was because he had been enlightened. He understood what it took to be a Christian, and that was Jesus's death on the cross! The enlightenment is the conversion from old creature to new - the second birth:
Matthew 18:3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.Converted is being transformed in the image of God. What does that entail?
Matthew 13:15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.Conversion is being healed by Jesus. The convert has a change in attitude. They understand. What is it they come to understand? That they are not really gods, but Jesus Is God, and only Jesus can save! However, before the believer could be saved, it was necessary for Jesus to make the propitiation for sins with His own blood. Once the believer saw the Light (conversion), then after Jesus paid the price, the believer was in safety; being born-again. To be safe required the Comfort of Jesus's presence - the Holy Ghost!
None of the apostles were transformed until Jesus died. After he descended, the apostles were imbued with the Holy Ghost, Him remaining on them, and then the transformation was complete. They were finally converted.
Peter, had not been converted when he was sifted by Satan. Let's look at the story:
Luke 22:24 And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest. 25 And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. 26 But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. 27 For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth. 28 Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations. 29 And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; 30 That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: 32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. 33 And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death. 34 And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me. 35 And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing. 36 Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. 37 For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end.All who were there wanted to be greatest in the kingdom of God, not even fully knowing that it was a spiritual kingdom which was about to be formed - the Church. They each wanted power there, but none knew how the Kingdom would even come about. Ironically, it did according, to the sign on the cross - "King of the Jews".
Jesus ridded the Jews of the law of primogeniture - that the eldest was the most deserving. just as he had with Adam and Isaac. Status meant nothing to Jesus. Simon Peter was yet to be converted. He could have as easily been Satan's as God's! He could have been Judas but for God's grace!
Jesus prayed that Simon's faith would not fail him. Why because it could have! He had faith in Jesus because he followed him, but yet his faith had yet to transform him because of the silence of the Holy Spirit. Jesus prayed for Simon's safety because he had yet to receive the Comforter's safety. Why? Because Simon had yet to receive the Holy Ghost because Jesus had yet to do what he came to do! It takes the shedding of blood to save. (Hebrews 9:22).
Peter proclaimed that he would even make a sacrifice to God even unto death but since Jesus had not shed his blood yet, Peter's life was worthless. Once Jesus had sacrificed his, then Peter could make himself a "living sacrifice" without having to mortally die. (Roman 12:1).
Peter later denied Jesus three times as Jesus foretold. He lost his faith because he feared for his own life, let alone worry about Jesus's. However, with the loss of his faith, he did not lose his opportunity for Jesus prayed for his safety. After Jesus's death, he could be brought to safety because of his conversion - from untrusting to trusting in Jesus for eternal life. After Jesus's Ascension, Peter, as the others, were imbued with the Holy Ghost. Whereas, only Jesus had been before, now they all were.
Jesus acknowledged that Simon would be changed when He used the word converted. The prerequisite for this was, "They should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart." When Jesus died, was resurrected, ascended, and came back in Spirit - they finally were converted. They became new creatures as they were enlightened with that knowledge!
All the apostles were Jews. For them to be persuaded took a miracle. Jesus said that!
1 Corinthians 1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. 22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom; 23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness...The Holy Ghost came to satisfy the safety needs of those who were born again. His role was to provide the power of God, the wisdom of God, and the presence of God - the omnipotence, omniscience, and the omnipresence of God. The sign of tongues came because the Jews needed signs and wonders. They had seen Jesus die, but remember, God said at the rich man's agony in hell:
Luke 16:31 And he (Jesus) said unto him (Abraham), If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.Jesus knew the Jews would deny him even after he was resurrected because a dead man returned to life wasn't enough for skeptical people. It had to be evidence to them personally!
When the Holy Ghost came on those we had been born-again, He came visually and perceptibly - as wind and as fire. (Acts 2). However, the sign in them was more than what was visible. They understood each other in their own tongue. That was apparently evidence to persuade the Jews there that day!
When mankind was apart from God and people sought wisdom, back at the Tower of Babel, God encrypted their languages to reduce their power because of strife they created. At Jerusalem, on the day of Pentecost, God decrypted what he had encrypted before. Each understood, not an unknown tongue, but an encrypted previously known tongue. Ironically, this satisfied the sign requirements of the Jews and the wisdom requirements of the Gentiles. (Incidentally the unknown is not part of the "unknown tongues" but was added by the translators for clarity, which ever since, as confused many!)
All that were in Jerusalem were of one accord with each other but also with Christ. We see throughout scripture that accordance is a pre-requisite for the appearance of the Holy Ghost. If we look back at Simon Peter arguing with the other apostles, they were not of one accord. There was discord sewn there by Satan himself with his sifter.
With Christ's death, Satan was defeated! He was no longer able to sift Simon as wheat: (Luke 22:31) because after his conversion - transformation, Simon was no longer just Simon, he was the new creature who Jesus called Peter! That conversion brought safety to Peter. Satan had to quit the agitating of the apostles. He could only tempt, and the apostles were left alone - them and God, who protected them until the known world knew about Jesus! (Evidence shows that from Asia to Britain the people in the apostolic age knew about Jesus!)
The apostles were assured of their safety and coming salvation with the speaking in tongues that they became that sacrifice which Peter promised when he was unable to make it of consequence. All the apostles, except the beloved John, were baptized with their own blood, and history tells of John being boiled in oil but came out alive. Jesus wasn't through with his beloved friend yet! He wrote Revelation so that Christians know who wins the spiritual war. That is the wisdom we who do not speak in tongues need for assurance.
Were the apostle's Christians? Indeed they followed Jesus because they believed in Him. They just didn't know what to believe until what Jesus told them came about. They all became Christians when Jesus died on the cross, saw the Light when the tomb was empty, were assured of the resurrection when Jesus displayed his scars, had joy when Jesus ascended, and came to one accord when His Holy Ghost came down! Finally, after the strife among them for what would never be, accord came to them in the hope of salvation as they felt the presence of the Holy Ghost - the Spirit of Jesus, dwelling in them! They became part of the kingdom of God of which they argued. That was the Universal (catholic in Latin) Church
Why do I say that Jesus's presence is now the Holy Ghost? "Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost." Jesus, after his resurrection, baptized them all during Pentecost with His Holy Ghost!
Not until the Holy Ghost came down were the disciples called "Christians" because until then they followed Jesus blindly. It took Paul, who was struck blind by the invisible God, before he could see He who had been visible. Paul was then accepted as an apostle by them all.
Side note: Judas wasn't a Christian even though he followed Christ. Why not? For the reasons stated above. Jesus had not died for him yet, and he had not been converted as the others were soon to be.
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Progressivism
My letter-to-the-edit of Bowling Green Daily News this morning about "progressivism".
Re: Ernie Ezell's "progressivism"
Ernie Ezell brags that he is a “progressive”. That is the last thing a Christian man would ever brag about. Progressive was selected by the fringe elements to present themselves as positive. They have ruined the Democrat Party since this Marxist faction united with them in 1968.
Progressives are in opposition to institutions. Of course, the foremost detriment to society for them is religiosity – specifically Christianity. Progressivism is every man doing what is right in his own eyes (Judges 17:6), but why it always fails is because each person’s “right” varies depending on who their god is. Unfortunately, progressives use their own standards of right and wrong. Because Christianity has tough standards – to love one another, progressivism fails when that conflict in moral standards differ.
Marxism sounds Utopian in theory, but in practice, it must always resort to the autocracy from which it rebels. Socialism's destiny will always be communism because mankind cherishes freedom, and doesn’t want to give it up! Christians love freedom from evil but when people do what is right in their own eyes, evil abounds.
“Isms” always sound good, seem to abound in brotherly love, but in practice they are deceptive. Progressivism is an opposition “irreligion” with antipathy toward orthodox Christianity. Mr. Ezell may not be in that stage yet in his own version of “right”, but we see it coming in the streets right now. Those forcing their version of “right” on America claim to disdain hatred, but they have that stench all over them!
Mr. Ezell, there are few progressives in the south. You need to join the fringe elements to the far west and northeast – far away from the Bible belt, but better yet become one of us!
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
Why So Much Evil in the World
Many people are crying right now because of the needless killings in Nevada. Some people question the existence of God: "Why does God allow this to happen?" Of course, since God is Almighty, He could stop all the malice in the world in an instant. Instead, God cries. Yes, God sheds the same tears as we shed. How can that be? Jesus is God in the flesh. He feels our pain! The death of his friend Lazarus demonstrated the human emotions of God:
The Jews knew that Jesus loved Lazarus: "See how he loved him!" Jesus did, for God so loved the world. It turns out that Jesus did love Lazarus - enough to die for him, but he also loved those who lost Lazarus as well.
Let's get this straight: God despises death. It is the consequence of sin. Death came into the world with the first sin as Adam and Eve went from immortal to mortal. That may seem an extremely harsh punishment, but because God so loved the world, he provided reprieve:
God did punish our forebears for sin. They ignored God, and did as they pleased. Ever since, all men have sinned and disappointed God.
Many of those who died are right now in heaven. I wish I could say that all are. In heaven they again will have immortality. People hurt because they all will be missed. All groan because their loved one meant so much to them. God does as well. He hurts for all of us who remain!
I believe Lazarus was a righteous man or Jesus would not have saved him. That's right, Lazarus was snatched from the evil one, and was saved because Jesus saved him. Lazarus was not perfect, but one need not be perfect to be saved or else we would all die forever. But Lazarus loved Jesus and Jesus loved him. Jesus will save his friends who died in Vegas, and he will comfort those who remain if they believe in the resurrection.
Let me introduce something totally out of the picture, although it too is death-centered. I don't have the source handy but it came from his contemporaries: When Lincoln's first son died, he expressed doubt that he would see him in heaven. It appears that Lincoln didn't believe in the general resurrection when all those in Christ will be raised from the dead and join Jesus in the sky.
Salvation means mankind is saved from something! What is it that we're saved from? Eternal death. In order to be saved from eternal death, God, because He so loved the world, provided eternal life for those who trust Him. Lincoln failed to trust God for eternal life. He had no hope that he would live forever. We all know Lincoln was melancholic; perhaps this is the reason!
As the world looks on at the evil done in Vegas, let's look to God for his grace. All men are destined to die whether a person believes in God or not. We never want to go, or see others go, but that's going to happen. Whether we live one minute or one-hundred years, it always pains others to wave good-bye to those who depart. Unlike Lincoln, we have the hope of seeing them again - even in much better conditions! Because Lazarus was raised from the dead gives me hope that I will be as well. Because Jesus so loved Lazarus, that he still lives, he so loved mine that they can live as well.
Right now, Jesus cries with us. He has our emotions, or truly, we have His. He groans in the spirit and is troubled just as we are. Jesus cries right now, not because of who died, but because of our pain. He is empathetic with us. That's the purpose of Jesus: God came to feel what we feel. He knows temptation, he knows joy, but he also knows pain. My God, my God. Why hast thou forsaken me? He questioned his own Father - he questioned Himself. He felt the pain that many of those in the world are feeling right now for those who died in Las Vegas.
With all these deaths due to Satan, why will people go on obeying Satan even right now? Satan is a brutal master, but the masses continue to follow him to their deaths. Perhaps the positive that could come out of this mass sacrifice, is that rather than blaming God for Satan's deeds, the world will turn to God who so loves them!
I feel a reprieve from hatred as most empathize with the dead and those who lost loved ones. While we are mourning, hating others is far from the minds of most sane people. This is the time to topple the law of Sin - not to worry about harmless idols, and love one another. Perhaps all these lives won't be lost for naught, but that we will be more in accord. Satan is working hard to divide the nation - even the world, but his needless killing defies him. If we quit blaming guns and even dogmas, and unite under God, Satan's awful attempt to divide us will turn us to unity.
John 11:32 Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. 34 And He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!” 37 And some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?”Jesus did not cause Lazarus to die. Lazarus was his friend! Mary knew that Jesus could have prevented his death if he had only been there. She questioned Jesus as did the others. Jesus cried because he was deeply troubled. The question here is, why was Jesus troubled? Was it because Lazarus was dead, or because of all the sorrow of those he loved?
The Jews knew that Jesus loved Lazarus: "See how he loved him!" Jesus did, for God so loved the world. It turns out that Jesus did love Lazarus - enough to die for him, but he also loved those who lost Lazarus as well.
Let's get this straight: God despises death. It is the consequence of sin. Death came into the world with the first sin as Adam and Eve went from immortal to mortal. That may seem an extremely harsh punishment, but because God so loved the world, he provided reprieve:
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.Again, why did Jesus cry? Because mankind had chosen sin over him. It had been so easy - they only had to love me, and Lazarus would not have died! As a demonstration of his love, he did bring Lazarus back to life! Why did he do that? So that we would all have hope.
God did punish our forebears for sin. They ignored God, and did as they pleased. Ever since, all men have sinned and disappointed God.
Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—We ask, "Why did God do this?" He didn't. Adam brought sin into the world, and it is still here because all men sin. We all are responsible for death! Adam was responsible for the first sin, but we are for all those thereafter. Jesus is innocent of any sin. He had no part in the death of Lazarus and no part in the rampage which happened in Las Vegas. People died there because of evil. Steven Paddock played God they other day but the loss of life is more than playing.
Many of those who died are right now in heaven. I wish I could say that all are. In heaven they again will have immortality. People hurt because they all will be missed. All groan because their loved one meant so much to them. God does as well. He hurts for all of us who remain!
I believe Lazarus was a righteous man or Jesus would not have saved him. That's right, Lazarus was snatched from the evil one, and was saved because Jesus saved him. Lazarus was not perfect, but one need not be perfect to be saved or else we would all die forever. But Lazarus loved Jesus and Jesus loved him. Jesus will save his friends who died in Vegas, and he will comfort those who remain if they believe in the resurrection.
Let me introduce something totally out of the picture, although it too is death-centered. I don't have the source handy but it came from his contemporaries: When Lincoln's first son died, he expressed doubt that he would see him in heaven. It appears that Lincoln didn't believe in the general resurrection when all those in Christ will be raised from the dead and join Jesus in the sky.
Salvation means mankind is saved from something! What is it that we're saved from? Eternal death. In order to be saved from eternal death, God, because He so loved the world, provided eternal life for those who trust Him. Lincoln failed to trust God for eternal life. He had no hope that he would live forever. We all know Lincoln was melancholic; perhaps this is the reason!
As the world looks on at the evil done in Vegas, let's look to God for his grace. All men are destined to die whether a person believes in God or not. We never want to go, or see others go, but that's going to happen. Whether we live one minute or one-hundred years, it always pains others to wave good-bye to those who depart. Unlike Lincoln, we have the hope of seeing them again - even in much better conditions! Because Lazarus was raised from the dead gives me hope that I will be as well. Because Jesus so loved Lazarus, that he still lives, he so loved mine that they can live as well.
Right now, Jesus cries with us. He has our emotions, or truly, we have His. He groans in the spirit and is troubled just as we are. Jesus cries right now, not because of who died, but because of our pain. He is empathetic with us. That's the purpose of Jesus: God came to feel what we feel. He knows temptation, he knows joy, but he also knows pain. My God, my God. Why hast thou forsaken me? He questioned his own Father - he questioned Himself. He felt the pain that many of those in the world are feeling right now for those who died in Las Vegas.
With all these deaths due to Satan, why will people go on obeying Satan even right now? Satan is a brutal master, but the masses continue to follow him to their deaths. Perhaps the positive that could come out of this mass sacrifice, is that rather than blaming God for Satan's deeds, the world will turn to God who so loves them!
I feel a reprieve from hatred as most empathize with the dead and those who lost loved ones. While we are mourning, hating others is far from the minds of most sane people. This is the time to topple the law of Sin - not to worry about harmless idols, and love one another. Perhaps all these lives won't be lost for naught, but that we will be more in accord. Satan is working hard to divide the nation - even the world, but his needless killing defies him. If we quit blaming guns and even dogmas, and unite under God, Satan's awful attempt to divide us will turn us to unity.
Monday, October 2, 2017
Women Deacons?
Most churches do not allow women officials. My own church disallows that. Many churches which allow women to officiate in some manner are Methodists, Pentecostals, Episcopalian and a few others. Many independent churches also use their skills. Of all those, with the exception of the Pentecostal, those are the liberal churches. Some of those also allow homosexuals as leaders. It seems that feminism, the acceptance of homosexuality, and heresy seem to always be part of this.
However, I don't look to my own desires or bias for spiritual leadership. At first look, it appears that women are to remain quiet in church.
Paul was the one who wrote that women are to keep quiet in the church. He said that to the Corinthian Church, so apparently, there was a problem there with know-it-all belligerent women. In that letter, Paul was correcting the erroneous teachings of the church. We don't know what the problem was with women, but he taught that they should remain silent in the church body, discussing later their own questions to their husbands. It would appear that they may have been an argumentative group, and men were having trouble harnessing the tongues of their wives.
First off, God is not a feminist! His own words were "He (your husband) will rule over you (the wife). That's the Designer's intent folks, but the world is endeavoring to altar God's design. However, it is for their own purposes. Autocrats can only control men if they control their women, so feminism is a means of gaining control. Marx was a big proponent of that!
On the other hand, God is just. He has no reason to allow the husband to walk all over the wife. They are not to expose their differences in church but get together at home. This was to keep individual disputes out of the church, and certainly to avoid women humiliating men. Nowhere does it say that men are allowed to humiliate the women either. The man's role is to nourish the woman, and guide her toward truth.
On the other hand, there were women "deacons" in the apostolic church. Paul even wrote the qualifications for deaconesses:
Who were these women? Paul mentioned only one of them.
The word "helper" comes from the Greek word prostatis, meaning a woman set over others. Therefore, Phoebe was a woman with official responsibilities to serve over others, and as a deacon ministered to others. That ministry is fairly clear-cut from Titus 2 above.
You see, churches can have deaconesses, and should have. There are certain things which men should not teach young girls. Those teachings should be reserved for women. Disallowing women from serving according to Holy Scripture, is adding to scripture.
We are missing much by disallowing women from teaching other women. I am not a feminist and far from it, but this would allow women to serve as deaconesses just like the men with one exception: men can minister to all, but women only to women.
However, I don't look to my own desires or bias for spiritual leadership. At first look, it appears that women are to remain quiet in church.
1 Corinthians 14:33 For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. 34 Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says. 35 And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church.This notion of confusion surely came from Eve who was deceived by the serpent. Mankind was to have dominion over the animals but Eve elected herself to represent mankind to the wily snake. As a result of this confusion since the serpent did so, Eve received a penalty:
Genesis 3:16 To the woman He said: ... Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.This agrees substantially with 1 Corinthians 14:33. Essentially, it would appear that women not be in a position to Lord it over men. However, that doesn't mean that they can't serve the Lord. Their service must be done tastefully, humbly, and reverently.
Paul was the one who wrote that women are to keep quiet in the church. He said that to the Corinthian Church, so apparently, there was a problem there with know-it-all belligerent women. In that letter, Paul was correcting the erroneous teachings of the church. We don't know what the problem was with women, but he taught that they should remain silent in the church body, discussing later their own questions to their husbands. It would appear that they may have been an argumentative group, and men were having trouble harnessing the tongues of their wives.
First off, God is not a feminist! His own words were "He (your husband) will rule over you (the wife). That's the Designer's intent folks, but the world is endeavoring to altar God's design. However, it is for their own purposes. Autocrats can only control men if they control their women, so feminism is a means of gaining control. Marx was a big proponent of that!
On the other hand, God is just. He has no reason to allow the husband to walk all over the wife. They are not to expose their differences in church but get together at home. This was to keep individual disputes out of the church, and certainly to avoid women humiliating men. Nowhere does it say that men are allowed to humiliate the women either. The man's role is to nourish the woman, and guide her toward truth.
On the other hand, there were women "deacons" in the apostolic church. Paul even wrote the qualifications for deaconesses:
1 Timothy 3:11 Women likewise must be serious, not slanderers, but temperate, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons be married only once, and let them manage their children and their households well; 13 for those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and great boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.Since there were qualifications for women deacons, it can be assumed that there were women deacons. Their standards were the same as for the men deacons, but since they were addressed apart from the men, their service must have had some differences. It would appear that the men possibly were more visible in the church, perhaps being deacons over men and women, whereas women deacons likely ministered to the women. In fact, other scripture tells the older women how to bring up the younger.
Titus 2:3 ... the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things— 4 that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.Paul also wrote that letter. It would appear that Paul was providing the job responsibilities of women deacons. It seems, as I said, that their ministry was to the younger women, and not the men. Their teachings are on how to provide a domestic household, and reverence for husbands and God.
Who were these women? Paul mentioned only one of them.
Romans 16:1 (RSV) I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deaconess of the church at Cen′chre-ae, 2 that you may receive her in the Lord as befits the saints, and help her in whatever she may require from you, for she has been a helper of many and of myself as well.I used the Revised Standard Version since it has the most accurate representation of the Greek words. Deaconess comes from the Greek diakonos which is what the deacons were called in 1 Timothy.
The word "helper" comes from the Greek word prostatis, meaning a woman set over others. Therefore, Phoebe was a woman with official responsibilities to serve over others, and as a deacon ministered to others. That ministry is fairly clear-cut from Titus 2 above.
You see, churches can have deaconesses, and should have. There are certain things which men should not teach young girls. Those teachings should be reserved for women. Disallowing women from serving according to Holy Scripture, is adding to scripture.
We are missing much by disallowing women from teaching other women. I am not a feminist and far from it, but this would allow women to serve as deaconesses just like the men with one exception: men can minister to all, but women only to women.
Sunday, October 1, 2017
Baptism: Saving or Not?
Romans 15:16 All the churches of Christ send greetings. 17 I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. 18 For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. 19 Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.Why do people fall for false teachings? Naivete'. I was sitting here pondering baptism. Baptism is something we do, and hence is works. On the other hand, it is us who obtains the water but it's God who washes away the sins! Therefore, perhaps baptism is not a work but another gift of grace. On one extreme are Baptists who believe that salvation is by "grace alone" (sola gratia) and churches of Christ who claim that baptism completes the process of salvation. Both believe in the born-again experience, so that isn't the issue. The Baptists argue if baptism saves, then that is salvation by works. Consequently, Baptism would be a sacrament to Churches of Christ, and an ordinance to Baptists. (Sacraments are saving and ordinances are obedience).
I wrestle with God quite often on this issue. It seems so straightforward - sometimes one way, and straight forward the other way at other times. I kind of look at it as, "I'm baptized, so either way works for me!' That is true, but what about others? This argument is an obstacle to true Church teachings. (We all have doctrines - Churches of Christ included, although they don't admit it.) False teachings cause obstacles. It would seem one must be right and the other wrong. I have a burden for both views. Churches of Christ seem to reject the Christianity of those who disagree. However, Baptists don't. That makes Churches of Christ more dogmatic, but dogmatism itself is not a test for truth - only scripture is.
Who is more right? It seems that based on scripture that Churches of Christ are. One must look further, though.
Oftentimes, Christians put God in their box. Dogmatic people have God in small uncomfortable boxes which accommodate few. Of course the gate is straight (Matthew 7:14), but we must take care that it has truly straight jams and lintels, or the box is just too small for God to have enough grace to accommodate anyone.
The "straight gate" is the doctrine of Christ. For all denominations, Jesus's doctrine must be the only doctrine. Because of heresy, the early church corrected error by issuing "creeds". Creeds are formal statements on what the church believes. That is so that individuals do not create chaos in God's institution which "put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned."
The belief on Baptism is an obstacle. In the eyes of Campbellites, it makes sincere Christians lost because they fail to do the ritual right. In effect, ritualistic Christianity is Simonism. There is a method to Christ's "magic". Simon created a box. He wanted the formulae for doling out the Holy Spirit. He was promptly rejected and ejected! Why? Because the Holy Spirit does God's will, and God's will is that we not be able to control Him!
On the other hand, if baptism is saving, we do want everyone to be saved!
Acts 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
The equation becomes S = C<sub>L</sub>. Salvation is calling on Jesus's name - the Lord.
Luke validated that because by no other name is one saved. (Acts 4:12).
It seems so simple, right? Let's look at another verse:
Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved...Here we have two conditions which must be met - belief and baptism.
S = F + B, where Salvation is (F)aith - belief, plus baptism. The problem with this is if the (F) aith part is skipped before the (B) aptism. That leaves only a wet sinner!
Which is it, then - Belief (by the name of Jesus), or Belief and Baptism?
It is arguable but belief is normally not considered a work although the individual must do that. That is because faith is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8). That is enough to be born-again but subsequently, faith is a work (1 Thessalonians 1:3). To be born-again, God does the work, but to keep the faith (Revelation 14:12) one must perform works of faith - essentially staying on top of Satan by studying the word so as to depend on God's protection.
(Calvinists, please do not stop reading this. At worst, it will make you think! Likewise, for Baptists and Churches of Christ.)
Now, to solve the puzzle. Can both be right? It must be so or one is wrong! Scripture is not.
I also had a dilemma with Arminian doctrine. (I never cease to question!). The implication with conditional security is that one can be unsaved. That is an impossibility or one was never saved. So we Arminians contradict ourselves. Like the issue of baptism, there are two opposing doctrines on security, and both are apparently biblical. In order to clear the obstacle of baptism one must clear the obstruction of security.
There are much scripture which seems to support eternal security, and as many conditional security. That is once saved always saved. I am a strong Arminian but I believe once saved always saved. My contention is that Christians, even Arminians, fail to understand what saved even means because of sloppy translations, and ignoring certain other passages.
First off let's deal with saved again. That is impossible and heretical:
Hebrews 6:6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.If one "falls away" that is apostasy. When one falls away, they effectually crucify Jesus again, testifying that it was everybody who crucified Jesus to start with. It would be shameful to try to make Jesus die again for what he already died. So forget being saved again! (Backsliding is another issue but not in the scope of this argument).
Since, we can't be unsaved, we must be un-something else. What is apostasy? We must examine what status a Christian lives in.
Jesus refers to belief in him as being born-again.
1 Peter 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.The new birth is becoming a new person - the sons and daughters of Jesus rather than sons and daughters of Adam. We were born the latter, and reborn the former. Jesus explained it more fully to Nicodemus.
John 3:5 Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.Churches of Christ take the water part and assign it to baptism. However, most others take it as the first birth, which makes sense in that it is water which keeps the unborn safe until they live, and the Spirit which keeps the new creature safe until they obtain eternal life.
Both the unborn with the water birth and the living with the Spiritual birth are kept safe until they are saved. When does salvation occur? In both Acts 2:21 and Mark 16:16 above, says "shall be saved". Both Baptists and Churches of Christ believe in shall be saved. I believe they interpret that wrong!
Shall be is any moment from the present until the end. Therefore, salvation could be right at the time of the new birth or it could be anytime thereafter. Of course, after one has already been lost is too late to be saved, right? Therefore, Christians are saved from damnation immediately after death. Salvation, then is at the moment of death. That's when the bus crashes and God yanks us safely away forever. We can never be put back on the burning bus (an analogy) again or we're not saved!
To be honest "shall be" is not part of the original Greek. Some say "should be" and others "will be".
Sozos is the Greek word transliterated "saved' in English. Just as the liberty of exercising context with "shall be", the translators exercised the same liberty with "saved". A more contextural use is "safe" which is the first choice given by Strong's Dictionary. Hence, both of those verses mentioned previously would imply "are safe". In effect, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord "are safe". Safety comes immediately, whereas salvation can be anytime subsequent to that.
This is validated by Paul's use of "hope of salvation". (1 Thessalonians 5:8). Hope is an expectation that something will happen. If one is born-again the hope should be that he will be saved. The question is, "When?" Logic and scripture point toward death as the time of salvation. Paul said just that:
Romans 13:11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.Speaking to Christians who were born-again previous to that day, Paul tells them that that they are nearer to salvation than when they first believed. Since, salvation is spoken of in the future, those who had believed were looking forward to a future event. Hence, they had the hope of salvation.
Don't be dismayed. I am a Christian since I have faith. We are born again if we believe in Him - that Jesus is the Way to eternal life. However, I am not saved, but safe. I'm confident that I am saved because of the assurance of my salvation. My faith is so strong it's as if I'm already saved. However, there is a difference between being saved and having the assurance that I am. The difference is my own death! That's why it is so necessary to keep the faith strong by staying in the word, and obeying God's commands!
Therefore, both Churches of Christ and General Baptists need to appraise our own doctrines or beliefs. For Calvinists, all five points need to be revisited because Calvinism rejects most of what I write. (See how honest I am?)
Now for baptism. Is it a sacrament - thus saving? Looking at the time of salvation, when we're delivered from the fires of Hell, baptism needs to precede that because after death it would be too late. Hence, while one is "safe" and still alive is the time to be baptized. Of course, it would be in plentiful water, and scripture would even infer flowing water, but one must still be alive to be baptized. Even the rite of baptism commands immersion for total cleansing.
However, baptism must be subsequent to the new birth because if a sinner enters the water without seeing the Light, only a wet sinner emerges!
Baptism is then an act of obedience, and if one loves Jesus, they will obey. (John 14:15). Hence subsequent to the new birth and before salvation, baptism is to be accomplished. It doesn't save the Christian but indeed testifies to the safety of the born-again person. It can be looked upon as a sacrament (part of the salvation plan), or an ordinance, (obedience because of one's new birth). Either way, it is expedient to be baptized since a Christian gets the assurance of forthcoming salvation by obedience.
Then the question arises? What if a born-again person dies before the immersion? Are they still saved? Death brings the person to salvation. Before that, the person is safe. Eternal death is still possible except by grace. On top of that, the unbaptized person is not in apostasy- lost faith, hence is still in good standing with God.
Think of safety as the faith of Job. Because of his faith, God had put a hedge around him. He protected Job from death from Satan but he could have fallen away. He was being tested. In apostolic times, his faith would be born-again and his hedge that God put around him would be safety. When Job died he was saved by faith. He went from safety to saved.
The condition of the heart is what protects. If the heart has been circumcised, then safety is certain, and the assurance of salvation is positive. Abraham, when he was willing to sacrifice his only son, was safe because he was willing to make the sacrifice. Baptism, if a person is willing, is done in the heart. Those who reject baptism are not in obedience. Those who can't be but are willing are baptized by the circumcision of the heart.
Romans 2:29 ... circumcision is that of the heart.That "circumcision" is when one is washed by water. When the body is sacrificed to the water, that is when the heart is circumcised. That can happen with faith even if the immersion cannot be done. That is by God's grace - the same way Abraham was born-again without Christ. He saw Jesus although Jesus wasn't there in body.
If one can see the truth without looking at doctrinal biasedness. this commentary does offer salvation to both Churches of Christ and Baptists. Oh, why are we so divided when we claim unity? Both can be wrong, or one - but this commentary leaves open the possibility that all may be right. Consider it.
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