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Fig Leaf Religion

Once again I had someone argue with me on my Facebook page about salvation after reading my blog “Faith or Works?” This person believes as does his church that works are required in order to be saved. He cited of course the passage in James chapter 2, which some believe contradicts Paul’s writing in Ephesians chapter 2.

Paul and James do not contradict one another. Paul writes about salvation from God’s perspective and James from a human perspective.

Saving faith in a person should be evident in their lives by the fruit they bear. As Jesus said, by their fruit shall you know them. A genuine believer that is saved by faith should bear good fruit for the kingdom.

It amazes me that there are so many people that cannot and will not receive the free gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. They think that there must be something that they have to do to be saved. I guess some of of it is our human nature, but I have witnessed and seen numerous people spending years to argue that works need to be included. They argue that faith in God alone is not enough and that we have to do something more than just believe.

I don’t see how anyone can come up with a works based salvation message. I cannot find that anywhere in the pages of scripture. It is all God’s work and nothing that we have done. God did for us what we could not do for ourselves. He send His only begotten Son. (John 3:16)

We are all declared sinners before God, not one is righteous on their own. “There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God.” Rom 3:10, 11.

God has declared that ALL of mankind has fallen short of His perfect Holiness. “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Rom 3:23.

It started in garden of Eden when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and they ate from the forbidden tree. That one act of disobedience caused sin to enter the world and the result was a spiritual separation from God. Adam and Eve who once were in perfect harmony with God found themselves separated and soon after witnessed what their disobedience had brought forth, the first recorded murder when Cain slew Abel.

I can only imagine what Adam and Eve must have felt on that day when they saw the outcome of their sin. The result of sin is death. They did not die physically, but they died spiritually. There was nothing that Adam and Eve could do to atone for their sin. They tried to cover up their disobedience with fig leafs, thinking that God would be ok with that. But it was not ok, God clothed them in animal skins, signifying that blood was required to atone for their sins. The blood of an innocent animal could only cover their sins but not take them away. Later when we come to the time of Moses, God instituted blood sacrifices as part of the law.

Just as Adam and Eve covered themselves in fig leafs, so are many people today have a fig leaf religion. They think that they can appease God on their own merit. They think that by their “good works” God will look at them as righteous before Him. That is a false hope, there is absolutely nothing that any of us can do to please God with our works. God provided one way and one way alone and we must receive that way.

The only way provided is through the precious blood of Christ. The shed blood of Christ on the cross was sufficient and acceptable for the Father. Jesus is our propitiation, the passover lamb. He that knew no sin became sin for us and died for us, so that we may live eternally with Him.

To all those who think and teach that faith in Jesus alone is not enough and that certain works are required to earn salvation are gravely mistaken. The law could not justify anyone and no one was or is able to keep the law perfectly. If any of us were able to keep the law, than Christ died in vain. People that want to live a life of bondage to the law are destined to fail. The law is perfect and breaking one of them means breaking all of God’s 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.

Paul wrote to the Galatians: “But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. Gal 3:22-26.

Yet there are those who insist that works are required, the write books about it, they preach from the pulpit and keep their congregation under legalism and bondage. Christ came to set us free from all of that. We are no longer under the law but under grace. The gospel i.e. the good news is so simple, but people have to make it complicated and the put heavy burden on others. This is not what Christ came for and it is not what God wants.

Jesus came to die on the cross for us. He left His place in Heaven to become one of us and to take our sins upon Him. He didn’t have to do that, but God so loves us that He send His Son Who willingly gave His life. That is something to rejoice in and to be thankful for. But what do so many denominations and churches do? They overlook or don’t understand the true meaning of God’s grace and teach others that the have to live by certain rules and regulation in order to be saved.

They have teachings that are not biblical and not be backed up by the scriptures. They twist and turn verses or built their whole theology around a couple of verses, failing to compare scriptures with scriptures. It is no wonder that non-believers sometimes mock Christianity. There are so many denominations and branches of churches out there, teaching different viewpoints and are convinced that the are the only “true church.” There is a lot of confusion out there among the various denominations.

No wonder that Christians look divided, rather than being of one mind. They follow the teachings of men rather than what the word of God teaches.

The only way someone can be saved in by believing in Jesus by faith. It is not Jesus plus, it is Him alone and only through Him and Hid finished work can we be justified before God. It is not our righteousness that God looks at but His righteousness that was imputed onto every true believer. Thank you God for Your mercy and for Your grace. Thank you Father for giving Your only begotten Son.

Thank you Jesus for setting us free from the bondage of law and that you have broken the wall of separation so that we may come boldly before the throne of God.Thank you for giving us Your perfect peace.

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” Rom 5:1, 2.

“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. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.” Rom 3:21-28.

Faith or works? (media4lifeministries.com)
Being Good Does Not Save You! (footsoldiers4christ.wordpress.com)

Father Abraham

So many times I have heard pastors and others say, read your Bible daily, make sure you go to church often. I know people who get up very early in the morning to do their devotionals or have certain routines in their daily walk. Before you misunderstand me, I agree that we as believers should be in the word and study it. I also believe that we need to be in fellowship with one another to sharpen and encourage each other. Prov 27:17.

The reason I’m writing this is because I was thinking about Father Abraham.

The Bible teaches that we as believers in Jesus Christ are sons and daughters of Abraham. “Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.” Gal 3:7.

That made me think, most of us have more than one Bible, we read and study it and we go to church. We have home fellowships and study groups, conferences, conventions etc. We are on the social networks sharing our faith with others and so on. These are all good things and we should and need to share our faith with others that may not yet know the Lord. On the other hand there are many that claim to be Christians that go to church on Sundays, listen to the sermon, give an offering and think they’ve done their duty.

Is that’s what it takes to be a Christian? What about Abraham whose name was Abram when he was called by God to leave his country of Ur and to go to a place God would show him? Abram was a gentile i.e non-Jewish when he was called and through him and his son Isaac the nation of Israel came into existence. Abraham was before the law that came 430 years later through Moses. Abraham did not have the law, the Bible, a church to attend or any of the things that we enjoy today. Yet God declared Abraham justified and righteous.

What was is that made Abraham righteous before God? Was it his works or a weekly routine? Did Abraham do any of those things that get emphasize in the churches today and people feel obligated to do them, thinking that otherwise they are not alright before God?

There are many that feel condemned if they don’t read the Bible for a few days or miss church a few times. Is that what God requires of the believers? I don’t think so.

Now again, don’t get me wrong, as believers we should know the scripture and they should be on the heart of every true believer just as King David said: “Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.” Psalm 119:11.

As I mentioned before, Abraham did not have the scriptures as we know them today. He did not know the written law, but God declared him righteous. Abraham was declared righteous because he of his faith and he believed God and His word. “And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.” Gen 15:6.

Abraham believed God and His promises. It was faith and faith alone and not his works that gave Abraham a righteous position before God. “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.” Rom 4:2.

Just as the Galatians did in the days of the apostle Paul, so many people today think that they are justified because of their works. That is contrary to what the word of God teaches.

“This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?” Gal 3:2, 3.

Believers in Christ Jesus are justified and declared righteous before God because of their faith in the finished work of Jesus on the cross through His blood. He has done it all for us and there is nothing that anyone can do to improve on that by works. It is by faith alone. Believers are saved by His grace through faith. “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:, 9.

Just as Father Abraham believed God, so must we come to Him by faith. The law, works, the physical church or certain denominations cannot save a person, neither can a pastor or anybody else. It is by believing in Jesus Christ that saves a person.

The thief on the cross had a change of mind/repentance in the last moments of his life, no works to speak of, yet Jesus told him that he would be in Paradise with Him. It was faith that saved the thief. And so it is with every believer, we can read the Bible over and over again, attend church 5 times a week, but the only thing that truly saves is faith.

Please don’t stop reading and studying your Bible or stop going to church, that’s not what I am trying to say. I have met so many people in person and online that think that they are obligated to do certain things in order to be alright with God. The only way to be alright before God is to believe.

“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.

Faith or works?

There are some that firmly believe that the Bible is full of contradictions. Are they right, does the Bible contradict itself? The most common one that people use to proof their case the Bible contains contradictions are the writings of Paul and James. Paul in his epistle to the Ephesians writes:

“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, 9.

Paul clearly states that believers are saved through faith in Christ Jesus and His finished work on the cross. Saving faith is a gift and it was given by God to the believers. They cannot earn it by works or any other means. Salvation is truly by God’s grace and through faith in Christ alone.

Wait a minute some argue, what about James, he seemed to think that works are required in order to be saved. Is that what James is saying and people use it to point out a contradiction to what Paul wrote? Paul wrote “not of works.” James mentions works. “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 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.” James 2:17, 18.

An obvious contradiction some would say. But is it really a contradiction? Let me first say that there are no contradictions in the Bible, there might be some words that got lost in translation from the Hebrew or the Greek into English where the translators could have used a different word, but there are no contradictions.

Are these passages in conflict with each other? Did James contradict Paul when he wrote that faith without works is dead? I don’t think so at all. The most simplest way of looking at these two passages is that Paul wrote from God’s perspective or the divine level and James wrote from the human perspective, the human level.

Paul makes it very clear that man cannot save himself. No matter how hard someone might try to reach God by works or religious rituals. Salvation is a free gift of God by His mercy and grace. It is His divine action that saves the believers, not the other way around. God did what we could not do for ourselves. He made the way to be reconciled with Him through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, our propitiation. Many times in the Bible we read “I will.” It is God that saves.

James is saying that someone can say that they have faith which cannot be seen. Anyone can say, I have faith and I believe in God, but they do not show or bear any fruit at all. They may go to church, read their Bibles, look spiritual and act holy but in reality they are unfruitful. They go through the motions and that’s what James is saying, true saving faith should be evident in the believer by how they live and how their faith in Christ produces fruit, some thirty, some sixty and some a hundred fold.

What did Jesus say about faith and bearing fruit? There are many passages of course, I will use the gospel of John to show what Jesus said.

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.: John 15:1-8.

Abiding in Christ is the key, faith in Him and Him alone saves a person, not works. Good works or bearing fruit is the evidence of faith. There are many within the Christian faith that teach that works are required and in order to be saved you have to do this or that. Those are either cults or legalistic people who do not know or understand the grace of God. They are in bondage to themselves. If anyone ever comes to you with that kind of doctrine, point them to the thief on the cross. He had no works to show for that would save him, yet Jesus told him that he would be in Paradise with Him. The thief on the cross believed Jesus and had a change of mind (repentance).

“Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith.” Habakkuk 2:4.

For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Romans 4:3. James 2:23.

“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.

http://hischarisisenough.wordpress.com/2012/03/29/doesnt-james-214-18-make-it-plain-that-good-works-are-required-for-salvation-3/

Fig Leaf Religion (media4lifeministries.com)
What the Bible Teaches About “Good Works” (verticalviewer.wordpress.com)

Hell is for real

Many have raised the question and discussed the existence of a literal place called Hell. Is Hell for real? I believe that it is, in fact Jesus Himself spoke more about the literal existence of Hell than anybody else in the Bible. Another word for Hell is the lake of fire mentioned four times in the book of Revelation. What is that place and where is it?

I don’t think that anyone really knows for sure.

There are some that believe that hell is in the center of the earth, while others believe that it may be far out in the universe i.e. the outer darkness Jesus spoke off. “And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Mat 25:30. This phrase was used by the Lord three times in the gospel of Matthew.

The word Hell appears 32 times in all of the Bible. In the Hebrew the word hell is Sheol. According to the concordance the word Sheol can mean: underworld, grave, hell, pit. The OT designation for the abode of the dead or: 1) place of no return 2) without praise of God. 3) wicked sent there for punishment. 4) righteous not abandoned to it. 5) of the place of exile. 6) of extreme degradation in sin.

In the New Testament which was written in the Greek the word Hell/Sheol is translated as Gehenna. Here is what the concordance list as to what it means: 1) Hell is the place of the future punishment call “Gehenna” or “Gehenna of fire”. This was originally the valley of Hinnom, south of Jerusalem, where the filth and dead animals of the city were cast out and burned; a fit symbol of the wicked and their future destruction.

The Apostle Peter in his second epistle uses the word tartaroo to describe Hell. Concordance: 1) the name of the subterranean region, doleful and dark, regarded by the ancient Greeks as the abode of the wicked dead, where they suffer punishment for their evil deeds; it answers to Gehenna of the Jews. 2) to thrust down to Tartarus, to hold captive in Tartarus.

I believe that Peter used this word because he was writing to a Greek audience and they knew what he meant by the word Tartaroo.

There are many even within Christendom that either flat-out deny the existence of Hell or fail to speak about from the pulpit. Just as many deny the existence of Satan i.e. the Devil. Universalism teaches that there is no Hell and that eventually everybody will be saved. Then there are those that would say, if God is so loving, why does He sent people to Hell?

First of all, God does not send people to Hell, they send themselves there by rejecting His free gift of salvation which is through His Son Christ Jesus. He did not come into the world to send people to Hell, He came to set people free from sin and the white throne judgment of God that all of those who reject Jesus will have to face one day.

“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.

Many people know John 3:16, but many forget to read the other verses to get the full context of what Jesus was saying. God loves us and he demonstrated His love by giving His only begotten Son, but many do not want to believe, do not care or simply reject Him. All have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God (Rom 3:23). All of us have broken God’s divine laws and we deserve punishment.

God by His Mercy and Grace has provided a way to avoid that judgment and that is through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Those who believe by faith will be saved and inherit eternal life. Those who reject will have a different destiny; Hell or eternal separation from God.

Some may say that God does not exist, therefore Hell does not exist. Can they really be sure? Can they be sure hat there is nothing after death? I may not be able to proof the existence of God or Hell to an unbeliever or someone who rejects God completely, but I know that I know that God is for real, heaven is for real and unfortunately Hell is for real.

God does not want anybody to end up in Hell and I believe that He makes every effort to save people from that place. He does this through His word and the witness of others that share the gospel. People have to really harden their hearts before God let’s them go, just as Pharaoh did. It is not God that hardens the hearts of people. God gave Pharaoh many chances to listen to Him, but Pharaoh hardened his heart each time and rejected, until God finally let him go.

I hope that there are many out there that have a soft heart that hear the call and the voice of God. This world as we know it is coming to an end. I don’t know the day or the hour, we are on God’s prophetic time clock. Looking at the world today, it’s a few seconds before midnight.

I’m no expert on Hell either, neither do I want to be, I never wanna see or be at that place wherever it may be. I hope that if you are an unbeliever and read this, not to laugh it off, but to at least think about what Jesus said and what He did. Jesus did for us what we could not do ourselves. He died for you and me, taking our deserved punishment so that we can spend eternity with Him. Eternity is a long time and there are only two destinations; Heaven or Hell. Which one will you choose?

“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.

Sinless Christians?

I have had several people tell me over the years that they are sinless and sin no more. Their argument is that born again believers are a new creation and thus they cannot sin and they have overcome sin through the power of the Holy Spirit. They quote 1 John 3 which says that a believer can no longer sin.

“He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.” 1John 3:9.

Sounds pretty convincing and convicting doesn’t it? Is John saying that a believer cannot sin and if he or she does they are of the Devil?

Let’s go back a few verses: “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.” 1John 3:3-6.

They following contains a few exerts from commentary by John Stott and David Guzik. I ‘m gonna put some closing thoughts at the end.

Sin is lawlessness: John defines sin at its most basic root. It is a disregard for the law of God, which is inherently a disregard for God Himself.

We often fail in the battle against sin because we won’t call it for what it is: lawlessness, an offense against the Great Law Maker, God. Instead, we say things like “If I’ve done anything wrong . . .” or “Mistakes were made . . .” and so forth. Call it for what it is: sin and lawlessness. “The first step towards holy living is to recognize the true nature and wickedness of sin.” (Stott)

You know that He was manifested to take away our sins: John here defined the mission of Jesus Christ at its most basic root – to take away our sins. The angel Gabriel promised Joseph regarding the ministry of Jesus: “you shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sin.” Luke 1:21

Jesus takes away our sin in the sense of taking the penalty of our sin. This is immediately accomplished when one comes by faith to Jesus.

Jesus takes away our sin in the sense of taking the power of sin away. This is an ongoing work in the lives of those who walk after Jesus.

Jesus takes away our sin in the sense of taking the presence of sin away. This is a work that will be completed when we pass into eternity and are glorified with Jesus.

He was manifested to take away our sins: This is the work of Jesus in our life. It is a work we must respond to, but it is His work in us.

We cannot take away the penalty of our own sin. It is impossible to cleanse ourselves in this way. We must instead receive the work of Jesus in taking away our sin.

We cannot take away the power of sin in our lives. This is His work in us, and we respond to that work. Someone who comes to Jesus does not have to clean themselves up first, but they must be willing to have Him take away their sin.

We cannot take away the presence of sin in our lives. This is His work in us, ultimately accomplished when we will be glorified with Him.

In Him there is no sin: Jesus had no sin to take away; therefore He could take away our sin, taking it upon Himself.

Abiding in sin or abiding in God.

Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.

Whoever abides in Him does not sin: Since sin is lawlessness, a disregard for God ( 1 John 3:4) and since Jesus came to take away our sins (1 John 3:5), and since in Jesus there is no sin, then to abide in Him means to not sin.

It is very important to understand what the Bible means – and when it does not mean – when it says does not sin. According to the verb tense John uses, does not sin means does not live a life style of habitual sin. John has already told us in 1 John 1:8. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. In 1 John 1:8, the grammar indicates John is speaking about occasional acts of sin. The grammar of 1 John 1:6 indicates that John is speaking of a settled, continued lifestyle of sin. John is not teaching here the possibility of sinless perfection.

“The present tense in the Greek verb implied habit, continuity, unbroken sequence” (Stott); the NIV has the right idea when it translates these verbs with phrases such as keeps on sinning, continues to sin, and he cannot go on sinning.

Whoever abides in Him does not sin: John’s message is plain and consistent with the rest of the Scriptures. It tells us that a life style of habitual sin is inconsistent with a life of abiding in Jesus Christ. A true Christian can only be temporarily in a life style of sin.

Paul’s teaching in Romans 6 is a great example of this principle. He shows us that when a person comes to Jesus, when their sins are forgiven and God’s grace is extended to them, they are radically changed – the old man is dead, and the new man lives. So it is utterly incompatible for a new creation in Christ to be comfortable in habitual sin; such a place can only be temporary for the Christian.

In some ways, the question is not “do you sin or not?” We all sin. The question is, “How do you react when you sin? Do you give into the pattern of sin, and let it dominate your lifestyle? Or do you humbly confess your sin, and do battle against it with the power Jesus can give?”

This is why it is so grieving to see Christians make excuses for their sin, and not humbly confess them. Unless the sin is dealt with squarely, it will contribute to a pattern of sin that may soon become their lifestyle – perhaps a secret lifestyle, but a lifestyle nonetheless.

What is important is that we never sign a “peace treaty” with sin. We never wink at its presence or excuse it by saying, “Everybody has their own sinful areas, and this is mine. Jesus understands.” This completely goes against everything we are in Jesus, and the work He has done in our life.

Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him: To live a lifestyle of habitual sin is to demonstrate that you have not seen Him (in a present sense of the ultimate “seeing Him mentioned in 1 John 3:2), and that you have not known Him. There are some people so great and so wonderful that seeing them or knowing them will change your life forever. Jesus is that kind of person. (David Guzik)

So, if some claim that they are sinless, are they deceiving themselves? I strongly believe so. As long as we live on this earth in our earthly bodies we cannot and will not be perfect. They only sinless and perfect One is our Lord Jesus Christ. If people could be perfect and sinless on their own, than Christ did in vain. Why do we pray the Lord’s prayer where it says “forgive us our trespasses?” Why did Jesus in His letters to the seven churches ask them to repent? What about the passage in Revelation?

“Then “I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.” Rev 12:10.

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us” 1 John 1:8-10.

American Christianity

I hear about Christians getting slaughtered in Sudan or persecuted and killed in the Middle East by radical Islamist just about everyday. There is a pastor in Iran, Youcef Nadarkhani that has been sentenced to death because he is a believer in Jesus Christ. The Iranian regime, governed by Sharia law gave him a chance to recant his confession in Christ which he did not. This man is a true believer that even though he was threatened with hanging he will not denounce his faith in Jesus. The Iranian regime has also declared that their goal is to wipe out Israel from the map and Ahmadinejad denies that the Holocaust ever happened. I was watching the O’Reilly factor yesterday and the son of Oliver Stone whose name is Sean Stone converted to Islam and is pretty much a defender of Iran and it’s regime.

Newsweek has a bloody picture of Jesus on its front page with the title “War on Christianity.” There is an all out war against Christians around the world. This war is real, in Sudan the Arab radical Islamist from the north slaughter the black Christians in the Nuba mountains which is the border between Northern and Southern Sudan. They kill men, women and children with machetes, burning down churches by the churches. These brothers and sisters in Christ endure heavy persecution and many are facing death by the sword. Christians are hated by radical Muslims and there is no tolerance towards people of a different faith.

Everyday I read the articles and reports about what’s going on and it saddens me to hear and see these gruesome reports that come out of Africa and the Middle East. The Syrian government is killing its own people, Iran will soon have a nuclear weapon to attack Israel and the war against Christianity is becoming a reality. Can we as believers here in the west, especially here in the US even imagine what these brothers and sister have to endure and face everyday? The White House and the President who supposedly is the most powerful men in the world has been silent for the most part on many of these atrocities. Just yesterday Franklin Graham was on Pierce Morgan’s show talking about the crisis in Sudan and how the radical have once again started to bomb the churches in the Nuba mountains.

He also addressed the dire situation the Iranian pastor is facing and that he could be hanged within days. Graham said that the President hasn’t called anybody to the White House for a prayer meeting or to put pressure on the Iranian regime to free Youcef Nadarkhani, instead the President apologized to the Afghans because our military accidentally burned some Qur’an”s. He did that on the same day when two American service men were killed because of the incident. What is wrong with that picture? Mr. President, stop bowing down to the Saudis and stop your political correctness when dealing with countries like Iran. We don’t have to apologize to the radical and the radical regimes, they attacked us. They should apologize to us for killing our brave service men and women in Afghanistan and Iraq. Christians didn’t fly the planes into the World Trade towers, radical Muslims did.

These are the same fanatic radicals that want to wipe Israel off the map, destroy America and the West. If any Muslims says that Islam is a peaceful religion, I doubt that very much and if the so-called peaceful Muslims are silent about what’s going on with the radicals of Islam, than they have become irrelevant.

Thinking about that, made me wonder, what are we as Christians suppose to do about this? Let me say first that I am not talking about every believer here in the US, I’m just broadly generalizing and please don’t take it personally if you read this. There are many good and strong believers that care and go out of their way to help those in need. In general however, most of American Christians go to church on Sunday’s and think they have done their duty. They sit in a nice comfortable pew and listen to either a sermon or a Bible study in an air-conditioned facility, coffee and donuts afterwards, a little fellowship and off they go. Is that all or should we be more in tune about what’s going around the world to our brothers and sisters in the faith? There are a lot of activities and events, special concerts and many programs throughout the week. That in itself is not a bad thing, but are we that voice in the world for those who have no voice and are desperately crying out for help? Do we genuinely care about people who are persecuted and killed because they believe in Christ?

I hope that many of us are. I have to admit that we live pretty comfortable lives here in the US, which may change one day. Are we ready for that day? Or will we unlike the Iranian pastor turn away from Jesus because of persecution? We are living in days where prophecies are being fulfilled just about everyday, yet many of the churches or denominations have no clue about Bible prophecy or what some of these current events mean to us as believers. We are living in the very last days and I believe that the Lord will come soon for His bride. Will He find us sleeping as the five foolish virgins or awake and on alert as the five wise once? Israel is God’s time piece and we need to look at Israel because everything relating to the end times is centered in Israel, Jerusalem and the Temple Mount or the epicenter.

I wish I could go over to Iran and talk to Ahmadinejad and ask him to let Youcef Nadarkhani go, or to be in Sudan standing with our brothers and sisters. Sometimes I feel like James and John who asked the Lord if they should call for fire to rain from heaven and make an end to all of this. There are many good Christian organization already over there. There is Far Reaching Ministries led by Wes Bentley that trains chaplains for any kind of situation that may occur. Many of them know that they may never come home again. They are risking their lives every single day for the furthering of the kingdom and they are willing to give their lives and reach people with the gospel of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

I don’t have all the answers, but there is one thing that we as believers can do. Praying without ceasing. The prayers of the saints avails much. We can be a voice if we want to and not let the opposition silence us as some would love to do. The Lord Himself said: “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.” Mat 5:13.

If we are silent we will loose the good fight and we will be trampled under foot. Political correctness is killing this country and the liberal agenda is anti Christian. Just as the liberals are uniting for their causes, we as believers can unite and speak up and fight the good fight. We can be that voice crying in the wilderness….unless we let the enemy silence us.

Personally, I would like to finish the race as Paul did: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2Ti 4:7.

What’s in a name?

I came a cross a video on YT where a Jewish believer made the case that Christians use the wrong name for God and Jesus. First let me say that God is a title not His name. People of course use the word God very frequently and there are other religions that have gods. The name of the God of the Bible is revealed as YHWH or the “I AM.”

The person in the video made the point that YHWH is His name and Christians should call Him YHWH instead of God. The name Jesus in our English translation is derived from the Greek word Iēsous. That is the name the NT writers used in their epistles and the gospels in the Greek Septuagint. Most of us Christians that speak English use the name Jesus. The same is true in German and Spanish, just with a different pronunciation. I do believe that most believers know that Jesus’ name in the Hebrew is Yehoshua or Yeshua, which means God or YHWH is our salvation.

What about calling Him Jesus rather than by His Jewish name? The point made in the video was this: if someone goes to France and meets a person named Pierre, which in English would be Peter and calls him Peter instead of Pierre and that person says stop calling me Peter my name is Pierre.

Would he not get offended if the other person keeps on calling him Peter? I’m not sure what to make of this, is it wrong to call our Lord and Savior Jesus? Many people who are not believers think that Jesus Christ is His first and last name. Christ is also a title i.e Messiah. What is your opinion? Is it a legalistic way of looking at a name or does the man have a point and we should call “Jesus” by His Jewish name? I think it would be difficult to change something that has been going on for centuries.

On a personal note, my given birth name is Freddy and sometimes people call me Fredrick or Fred. I can handle Fred but don’t like Fredrick, that is not my name. Would Jesus feel the same way? Would He say my name is not Jesus it is Yehoshua or Yeshua? I don’t really know, but I do like the name Yeshua. Should we call YHWH by His title (God) or by His name? Well, I’m not getting legalistic about it. It’s not any issue essential for salvation. I believe that “God” or “Jesus” know Who we mean when we say Jesus or God. I welcome your input and feedback on this.

Why does God?

Why does God allow so much suffering in the world? That is a question I hear many times from believers and unbelievers alike. Unbelievers argue, if God is all-knowing and all-powerful, why does He just sit by and does nothing to prevent suffering? People are getting murdered and God does nothing to prevent it. Women get raped and killed, God does nothing. Many people are brutalized around the world and God does nothing to stop it. There are government’s that oppresses the people, who kill and jail them or torture those who are in opposition to them e.g the resent unrest in Syria.

We hear and see these atrocities and suffering everyday in the media. Suicide bombers who kill innocent people for their religious cause. Heinous crimes committed against humanity and individuals, yet God chooses to do nothing to stop any of it. These are legitimate questions and the argument if God sees all things and knows all things, why doesn’t He do anything about it are very reasonable.

Believe me, I have asked myself that question many times. Why does God? Whenever the question arises why does God, we don’t have the answers and we just don’t know. In that case we need to go back to what we do know, God is all-powerful, all-knowing and He is in control. His ways are higher than our ways.

Although it seems for us to be incomprehensible the things that are going on around the world and in our own neighborhood, there is a purpose for everything. First of all I would have to say that it is not God that causes all the sufferings in the world, it is us. It is mankind that has disobeyed God almost from the beginning and we see the consequences thereof. We are living in a fallen world and in this fallen world we will have to suffer these consequences. It is not that God likes to see or enjoys these sufferings, but He does allow them for His divine and ultimate purposes. He has given man a free will and freedom to choose.

Unfortunately, we as mankind have made the wrong choices and exercised our free will. We have followed man’s wisdom rather than God’s wisdom. Has God ever intervened in man’s affairs? I am certain that He has. The Bible teaches very clearly that He is in control. “The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, “if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. “And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, “if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.” Jer 18:7-10. God is the one that establishes kingdoms and rulers for His purpose and He is in absolute control over them.

I am a firm believer that God has established the United States and has blessed the United States. People in the US are truly blessed compared to so many other places in the world. But I also see a dangerous trend of abandoning God in this country which will result in God withdrawing more and more of His blessings. That is a choice that we as a county have to make. There are some that want to remove God from everyday life and I believe that we will reap the consequences as a nation. I think a lot of people are not grateful to God and don’t even realize how blessed they are. We have conveniences that many others can only dream about. I do see a moral decline in this country as well as in other countries around the world and I think that it will get worse in the future.

Evil does exist and evil is caused by man. God did not invent evil, neither does He condone it. Lucifer in his rebellion and by deceiving Adam and Eve brought evil into the world. There are evil people, they are dictators such as Hitler, Stalin, Mao and many others in the past to this present day. There are evil people in general, causing murder, rapes etc. Society is not getting any better as some who claim that we can be “good without God.”

If morality declines evilness and wickedness will be on the increase. There are many godless countries and I don’t see a “perfect society” anywhere. The people who blame God for all the suffering in the world are in my humble opinion wrong. Many state that God does not exist, yet they blame Him. It is man who causes all the suffering by their choice and free will. They are controlled by the prince of this word i.e Satan. Although we may not see God or the wicked one physically, there is a spiritual battle raging in the heavenly realm.

There will come a day, which I believe is in the very near future that Jesus Christ will return to the earth and defeat the armies of Satan and establishes His millennial reign here upon the earth. Many of those who think that they can do evil things without consequences are gravely mistaken.

The day will come when God will judge all man who have not worshiped or honored Him as the true and living God and they will pay for the suffering they have caused. God is longsuffering and He wants everyone to come to repentance and turn from their wicked ways. We don’t know the day or they hour, but be assured that day will come and God will judge people through Jesus Christ who have done evil in His eyes. Until then, we will see sufferings, atrocities and evil rulers and dictators that think that they can get away with murder. Their day in court will come.

“And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” Rev 20: 12-15.

If you are a true believer in Jesus Christ, you are written in the book of life, no white throne judgment will face you. If you an unbeliever and reject God and His ways, your day of judgment will come. Don’t get me wrong, I do not delight in anyone facing the white throne judgment. God wants everybody to come to the knowledge of the truth which is in Jesus Christ. He gave Hid only begotten Son, so that those who believe will be saved and have eternal life, not eternal separation from God. It is never too late to turn to God and ask for forgiveness, no matter what you may have done. There is no sin that cannot be forgiven, except one and that is the rejection of Christ Jesus.

Until the return of Christ, there will be sufferings and pain in the world. Don’t blame God for these things, blame mankind.

Why did God punish Adam and Eve? (media4lifeministries.wordpress.com)
Human Reasoning or God’s Standard’s? (media4lifeministries.com)

Freedom From Religion

Media 4 Life Ministries is pleased to endorse and support the Freedom From Religion Foundation: http://ffrf.org

I am a believer and disciple of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, also referred to as a Christian. I believe that the Freedom from Religion Foundation and myself have a common goal; to free people from religion. Jesus was against religion and the religious zealots of His days. A true follower of Christ is set free from a bondage to religion. He came to set us free from requirements and ordinances . Religion separates people from God. Religion is man trying to reach God on their own merit.

The Freedom from Religion foundation is a non-profit organization and has the nations largest association of free thinkers consisting of Atheist, Agnostics and skeptics. They have about 17000 members and was founded in 1978. Their motto: “Freedom Depends Upon Free Thinkers.”

I wanna thank the Freedom From Religion Foundation in supporting the message of Jesus Christ and His 2 billion plus followers by declaring freedom from religion on billboards, buses and in various media outlets.

Thank you for bringing His message of freedom from religion to the world.

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32.
“Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” John 8:36.

What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.” Phl 1:18.

Religion is… (media4lifeministries.com)

The 10 Commandments

I was led to write this article after some comments I received about my post “Good without God?” Arguments were made that we can have moral values without God and that many people who are Atheist, agnostics or other can do good things to better society. I don’t disagree with those statements. People can do good deeds or have compassion and love others. Morals, on what are we suppose to gauge moral values? If we gauge moral standards and values on human philosophy and thinking, who determines the moral code for society to live by? One persons moral values may not be another persons moral values. One persons morals may be immoral to another. Who would set the standards for a moral society? Who would get to decide what is moral and what is not?

I believe that God Who gave the 10 commandments to Moses on mount Sinai has given mankind a set of moral values and laws which to live by. These 10 commandments are the foundation on which to build a society. God chose Israel to be a nation, to live by those commandment and to be a witness to other nations that had no moral values and did what was right in their eyes. It’s too much to get into it now, but they did some deplorable things, e.g human sacrifices, killing, raping and worshiping man-made idols. In those days those things were standard for most nations, which we would call barbaric today. These things are still happening somewhere in the world, there are still barbaric practices that go on. Just look at Rwanda and the genocide there. Absolute evil without a moral conciseness. Rwanda is not the only place in our times, let’s look at Serbia and the genocide that happened there not too long ago. Parts of Africa and the Middle East with no regards of other people’s life’s and beliefs. They kill and rape because a people group has a different faith then them. They behead people or burn them to death. Is that moral? Maybe those who brutally murder and rape think that it is within their moral standards. Many of us would not agree that those things are moral, but there are others in the world that see no problem with those things according to their moral code and ethics.

I believe that most people know at least some of the 10 commandments, believers or unbelievers. All around the world people know to one degree or another about the 10 commandments. As I stated in my previous article, the law of God is written on the hearts of man. People intrinsically know right from wrong, but many choose to ignore their heart.

Let’s take a quick look at the 10 commandments. (Short version) The 10 commandment can be found in Exodus 20.

1. “You shall have no other gods before Me.. (people invented many false gods).

2. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image… (idols).

3. “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.. (broken everyday).

4. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.. (a day of rest for the people).

5. “Honor your father and your mother.. ( on the decline in today’s society).

6. “You shall not murder.. (no words needed).

7. “You shall not commit adultery.. (get’s broken).

8. “You shall not steal.. (same as above).

9. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor… (gets broken).

10. “You shall not covet.. (people desire many of the things others have).

The first 4 commandments are directed towards God. We should honor Him and reverence Him as our Father and creator. We should not make idols and worship something that does not exist. Some people say that they don’t worship anything. If you don’t worship God, you worship something. Yourself, riches and material things, sports etc. God’s name gets used in vain everyday. Jesus has become a swear word, in the movies and society. The sabbath law for the Christian is a subject for another time.

The last 6 commandments are directed towards human relations and how we should live with one another. I firmly believe that if we would all follow those, we would not have the problems in society as we see them today.

These are the moral standards and code we as humans should live by. All of them however get broken every day and today we have thousands of laws in the books because people disobey the commandments given by God. Now, many will say that they have never murdered anyone or committed adultery or have lied etc. The religious leadership in the days of Jesus told Him that. They believed that they kept the law perfectly. Jesus didn’t think so and He actually put the 10 commandments a notch higher. People thought that they kept the laws, because physically they never murdered anybody or cheated on their wife’s. They may have kept the law outwardly, Jesus however showed them that is was and is a matter of the heart.

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment. “But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment….”

If someone hates another person, they have already committed murder in their heart.

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, “You shall not commit adultery” “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

A person may not had sexual relation with another, but lusting after someone is the same as committing adultery.

These passage can be found in Matthew chapter 5. Jesus clearly shows that God looks at the heart and not the outside. If we gauge our moral laws on human understanding and reasoning instead of God’s, where would we be? We as humans cannot know the heart of our fellow-man, even our own heart is unknowable and wicked. God judges the heart of man and here is what God said about the heart of man:

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.” Jeremiah 17:1o, 11.

God will judge according to His law and He will look at the heart. There will be a day of judgment for everybody, whether some believe it or not. Everybody will face death one day, no exceptions and stand before God.

“And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment..” Hebrews 9:27.

Jesus narrowed those 10 commandment down to two: Jesus said to him, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. “This is the first and great commandment. “And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself. “On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40. If we were to follow those two, we would fulfill the law to love God and not murder, steal, lie etc.

If we talk about moral values and ethics set by man or God, I rather follow the moral code set by God and not of man and human wisdom and understanding. A society that distance itself from God and His standards will ultimately fail. There is no other foundation that can be laid but God’s. If a society turns from God, wants to remove God from its life is a society doomed, sooner or later.

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: “and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: “and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”Matthew 7:24-27.