cross – Page 5 – Media 4 Life Ministries

For unto us a Child is born…

“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” Isaiah 9:6, 7

“For unto us a child is born” This glorious prophecy of the birth of the Messiah reminds Israel that the victory bringing Messiah would be a man. The Messiah could have been an angel. The Messiah could have been God without humanity. Neither of those options would have qualified the Messiah to be our Savior and High Priest as Jesus was. The Child had to be born.

“Unto us a Child is given” This Child would be a man, but more than a man. He is also the eternal Son of God, the Second Person of the Godhead. Theoretically, the Messiah didn’t have to be God. He might have been a sinless angel, or merely a perfect man like Adam. Neither of those options would have qualified the Messiah to be our Savior and High Priest as Jesus was. The Son had to be given.

“And the government will be on His shoulder” Ultimately, this will be fulfilled in the Millennium, when Jesus Christ will rule the earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords ( Revelation 20:4-6, Psalm 72, Isaiah 2:1-4, Isaiah 65:17-25, Zechariah 14:6-21.) We are still waiting for the ultimate fulfillment of this promise.

“His name will be called” This is not be mistaken as the literal names of the Messiah. Instead, these are aspects of His character, they describe who He is and what He has come to do.
The Messiah is “Wonderful” The glory of who He is and what He has done for us should fill us with awe and wonder. No one can really look at Jesus, know Him, and be bored. He is “Wonderful” and will fill our heart and minds with amazement.

The Messiah is our “Counselor” Jesus is the One fit to guide our lives, and should be the Christian’s immediate resource as a counselor. Jesus can help us with our problems. He may use the presence and the words of another Christian to do it, but Jesus is our “Counselor”

The Messiah is “Mighty God” The God of all creation and glory, the Lord who reigns in heaven, the One worthy of our worship and praise.

The Messiah is the “Everlasting Father” The idea in these Hebrew words is that Jesus is the source or author of all eternity, that He is the Creator Himself. It does not mean that Jesus Himself is the Person of the Father in the Trinity.

The Messiah is the “Prince of Peace” He is the One who makes peace, especially between God and man.

From His names and character/attributes, verse 7 goes farther into the future, into the millennial reign of Christ.

“Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end” The reign of the Messiah will not last merely 1,000 years, though the millennium is a special aspect of His reign. There will be no end to the reign of the Messiah, and He will rule for all eternity.

“Upon the throne of David” Jesus will rule on David’s throne, and over his kingdom that is Israel. This is a fulfillment of God’s great covenant with David in 2 Samuel 7.

Jesus Christ can be the Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace for everyone now. One day, these offices will be imposed upon the world. For now, they are real for those who receive Jesus and submit to Him. Have you surrendered your life to Him? Jesus is coming again to set up His kingdom here on earth. At His first coming, He came as the Passover lamb, at His second coming, He will come as the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

Which one would you rather meet, the lamb or the Lion? Jesus will come in judgment, He will judge the world in righteousness, those who rejected Him will face judgment at the great white throne of God. Do you think that you can face God and defend your life before Him? Those who put their faith and trust in Jesus will not face the great white throne judgment. Believers in Christ have the imputed righteousness of Christ and God the Father will not look upon their sins, they are forgotten as far as the east is from the west.

If you are not sure if you go to heaven or hell, call upon Jesus and ask Him to come into your heart, He will forgive you, no matter how bad you may think you are. The only unpardonable sin is to reject Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. He laid down His life for you, so that you can have eternal life and be with God forever. It is a choice everyone has to make, whether they believe it or not. God is real and death is real, physical death will come to all, no one is excluded. Are you sure that there is nothing after you die? How can you be sure? Jesus has told us of the afterlife, what happens to those who reject God and it is not a pretty picture, eternal separation from God.

Eternity is a long time. I hope and pray if you have not received Jesus into your heart, stop and think, you may be young at this time, healthy, but things change real fast, sooner than you know you will look back at your life wondering, where did it go? Our spirit will not die, the decision whether to follow Jesus or not can have dire consequences, once a person dies without Jesus, it is too late. Think about it.

“For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” 2Cr 6:2

The Trinity; is it biblical?

The doctrine of the Trinity, simply stated, is as follows: The Bible teaches that there is one eternal God who is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. He is the only God that exists. However, within the nature of this one God are three persons, or three centers of consciousness – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three Persons are co-equal and co-eternal. They are also distinguishable or distinct from one another. These three distinct Persons are the one God. Everything that is true about God is true about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. While the Bible teaches that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Spirit is God it is wrong to say that God is the Father, God is the Son, or God is the Spirit. God’s nature consists of three distinct Persons. Therefore it is incorrect to limit God to one particular member of the Trinity.

We find all three members of the Trinity at the baptism of Jesus.

“As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased”. Mat 3:16, 17

God the Father acknowledged God the Son, while God the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus.
The doctrine of the Trinity was not clearly formulated until after the New Testament was written. However there are anticipations of the doctrine in the Old Testament. A hint of the doctrine of the Trinity can be found in the first verse of the Bible. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Gen 1:1

The Hebrew word for God is Elohim. Elohim is a plural noun but it is used here with a singular verb bara. In the remainder of the Old Testament, when Elohim speaks of the true God, it is always used with a singular verb. The conclusion to be drawn is that in some sense God is both singular and plural. The doctrine of the Trinity states this – within the nature of the one God there are three eternal persons. We find a further hint of the Trinity in Genesis 1

“Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth” Gen 1:26

The phrase “let us” again gives the idea of plurality. The word “Us” cannot refer to angels because angels do not create.
Therefore, in the first chapter of the Bible we have a hint of the Trinity with the plural title Elohim used with a singular verb and God speaking and saying, “Let Us.”

The words “Let Us” is used elsewhere of God speaking in Genesis. After Adam and Eve sinned the Bible records.
Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever.” Gen 3:22

At the incident at the Tower of Babel we read God saying.
“Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” Gen 11:7

Isaiah the prophet recorded God saying.
“Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me” Isaiah 6:8

There is one statement in the Old Testament that gives a fairly clear indication of the Trinity.
“Come near me and listen to this: “From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret; at the time it happens, I am there. “And now the Sovereign LORD has sent me, with his Spirit. This is what the LORD says – your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.” Isaiah 48:16, 17

In verse sixteen, God the Son is speaking. He identifies the Father [the Sovereign Lord] and His Spirit as having sent Him. In the next verse, the Son is clearly spoken of as the Lord. Consequently these verses identify three distinct Persons who are God without denying the fact there is only one God.

The concept of the trinity is clearly taught in the Bible, there are many more verses in the OT and of course in the NT where the trinity is more explained. People that try to deny the triune nature of God, do so to diminish Jesus and His deity. The baptism of Jesus mentions all three, Father Son and Holy Spirit. When Thomas who was doubting that Jesus had risen wanted proof. Jesus appeared to him: “Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” John 20:27, 28

Thomas clearly calls Jesus God. In Acts we find Peter calling the Holy Spirit God when he confronted Ananias about his deceit: “But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? “While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” Acts 5:3, 4

Peter clearly calls the Holy Spirit God. There is one more example, in the account of Steven who was the first martyr we read this: “But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” Acts 7:56, 57

Here we can clearly see that the Holy Spirit was indwelling Stephen, God the Father on the throne and Jesus standing on the right side of the throne to receive Stephen.

The trinity or triune nature of God is clearly taught in the Bible and was not made up later as some claim, there are some religions like Islam, Cults and even some Christian denominations who would deny the trinity. I personally can not see why anybody would or can deny the trinity given the overwhelming evidence in the Bible about the triune nature of God.

Objections to the Trinity answered (paulmarcelrene.wordpress.com)
Peaceful Christianity? (media4lifeministries.wordpress.com)

Faith; a gift of God

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Heb 11:1

Many people claim to have faith, faith in something or someone, but what is faith from a biblical perspective? Can faith be proven or can it be seen? God’s word says, that the just shall live by faith and without faith it is impossible to please God. Can a Christian prove his or her faith to an unbelieving world and how do we explain faith? Paul in writing to the church in Corinth writes: “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1Cr 2:14

Jesus in speaking to Nicodemus who came to Him at night said: “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3

Jesus is saying, that without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life, there is no way for them to know God or to see things from a spiritual heavenly view. Unbelievers are blind to the things pertaining to God and His kingdom, they cannot see beyond the human realm which the Bible calls the flesh. They go by their instincts, feelings and emotion that are purely from a human level and not a divine level.

Most people live by what they can see touch or smell and they disregard faith as something childish or foolishness. Many Atheist are very outspoken these days about people of faith, especially the Christian faith. I like what Norman Geisler once said in his book: “I do not have enough faith to be an Atheist.” What is this faith within the believer, is it something that can be learned or can be earned by some kind of practice or ritual? Where does this faith come from? Christians walk by faith, a faith that was not earned or attained.

I believe that faith is a gift of God just as salvation is a free gift of God for those who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Before anybody was a true believer and disciple of Christ, they walked in darkness just as everybody else. I came to Christ pretty late in life, at the age of 46 years. What took me so long, and why wasn’t I a believer much earlier in my life? Certainly I had heard about Jesus, and that He died on the cross for my sins. I heard about His resurrection from the dead and that He promised eternal life to those who would believe and follow Him. I’m pretty sure that most people know John 3:16.

It seems that knowing about Jesus and reading about Jesus is not enough. There are many people saying: “I think He was a good man and a great teacher.” They put Him in the same category as Buddha, Krishna and others. And that is as far as most people will go, they refuse to come any closer towards the truth of God that would set them free. Why is there such hostility towards Christ? Why would people not receive Christ by faith and the forgiveness of their sins by repenting of their former ways? God’s promise is forgiveness and eternal life. Could it be because there is no faith nor hope in them, unless God draws them? “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Eph 2:8

How come that some received grace and some not? Did God predestined some to be saved and some not? I do not believe that God has chosen some unto salvation and some to hell for eternity (although He knows in His foreknowledge who would come to Him and who not). People have a free will to choose, and that those who reach out to God asking Him for forgiveness will be saved by His grace. I can only go from my experience, how I came to the Lord. I can’t speak for others, everybody has their own unique story. I’m not going into a long-winded story, but I had a severe alcohol problem, and my life was going downhill real fast. I would go on binges days upon days drinking until I would be sick. I took me about a week to get better after these binges and a couple of weeks to get back to drinking resulting in another collapse. Well, long story short, one Sunday morning, May 14th 2006 to be precise, I hit rock bottom. I sat on my patio chair feeling pretty lousy and I remember as if it were today, I cried out to God saying, “please help me, I don’t want to be like this anymore, please God help me I am sorry.” From that moment on, my life completely changed, I was still feeling sick, but something happened, something I can’t fully explain. God took the desire of drinking away and I have not had a drink or desire to have a drink one ever since.

That day God changed me, He transformed my life. There used to be twelve packs of beer in my car and Ozzy on my radio. That all changed that day, I went and bought a Bible. Not knowing anything about which translation to get, the first Bible I bought was a NASB version. I’m using the NKJV now, but have others as well to get a better flavor on some passages. I was reading everyday and because I didn’t work at that time and spent all day and night reading God’s word. Looking back, I know that the moment I cried out to God that He saved me from a life of destruction, and the transformation within me started.

Did I have true faith at that early stage? To be honest I don’t know. What I do know is that reading the word of God brought me closer and closer to Him. I had a change of mind which came through His word. His word ministered to me. Reading the Bible and studying it, showed me without a doubt that I was reading the truth and that God had a wonderful plan for my life. Faith came by reading the word of God just as it say’s it in the Bible. “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Rom10:17

Today, I have absolute faith in God. It is not a “blind faith” as many atheist like to call it. I know in my heart that God is the truth and that He is faithful. He keeps His promises, and one day I will see Him face to face. Can I prove faith to an unbeliever? Maybe not, but I believe that faith can be shown by the conduct and behaviors of Christians in the world. Genuine faith brings forth good fruit.

Many will laugh at believers and mock them, but the genuine believers have a blessed hope of salvation and eternal life. They have the peace of God that surpasses all understanding, something the unbeliever searches for but will not find apart from God. Jesus explained why many will resist Him and fight tooth and nails against His Lordship: “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. “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. “For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.” John 3:16-20

The unbelievers are already condemned because they do not want to acknowledge God. Many want to keep living in darkness, they want to live a life without being accountable to anyone. They love the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life.

The Atheist Dilemma (media4lifeministries.com)
Looking unto to Jesus… (media4lifeministries.com)

Jesus or Muhammad?

Muslims around the world believe that Muhammad and Jesus/ Issa were prophets of God. The Muslims however regard Muhammad as the greater prophet.

My question to my Muslim friends is, if Muhammad was the greatest prophet, why was there no prophesy given of his coming? Not even one? The first coming of Jesus was prophesied long beforehand by the prophets of God in the Holy Scriptures. There are more than 300 prophesies concerning the first coming of the Messiah Jesus i.e. Yahshuah which means “God is salvation”. there are over 300 prophesies that were fulfilled by the Messiah. Why is there not one prophesy concerning the greatest prophet of them all, Muhammad? I find that very odd.

If God or Allah as the Muslims call him gave us so much information in His Holy Book about Jesus, why not once did He give us any indications of the coming of Muhammad? If we compare Jesus and Muhammad, we find that Jesus performed miracles. He healed the sick, made the blind see. He cast out demons and raised the dead. He set the captives free. He rebuked nature. He forgave sins, something only God can do. To top it all off, He died for the sinners by shedding His own blood on the cross. He than raised Himself from the dead and ascended to heaven. He overcame death and defeated sin. He promised that those who would believe in Him would have their sins forgiven and have eternal life, to be for eternity in Heaven with Him.

Did Muhammad do any miracles at all, did he heal the sick, made the blind see? Did he raise the dead, was he able to forgive sins? When Muhammad died did he raise himself and ascended to heaven? Jesus’ tomb is empty. Muhammad’s bones are still in his tomb in the Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (Mosque of the Prophet) in the city of Medina. Muhammad thought that he was demon possessed. Jesus cast out demons. Jesus who was sinless taught His disciple and followers to, “love one another as I have loved you”. He came as prophesied to die for the sin of the world. He who knew no sin became sin for us. He gave His life because God loved us so much that He gave His only begotten Son. Muhammad on the other hand conquered with the sword and killed those who would not convert to Islam. Muhammad did not teach love but hate. Many Muslims would say that their religion is a religion of peace. Looking at the world and the history of Islam, I think it is quite the opposite.

Jesus came to give us eternal life and peace. As Christians we know that we have eternal life through Christ because of His sacrifice and our faith in His finished work. Ask any Muslim if he or she will go to heaven, and they are not sure if they will. They don’t know if they are good enough to apeace Allah. That to me is no security at all. The Bible, the word of God gives the Christians assurance of their salvation. Salvation is a gift of God by His grace through faith and faith alone. No one can be saved by doing good works or by working themselves into heaven, trying their best to somehow please God and hopefully God will accept their good works. God clearly said: “They have all turned aside, They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one.” Psalm 14:3. And in another place He said: “But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.” Isaiah 64:6

No one, none of us can stand on his or her own righteousness, God regards our righteousness as filthy rags. Thanks be to God who imputed the righteousness of Christ onto the believers. Christians stand in the righteousness of Christ and not on their own. How glorious is that? My Muslim friend, consider Father Abraham. He believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness as it is written in the good book: “And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.” Genesis 15:6.

The Apostle Paul addresses justification through faith in his epistle to the Romans:

“For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.” Romans 4:13.

“He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Romans 4:20-22.

Paul goes on to say that it was not only imputed onto Abraham but to all that come by faith: “Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.” Romans 4:23-25.

Believing in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior justifies the sinner before God. It is not what we have done, but what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. The blood of Jesus cleanses the sinner from all unrighteousness. King David knew this very well after his sin with Bathsheba: “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit.” Psalm 32:1, 2.

The blood of Jesus was sufficient for the to the Father. He has forgotten every sin that was committed and He will not remember them. “For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear (reverence) Him; As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:11,12.

My Muslim friend do you have that kind of assurance from Allah and his prophet Muhammad in the Quran? Can Muhammad give you forgiveness and eternal life? Can he wash your sins away and cleanse you from all unrighteousness? If you are not sure that you will go to heaven, don’t you think that is pretty risky not knowing were you will end up? Consider Jesus/Issa and His words. He is the only one that can reconcile you or anyone to the Father. He is the only way to the Father. But we must come through Him. I pray that you my Muslim friend would pick up the Bible the holy scriptures of God and get to know Jesus. Why He came and why He will come again for the believer and set up His kingdom here on earth. Not knowing were you are going for eternity, either heaven or hell, does that not scare you? Read the word of God and you will find Him. He will reveal Himself to you because He loves you and does not want you to perish.

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6

Jesus Christ; our Propitiation (media4lifeministries.wordpress.com)
The Muslim Dilemma (media4lifeministries.wordpress.com)
Christianity; the oldest “religion” in the World. (media4lifeministries.com)

“Jesus Wept”

“Jesus wept.” (John 11:35) That is the shortest verse in the entire Bible, yet those two words are so profound and powerful. Why did Jesus weep? Might it be because Jesus seeing Martha and Mary in such a grief and anguish over the loss of their beloved brother Lazarus? Jesus already knew that He would raise Lazarus in just a few moments, but He still wept.

I believe that Jesus felt compassion, seeing the grief death causes to those who have lost a loved one. Death is not natural and came into the world because of the disobedience of Adam and Eve. Their sin caused first of all spiritual death i.e. eternal separation from God, and secondly physical death. When God made Adam and Eve, He made them perfect, they were sinless and in communion with him. They had a relationship that was close and intimate, and I believe that they would have lived forever in eternity with God, if it were not for that one-act of disobedience. Just think about it, one sin and they were banished from the garden. God gave them the world and they forfeited it to Satan by their disobedience and listening to the deceiver rather than God. Sin brought forth death and with it dire consequences, the first murder, Cain killing his brother Abel.

I can just imagine how Adam and Eve must have felt seeing the death of Abel by his brother as a result of their sin. And as we know things got worse from there, being separated from God, people lived after the flesh and the works of the flesh are evident even today: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like (Gal 5:19-21).

I believe that at the time of Jesus, people had lost hope and Jesus seeing this wept out of compassion for them. People were lost and felt helpless. Jesus came for that very reason, to reconcile mankind to God, to die for the sin of the world and overcome death so that those who believe will have eternal life with God. Jesus loved Martha and Mary and He raised Lazarus from the dead, not only for their benefit but for ours also.

Jesus demonstrated His power even over death. Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. “And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25, 26.

We may all die physically, but the spirit of the believers will be with Jesus at the moment of death. Mankind is lost and it is by the mercy and grace of God, that He has sent His only begotten Son to die in our place. When Jesus saw the anguish and pain in the faces of Martha and Mary, He wept for a moment, but knowing full-well that He a few days later would lay down His life for them. Jesus loves us so much that He became sin for us and willingly went to the cross and faced the wrath of God which was reserved for us. He did for us what we could not do for ourselves, He paid the price and appeased and reconciled us to God the Father.

“For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.” Romans 5:17-19.

That is glorious news in which we as believers can rejoice in. Believers in Jesus Christ are justified before God and the righteousness of Christ was imputed onto them. We as believers have nothing to fear, death can not hold us and Satan has no more power over our lives (unless we let him). Just as Jesus wept over the condition of man, so should we have the heart of God for our fellow-man, the once that are lost and without hope. Seeing the condition of the world should bring us to tears, weeping as Jesus did. It should make us wanting to share the gospel the good news about Jesus and the salvation through Him. Do we have the compassion Jesus had for the lost? Are we willing to share with our friends and neighbors about the coming judgment, or are we just plainly satisfied with our own salvation? I hope that we all have a heart for the lost and are eager to share the gospel of truth with them.

I hope that we all have the heart of God, the compassion, the mercy, the love that He demonstrated for us by going to the cross. “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.” John 3:16

Peaceful Christianity?

Throughout Church history there have been times of peace. The early apostolic church suffered from very heavy persecutions under Nero, who was trying to wipe out the church and killed many, but instead of wiping out the church, the church grew. The early church continued suffering persecution until Constantine embraced Christianity. Unfortunately Constantine compromised with the world and kept many of the pagan symbols and customs of various religions in order to unite all people under the banner of Christianity.

At that time there was relative peace in the Empire and the known world. When the Roman Catholic church came into existence in the 4th century, there was relative peace, but they also lorded over the people and kept them in darkness. People didn’t have Bibles on their own to read and they followed whatever the Pope and the Priest would tell them, many things that had and have no biblical grounds and it was taught in Latin. In the pre- reformation period, the Roman Catholic Church persecuted and killed those who translated the Bible into English.

Later with the reformation at the time of Luther, many suffered persecution and death. The reformation gave the word of God back to the people into their own hands. People were finally able to read the Bible in their own language and they learned from it that salvation is by God’s mercy and Grace. Luther re-introduced the biblical teaching that was lost, that “the just shall live by faith.” Something that the Roman Catholic Church did not teach then and even until today. They still teach that salvation is based on works, good behavior and continues membership in the Roman Catholic Church.

There always have been some kind of persecutions throughout the history of the church. In the 20th century alone, more Christians have been persecuted and killed worldwide then in the 19 previous centuries. Christian are persecuted in the Middle East, Africa, China and many other places. In the US for example there is relative peace to worship and live as a Christian at this time, which may change in the future. The problem with “peaceful Christianity” is that it can lead some Christian’s to become complacent and comfortable.

The believers that are persecuted worldwide, live out their faith, even unto death. The church has always grown under persecution. For example here in the US we have Bibles, we have technology to reach the world, but for whatever reason, there are still many unreached people. Why is that? Have we become comfortable and complacent? Unless someone goes into those unreached areas and preaches the gospel, how will they know about Jesus and the free gift of salvation? Many sit in the pews on Sunday’s and think, well, that was my service for the Lord and they go on with their busy lives during the week.

That maybe peaceful but at the same time very comfortable and complacent. Jesus Himself said this: “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33.

There can be peace for a Christian, but that also means that they may have compromised with the world. If anyone anywhere in the world lives and proclaims the name of Jesus and teaches biblical principles, he or she will face some kind of persecution on way or another, either from the government, religious leader and people in general.

“Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” 2Timothy 3:12.
Here is a so-called Christian (I chose him just as an example) that has compromised the Gospel and compromised with the world: The Archbishop of Canterbury. “Dr Rowan Williams also criticized Christianity’s history for its violence, its use of harsh punishments and its betrayal of its peaceful principles.” That in part is true, I can not make any excuse for the history of the Church, some terrible things were done in the name of the Lord.

But were those crusaders real biblical Christians? Or the inquisitions led by the Roman Catholic church, real biblical Christianity? I think not. Many horrible things have been done throughout the history by the organized church. Just because someone or a denomination calls themselves Christian, does not necessary make it so. Jesus never told His followers to kill and overthrow governments or persecute those who do not agree with certain dogmas. He said: “love your enemy, do good to those who hate you”.

Dr Rowan Williams also said the Christian belief in the Trinity; “that God is Father, Son and Holy Ghost at the same time – “is difficult, sometimes offensive, to Muslims”.
“Trinitarian doctrine conflicts with the Islamic view that there is just one all-powerful God.”

Considering his influence as a church leader, maybe he could reach out to the Muslim leadership and community and explain why Christians believe in a triune Godhead i.e. the Trinity. The concept of the triune nature of God is found in the very first page of the Bible in the book of Genesis. We as Christians believe in One God, we are monotheist. The Gospel of Jesus Christ and salvation through Him alone is offensive to many, including Islam, Atheist who really are Anti-theist and many that do not want to believe or are blinded by the god of this age.

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 1Cr 1:18.

We can either compromise with the world, being quiet trying not to offend anyone, or we can speak the truth in love to those who will perish without the Son. Let us pray that many around the world would have their eyes opened through the love of Christ. It is all about Jesus, not a church or denomination, we follow Jesus, not the teachings and opinions of man.

The humbleness of Jesus

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:1-3, 14.

Some of the most beautiful passages in all of the Bible. Jesus, second person of the triune Godhead became one of us. God became flesh and dwelled (tabernacled) among us. That is something to meditate on and to grasp. Jesus, even before the foundation of the world already knew that He would become one of us and to voluntarily lay down His life for mankind.

“He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.” 1Peter 1:20, 21.

Jesus came despite the fact that He would be rejected by His people, He came into the world as prophesied long before by the prophets. He became the suffering servant spoken of in Isaiah 53. It blows my mind, thinking about Jesus becoming one of us, because God’s love for us is so big that He gave His only begotten Son. “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.” John 3:16.

God in the flesh, who died for the sin of the world. He was full of grace mercy and love. He demonstrated the love of God on the cross at Calvary. His ministry lasted only about 3 1/2 years and He healed the many sick and forgave their sins. He showed love to everyone, without any partiality.

Although He is God, at that time He humbled Himself. Paul put it this way: Let “this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Phl 2:5-8.

Jesus was in full obedience to the Father, fulfilling the plan of redemption for mankind. This humbleness is something to be behold and comprehend. Even the night before His death on the cross, Jesus was the servant. The disciple on many occasions, argued who would be the greatest among them. Jesus knew man’s heart and He gave the disciples an example that night, that they would never forget.

“Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.” John 13:3-5.

It was custom in the middle eastern culture to wash the feet of guest before entering the home. It was regarded however one of the lowest task. Here Jesus who is God in the flesh, stoops down and washes the feet of the disciples. I think they must have felt pretty bad, considering that they argued so many times about who’s being the greatest. Jesus was giving an illustration and He explained it to the disciples after Peter wanted no part of the washing, acting like he was so much more humble than the other disciples over there.

“Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me. Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean.” So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? “You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. “For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.” John 13:8-15.

Jesus makes a point here, the believers in Him are already washed of their sins, being human however the believers will not be sinless in these earthly fleshly bodies. All of us who believe need our feet washed, the body is already clean but we walk in the filth of this world. If we do stumble or fall or step into some dirt, Jesus will wash our feet.

Oh, the humbleness of Jesus. I see many so-called servants of God today exalting themselves, the wear fancy religious outfits, giving themselves titles and have others bow down to them. The wear gold, purple robes and live a life of luxury, getting served and love to rule over the people. They are put in offices and exercising power over people. They drive around in a bullet proof car, allowing themselves to be worshiped. There are many that think very highly of themselves. That is not humble and a far cry from what Jesus demonstrated. Jesus my Lord and Savior who is God, humbled Himself. He left the glory of heaven to come down to this fallen world and to redeem man. He shed His blood for us, it is He who should be exalted and not these arrogant puffed up so-called religious leaders. Thank you Lord Jesus for your love and your mercy and grace. I bow my knees before you and thank for your sacrifice
and that by believing in you I will have eternal life and spend eternity with You.

“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” James 4:10.

“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,..” 1Peter 5:6.

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Mat 11:28-30.

Wash my Feet… (media4lifeministries.com)
Looking unto to Jesus… (media4lifeministries.com)

Jesus Christ; our Propitiation

Propitiation, is a word that many liberal Christians do not like at all. What is propitiation? The Greek word is “hilasterion” which means appeasing or expiating. Another meaning for the word propitiation can also be mercy-seat. Paul when writing to the Romans expounded on why the wrath of God would fall on all of mankind who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.

He also makes the point that no one can be saved by the works of the law. The law could make no one righteous before God. The rabbinical teachers of Paul’s days taught that by keeping the law i. e. the Torah with its 613 commandments would save a person.

Paul makes it very clear that no one can keep the law perfectly and that righteousness before God cannot be attained by the works of the law. “Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” Rom 3:20. Righteousness can only come by faith i.e. believing in God and His promises. There is not one righteous, no not one”.

Paul writes: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,…” Romans 3:9. Since there is none righteous before God and the works of the law cannot save a person, how than is someone saved? This is where the word propitiation comes in, God in His mercy and grace provided the atonement necessary to appease Him and justify the believer.

“ But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” Rom 3:21-26

“whom God set forth to be a propitiation, through faith, by His blood.” The phrase “by His blood” is to be taken in immediate connection with “propitiation.” Christ, through His expiatory death, is the personal means by whom God shows the mercy of His justifying grace to the sinner who believes. His “blood” stands for the voluntary giving up of His life, by the shedding of His blood in expiatory sacrifice, under Divine judgment righteously due to us as sinners, faith being the sole condition on man’s part.

Liberal Christians are very uneasy about this wrath of God and that God needed to be appeased. Some of them even go so far to say that the God of the OT is an angry and blood thirsty God and so different from the God of the NT. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The God of the OT is the same God of the NT. “For I am the LORD, I do not change…Mal 3:6. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Heb 13:8.

God who is a just and righteous God has to punish sin, He cannot compromise or overlook sin. Otherwise He would not be a just Judge. In the OT before Christ, God judged people, nations and sin either directly or indirectly. In some cases God used Israel as His instrument through which the judgment came to the pagan nations that surrounded Israel.

In other instances He brought the wrath directly i.e. the flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, the rebellion of Korah and others recorded for us in the OT. In the OT times God gave the nations many warnings through His prophets about His judgment if they would not turn from their sins. God was and is long-suffering, take for instance the Amorites, God waited 400 years before He judged them for their iniquities.

“Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. “And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. “Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. “But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” Gen 15:13-16.

God gave this prophesy to Abram before his son Isaac was even born. We need to keep one thing in mind when unbelievers make the argument that God is a blood thirsty cruel god, who loves to punish people and wipe them out. The nations that God punished in the OT, were the most vile and brutal people. They sacrificed their children on altars to their many gods or burned them. These pagan nations did many ungodly practices that offended the true and living God. Throughout the OT we can read about the judgments of God against these nations and their vile and evil practices, which are also recorded in secular historical writings.

When we come to the NT, God through His Son Jesus the Messiah judged sin once and for all. The sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross paid for the sin of the world. There were no more blood sacrifices needed to atone for the sins of the people of Israel as instructed in the law given to Moses. God provided the sacrifice needed to appease Him and justice was served by the blood of Jesus shed on the cross.

God did what Abraham told Isaac on mount Moriah, when God tested him and ask Abraham to sacrifice his only son. “But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” Gen 22:7, 8.

This is a beautiful picture of what God did 2000 years later on the very same spot. God provided the sacrifice, His son as a propitiation for the sins of the people. The blood of Jesus was sufficient to pay the penalty of sin. The instituted blood sacrifices of animals were done away with, they could only cover sins, the blood of Jesus took away the sins once and for all. The price was paid in full. Believers in Jesus Christ are justified before God by faith in the finished work of Jesus on the cross. God looks at the believers through the blood of Christ and the believer is declared righteous before God because of what Jesus did for them. He did for us what we could not do for ourselves.

It is the imputed righteousness of Christ that is imputed onto the believer. There is nothing that anyone can do to appease God, not by works or any other means. People must come through Jesus Christ, the propitiator, the appeaser that justifies the believer. For those who do not believe in the wrath of God and object the propitiation of Jesus, they will have no excuse at the time of the divine judgment. God has paid a very high price to redeem mankind, the precious blood of Christ.

Those who reject will be judged accordingly and the wrath of God abides on them. These are not my words, but the words of Jesus: “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” John 3:36