75-80% of Americans profess to be Christians, but…added refrain

In my most recent post I had stated (in reference to John 3) that:

"So what it actually says is "born of water", referring to physical birth, of his mother's womb, whose water breaks in the process of childbirth. That is being born. Born again it says, is being "of the Spirit" reborn, regenerated by God, filled (in-dwelt) with the Holy Spirit: Saved. As Jesus said "born of the flesh is flesh", and "born of the Spirit is spirit"; not baptised of the flesh is flesh and baptised of the Spirit is spirit."

A person whose opinions I hold in high regard mentioned that they felt I was incorrect that Jesus was referring to physical birth at all in the passage, and explained why they felt so. I explained why I think as I do, and that it was okay that we disagreed on this point in this situation. We both agreed that none of us are perfect, and we both have heard others make statements that we disagreed with about more important topics of verse.

I've been thinking a bit about it since then, and find that while I stand by my thoughts on the topic, maybe the problem was one of misunderstanding one another, and if so, that was likely by my doing a poor job of explaining my stance. Given that very real possibility, I've decided to add this secondary post in which I directly quote a passage from Adam Clarke's Commentary On The Bible that is in regards to the section of the Book of John, Chapter 3 in question.

"Every man must have two births, one from heaven, the other from earth - one of his body, the other of his soul: without the first he cannot see nor enjoy this world, without the last he can not see nor enjoy the kingdom of God. As there is an absolute necessity that a child should be born into the world, that he may see its light, contemplate its glories, and enjoy its good, so there is an absolute necessity that the soul should be brought out of its state of darkness and sin, through the light and power of the grace of Christ, that it may be able to see, ιδειν, or, to discern, the glories and excellencies of the kingdom of Christ here, and be prepared for the enjoyment of the kingdom of glory hereafter."

75-80% of Americans profess to be Christians, but…

One day I stumbled across a "Christian Blog Discusion" while searching out some other information. The subject title of the discussion was: "Baptism Guarantees Salvation", and I was intrigued enough to begin reading. I read through quite a large bit more material than what I am going to post-comment on here, but this is more than enough to grasp the thrust of the beliefs and ideas offered on the subject.

To make it easier to follow, I will post comments from the blog in orange, and my comments regarding what they say in light blue. I am also leaving capitalization, grammar, and spelling exactly as they appeared.

"there is not just one thing that guarantees salvation.---batieste on 3/13/09"

Nothing was offered as an example of just what things do guarantee salvation by the writer, but the error is obvious enough in the sentence as it is written. The Bible states quite clearly:

"And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved." - Acts 4:12

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. - John 14:6

"batieste" further stated the following in a corresponding post…

"(st.john 3:3-7) you need to be baptised in jesus name and baptised in the holy ghost---batieste"

That passage of the Bible states:

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (3:4) Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? (3:5) Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (3:6) That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (3:7) Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

So what it actually says is "born of water", referring to physical birth, of his mother's womb, whose water breaks in the process of childbirth. That is being born. Born again it says, is being "of the Spirit" reborn, regenerated by God, filled (in-dwelt) with the Holy Spirit: Saved. As Jesus said "born of the flesh is flesh", and "born of the Spirit is spirit"; not baptised of the flesh is flesh and baptised of the Spirit is spirit.

"batieste" also posted this:

"speaking in tongues(acts 2:1-4)(mark16:15-20)you need all of that to see heaven says jesus. you also need to repent everyday. even though you have done all of this you can back slide and miss heaven.---batieste"

Sorry. The fact that scripture states that at the day of Pentecost when 3,000 were converted (Go Peter Go!), the Spirit gave them the ability to speak to and understand one another in each other's own tongue (language) is in no way a "proof" of the incorrect idea that many Pentecostals adhere to which says if you do not speak in tongues, you are not saved. The instances of tongues written about at the day of Pentecost can more rightly be seen as a symbol that repenting and becoming saved brought the spiritual reunion of the nations who were scattered in their tongues at the tower of Babel. To attempt to use speaking in tongues as a proof of salvation is utter baloney, and it does nothing but promote people to intentionally babble in front of other church people to attempt to show/prove they are saved. False glossolalia is not only un-Biblical on the face of it, but is also another form of the type of false worship used by Pharisees to show themselves as holier than everyone else.

In the verses from Mark 16, Christ speaks of baptism as regards the influx of the Holy Spirit into one who believes, and when he says they shall speak with new tongues (16:17) "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues", He is inferring that they, having been redeemed unto God, will now speak the words of the Lord to everyone they encounter so that they also may be saved.

"Why debate this? Just do whatever Jesus tells you to do. But, as far as the guarantee goes: Nothing is guaranteed. We have free will which means we can reject our Salvation at anytime we wish.---Natalie2 on 3/13/09"

Just doing whatever Jesus tells us to do is the perfect thing to do…so long as by that we mean what He tells us to do by His words contained in the Bible, not by some vague feeling in the pit of our stomachs as proof of His desires for us, etc. The Word tells us, and anything that is true of Christ will be supportable by the Word.

Arminianism teaches that by your free will one can reject Christ, even after having accepted Him as Savior. This of course opens the door to arguments about being re-saved and re-re-saved and so on as if salvation is a toaster we can keep returning and buying again at the local department store, rather than the most incredible, incomprehensible event that is blessed upon us - who all deserve nothing but the fires of Hell – by the most glorious, merciful, and compassionate lover of our souls: Jesus Christ. You can surely tell that I do wholeheartedly disagree with the Arminian stance on this subject, but I most often hear it so simply and matter-of-factly put from folks who haven't really ever dug into why it is taught to them in the first place.

"were talking about salvation. once you are baptised of the water and of the spirit you are written in the book of life. but you have to maintain living a holy life. 2 Peter 3:17 (New International Version)"

Once you have been saved, not once you have been baptized, no one can erase your name from the book; but you are expected (commanded) to live a holy life unto God.

"if heaven was where war and sin broke out then surely heaven has been tainted with it. Only paradise qualifies where by it remains absolute perfect(no improvements required). ---earl on 2/10/09"

"Jesus stated he is preparing a place for the believers who have once lived for him on earth.If construction has occured then the domain he speaks of will some day compare with perfection but it has beginnings therefore disqualifying heaven as having achieved perfection comparable to paradise.---earl on 2/7/09"

Here is one who decided to attack the subject of Heaven and Paradise by use of really bad eisegesis - he imputes what he wants the text to be saying, and does so by playing on the words in a context of his choosing. Eisegesis as a way of interpreting the Bible is ALWAYS bad, but this instance is about as weak as it gets. So, let's clear this up in one short statement: Christ said He was going to "prepare" a place, not "construct" a place - NOT the same thing at all. Not enough? Okay. If I have company coming to stay with me, and I say I am going to "prepare" a room for them, I mean get a bed ready, closet space, alarm clock etc. If I said I was going to "construct" a room for them, then you could safely assume I was going to build an addition onto my house.

"If we believe that Jesus died for us personally we are saved, and have eternal life with him.---Mark on 1/5/09"

By this simplification, I could sit at a nudie bar stuffing dollar bills into places I shouldn't, snorting cocaine, and shooting people with a .45, and so long as I choose to believe Jesus died for me personally...I'm golden. Not!

First we have to face up to the fact and admit that we are sinners, and as such deserve only death and nothing more (Romans 3:23, 6:23). So we must repent (turn from our sin) before God. We must truly believe and also admit that Jesus Christ is Lord, is God, and ask for His forgiveness. (Romans 10:9, 10:13) We realize and accept that Christ, out of unwarranted love for us, stepped down into humanity and walked as a physical yet sinless human being - God in the flesh, and was crucified - tortured and killed violently on a cross for us, for our sins, so that we might be redeemed - saved. And in doing all of this we submit ourselves unto the rule of Jesus Christ for now and forever as our Master, our Lord and King. Simply believing Jesus came and went for you is meaningless, as it says in James "even the demons believe". Believe AND tremble, the demons (unlike most of us) are wise enough to be fearful of Holy God.

"If someone gets baptised just for social or ritual purposes or just to conform to what your family expect, and without 'authentic belief and confession', would that baptism be valid? ---alan_of_UK on 12/21/08"

In God's eyes, it would not only be invalid, it would a grave sin. One no one in their right mind should ever consider committing. Impress your family by having scruples and integrity – even when it opposes them. And Christ even said that anyone who doesn't put Him high above their parents, family and friends wishes cannot belong to Him.

"Baptism is essential for salvation. <snipped>Baptism is not an option. ---denna9368 on 12/11/08"

Denna started with the incorrect view stated in sentence one, and went on about that point for a while. However, her final sentence - on its own - was actually correct: Baptism is not an option for the believer. God has said in His word that once we are saved we are to be baptized as a symbol to the world that we have died to ourselves and risen as new creatures in Christ who now lives in us and through us to shine His light to others in the world (Galatians 2:20). It's sad how often the things we "struggle" with understanding about God, are really just us looking for loopholes in His word. We all want to live like God gave us the Ten Suggestions, and a little encouraging life-chat on the mount for dessert.

"Actually Baptism guarantees salvation given the time and place of baptism, it allows admission into heaven, it absolves Original sin. 'all' sin is washed away as "a one & first time only" so if you die as an adult 'immediately after Baptism' you get (salvation) admitted.This Baptism of desire repentance as seen By Jesus in the Good thief is a prime example of his salvation.Ps: you should get Catholic First hand information from the correct source.Take lessons!!---MIC on 12/10/08"

Thus speaks the Catechism and the Vatican, but it is not supportable by the text of the Bible itself, and the Bible always stands first and foremost over all other things. If something is true, it will not contradict the Bible, and you do not ever need the Bible plus something else to be forgiven, to be saved, or to have close contact with God. There is one Intercessor given to us by the Father, and that is His son. You CAN be completely assured of gaining entrance to Heaven, you don't have to live your life as if it is all a raffle that can fall apart at any second if you can't happen to find your ticket stub at some point.

" Baptism does not guarantee salvation there is no guarentee to salvation it can be thrown away at any time.but if you have the baptism of the Holy Ghost than as long as you keep the Holy Ghost he is a guarantee but if you lose him you loose your warenty. Calvinism teaches saved by baptism not the bible.---HENRY on 12/9/08"

I'm not using this one to start whacking away at Arminianism, and honestly, it does a good enough job on its own at showing just how vapid much of the folks who hold to that school of theology are. However, I am going to address the last sentence " Calvinism teaches saved by baptism not the bible.". Utter and complete carpola!! Calvinism does no such thing in any way shape or form, and stating such only serves to show that the writer is totally ignorant of what Calvinism teaches, more so even than his ignorant exposition of the Arminianism he aspires to believe.

He ought to get himself checked out while he's still under "warenty".

"Baptism is a very important step in salvation. It is absolutely essentialfor candidates to be baptized by immersion in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. ---lorna5589 on 12/9/08"

"Candidates" she says. That tells you more than enough about how she forms her beliefs about baptism - solely on what someone in a church told her rather than on what the Bible actually says. Candidates! Faith as Fraternity! Sheesh!!

"Baptism is a symbolism which Jesus did once He believed God was His heavenly Father.---Karen on 12/9/08"

This started off okay, but after the first four words it went as far south of okay as I can possibly imagine. "Once He believed God was His heavenly Father" she said. As much as people either cannot spell and have no sense of grammar, or are just too lazy to employ any (or to even use Word's built-in checkers), I appreciate Karen taking the time to be respectful and capitalizing the name of Jesus, He, and God. However, I would like to know where she ever got the idea that Jesus spent 30+ years walking around NOT believing that God was His Father. Jesus always knew who He was, and I'd ask anyone who tried to tell me different to begin by explaining their way out of Luke 2:49 - "And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?" He was 12 years old and He was already doing His Father's business as in God the Almighty, not father as in step-dad Joseph's. He was teaching the priests about the scriptures, not hammering together a table for them to place their chalices on during services.

And it just went on and on, page after page of outright junk. There were a few who had their theology and major doctrines right, and fewer of those even who could reasonably articulate it, but the vast majority of the posts (an easy 95%) were of the nature and form I've presented here.

Is it any wonder then that 75-80% of Americans think/profess to be Christians when nearly no one even has a right grasp of what that truly means or how it comes about?

Book of James, Chapter 2, v.15-16

James 2:15-16 - If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, (16) And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?

Verse 15 begins with James naming the person(s) in question as a "brother" or "sister". Since James is writing his epistle to the already converted, to Christians, we can confidently presume that he is stating that a fellow believer in Christ is in need ("naked" = without clothing, covering, coat. "destitute of daily food" = hungry, unfed, without sustenance). So, we can say that James is describing a needy brother/sister in Christ.

Verse 16a begins by saying that if we turn them away "Depart in peace" and ends by saying in 16b that we didn't give them what they needed, what good ("what doth it profit?") is our professed faith? If we claim to be Christians, the redeemed children of Holy God, and we refuse to help even those who are like us - who believe in Christ - when they need it, what good are we to the Kingdom? Let's look again at  the first half of verse 16: "And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled;", which is broken into three pieces that work very well for this illustration.
 
•    "And one of you say unto them" - Any Christian that has been asked for help and responds with...
•    "Depart in peace" - Leave. Go away empty-handed but quietly, without causing problems...
•    "be ye warmed and filled" - May you get what you need...somewhere else, by someone else...

Now take the second half of the verse and break it down.

•    "notwithstanding ye give them not" - Though they have need, and you know it, you do not give...
•    "those things which are needful to the body" - This is really two-fold: (1) "needful to the body" as in things that are needed physically by the physical body. (2) "needful to the body" as in things that are needed by the spiritual body, the body of Christ, things needed by all believers...
•    "what doth it profit?" - What good are you to those people in need? What good are you to the work of the kingdom? What good are you...to the body of Christ?

The definition for 'destitute' as used in verse 15 is: Those whose souls have been laid bare. Bare. Without. Their bodies are...without. Their souls are...without. And you, a professing Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ, a servant of the Lord, send them on their way in exactly the same state as when you encountered them. So then, what profit has come of your "faith"?

Psalm 102:16-17 says: "When the LORD shall build up Zion, He shall appear in His glory. He will regard the prayer of the DESTITUTE, and not despise their prayer."

"Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth." (Matthew 5:3, 5:5). The Lord God when He appears in glory, will "regard" their prayers, and not "despise" them.

Do you think that God will not hold to your charge that those prayers which could have been answered by you, His agent on earth, went unheeded until He returned? Is it not our duty, our oblagation of love to Jesus, to do as He told us to do? To follow in His footsteps, walk as He walked, do the work given of the Father? What did Jesus do when He met those in need? He filled their needs. Jesus never brushed someone aside with a W.C. Fields wave of the hand and a snide retort of "Go away kid, ya bother me!" Jesus met peoples needs. Day after day after day. He met their needs when they brought them to Him, and He met their needs by going and seeking them out. He provided to them those things which were needful to them.

At the start of His ministry, when He returned from his 40 day battle with the worm in the wilderness, He went into the temples and synagogues and taught; and then when He got home to Nazareth, He went to temple on the sabbath day to read...

Luke 4:17 - "And there was delivered unto Him the book of the prophet Esaias (Isaiah). And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written,"

And He read from Isaiah, although it reads as slightly paraphrased in Luke...

Luke 4:18 - "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,"

(In Isaiah 61:1 it reads: The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;)

So at the outset, Jesus stated very publicly that He
•    Had the Spirit of the Lord upon Him - He had the power of the Holy Ghost
•    God had anointed him to preach the gospel - He had been called to it
•    To preach to the poor (meek) - Needful people
•    To heal (bind up) the brokenhearted - Needful people
•    To preach deliverance (liberty) to the captives - Needful people
•    To give sight to the blind - Needful people
•    To free the bruised (bound) - Needful people

He concluded the reading by telling them that it was what He was there to do; that on that day, He was letting them know, the scripture as recorded by the prophet Isaiah was now fulfilled (Luke 4:21). Christ continually extolled this mission to His apostles during His ministry on earth, that they should follow in His footsteps, and after His resurrection and ascension they did follow Him...all the way to their deaths they followed Him.

He was the light in the world, they were lamps after him; reflecting Him, just as we have been called to do. We should be going into all the world preaching the gospel to every creature as He did and said to do(Mark 16:15). If we are unwilling to even reflect Jesus among ourselves as James speaks of, how then will the world ever come to know Him? If we will not share our lamp oil with another needy brother or sister in Christ, how can we possibly expect Christianity to be a beacon shining on a hill, drawing the lost to salvation?

Let's read the two verses we began with again...

James 2:15-16 - If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, (16) And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?

Meditate on what this text means to you yourself; to your walk with Christ. When you do, adjust it to modern English, or at least, adjust one section to modern English "be ye warmed and filled". If each and every one of us who claim to be servants of the Lord Jesus Christ, would prayerfully meditate on these two verses, changing that one simple section to it's modern equivalent, I truly believe that the church would see a huge transformation within the body; and if the body be transformed, then so could be much of the world. This change in language is really simple, and I've found it to be personally very convicting...

King James = "be ye warmed and filled". 
Modern English = "but I will pray for you".

Book of Acts, Chapter 17, v.28

 "For In Him We Live, And Move, And Have Our Being; As Certain Even Of Your  Own Poets Have Said, For We Are Also His Offspring."

Too many folks pick and choose individual verses to create a doctrinal standpoint that suits their desires; and nearly the planet entire misquotes or at  least wrongly uses one or two verses on a regular basis. Generally to defend themselves or their actions against truth, such as the ever popular "Judge not!" that is flung about as casually by professed Christians who ought to know better as it is by secularists who ought to learn better.

It's never ever a good idea to build a doctrine on one verse of the Bible, as you  are pretty much guaranteed to end up with a false doctrine. Take a long look towards the Vatican for an immense example; all of Roman Catholicism from the Pope on down is built on one verse (Matthew 16:18), and that one verse misinterpreted to provide the meaning wanted.

False teachers, false prophets, are all knowable for this exact thing. If you listen to them for any amount of time, you'll know  they are lying, and at some point the basis of their lies will show itself in what they teach/offer.  Even the lost will know they are lying sooner or later, or else they'd have an excuse at the judgment (Romans 1:18-20). They will offer no support verses or texts, or if they do, they will be obvious misquotes or perverted ones taken entirely out of all proper context. All of the "name it and claim it" types do this, all the "seed theologists", all the "prosperity" proponents, all of them. TBN is positively rife with this garbage, and it has a clear presence on other religious networks and networks offering religious programming as well.

That isn't to say that all preaching on television is by false profiteers, there are some good solid God-fearing and truth-teaching folks on television, but the majority of it is not only worthless, but dangerous as well.

This verse (Acts 17:28) has struck me time and time again as being an obvious choice for pseudo-Christian pantheists and universalists to point to in order to promote the falsity they choose to follow. By separating it from the context of the passage, it becomes quite easy to twist it unto their use.

"for in Him we live"...we are all alive within God, and we live in Him because He is everything, the whole universe, that's why we...
"move, and have our being" in Him, because He is in all things, in all beings everywhere. 
"your own poets have said"...this is not a new concept, people have always known this, and the apostle Paul was teaching that very thing, but legalistic folks with fundamentalist mindsets could never quite get it, so they condemned it instead.
"we are also His offspring"...we are God's kids, we are all of us God's children;  so since we are His kids, and we are of Him, and we live and breath inside Him, we and we have God living inside of us,...we are Gods! You,..me,..all of us, are,..Gods!

Each of us IS his or her own God, how cool is that???

See just how easy that is to do? Granted I spent an awfully long time as a devil;s advocate, but anyone can do it easily, all you have to do is start with appealing to people's vanity...and then stay on that horse.

Just like that, in a passage that should be giving  insight about God to the reader, one verse can instead be raped, fouled, into outright and complete heresy. All false teachings ultimately lead back to the same roots: our not wanting to be held accountable for our actions (i.e. being rightly judged), and our wanting to be God and having the whole world worshipping us as we worship ourselves and our selfish desirous natures.

If we are all God, or a part of God, as these teachers say, then we only need answer to ourselves, not to God, nor to one another - no one can even claim otherwise.

"Free will"  then means we are free to do anything, no matter how vile or evil it is because we are not held accountable. And since we are "all God's children", we are all then going to go to Heaven, because no one - especially  not a loving and "Good God" - would send their own kids to something so horrible as Hell right? So then no one is going to have to go to Hell, it's just a misinterpretation of the Bible, or the scriptures have been somehow sullied by men's hands, etc; what sense does it make to even have a Hell at all if everyone is going to Heaven to be with their/our "dad" - God. We will all be saved, even satan. Yes, even satan! After all, he's God's first child isn't he? He'll be forgiven and brought back home just like everyone else.

So heck, you don't even need your fire insurance since there is no fire to be feared! No need to repent and be saved, you're saved already because you belong to God just like everyone else! It's a big Win-Win for the whole wide world!! Now who's for a sing-along of Kumbaiya and some Smores?

Creepy stuff isn't it?

But that is how easily false doctrines first lead us away from the foundations of truth, and then eventually, from any semblance of real truth at all.

ALL false doctrines and teachings will ultimately lead to some form of pantheism, universalism, or some blending of the two, even atheism. Why? Because they allow us to proclaim ourselves as the center of the universe, to hold ourselves on high, to worship us. Idolatry, pure idolatry, and in it's most insidious and popular form: self-idolatry. I love me and you should too!

It's only two verses later that God commands ALL men, EVERYWHERE, to repent of their sins. Why? Because he won't blow it off ("wink" at it) any longer, and He has chosen a day in "which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained". Not He will judge the world AS righteous, He will judge it IN righteousness - the world will be judged as it deserves to be; and it will be done by the one God chose to do it, the "ordained" one, His son, Jesus. Jesus Christ, "whereof he hath given assurance unto all men," - through the resurrection of Christ from the dead we were/are all given the promise of either eternal life OR eternal death.

After being pretty much chased out of two other cities for preaching the gospel and converting people to Christ, Paul (who was in Athens waiting for the return of Silas and Timothy), had his spirit "stirred in him" when he saw that the entire city was "wholly given" over to what? ...Idolatry! "wholly given" - everyone was doing it! And Paul being Paul, he started preaching all over the place - in the synagogue, in the market, in the streets.

Since the Athenians spent all their time always looking for the "newest thing" they could find (that sounds more than a little familiar doesn't it?), they asked Paul to come and tell them all about it, since what he was saying was "new" to them. And Paul of course jumped into the ring, and began teaching them about God. He began by going right after the elephant in the room: their idolatry (much like Jesus who always went right to the heart of a matter with all the folks he dealt with too).

He mocked the fact that they had idols to everything you could think of, that there was even one inscribed "TO THE UNKNOWN GOD". Since they were dumb enough to create idols to Gods they didn't even know about - what a perfect starting point to tell them all about...the God they knew nothing about! The one true God!

The God who made the Heavens and the earth, who made all things, who made everything. So what good is a temple that does not hold what cannot be held: He who holds all things within His own hands? Why make a chair or an altar or a pile of food for one who needs nothing, who gives life and breath to all things?

The one true God. The one who wanted "That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us" (v.27a). If they would look for Him "haply" - with a right spirit/attitude for the joy of knowing him, they would find him. They'd find him easily in fact because "he be not far from every one of us" (v.27b). Why is He never far away? Because "in Him...we live...and move...and have our being"(v.28a) like we said back at the start. Not because we are "all God's children", we're not; but because we are all His "offspring" - ginomai (ghin'-om-ahee) in Greek. It's a verb that means to cause to "generate", to come into being, to BE...CREATED.

We are all within God's creation, and we are all creations of God.

None of us are Gods, none of us are outside of God's creation, none of us are outside of His wrath, and absolutely none of us are outside of the desperate need of a loving and merciful Savior.

Lord God, harpoon the hearts of the hardened with the pure spear of your Holy Spirit, drag each of them kicking and screaming into the glorious light of You where they have no ability left to do anything except submit. Do this  just as you did with each of us who has been mercifully redeemed Father, lay the weight of your irresistible grace upon their shoulders until their knees give way and they kneel before you in complete surrender.  Bring as many as you will to repentance, to redemption, to a home forever with You. In the beautiful and powerful name of Jesus Christ - Amen!

Reflections on John 7:1-26

Reflections on the Book of John,Chapter 7, V1-26
(Wednesday, December 17th, 2008 - 9pm)


The world cannot hate you; but me it hates, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.- John 7:7 (AKJV)

* This is exactly why the world hated Him then, and it's exactly why the world hates Him now. Everyone will say that they like Jesus, that they think He's cool, hip, and they like what He stands for; at least until Jesus speaks as from the scriptures, and then they hate Him. Then they create false Jesus' that they like the image of (graven as they are); and doing that in itself is hating Him.

We hear people say all the time (many believers have said as much) that they don't dislike Jesus per se, they just don't give Him any thought one way or another, and we all nod and accept that as if it were somehow better than those who openly loathe and protest our King. It is no better. If you love Jesus Christ - that means that you submit to Him, repent of your awful sinfulness and spend the rest of your life worshiping and glorifying Him as much as you muster in humble gratitude for His incredible mercy in saving you. Anything other than that, is far less than the least that He deserves. Let's be clear on this point:

Jesus Christ is the Lord High God, who is Holy and Perfect and holds all things together in His hands merely by choosing to do so. He is the most wonderful, incredible, truly awesome being that has ever or will ever exist. As such he deserves absolute and total love and devotion and praise from every living thing that He has created. So, anything less than that, anything less at all, is absolutely equivalent to hating Him. It's just that simple.

And the Jews marveled, saying, How knows this man letters, having never learned? - John 7:15 (AKJV)

* This verse alone effectively cancels out Rob Bell's ridiculous tripe about Jesus being trained and schooled for years and years as a Rabbi (as he prattled on so much about in his "Snow" video from Nooma), and that is the reason why He was such a great teacher and knew the scriptures so well.

Horse manure! The real "snow job" in that video was the utter pile of crud he is trying to teach (subliminally indoctrinate!) into the people who watch it - not the shoveler outside the window: no, the real the shoveler was inside the window sitting in his den...talking trash about God.

Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. - John 7:16 (AKJV)

* Jesus knew the scriptures because they were of God, as He was of God!!! Not because he spent years in some Rabbinical school as Bell insists He did; and the disciples didn't drop their fishing lines and follow Jesus when He told them to "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." because they knew Him to be some hip local professor who held degrees from the local Rabbi U and they wanted to hang out with Him.  The real Jewish "scholars", in the local "temple" no less, repudiate that very idea themselves - right here in scripture.

Perhaps Rob Bell would be better to spend time pondering what the scriptures do say, rather than spending as much time as he does trying to convince people of what he thinks they should say.

If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. - John 7:17a (AKJV)

* There is so much depth in this verse besides the most obvious point(s) that Christ was making (using Himself as a correct illustration): "If any man will do His will" - if anyone will submit himself to serving God as God wants..."he shall know of the doctrine" - the holy spirit of God will give him (put within him in fact) knowledge of God's will, precepts, desires, and commandments..."whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself" - and the one who serves God, who is submitted to Him and His will, will be able to discern when what another teaches, says, or does is truly something of God, or merely the wisdom or desires of men: he will know false teaching and false prophets when he encounters them, no matter what they profess.

Big meaty heavy powerful stuff right there!!

Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. 25 Then said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this he, whom they seek to kill? John 7:24-25 (AKJV)

* Don't judge someone's godliness by some personal standard of speech, or clothes, or rituals (ala folks and Mark Driscoll oftentimes); but judge him by whether the results truly proclaim the glory of God or not. People worry that someone's hands look dirty, though their works show themselves to be holy. Pharisitical! And the rallying cry of defense that always rings out among the brethren (sadly) as well as the unbelievers: "Judge Not!!! Judge Not!!!!" Those verses are SO abused and mis-contextualized within the church; but that is a subject for another time.

Is not this He, whom they seek to kill? 26 But, see, He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him. John 7:25b-26a (AKJV)

* They tried to kill Him, to have Him killed, as a mob to run Him out of Dodge at the very least; and How did he respond? He spoke boldly! He would not be shut up, shouted down, or driven away. And they had nothing to say to Him - surely they still murmured, grumbled, even taunted and jeered at some points...but the biblical text says "they say nothing to him". Nothing...of substance, nothing...of depth, nothing...to prove themselves wiser or smarter, nothing...to repudiate the truth He spoke. About that, they...had...nothing...to...say.

Is this true of us as His followers? Do we stand on the truth of the word of God and continue to speak even when non-believers, enemies of the cross try and shout us down? Or do we clam up and slink away at the slightest challenge to the gospel? What was the last thing that Jesus said to the disciples before He ascended? What was his last command to them (and us)?

     19 Go you therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of    the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatever I have commanded you: and, see, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. Amen. - Matthew 28:19-20 (AKJV)

Go! You! Not, go pastor, go evangelist, go missionary, but GO YOU! Get up, get out, and spread the gospel to all nations - not some, all. The entire world. Teach them the gospel of Jesus Christ, teach them to repent and turn their lives over to God, and to "observe all things whatever have I commanded" - to live by His  ways, His desires, His rules. It is His creation isn't it? How can we obey God, our Lord and master, if we do not take hold of the fire of the spirit he has placed in us, and go out and preach the word to ALL PEOPLE, not just those who wander up and politely ask us if we can tell them anything about this guy Jesus!

ALL means ALL - All the people who get defensive and attack us with loud or nasty rebuttals. All the people who threaten to sue us, or pop us in the mouth if we don't shut up. All the people who point at us and tell everyone else within earshot that we're nutty, regular Jeez-US Freaks! All the people who turn and walk or even run away from the proclamation of the gospel that we speak. We need to speak boldly to them, and then do it again, and again! And then probably, again!!

They literally tried to kill Jesus. They literally tried to have Him killed. Still He spoke!! When was the last time someone actually truly tried to kill one of us for preaching the gospel? When was the last time that you honestly felt your life would be forfeit if you did not just shut up about God and walk away?

It isn't something that happens very often, not to very many people, even in the worst of places. The threats are always there of course, but, the true intent needed to commit murder? Seldom ever seen. And besides, what if it does appear? What if some deranged slathering psycho screaming "I hate Christians!" does run at you with a butcher knife? All he can do, at the very most, is kill your body, and send your soul on a fast flight home to be with your Father in Heaven who loves you and has prepared a place for you with Him, forevermore! That's something to be afraid of??? Seriously? Read that over again:

IF you die, your soul goes on an immediate and fast flight home to be with your Father in Heaven who loves you and has prepared a place for you with Him, forevermore!!

And that is the worst that could happen to you,.. if you belong to Jesus.The worst that could happen to them...to the non-believers you let run you off, is that they could very well end up in the most horrible of all places, prepared for all of those who don't repent, without Him,...forevermore.

So, let us all pray that the very next time, and every time that we are in a place where we have the opportunity to speak of God, to spread his gospel, to draw the damned up out of the darkness and to draw them near to His glorious and merciful light, that we will remember John, Chapter 7, verse 26, and we will not cease to speak boldly! All of eternity is at stake!


peace/faith/hope/love

serloren

And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God. - Philippians 1:28

A Biblical Process To Handle Disagreements Among Brethren

Time and again within the church I am made aware of a brother or sister in Christ who has or is handling a disagreement with another brother or sister in an improper manner. Most often I am made aware of it because they (1) tell me either about how they’ve dealt with an issue already, (2) they tell me what so-and-so did/is doing and how upset they are by it, or (3) they come asking how to go about dealing with an issue they are having with someone because they are unsure how to go about it. Needless to say, number #3 is the one I prefer to run into since it usually has the least additional conflict already added.

Am I personally some shining example of how to use this process? No, not in the least, I’ve handled conflicts and problems in my life as poorly as anyone possibly could. I still screw up at this – most often in my personal life – and then have need to repent to God and the injured person. But since I began chasing after God’s ways, it has gotten much, much better, and it continues to (Thank you Lord Jesus!).

It wasn’t until I began actually walking His paths, setting Christ before me in my life, at the head of my life, that I learned of this Biblical model for dealing with disagreements between brothers (and sisters) in Christ Jesus. It was of course right there in scripture waiting for me to read it with an open heart and hungry eyes. And while it is a process to be used especially between believers, the principals of it apply for our dealings with all people in and outside of the faith.

Below I am reprinting an excerpt from an email conversation I had with a brother over a year ago, and my reply to him as it lays out the process I’m talking about. The conversation itself was long and varied (a few weeks actually), and I am only including what pertained to the subject at hand. Even though I am not identifying anyone, I did get his permission first to use his words, which I am printing exactly as he wrote them.

In my words on the subject, I have gone back and corrected my lousy typing in the original, which contains my usual errors, such as keying a semi-colon instead of an apostrophe to create a contraction. Other than that, I have only changed the wording and such on a minimal level for the sake of clarity to the current reader(s).

His words:
“After the service was over I walked up to this "priest" and told him I hoped he would either reform or find another religious faith to belong to since he did not agree with this one. He wanted to argue/debate but I would have none of it. I simply said, "And, I will do everything in my power to make sure you never return to this parish so long as I am a member."

My response:
Having not been present, and not knowing the extent of the disagreement, I can only answer based on what you said in the above paragraph; and with that as my only measuring tool...I'd have to question your actions, and I would completely disagree with the concluding statement you made to him. Why? Not that I manage to do this perfectly myself by any means but...

Matthew 18:15 - Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

We (Christians) are commanded to do all things in love, which would've meant you asking to speak to him privately later. And then when you did speak with him, to do so with the love of Christ - calmly, carefully, and compassionately. Going by what you wrote above, you got a snoot full of attitude (an angry spirit) and waltzed up to the guy proclaiming "Get it right or get out!" If you had arranged to talk with him in private at a later time, you would have then had time to prepare yourself and your spirit for it and then not spoken out of your own upset feelings. James 1:19-20 says: “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: (20) For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.).”

At that point, if he listened to you...Hooray! If however he still refused to listen to what you had to say (and that means you being willing to talk with him and discuss it - part of calling someone to repentance is taking the time to be sure there is a clear understanding of the sin involved), you then proceed to the very next verse.

Matthew 18:16 - But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.

You take a couple of brothers in the church with you, and you go back and try again. Not as a some kind of lynching party, but as reasonable men who may then be able to gain headway by their way of speaking, or by the combined conviction of multiple voices speaking to him in truth and love. If all of this fails - you will have each other to be able to verify that you each acted properly and correctly in trying to correct this person (In this particular case, you'd most likely have wanted to take some elders of the church with you). And again, if he then listens and repents? Hooray!! But if at that point he still balks, still refuses to own up to his sin, or repent of it, etc. Then what? Proceed to the very next verse.

Matthew 18:17 - And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.

This part is (or at least it certainly should be) very hard for you and your church brothers to do; but you now have no choice. You call him up before the church, the assembled congregation; you then state openly and totally the problems and issues at hand. You do this very carefully, and civilly (not like a bad episode of Perry Mason), and then you allow him to state his case before the church. If he then chooses to repent, Hooray!!!!! If however he does not even then repent of his sin - he is to be shown the door, and no one from the church is to be walking with or supporting him outside of the church walls either. He is to be anathema. This step should never ever be done easily, hastily, or in anger. It should only be done accompanied with tears and with great sorrow for you’ve now lost a brother in Christ. That is never cause for rejoicing. Not ever.

The last thing you wrote above was that you were going to stand against this man, and you would ensure that he was made unwelcome forever. "Everything in your power" you said to make sure of it. That is absolutely not the way to handle it, the very desire to do so is wrong.

After going through all of the steps I listed above, the brother who has been sent out, hopefully for his own good! 1Corinthians 5:5 says: “To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus”. Our hope in doing it is that he may be brought to repentance by following his own sinful path. He should still be held up regularly in prayer by the brotherhood, his restoration hoped and prayed for continually. And if and when he does return, humbled and repentant unto God, ready to walk the path of righteousness again...he is to be welcomed with open arms. It should be a cause of much joy that a "lost" brother has been restored to the faith.

2Corinthians 2:5 - But if any have caused grief, he hath not grieved me, but in part: that I may not overcharge you all. (6) Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many.

Having been cast out for his sin(s) by the church was enough discipline by the brotherhood, no retribution or resentment is called for or even allowed.

2Corinthians 2:7 - So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow.

When someone comes to a place of true repentance, they need forgiveness of God, and then of their brothers and sisters in Christ or the grief of their past actions alone can actually take them down all over again.

2Corinthians 2:8 - Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him.

No resentment, no reservation, and no further rebuke. Open arms, warm and welcomed like the prodigal son Jesus spoke of in Luke 15:11-32.

2Corinthians 2:9 - For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things.

We are commanded to be obedient to Christ “in all things”. No matter how injured we were - we forgive others as He forgives us...or we are not His. 1John 3:10 says plainly: “In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.”


2Corinthians 2:10 - To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ;

We (all adopted children of God) must always forgive in all things, and we can do so because of Christ, only because of Christ, because of the Holy Spirit living in us and through us, we are empowered to reflect Him in our actions towards the rest of the world.

2Corinthians 2:11 - Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

This side of Heaven, every single thing is always a matter of right or wrong, good or evil, God or the devil - there are no gray areas, no middle ground, no DMZ's. The war is always on, and the battle is always running.

peace/faith/hope/love

serloren

Benedict XVI (Arnold) denigrates Jesus yet again...

It isn't as if I go out of my way to make sure that I read/watch/etc every single thing that the Pope says. I'm not a Roman Catholic, I have no intention of becoming one, so why would I? But, as a human being living on media-saturated planet earth, I cannot help but hear/see/etc some of it, any more than I can help but be forced to know some (entirely unwanted!!) information about the latest publicized perversities of Britney Lohan, Martha Winfrey, or any other "celebrity".

Still, I have actually lost track of how many times since being appointed to the top-job in Roman Catholicism, that current pope, Benedict, has betrayed and defamed Jesus Christ and all of Christianity by proclaiming that Christians, Jews, and Muslims all worship the same God; "the one true God" as he so often has put it. I have in other places and times explained in great detail why (1) this is not true, and (2) why outside of ridiculously watery politically correct pieces of weak social theology, no serious and honest Christian, Jew, or Muslim will ever agree with this, and (3) will all see it as an attack on or at least an affront to the faiths they hold dear.

So, since that subject isn't the focal point of this writing, I will present one easy example and we'll move on. The book of 1John (5:20-21) states very clearly:

And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. (21) Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen. (italics mine)

You will not find a true Jew or Muslim who will agree that those verses are real actual truth, to do so would be a complete denial of what they each believe. You also will not find a true follower of Jesus, a real Christian, who does NOT believe those verses to be true. Again, doing so would be a denial of what a Christian believes.

So what is the focal point of this writing? During his recent U.S. "tour" (of sorts), at a mass Mass on Wednesday, 4-2-08, Benedict XVI spent time praising the previous Pope, John Paul II (it being the third anniversary of his death). I have zero problem with that. Paying homage to the fella who went before you is a nice way of showing respect, and of showing some personal humility as well. I'm also sure that many folks could write down a reasonable list of reasons to honor John Paul for things he did in his lifetime, or regarding his personal character and such.

However, when Benedict compared John Paul's last days on earth (suffering as he was with Parkinson's disease) to the suffering endured by Christ on the cross...his comments left the realm of decency and became outright blasphemy.

He actually said:

"Just as happened with Jesus, also for John Paul II; in the end, words gave way to the extreme sacrifice, and to the gift of self."

Held as a major tenet of the Christian faith from the very beginnings of Christianity, and clearly expressed numerous times in the Holy Bible is that NO ONE has ever, or will ever compare to Jesus Christ! The apostle Paul's writing in Romans 3:23 puts it as succinctly, and as glaringly apparent as anyone could ask for:

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

All have sinned, not some, not several, not most - ALL! And all, every single person that has ever or will ever live, fall short of the glory of God. The only reason anyone who believes in Jesus ever has to compare themselves to Him is to remind ourselves continually that we are not Holy, not Pure, not Righteous, not GOOD ENOUGH in any way in and of ourselves to deserve anything but destruction, and that it is only because He is Lord, because He is Perfect, because He is God Almighty that we have any hope of any kind.

Romans 3:24 - Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Romans 3:25 - Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
Romans 3:26 - To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

Our redemption, our justification, our salvation comes only through Christ Jesus; by His grace. The grace of God sent Him to die for us, in our place for our wretchedness, for our sins, so that we could be cleansed, redeemed, justified, made worthy to live with Him in His glory forever. That is the very definition of the word "grace".

Nothing that any and all of us combined could or even would ever do compares to that in any way. We are all sinful in our very natures, totally depraved,..fallen. Fallen, and lost. All of us need a Savior - we cannot do it ourselves.

God in His grace and His mercy chose to save us by sacrificing to a violent and horrible death on the cross His only begotten son, Jesus Christ. He was tortured beyond our comprehension. Even Mel Gibson's film a few years ago, The Passion of The Christ, as jarring and brutal as it was for people to watch does not even begin to cover the magnitude of what He endured on the cross for us. He took the punishment, the pain, the suffering for the sins of the entire world for all time upon Himself in His physical form on the cross. No human mind can ever fully conceptualize the enormity of that act. We simply cannot do it.

Did John Paul choose to suffer from Parkinson's? Did he choose to suffer this disease so that all of humanity could be freed of suffering it themselves? Even if he could have done so, would all the pain from all the world's diseases (not even just Parkinson's) being laid on one sinful human being be somehow equivalent to the sins of all mankind being heaped on the perfect and sinless shoulders of our Lord Jesus Christ? Could John Paul's suffering Parkinson's (or anything and everything else he may have suffered in his life) have paved the road that leads many sons to glory?

Of course not! The very idea that they are comparable in any way is utterly ridiculous. So for Benedict to imply that John Paul's suffering from a human disease for some months gave him some similar stature with Christ is not only appalling, it is downright asinine.

peace/faith/hope/love

serloren

Thus with your mouth ye have boasted against me, and have multiplied your words against me: I have heard them. Thus saith the Lord GOD; When the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee desolate. - Ezekiel 35:13-14

Far too long....

It has been far too long (August of last year!) since I've added anything to this blog.

I could attempt a defense by reminding anyone who reads it that this blog isn't intended to be a chat-em-up of some sort, but to only be used when I have something that truly needs to be said, discussed, posted about, pertaining to God, faith, and the world around us; so, that alone keeps me from posting more frequently.

I could do that. But it would be a lie. There is always something more that needs said, talked about, discussed, commented on, ad infinitum regarding the Lord High God. Always!

The truth is, I have a very real tendency to get drawn off and distracted from things (too often the things of God!) by the day-to-day of my life - and I create an atmosphere that encourages that even more by the fact that I take on and/or attempt so many things.

I need to do a lot better at all of it than I do, and I pray that God will help me to be a better and more faithful servant to Him in all ways and things. And I ask for His forgiveness in my failings at this.

peace/faith/hope/love

serloren

For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. - 1Thessalonians 5:7-8