Belonging to a Church: Part 6

Heretofore, a discussion ensued on becoming a Christian. Furthermore, direction was given on how to maintain faith. After salvation are there other activities? One is offered: Can a person be a "secret Christian"?

After I was saved I kept it to myself. I feared ridicule from my friends and, frankly, I wanted to be able to continue doing the things which I had always done. Before becoming a Christian, I was seldom tempted. I belonged to Satan already. He left me to my own wiles. Satan doesn't care whether a person recognizes him or not; he relishes it when we dishonor Jesus! After, I honored Jesus by becoming a Christian, Satan certainly didn't like that. He did all within his power to cause me to lose faith. The biggest lie to which I fell was that I could still live a sinful lifestyle yet be a child of God!

Dogmatists say that living Christlike is legalism. That's true if a person is not a born-again Christian, but a lie of Satan if anyone already is! Legalism is what's called "works salvation". Some believe that by being "good", as discussed before, is a ticket to Paradise. That's legalism and the Pharisees, called "vipers" by Jesus, tried it that way. However, a Christian trying to be as Christ is NOT legalism, it's obedience!

James 2:14 "What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?   17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.  20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?  26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."

 

"Faith "complemented by "works" is perfect! What works? 1) Love God, 2) love others, 3) spread the gospel. 1) is The Greatest Commandment, 2) is likened into it and 3) is The Great Commission. The Greatest Commandment has already been discussed, but what is The Great Commission?

 

Before we look at the latter, examine firstly, what God says about "works":

 

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

 

Jesus said that! Those who love Him (the saved) are still to keep God's Commandments. That isn't Mosaic Law by any means, but is God's Law which is written on stone tablets and summarized by loving God and others! Jesus was speaking to Christians, not the unsaved. Hence, this is not "salvation by works", but is obedience as a result of belief!

 

Now for The Great Commission.

 

Matthew 28:18 "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost..."

 

This passage was addressed to the apostles to be exact, ministers to Christ. It is applied to us as well because we are all priests:

 

1 Peter 2:9 "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light..."

 

This passage shows our appointment as ministers and that we too are to "shew forth the praises of him who hath called you". We too are part of The Great Commission!

 

Proposal #16: If we are saved there will be evidence of our salvation. That evidence is "works". We are to be as much like Christ as humanly possible. (Sinning does not "unsave" a person, but living a lifestlye in sin is abandoning God in one's life is the path to destruction!)

 

The first step in spreading the gospel is confession: "Hello, my name is Larry and Jesus saved me because he died for me!" That's a good start. We are to confess:

 

Matthew 10:32 "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven."

 

2 Timothy 1:8 "Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God..."

 

There are no secret Christians! We are to testify that Jesus is Lord of our life!

 

Proposal #17: Those whose faith is in Jesus will testify to that faith. They will tell others about Jesus and what Jesus did for them personally. (That's testifying to a personal salvation in contrast to being a "Christian" because a person's parents brought them up that way).

 

The last offering is the significance of The Resurrection; not to be confused with "reincarnation", which is your spirit being restored in a new body and maybe into a different life form. "Resurrection" is a return to life in the same body! Jesus was resurrected. Thomas saw the scars in his hands from his crucifixion. Jesus had the same body, albeit a healthy healed body!

 

John 11:25 "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live..."

 

John 6:40 "And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day."

 

It's then clear that those saved will be resurrected just as Jesus was. To disbelieve that saved persons will be resurrected from the dead denies that Jesus was resurrected. Not only do those who deny resurrection calling Jesus a liar, but they are denying that he was God, who has the power to create and resurrect!  Why would a person even think of being a Christian? It is for hope! Hope in what? Eternal life; that we will be resurrected immortal with a perfect body! That's my hope! That's the reason for my salvation. I will be resurrected because Jesus was and still IS!

 

Belief in the resurrection of the dead is imperative to salvation, being your hope of salvation:

 

1 Thessalonians 5:8 "But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation."

 

What are we saved from? Eternal death! What does that mean to each? We shall have eternal life when we're resurrected. Hence, the resurrection IS the "hope of salvation"! Paul taught about Jesus, but included the resurrection:

 

Acts 17:18: ^"Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection."

 

Jesus is our hope! He was resurrected. Because Jesus was, we have the same hope that we shall also be! Paul believed that belief in the resurrection was critical to salvation because that's where hope lies. The effect is salvation; the cause is hope in the resurrection. The implemention of that cause/effect relationship is the death and resurrection of the crucified Christ!

 

Proposal #17: The hope for resurrection is why we desire to be followers of Christ. It's the incentive given by the Holy Spirit of God to have us desire salvation. (That "hope" is of God and is what John Wesley called "prevenient grace"; God working on your heart before you're a Christian).

Now, to the core argument: Was Abraham Lincoln a Christian?

I can't go there. As was said in Matthew "Judge not lest you be judged!" Abraham Lincoln was held in high esteem by those who know his legacy. Most know him to be a "good" man. He quoted scripture often. He guided the nation based on his interpretation of scripture. Lincoln even attended church!

There's a quip which says "Just because you're in a garage doesn't make you a car." Likewise, "Just because you're in a church doesn't make you a Christian." Furthermore, quoting scripture was not listed as a one of the proposed means to salvation. (I could quote and misquote much scripture before I was a Christian!). However, I will ask these questions:

1) Lincoln never joined a church. He attended, but never joined. When joining almost any church a person must ascribe to the faith. He must testify that he or she believes in Jesus as the savior of mankind.

2) Lincoln never testified to being a Christian according to his presidential secretaries Nicholay and Hay in their many works.

3) Lincoln denied the resurrection when his first son died back in Illinois. I've shown that the resurrection is our hope. (If Lincoln continued to adhere to this, no wonder he was melancholic!)

4) Lincoln never directly spread the gospel, his duty as a "priest" and of The Great Commission.

Lincoln may have turned his life over to Jesus anytime and just not revealed it to those who wrote biographies. He may have come to believe in the resurrection of the dead later in life. He may have had a private Christianity due to his position. I cannot judge. My wish and hope is that he sits there in heaven with Jesus saying "Well done! My good and faithful servant."  However, my point is that "good" men exist as non-believers and that being "good" to obtain salvation is contrary to scripture. However, Lincoln's perceived "goodness" may have been a "work" because he was saved.

We can't judge Lincoln because the documentation isn't there. He never denied Christ although he never professed publicly to being a Christian - and I believe testimony is crucial as a consequence of salvation. (How could anyone who's a Christian saved from eternal damnation, not have joy?)

So as that no one ever doubt my salvation here is my testimony:

1) I'm a forgiven sinner who was saved by the blood atonement of Jesus on calvary.
2) I'm remorseful when I sin and turn to Jesus for continued pardon knowing that  he died for all my sins.
3) I desire to do the will of God. This is the close as I can come to knowing that I love Jesus.
4) I love everybody; albeit I'm intolerant of certain behaviors.
5) I am testifying to the world my belief in Jesus.
6) I endeavor to keep God's commandments as a lifestyle. When I fail I know that God is merciful.
7) I have steadfast faith.
8) My faith is in the truth of Jesus and the general resuurection of the dead.
9) My belief is a personal decision. I did not inherit Christianity nor is it ritualistic.
10) I acknowledge that I'm a sinner and am damned without the grace of God.
11) I believe that Jesus is the Way and only way to be saved.
12) I'm thankful that God had a plan for me and all mankind to save us from our own quest to be as God.
13) This blog is one of my feeble attempts at fulfilling The Great Commission. (Any writers' pride I have hopefully will be forgiven because I am sincere).

There should be no doubt after I'm dead. I am a professing Bible-believing Christian. One may say "But his life wa so filled with sin!" Welcome to humanity! I wish it wasn't so, but it is. Thank you Lord, for your mercy!

 

 

 

 

 

Belonging to a Church: Part 5

As a reminder, the issue of whether Abraham Lincoln was a Christian or not, is what initiated this immediate topic. He was an example of "good". However, the discussion is really not about Lincoln's status as a Christian because he's at one destination or the other already, but whether the reader is truly a Christian. This examination not only reflects on the reader's sincerity, but mine as well.

Certain criteria has been discussed thus far so that each of us can determine our own status as a true Christian. All can be summed up with the the statement "I believe that Jesus is God incarnate who died on the cross in my place and I want to please him!" That belief is "faith".  Herein lies the most important verse in the Bible:

Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God..."

"Grace" is receiving a reward when punishment is what's deserved. That's God having mercy on us! The "grace" referred to is Jesus' vicarious death for everyone! Here we go again with a big word. "Vicarious" means that Jesus substituted for you and I on the cross and shed his own blood and died so that we may have eternal life! That's the most profound act of grace possible! Just think "Would I die for my children?" God relinquished his only begotten Son so that we can live! Do you believe that? I do!

"By grace are ye saved!" Saved from what? Your just deserves. You're sinful and deserve eternal punishment. "But, I've been good you say?" Good isn't "good enough" because if we don't believe in and accept Christ, we are rebellious. The "good man" Abraham Lincoln did what he believed to be "good", but goodness is not what saves us. In fact "being good" is a hindrance.

Luke 7:41 "There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. 42 And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? 43 Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged."

 

Jesus is the creditor. We are the debtor. The first debtor owed the most to the creditor (Jesus). This means that he sinned the most. Jesus forgave both. However, the second person wasn't as sinful as the first. Which one loved Jesus the most? Jesus agreed with Simon "to whom he forgave the most"! Although, it would be foolish to sin appreciably so that we could love Him more, the case is made that by being "good" we may diminish the love we have for Jesus.

 

Personally, I tried to prepare myself to be a Christian by behaving well and doing good. Jesus pitied me! There is no way we can prepare ourselves to be saved. If we do that's called "salvation by works" and Ephesians 2:8 tells us that salvation is "a gift of God". It's disrespectful when we offer to pay for something which our friend who loves us sacrificed and gives us a cherished present. Likewise, it's disrespectful to God when he has given us "free salvation" and we try to pay for it by being "good"! Just accept what he has graciously given!

 

We must believe. Even demons believe in Jesus. If you believe, but do not accept, you are no better than a demon! 

 

Acts 4:10 "Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.

Acts 4:12 "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

 

This is what you must believe! Jesus who died instead of you (for you) is the only way that you are saved. It's a personal acceptance of the grace of Jesus. That's more than the demons believe. That's more than being "good". This is the key to salvation. If you believe this then you have "faith" referred to in Ephesians 2:8. You are "saved by faith"!

 

Those who believe in eternal security quote this verse as evidence that if you believe at some point in time, you're saved (from eternal punishment). However faith is more than a fleeting time of remorse or fear. Faith is enduring!

 

Galatians 2:20 "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."

 

Faith is believing that Christ is who he claims to be (God incarnate) and that he died so that we are saved from eternal punishment and that we, as a result, will have eternal life.

 

Living by faith in Christ is more than a one time event. It's a lifestyle. Your old self was crucified when you were saved. Once you're a new person in Christ, you live for Him! Are you living for Christ right now? You're not "saved again", but if your faith was sincere, you may be restored! However, if you're not living for Christ and are never restored, you aren't for Christ. You are in apostasy. (Another big word!) "Apostasy" is when a person abandons their faith. You once believed, but now you don't. You once loved and accepted Jesus, now you don't. Don't go there! 

 

Colossians 1:22 "In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: 23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister..."

 

Yes, faith is a lifestyle and the Christian "be not moved away from the hope of the gospel"! But some are:

 

Luke 12:10 "And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven."

 

God's Spirit calls a person to repentance. The Holy Spirit is the author of righteous guilt and the sorrow you feel because you're a sinner. We don't determine the time nor date. God does. He knocks at the door and awaits your answer. Jesus says:

 

Revelation 3:20 "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."

 

That "knocking at the door" is God's Spirit beckoning you to believe. If he knocks and you fail to answer, that's the unpardonable sin. You have rejected the Holy Spirit. When he calls we'd all better answer because he may not knock again. You can't keep turning your guest away and expect that guest to return. Especially, when that person loves you and is bearing a gift!

 

The acceptance of Jesus and his sacrifice shows that you love him. The Greatest Commandment, and I keep dwelling on it because it's the hardest is:

Matthew 22:37  "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment."

The demons believe, but they don't love. A Christian who fails to love God misses the boat to salvation. Destiny will couple the unloving person with cohorts in hate. Eternity will be spent where demons reside. Love is achieved by faith. As we do what Christ would have us do we obtain peace and joy. Peace and joy results in love. If you're not at peace and have no joy, love is lacking. Prayer, fasting and dwelling in the Word is the answer.

In Ephesians 2:8 are several proposals:

Proposal #9: A person must believe in Jesus and Jesus only as the way to salvation.

Proposal #10: Salvation is free. You can't be "good enough" and get it.

Proposal #11: We not only are to believe in Jesus, but accept his sacrifice (death); the gift he gave us.

Proposal #12: Faith isn't an instant in time. Faith is a lifestyle and all of us are saved by faith.

Proposal #13: We are to live a life for Christ. That means we live a life as much like Jesus as we humanly can. We obey his commandments: We love God and we love others! we repent of sin as we sin, but yet obey. (Sin is a choice. We don't have to elect it).

Proposal #14: We not only believe in Jesus and he gift he gave, but we love Him for giving His life for us!

Next time will be the conclusion of the proposals. Testimony, works and hope will be discussed.




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Belonging to a Church: Part 4

Remorse! This is next to the hardest. Love is harder, but that's comes later.  Remorse is sincere regret for past wrongs. It's having sorrow for being rebellious against those who love you most. In terms of Christianity, before one is saved they must be just as the honest drug-user in group therapy the first time, "Hi, my name is Larry and I'm a sinner!" People can't be sorry for doing wrong unless that person admits wrong.

Admitting wrong is the problem of mankind. We love ourselves more than God!

Ephesians 5:28 "For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it..."

Yes, psychobabble aside, we all love ourselves, even in desperation where we wish for death! A degree of self-love is healthy. We should cherish what God has created. However, narcissistic love stands in the way of accurate self-perception. We value ourselves with more intrinsic wealth than we're worth. Without God, we have little more value than the quanitity of fertilizer our remains will make: 200 pounds x 20% solids  = 40 pounds or about $15-$20!   This fact demands meekness! Therefore, our worth is almost entirely spiritual and with God we're precious!

2 Corinthians 7:9 (NIV) "...yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. 10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 11 See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter."

Proposal #6: A person must have sorrow because sorrow leads to repentance.

Most skip this aspect of salvation! We aren't sorry we sinned, but sorry that by sinning we're going to hell. True sorrow is feeling empathy for Jesus and what he did in our place! Just what did he do?

Romans 8:3 (NIV) "For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit."

 

Jesus bore the sins of all mankind! He made the ultimate sacrifice. Rather than by the blood of animals each year, Jesus made a onetime blood sacrifice for all time! He, being God, hurt for us, bled for us, grieved for us, felt all alone at his death and then died instead of us. He was innocent of any wrong deed because he was without sin, but he loved us so much he suffered instead of us!

 

Ephesians 5:2 "And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour."

 

Proposal #7: A person must understand that Jesus died instead of those who are guilty so that we don't have to suffer eternal death, and that he did that out of love! That sacrificial love is called grace.

 

Romans 5:15 "But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. 16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification."

 

Here comes the big word "justification". It does NOT mean "just as you had never sinned". That's just an easy to remember definition, but it's not true! "Justification" is the sacrifice of Jesus who paid the price to change our guilt into righteousness.  Yes, our sins are cleansed by justification, but we still did them and we always need to remember from what we were saved! Jesus paid the price for the guilt and we must never forget that we are guilty! Yes, remember that we've all sinned.

 

Romans 3:25 "Whom (Jesus) God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God..."

 

Proposal #8: A Christian must accept Christ's payment for the penalty he deserves as a sinner. We must realize that nothing short of our beleief in the power of Jesus's blood sacrifice made us righteous.

 

Next we'll examine more on being a Christian. It all sounds complicated, but we don't have to know the big words and definitions. It's time now to put everything in perspective before the believer becomes discouraged. We are only to believe and be sincere in our sorrow and faith:

 

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.

 

How are "little children"? They have faith without question. They are accepting at face value. They don't philosophize. They have tender hearts, They are loving. They cry and are sorrowful when they realize they've done wrong. They don't judge others. They are loving! That's how we're to be and all the "big word" descriptions will take care of themselves!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Belonging to a Church: Part 3

It has been established that belief in Christ is essential for salvation and that Jesus is God incarnate. Furthermore, that scripture is God-breathed and what the Bible says about Jesus is true. The truth is that Jesus was born of a virgin and was conceived by the Holy Spirit of God! Since God chose to visit his creation in person as a person. Why did he do that? God came to experience what humans experience. He came to have the same temptations and feelings that we have. He came to die for us just as we must someday die!

To be a Christian is to understand that Jesus died for us! Why would he want to do that? Because we're sinners and he loves us so that he wants us to live forever!  The crucifixion will be discussed later, but first it's imperative that we understand ourselves. Are we "good" or are we "rotten"?

Since we're of the line of Adam, mankind is born sinful.

Romans 5:12 "Wherefore, as by one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned..."

This is original sin. We're born with it. It's our nature being a member of mankind. Adam's sin was pride! We're all prideful!

1 John 2:16 "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world."

If you're alive you're prideful! Adam chose the "world" which is the "lust of the flesh". In his pride Adam (and Eve) sinned. They wanted to be as God. As a consequence, mankind died. Whereas, man was meant to be immortal, because of Adam we're now mortal. Whereas Adam was already in Paradise, he died spiritually and was removed from the Garden. Belief in God is the way and only way that he could have eternal life.

When everyone is born, all have that same sinful nature. When you look upon that innocent baby you think "How can than be?" Just wait a few months and you'll see! Their impulse is to steal, disobey and then lie about it! It's all about pride. Even babies love themselves to the extent that they will do wrong to protect self. It gets worse as a person ages!

If you disagree that all have sinned you need to reflect on your own life. Introspection is in order. "I've been good!" you say! Not by God's standards:

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

Romans 3:10 "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one..."

You're no different than the rest of the gang. Without the saving grace of Jesus you're destined for eternal punishment where you'll suffer with Pharaoh, Herod, Khan, Hitler, Stalin, Manson, Bundy, Dahmer and Gacy. "That's not fair!" you say!  God sets the standards and God judges. His key requirements are that you love him and love others as yourself:

Luke 10:27 "And he (Jesus) answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

Loving God is the way to eternal life and loving others is it's corollary!  Herod didn't love Jesus. Hitler didn't. Gacy didn't? If you're not a Christian, neither do you and as a person without love you're destined to eternal torment just like your brothers in Satan, the prince of this world! You see, Jesus is King! He must be revered and adorned with love. Satan is a pretender to the throne. His realm is earth and he has mastered it by deceit. He thrives on hate and his goal is that we all hate God and each other! Goal almost accomplished! Except for the grace of Christ, it would be!

Many try to enter heaven by being good. I believe Abraham Lincoln was a "good" man. He certainly had great attributes, mostly focused on what he perceived to be "good". I'm sure that he had the same spiritual battles as we had and maybe, due to his public life, displayed integrity beyond the average man. If one could go to heaven by being "good" in most people's eyes, Abraham Lincoln would be sitting on his royal chair right there. However, as an example of man's nature we need to examine the heart.

Fornication is a sin. It's sinful whether a person consummates it or only thinks on it:

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."

You see, sin isn't in the act, it's in the desire! Using that argument we can look at The Decalogue; what's known as God's Law. We all place other things above God. By doing that we break The First Commandment: Exodus 20:3 "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

How about idols? In times of old they made graven images. Today we have electronic images, "selfies", idols (rock heroes, movie stars) and the like.  The Second Commandment is Exodus 20:4 "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image."

When our priorities are on pleasure, we are submitting to the flesh (worldly things). Since Satan is the Prince of the World, by succumbing to temptation we are kneeling to the devil and thus fail God: Exodus 20:5 "Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them".

Then people use God's name as an exclamation. Hundreds of times each day sinners, including Christian sinners, disrespect the Lord by using his name in a casual manner. They break The Third Commandment: Exodus 20:7 "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." Using God's holy name without worshiping him is using it "in vain" (without meaning, casually).

Generally, Christians have adopted The Lord's Day for worship (Sunday) rather than the Sabbath (Friday sunset until Saturday sunset).  That's okay. However, most people including Christians fail to honor The Lord's Day. Few go to church, less pray and study the Bible, and most use it for a day of pleasure. Many work on that day just as any other day. I would venture to say that none of us have reverence for Sunday's dedicated to the Lord. We break The Fourth Commandment every week : Exodus 20:8 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy."

These four commandments are summarized by Jesus with The Greatest Commandment, loving God! (see above Luke 10:27).

Then we look at the sins against our neighbor, the corollary to loving God.

How about your parents? Do you honor them or have you been disrespectful. Were or are you rebellious against what they teach or their rules. Do you despise the very people who love you the most? If so then you're sinning! The Fifth Commandment is Exodus 20:12 "Honour thy father and thy mother."

The Sixth Commandment is Exodus 20:13 "Thou shalt not kill." You've got God on that one! You certainly haven't killed anyone have you?
 

1 John 3:15 " Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him."

 

You're "had" again! If you hate someone you're a murderer. You see, if you don't love a person enough to want the person to have eternal life, you spiritually murdered the person, tenfold worse than physical murder!

 

The others commandments are:

Exodus 20:14 (Seven) "Thou shalt not commit adultery."

Exodus 20:15 (Eight)"Thou shalt not steal."

Exodus 20:16  (Nine) "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour."

Exodus 20:17: (Ten) "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house"

 

If a person is honest they are unloving, idol worshiping, cursing, disrespectful, rebellious, murderer, who is lascivious, a thief, a liar and jealous. Yes, you are one or more, if not all of these. If you've broken one of the laws you are as guilty as breaking them all:

 

James 2:10 "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all."

 

A person who disrespects parents are a sinner just as the murderer. If you don't care for a comparison between you and Stalin, that's pride!  Although his sins were greater, unforgiven sins of all degree qualify people for the punishment they deserve. However, God provides a way out! Although we have rebelled against our maker, he has mercy. (More about that later).

 

Proposal #5: To be a Christian one must admit that they are a sinner and don't deserve eternal reward.

Next we shall look at remorse. Recognizing that we're rebellious against God isn't enough. We must sincerely desire a change of heart. A heart which empathizes with God himself dying on the cross when it should have been each one of us!

 



 

Belonging to a Church: Part 2

Last time believing the divine inspiration of scripture was examined as pertinent to becoming (or being) a Christian. Today we'll examine Christ's claims that he IS God and look at his advent:

Some "Christians" believe that Jesus was a good teacher, moral man, a prophet, or even a created being; some saying a spirit only and others flesh only. To be a Christian it is necessary to believe in the deity of Jesus. If he was just a man, then he had not the power of God to save, and if a spirit, then he didn't really die for mankind on the cross. Was Jesus God? A mere man? A spirit? Let's look at scripture:

John 1:14 ESV "And the Word (Jesus) became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."

John 10:30 ESV "I (Jesus) and the Father are one.”

Colossians 1:15-17 "He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. "

Who is God? Trinitarians believe that God has three personalities; not really three persons. He is God the Father, "I AM"; God the Son, "Jesus" and the Holy Spirit of God. Although the word "Trinity" never appears in the bible, a Trinitarian God is existent in all scriptures and is essential. Trinitarians are monotheistic. We believe in One God; with the name of the tetragrammaton, "JHWH", transliterated later as "Jehovah".  (Just because a person doesn't understand the mysteries of God doesn't make it untrue!). Being Trinitarian is essential for a Christian to be a Christian. Denying the existence of God in any one of his personalities is apostasy!

In Colossians we see that Jesus created everything! "I thought God did that!" you say! My point exactly! Jesus and God are one and the same. They are the first and the last; the alpha and omega.

John Chapter 1 explains that the Word, Jesus, was with God in the beginning. Our eyes cannot look upon the glory of the Father. He is holy, and as such, sinful man is not privileged to look upon him. Therefore, whenever God takes on the form that mankind can see, that's Jesus! He appeared as a cloud, as an angel of God and as a man in the oven with Shadrack, Meshak and Ebednego. However, God's eternal plan for himself was that he take on a body of flesh so he could feel our temptations, pain, sorrow and death. God in the flesh is Jesus, Immanuel (God with us)! (See John 1:14).

Jesus specifically stated "I and the Father are one." He confessed to his own kingship.  Jesus is the "image of the invisible God" as we see from Colossians 1:15. 

Proposal #2: To be a Christian one must believe in Jesus!

John 3:15 :...that whoever believes in him may have eternal life."

Eternal life is the reward for being a Christian. What does it take? Belief in Jesus! Yes, many believe that Jesus existed, that he walked the face of the earth, that he taught and maybe even that he died on the cross. However, belief in Jesus in that manner stops short of what a Christian is to believe. If you don't believe that Jesus is God in the flesh, your belief is in vain!

Jesus put the icing on the cake with this statement:

Mark 6:48-50 (AMP) 48 "And having seen that they were troubled and tormented in [their] rowing, for the wind was against them, about the fourth watch of the night [between 3:00-6:00 a.m.] He came to them, walking [directly] on the sea. And He acted as if He meant to pass by them, 49 But when they saw Him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and  raised a [deep, throaty] shriek of terror. 50  For they all saw Him and were agitated (troubled and filled with fear and dread). But immediately He talked with them and said, Take heart! I Am! Stop being alarmed and afraid."

The Amplified Translation gives the most literal sense of the textus receptus. Therein Jesus says "I AM". What's God's name? "I AM THAT I AM". He has no name! He just IS!

Exodus 3:14a (KJV) "And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am..."

Jesus, while walking on water as only God could do, said "I AM" (God)! How much clearer can it be?

Believing that Jesus is God because the word of God tells us so is a great step! However, if Jesus is God, how did he get here? That leads to the next proposal:

Proposal #3: A true Christian must believe that Jesus was born of a virgin and was conceived by God's Holy Spirit.

Luke 1:27 (KJV) "To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women... 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus..."

35" and the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God."

How powerful! God via the Holy Ghost overshadowed the Virgin Mary because she was highly favored among women and she conceived and delivered Jesus, the son of God!

Do you believe? "Yes", you say! But do you believe this? Jesus IS the son of God and that he was born of a virgin and was conceived by the Holy Ghost? Many "Christians" don't believe this, but from gospel days one must believe this! The Apostle's Creed says this:

2. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.

3. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary

This Apostle's Creed is based on orthodox understanding of biblical canon (God-breathed word). It is criteria to be a true believer in Christ, not because the apostle's said so, but because God said that!

Proposal #4: There is one God with three personalities, all three being God. God is the Father, son and Holy Spirit as we can see from:

Matthew 28:19 (KJV) "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost..."

Here we have the third personality of the "trinity"; the Holy Spirit.  (Note that I use personality rather than person because person might cause some to misunderstand that God is one, but has three different aspects which we call personality).

The next aspect of which we'll examine is that Jesus is the Messiah.

(To be continued)

Belonging to a Church

I had a thought provoking conversation with a friend recently. The issue: Was Abraham Lincoln a Christian? My position is that although God alone knows his heart, his close associates said he never confessed to being a Christian and others say that he never believed in the Resurrection of the Dead. My friend said that he was likely a Christian because he attended a Presbyterian Church. We all know that Lincoln quoted the Bible often in his speeches and writings. Was "Honest Abe" a genuine Christian? Let's examine nothing more than the premises enumerated thus far.

First off, what is a Christian? There are many positions on what it takes to be a Christian. Let's look at some of them:

1) One must be born into a church family.
2) One must be baptized as a baby.
3) A Christian must take a catechism class.
4) Some believe adult baptism defines a Christian.
5) Others that one must confess church doctrine.
6) Some that church attendance is sufficient.
7) Others that belief in Christ is the exclusive requirement.
8) Many believe good works saves.
9) Others profess that God elects those who are saved and that the Christian has no choice.
10) Others are "saved" because it has been the law (Colonial Days)
11) Others contend that one must worship in the methods of the early church.
12) Some believe that secret knowledge is required.
13) One must belong to a particular denomination or sect.
14) Some propose that a salvation is when you consider your sinful life and desire change.

I could keep on going, and this list is far from comprehensive. It does represent many modern denominations and sects. My earliest "salvation" occurred in a liberal Methodist Church where the reverend announced to the congregation that I was "saved" because I had just got an "A" in catechism class. A friend of mine in the same denomination said he was saved because he attended regularly. I asked another Methodist what it takes to get saved and he replied "I don't know how they do it!" I'm not picking on Methodists, but that's where my experience lies! (Methodists do teach personal salvation and many Methodists are evangelical Christians, but liberalism lies strongly within that denomination. More later on liberalism).

Therefore, to settle whether Abraham Lincoln was a Christian or not we must know what a Christian IS.  Where can we expect to find out? Although many Christians disagree, I suggest we turn to scripture! "Christians" disagree, even on that, because some don't believe that scripture is "divinely inspired"; God's word revealed to man! Is it or isn't it?

2 Peter 1:21 (ESV) "For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."  

1 Corinthians 2:13 (ESV) "And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual."  

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV) "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. "

1 Corinthians 2:4 ( ESV) "And my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power..."  

2 Peter 1:20 (ESV) "Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation."  

 

If a "Christian" fails to believe what was written by our early church fathers who knew Jesus and talked to Him daily, those may as well quit reading right now!  Their heart may be too stubborn to believe! Just as modern legal documents called "witness statements" are acceptable evidence in trying cases, written scripture does the same. If the existence of Jesus was tried in a modern court, scripture and history would prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he lived. Furthermore, the same witness statements would testify to the authenticity of his miracles; miracles which only could come from God!

Hence, a Christian believes that scripture is divinely inspired. Those churches which teach that the Bible is merely the words of man deny the testimony of Jesus's contemporaries; those who died because they were so certain that Jesus IS God that they died horrible deaths rather than recant.  Divine inspiration, "god-breathed", is a standard for the establishment of biblical canon. Orthodox theology has always taken canon as sacred scripture and canon is "god-breathed scripture! Modern churches which in effect call the apostles "liars" are not the true church. Although many true Christians may attend those churches they are in danger of being deceived.

What churches are those? It's mainline non-evangelical protestant denominations which are liberal or progressive in belief. They claim that "the Bible is not considered a collection of factual statements, but instead an anthology that documents the human authors' beliefs and feelings about God at the time of its writing—within a historical or cultural context." (Wikipedia). Most denominations believe in divine inspiration, but not divinely dictated. That belief is that God planted the message (truth), but the authors wrote truth in their own vocabulary reflecting their own personality. The message is still God's, but the style is the writer's.

One church stands out as rejecting divine inspiration. That's the Unitarian-Universalist Church. However, many mainline denominations have been contaminated by Unitarianism. Those are the liberal or progressive churches. Most members of churches, such as the United Church of Christ and the Presbyterian Church USA, don't believe in divine inspiration notwithstanding their own official doctrines which teaches divine inspiration in some form.

Proposition #1: To be a Christian one must believe that the Bible is the actual truth of God written by those who had personal communication with God. For The Old Testament God spoke to man in visions, dreams, actual words and thoughts. In The New Testament God (Jesus) physically spoke to and taught the apostles who wrote his words. Those inspired tests written after the ministry of Jesus were written in visions; this being the Book of Revelation.

(To be Continued)

 

 

Astrology: syncretism

I notice that many Christians look at their daily horoscope. It's got to be good. Right? It's there in the paper next to Billy Graham's syndicated column. Not so! It's there because it too is a religion. Those who participate in multiple religions are syncretic. Jews, for thousands of years, were syncretic. They not only worshiped the one true God, but flirted with pagan Gods as well.

Deuteronomy 4: 14 "And the Lord commanded me (Moses) at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it. 15 Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: 16  Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female, 17 The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air, 18 The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth: 19 And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven."

Those who look beyond God for solace and comfort have corrupted themselves. Lifting up ones eyes toward celestial bodies for guidance is as corrupt as graven images, beast worship, or fish worship, all of which the Egyptians did!  You say "I don't worship the stars. I merely read the horoscope for entertainment!" I ask "Would you read the Koran for entertainment?" Unlikely.

The horoscope is a prediction of a person's future based on the alignment of celestial bodies. Hence, the reading of the horoscope is soothsaying!  Astrologers use the horoscope in their study of the stars and constellations. Astrology is the study of the bodies as effects human behavior. The astrologer predicts people's outcomes based on the positions of those bodies. It's a cause and effect relationship. Rather than your life being in God's will, you're a product of the gravitational pull of stars and galaxies. In effect instead of faith on God, those who read horoscopes put theri faith in material bodies. Although they are not graven images, they are likenesses of male and female pagan gods and goddesses.

The practice of astrology is a violation of The First Commandment "Thou shall have no other Gods before me."  "Well", you say, "I put God first." "Before" doesn't mean "prior to"; it means "in God's presence or in his face"!  When a person reads the horoscope they do it in God's face. He's appalled! Those who believe in or practice astrology are in effect spitting in God's face, because God commands that it's not to be done!

The Jews weren't punished for failing to worship God, they were punished for worshiping other gods alongside the One True God! That's a critical thought! Christians must never participate in popular activities associated with other religions. Examples are: horoscopes, yoga, the martial arts, meditation, positive affirmations and the like.  There is much more, all similar to the following:

Jeremiah 8:2 "And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth."

 

Remember that relying on the horoscope is soothsaying (fortune-telling). Here's what God says about that:

 

Micah 5:12 " And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers: 13 Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands."

 

Yes, soothsaying is as bad as witchcraft. That's what it is!  It's serious business for Christians because there is spiritual war going on. We're battling with principalities (dark angels).  If humans dabble with the occult, humans lose! It's just the way it is! However, if we obey God and his commands  we'll separate ourselves from occult practice and God will shield us!

 

People always say "I don't take it seriously!"  "In vain" means "without value"! Since we're not to use God's name frivolously, I might add, it's provocation to participate in false religions in vain!

 

Archeologists have said that ugurats such as the Tower of Babel were towers devoted to astrology. They were structures of twelve levels with each level having colors of the zodiac; and on the top deck were astrological symbols. It's clear that mankind was confused because they dabbled in astrology! That's how important it is to God that we practice no other religion in his face.

 

It's nothing to me, but I hate to see God dishonored! With that said, how do you think God feels about such blatant irreverence? He told us not to do it, but we just can't stay away from stuff which is an abomination to him! I'm glad we have a merciful God!