Archive for the ‘General Post’ Category
I AM
Is This Something In Which You Should Believe?
What if Jesus were God? Would it make a difference in what you believe? What you believe now, and in the future determines your eternal destiny. Here is what you should know.
In the Book of Exodus, chapter 3, we are reading the story of when Moses was talking with God in the Burning Bush. God has told Moses to go back to Egypt and lead His people out of the land of Egypt, and to take them to a new and more promising land.
Then beginning in verse 13 we read the following:
13 Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?”
14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
15 Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’
Here we read that God has given Himself the name of “I AM”. This is very important to know as we now jump forward to the time of Jesus.
It is early morning and we find Jesus in the temple. All the people has come to Him and He was teaching them; the scribes and the Pharisees were also there.
They begin to question Him and ridicule Him because he has told them that God was not their Father. The proof of that, He said, was that if God was their Father they would love Him, for He proceeded forth and came from God. Jesus tells them that He is telling the truth but they do not believe Him.
Then Jesus begins to lead the conversation to where He drops the bomb shell on them. He says, “Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.”
Had you heard that, what would you have said? Well, here’s what they said in John 8 beginning with verse 52:
52 Then the Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon! Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.’
53 Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Who do You make Yourself out to be?”
The Jews are now forcing the issue. They are trying to trap Jesus into saying something that they could use against Him. So, knowing what they are after He responds with this:
54 Jesus answered, “If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.
55 Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, ‘I do not know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word.
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”
At this the Jews are dumbfounded. They think Jesus is Crazy and:
57 Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”
Now, wait for it. Here it comes. This is the answer that Jesus gives:
58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”
At this the Jews get very angry and yell curses at Jesus for what He just said and:
59 Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
Did you see it? Most people now are wondering what was it that Jesus said that got the Jews to want to stone Him, and if you have read the Bible you know right away exactly what Jesus was saying. It is because of the name that God gave to Moses at the Burning Bush.
He said, “I AM”. You see, in plain language Jesus had just told the Jews, the scribes and the Pharisees, that He is God!
Imagine what you would have thought or felt at that point. Here they were questioning and ridiculing Jesus. They were calling Him names, saying He was lying and that He was demon possessed. Then all of a sudden He tells them that the person to whom they are speaking is God; the same God that spoke to Moses. To them that was blasphemous and that is why they were going to stone Him.
Jesus has now plainly said that He is God. He is the Creator and that is why He has been able to do all of the miracles that He has done up to this point.
He has calmed the seas and quieted the winds. He has given sight to those who had no eyes. He has opened tongues to speak where there had been no tongue. He has raised the dead, given the lame the ability to walk and restored a hand where there had been no hand. He has given hearing to the deaf, changed water to wine and He has known the thoughts and intents of people who were around Him. He has now plainly explained how He has been able to do all of these miracles, and more.
He is able to do all of this because He is God. Jesus is the One Who calls Himself, “I AM”.
At this point you, too, now have to make a decision. You either have to agree with the Jews and claim that Jesus is a liar, a charlatan and the biggest deceiver that ever lived, or you have to believe He is God. There is no middle ground.
And here’s the importance of why you should believe that Jesus is God. Earlier in His conversation with the scribes and Pharisees Jesus had made the same claim in a different way. He put it this way:
23 And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins.”
25 Then they said to Him, “Who are You?” And Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.”
Where Jesus says, “I AM”, in some translations you will see that the interpreters had put in the word “he”. However, in the original language the word he is not there. It is simply “I am”.
So you see that here, Jesus begins to let them know Who He is. He gives them a plain hint and it just does not register. I can just picture one of the Jews, having picked up on what Jesus has said, leaning in closer to Him, eyes squinting a little and just saying loud enough for Jesus to hear, “Who are You?”
He knows what Jesus just said and he wants to hear Him say it again, but Jesus doesn’t answer the way he expected and just says, “Just what I have been saying from the beginning.”
Now, you too, must ask Jesus, “Who are You?”
His answer is the same. He is the great and almighty “I AM”. Simply put – Jesus is God. You either believe and submit to Him as Lord of your life, be forgiven for your sins and live forever with Him in Heaven. Or, if you decide not to believe, you will die in your sins and spend eternity in Hell.
What is your choice? Will you believe and live, or will you die and suffer the consequences? My prayer is that you will believe and live. You have no other choice.
Are You Good Enough To Go To Heaven?
How Good Is Good Enough?
Like most people, I always felt that I was basically a good person. Yeah, I know, I’m not perfect, but I just knew that when I died and stood before God that He would weigh my good points and then weigh my bad points and the good would outweigh the bad, and for that reason He would let me into Heaven.
Then it just came to me one day, what if I had too many bad points, you know how all of those little things can add up. So, I got to asking myself “how good is good enough”? I did some research from the Bible and boy was I surprised at what I found.
How about you, are you good enough to go to Heaven? Maybe you are like me and you are not. If it turns out that you are not, What then? Well, you should know this, straight from the Bible it is written.
From Isaiah 13:
Wail, for the day of the LORD is at hand!
It will come as destruction from the Almighty.
Therefore all hands will be limp,
Every man’s heart will melt,
And they will be afraid.
Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them;
They will be in pain as a woman in childbirth;
They will be amazed at one another;
Their faces will be like flames.
Are you good enough?
Behold, the day of the LORD comes,
Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger,
To lay the land desolate;
And He will destroy its sinners from it.
For the stars of heaven and their constellations
Will not give their light;
The sun will be darkened in its going forth,
And the moon will not cause its light to shine.
I will punish the world for its evil,
And the wicked for their iniquity;
I will halt the arrogance of the proud,
And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
Are you sure?
Therefore I will shake the heavens,
And the earth will move out of her place,
In the wrath of the LORD of hosts
And in the day of His fierce anger.
But won’t Jesus come with love to gather everyone together to be His own?
From 2 Thessalonians 1:
since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe…
So, how good are you?
Consider these verses:
- Psalm 14:1
The fool has said in his heart,“There is no God.” They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good. - Psalm 14:3
They have all turned aside,They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one. - Psalm 53:1
The fool has said in his heart,“There is no God.” They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity; There is none who does good. - Psalm 53:3
Every one of them has turned aside;They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one. - Romans 3:12
They have all turned aside;They have together become unprofitable;There is none who does good, no, not one.”
Now, consider these words by Jesus:
- Matthew 19:17
So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. - Mark 10:18
So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. - Luke 18:19
So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.
After reading all of these passages that are written in the Word of God, do you still think that you are good, let alone being good enough?
If you answered “NO” then you have answered correctly. If you, then, are not good, would that not mean that you are not, and cannot, be good enough to go to Heaven. Think about that for a moment. If you are not good, how can you be good enough to go to Heaven? You can’t. That being the case, then how does one get to Heaven? Simple, read this and then do the same:
Romans 10: 9
If you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead you will be saved.
Can you do that? Will you do that? There is no other way. You cannot rely on your goodness, as you have seen, and you cannot do anything to be found worthy of being allowed into God’s Heaven. Your only alternative is Hell, and it is not a place where you want to be.
As we read in Titus 3: 5
“not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,”
Salvation can only be obtained by repenting of your sins, that is by confessing to God that you are a sinful person, and by submission to Jesus as being Lord of your life, that you will follow Him and do His will as He gives direction, will you be saved. There is no other name, given among men, by which we can be saved.
Unless God forgives you of your sins and makes you alive in your spirit, that of being “born again”, to be a new creature in Christ and to be a child of God, you will not be allowed in Heaven and you will only find yourself spending eternity in Hell. There really is no other way.
Is that what you want? Will you now bow your knee to Jesus as Lord and call out to God for forgiveness of your sins and so receive God’s blessing of forgiveness and of a new life in Christ. By doing so God will give you a key to Heaven based on what Jesus has done and not on your goodness.
For you have no goodness in and of yourself, as we have seen, and your only hope is to be accepted on the basis of the finished work of Christ on the cross and in his resurrection from the dead. Only then will you be able to spend eternity in Heaven.
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.
Ephesians 2: 8-9
Hiding Under A Basket
On Being The Light Of The World
In Matthew 5: 14-16 it is written, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Although this is primarily for the one who calls Himself a Pastor, this is also for anyone who calls themself a Christian.
As a Pastor, you are the light of your church. You bring the message of God, the way of Salvation through Jesus and you shepherd the flock that you have. However, is that light being hidden in the basket of your Church?
You stand behind the pulpit and week after week you bring, hopefully, the deep things of God. You bring the Word that opens hearts and causes people to see their sinfulness, to repent and to have a burning desire to come to Christ for forgiveness. You teach the things that are needed in order for your flock to grow as Christians, whether they are new, or the faithful and steadfast, Christians that look to you for direction in the Word.
Outside of the Church… what ARE you doing? Do you speak out in defense of your faith? Do you stand up at community meetings and remind people what the Word says about actions that could and will be taken in your town, neighborhood or street? Do you write Letters to the Editor about topics of interest in which the Church should be providing direction and guidance?
I would venture to say that you stay hidden behind those closed doors, hiding your light under the basket that is your Church. Why, what is it of which you are afraid? Most likely you worry that you don’t want to upset the apple-cart. You don’t want to offend anyone or you might lose parishioners and by doing so loose Church income. You might even be afraid of what others might say about you and you would feel an embarrassment when outsiders look at you in a funny way. So, you preach fuzzy feel good sermons designed to keep your flock happy. How horrible it would be if you were to make anyone squirm in their seats.
I sure am glad that Jesus didn’t feel that way.
You are the light. Each member of the flock in your Church is a light and by staying hidden under your Church basket you are also teaching your flock to do the same. They become Sunday morning Christians and the rest of the week live like the world. Is that what you want?
It is easy to become bold behind those Church doors, but it is something else to do the same outside of your building. When was the last time you stood up in defense of something that is un-biblical and openly said “It Is Written” and then explain what it is that the Word of God says?
It would seem that you are more afraid of being laughed at for your faith, for what it is that you believe, for in Whom you believe than you are in being the light that Lord has caused you to be and to stand up and be bold in the proclamation of what it is that God says.
In Matthew 10: 32, 33 it is written, “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.”
By staying quiet, by staying behind those closed doors and only speaking when you can hide behind your pulpit you are actually hiding your light under a basket, and by doing so you are denying Christ before men; they who are not in your flock who need to hear from you what is written in the Word.
Jesus is the Light of the world, but you the Pastor, and you the flock, are the torch bearers carrying that Light into the world. Bring the Light out from under your basket. Step out where the Light is needed and let it shine in a world that is dark and lost.
You have a choice. You can stay hidden under your basket and keep on denying Christ before men or, you can come out from under that basket and confess Christ before the world. You can throw off the shackles of being hidden under your Church basket and speak out on what is written in the Word and have Jesus confess you before the Father which is in Heaven.
Obey the command of Jesus and do as He says… “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Pastor, Christian, come out from under the basket. The world needs to see the Light of Christ and only you can do that. Only you have the Light of the world. Don’t keep it hidden under your Church basket. Let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine…
Two Years and Growing
What A Trip
Two years ago, today, I began this journal. It has been quite a trip, and what has been written has helped others to gain a better understanding of basic Christian theology. Moreover, the research before doing any writing has also caused this journalist to grow and gain a better, more solid understanding of biblical knowledge.
Every topic that I have written about can be backed up by scripture. That is the reason for this journal. I have written nothing that I did not first check out and backup by scripture. If the Bible did not support what I was saying then I did not use it. It had to be biblical or it was not written at all.
To much teaching that is being given out these days is not scriptural. Oh, sure, you can pick out any biblical verse and make it support almost anything that you want from salvation by works, women pastors to gay marriage. However, when you take “all” of the verses that pertain to a specific subject that is when you get at the true meaning, yeah the deep things of God.
So, in July we will begin year three with a post about “hiding a lamp under a basket”. May God bless the coming entries and may they be used for the glory, praise and honor of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ… 🙂
Blessed Are The Peacemakers
Who Are They…
In Matthew 5:9 Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” This sounds really good and most people will read into this that this is talking about making peace in the world; peace between people, counties and nations. Is this really what Jesus is talking about?
Now we all know that it is a good thing to be peacemakers, and the more peace that is created the more we can all live in quiet, peaceful and safe surroundings. Wouldn’t that be nice? However, would everyone who would be involved in making peace be called “sons of God”?
There in lies the key. It would be hard to say that anyone who makes peace, between individuals or nations, would be called a son of God. So, who are the “peacemakers” that Jesus is talking about?
Well, interestingly enough we can find the answer in Scripture itself.
First, in Luke 20:35 – 36 we read, “But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.”
Second, in Romans 8:14 we read, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
Third, in Galatians 3:26 we read, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
So, it would be fair and right to say the “sons of God“, mentioned in these verses, are those who have been Born Again by the Spirit of God. IOW’s, they are Christians.
If, then, that is the case, what is the “peace” that is Jesus is talking about in Matthew 5:9?
Again, we can find the answer in Scriptures.
We need look no further than Romans 5:1 – 3 where we read, “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.”
It is easy to see that the “peace” that Jesus is talking about is making “peace” with God. For of what lasting peace is there, with individuals or nations, without having “peace” with God? The answer is none.
Only they who are “sons of God” have been given the command and the ability to go out and show and tell others how to have “peace” with God. The children of God are the true “Peacemakers” because they are the ones who have the message of true and everlasting peace.
The children of God are the only ones who can be truly blessed by God because they are the true “Peacemakers” bringing the message of “peace” to the world, and because of that they are called “sons of God”.
How about you… are you one of those who are called “sons of God”?
Making Sure You Are A Christian
How Can You Tell?
So, you say you are a Christian. How do you know? You accepted Jesus as your Savior, you say. That doesn’t prove you are a Christian. There are many people who say they have done that but just because you have made some kind of a decision is not proof that you have really been born again. In 2nd Peter 1:10 we read,
“Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure.”
This is a stern warning to take a look at your life, believing that you are a Christian, and make sure, very sure, that you have been called of God and that He has brought you into His family.
Once a person becomes a Christian a life change begins to take place. With some it will be slow and gradual, and with others there will be a quick and a dramatic change in the way that they live. We just need to look at the verses right before the one we quoted above to see what should be seen in your life.
2nd Peter 1:5 – 8, “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Do you see any of these signs in your life? If not, then there is every reason to question whether or not you have been born again. No one, who become a Christian, stays the same as they were before regeneration (being born again). A new person begins to appear and that new person now wants to be obedient to the Lord. You see, Jesus will not be a Savior to anyone who will not bow the knee to Him as Lord.
You will never become perfect in this life, as there will always be a battle between your old self and the new person that has been made alive in you, in your spirit. There should be a change in your language, in how you look at others and how you now see God.
You do not do this on your own. For one thing you can’t. You need the work of God in your life in order for this change to take place. In Philippians 2: 12 – 16 we read the following.
“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.”
Once you become born again, God does not leave you on your own. In these verses we see that God is very much active in your growth as a Christian. He is constantly working in your life to make the changes that He wants to see in you. God will cause all kinds of events in your life, both good and bad, in order to cleanse you of your sinful ways and to remove from you that which has become common place in you that is not pleasing to Him. That is why, no matter what happens, you should become obedient to what God is doing so that you will shine as lights in a perverse and sinful world.
As lights you will be different from others. You will not talk like them, you find that you no longer have the same desires and interests that you had before, especially if they were the kind that is not pleasing to God. You should see that some of the things that used to be important in your life is no longer your driving desire. You should be seeing that you want, more and more, to be obedient to the Lord and to do what He wants and not what you want.
In short, you no longer belong to yourself and to Satan. You now belong to God and He will work in you both to will and to do what He wants. If that is not evident in your life, if there is no difference in how you are, how you live after having become a Christian, maybe you haven’t been born again after all.
Just because you make a decision or “accept” Jesus as your personal Savior does not guarantee that you are a Christian. Only if you have been called and made alive in the spirit by God, which does have the evidence of Repentance of your sins towards God and of having Faith in Jesus for unselfishly paying the penalty for your sins, and in your submission to Him as Lord, will there be any work or transformation of your life with God directing the change.
People who say they are a Christian, but there is no proof of that in their life, most likely have been deceived and are not Christians at all; and they are heading for Hell.
How about you? Have you made your call and election sure? If not, maybe now would be the time to do so. Why would you wait until you die before you find out? By then it will be too late.
On Women Pastors
Is It Biblical?
In many Christian denominations they allow for the ordination of women to the position of Pastor. It is happening quite frequently. The question that must be asked, and answered Biblically, is this. Is it sound Biblical Doctrine for a woman to be a Pastor, or in any position of authority in the Church?
There is a chain of command in the world. In 1 Corinthians 11:3 we read:
But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
So, we see here that, in the world, the chain of command is God – Jesus – Man – Woman.
Having seen what the order, or chain of command, is for the World, the next place we should look is what does the Bible say about the qualifications of being a Pastor (Bishop, Overseer). Then we should look at the role of women, not only in the home but also in the Church. In all of this we seek answers from the Bible.
So, what are the qualifications of being a Pastor?
In 1 Timothy 3: 1 – 7 we read this:
This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
In Titus 1: 5 – 9 we read this:
For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you— if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination. For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.
As for the role of woman, let us look at what the Bible says about this.
In 1 Corinthians 14, speaking about the order in Church meetings, in verses 34 & 35 we read:
Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says. And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church.
Then in 1 Timothy 2, in talking about men and women in the Church, we read in verses 11 & 12:
Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence.
Then, looking at the women’s role in the home we can read these verses.
In 1 Timothy 5: 14 we read:
I desire that the younger widows marry, bear children, manage the house, give no opportunity to the adversary to speak reproachfully.
In Titus 2, in speaking of the qualities of a sound Church, we read about women in verses 3 – 6:
the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things— that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.
Then in 1 Peter 3: 1 – 6 we read:
Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear. Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror.
Now think of this. It is God who has given these commands and not man.
Basically we see that in the World, the Church and in the Home there is a chain of command. That chain is that God is first then Christ, then man, then woman.
Also, in the Church, as far as worship order goes and positions of authority, we see that man is to be in those positions of leadership. That includes being Pastors and Teachers. Women are to be silent and not be in any of those positions.
The same basically goes for the home. Yes, the woman is to manage the home but the man is the one in the position of being responsible for the household and the woman is to be submissive to him.
Now I know there are many verses where the woman worked alongside or assisted the man in teaching, evangelizing, etc. but there are no instances where the woman was the one in the postition of authority or leadership for any of this. Woman always works alongside the man and assists the work that he does. It is not where the man works alongside the woman and assists her. You won’t find that anywhere in the Bible.
So, who do you want to believe? If you believe that the Bible is the final authority then you would have to agree, from the verses that you just read, that for a woman to be in a position of leadership, a position of authority or a position of being a Pastor is not Biblical and is just plain wrong. They are in disobedience to the Word of God.
If you don’t want to believe the Bible, then where does your trust lye, in whose authority will you believe? To finish, then, is it Biblical for a woman to be a Pastor? If you believe what you just read then the answer you will have to give is an unequivocal NO!
It is not to man you must answer, but to God…
Why Christmas
It really doesn’t matter when we celebrate Christmas. I say that because Christmas is not about having a holiday, buying gifts or decorating a tree, etc. No, Christmas is about reminding us that God lowered Himself and became one of us.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God….. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:1 & 14
Many times in the Old Testament we read about the word of the Lord visiting someone. As an example of this, we read in Genesis 15:1, “After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
The Word of the Old Testament became man in the New Testament and we call Him Jesus. In order to be one of us, at our level, He had to born as one of us, but He had to be born sin free. In order for that to happen the One from Whom the seed would come would have to be sin free. God, Himself, is the only sinless being. So, from the Holy Spirit through Mary was God in man implanted and was born without a sin nature.
God, as a man called Jesus, came and dwelt among us and we did not know Him. He came to seek and to save the lost; those whom He would save through His sacrifice of death and separation from the Father, and to give us life through His resurrection from the dead.
He became the sacrifice for sin and, because of that sacrifice, those whom He saves has eternal life through the forgiveness of sin and the promise of eternal life because of what He has done for man. Without the Word of God coming into this world as a man called Jesus, to become sin for us and to give us His righteousness to save us from our sinfulness and from facing the wrath to come, we would have no hope of salvation.
For this reason do we celebrate Christmas. It is a celebration of the forgiveness of sin, the salvation of our souls and the promise of eternal life in Heaven with God. Unless you have been born again by the Spirit of God, Christmas is not really for you, for you have not, as yet, received the gift of life. Life that only Jesus can give.
Christmas celebrates life, love, and the forgiveness of sins, as God, born of a woman, gave to us through Himself as a man called Jesus. When Jesus was born is not important. Why He was born is. If you celebrate Christmas for any other reason you are not celebrating Christmas at all.
Why Christmas? Because God, through the person and work of the man He became – Jesus – has provided for man what man cannot provide for himself….. salvation from sin and eternal life in Heaven.
The question is… do you have the right to celebrate the day when God, born of a woman, became man; the day we call Christmas? You can have the gift of God. If you will just repent of your sins, submit to Jesus and call Him Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead… you will have been saved, and you, too, can celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.
Free Will Salvation & The Rapture
The Rapture will never happen because of Free Will Salvation!
I base this on 2 Peter 3: 9 which reads, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
Now, let’s take a look at this. Most so-called Theologians will tell you that the “any” in this verse refers to everyone who lived or who will ever live, because of their belief in Free Will Salvation. Free Will Salvation is where one believes that God will never save anyone unless they first, of their own free will, choose to accept Jesus as their personal Savior.
With that in mind, if God is not willing that “any” should perish think of this. Today is the day of the Rapture. However Jesus sees that tomorrow you will choose to accept Him as your personal Savior so it would not be just for Him to deny you the privilege of being saved. To do so would make Him unjust and a liar since He said that He is not willing that any should perish.
Maybe even now, there is someone who will hear the Gospel one hour from now and the Rapture has to be put on hold, for that reason, until that person chooses to accept Jesus. However, there will always be someone who will choose to accept Jesus later today, tomorrow, next week, next month or next year or even 10 years from now.
So, for God to deny any of them the opportunity to hear the Gospel for the first time and to become willing to accept Jesus would make God out to be a terrible God, for He would be denying them their rightful place in eternity. Instead they will die and go to Hell when they could have gone to Heaven.
Now you can see how the Rapture will never happen because God is not willing that “any” should perish but that all would be saved.
There is, however, one way that the Rapture could happen at any time and “all” who are to be saved will be saved and that there will be none left behind. If Free Will Salvation is not true but that the doctrine of Election is, then the Rapture could happen at this very moment.
Look at that verse again… “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
If this verse is talking about the Elect of God then you could also say this in this verse… “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward the Elect, not willing that any of the Elect should perish but that all who have been chosen to salvation should come to repentance.”
Then, when the last person, whom God has chosen to be saved, is saved the Rapture can occur and that verse will have been fulfilled. For God had been patient (longsuffering) towards His elect and waited until the very last one whom He has chosen to be saved is saved for He was not willing that any of those whom He chose would perish. Thus, all those whom He chose for salvation did come to repentance and they were “all” saved.
Then comes the Rapture.
With Free Will Salvation we will never have a Rapture but, with Election being the sound Biblical Doctrine that it is, the Rapture could occur at any moment as soon as the last person whom God Chose to be saved… is saved.
God will not leave anyone behind who is destined to be saved. He will patiently wait until the last of His elect is saved. For He is not willing that any of the Elect should perish but that all those whom He has chosen to be saved will come to repentance and so be saved.
God’s Word stands and it will be fulfilled…
What Is The Truth Of John 3:16?
So many Christians believe that John 3:16 says that God loves every individual. Is that true?
When you look at other verses in the Bible like Psalm 5:4 – 6 it makes you wonder:
4 For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness,
Nor shall evil dwell with You.
5 The boastful shall not stand in Your sight;
You hate all workers of iniquity.
6 You shall destroy those who speak falsehood;
The LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
Now, how can God love everyone if He also hates all workers of iniquity? I mean, we know that there is no one good but God and everyone is a sinful person. The word ” iniquity ” also means : a wicked act or thing : sin. So, if everyone sins that means, then, that we are all workers of iniquity, and if we are all workers of iniquity then it stands to reason that God hates us. If that is true, then who are they whom God loves?
Now let me finish… keep reading…
In Proverbs 6:16 – 19 we read:
16 These six things the LORD hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
17 A proud look,
A lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood,
18 A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that are swift in running to evil,
19 A false witness who speaks lies,
And one who sows discord among brethren.
I just wanted for you to see that there are other verses that speak of God hating individuals and we see that again here in Proverbs 6.
Now we seem to have a conundrum. If John 3:16 says that God loves everyone then He can’t hate anyone, but if the other verses are true, that God, indeed, does hate individuals then He can’t love everyone. So how do we reconcile this?
Let’s look, for a moment, at John 3:16 itself. It reads:
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
It does speak of God’s love and that those who believe in Jesus will have everlasting life. Now we know that those who have everlasting life God has forgiven them for their sins. Since they have been forgiven then that means that they are no longer workers of iniquity. Now that would mean that the “forgiven” are the ones who will know God’s love. Now, are there other verses that back this up?
Before we look, lets finish with John:3:16. We know that Jesus is speaking with a Pharisee named Nicodemus, who was a ruler of the Jews. You should know that Pharisees, more than all the other Jews, believed that God only loved the Jews, and they who became one of them. With that in mind, what Jesus was telling Nicodemus was that God’s love is not just for the Jews, they who were of Israel, but for anyone of any race, creed or color, no matter who they were or where they lived, if they were to believe in Jesus they would know God’s love.
In fact, in John 3:36 we read:
36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.
The reason that the wrath of God abides on them is because they are workers of iniquity and God hates them for it. So now we see that God loves individuals and God also hates individuals. Lets move on and study a few other verses that speak of whom God specifically loves.
In John 13:1 we read:
1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
Notice that in this verse we read that Jesus knew that the time had come and “having loved His own”, not everyone, but “His own”, “He loved them to the end.”
Then in John 14:21 – 23 we read:
21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?”
23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
Notice that Jesus says that “He who loves me will be loved by my Father”, not is loved but will be loved. He also says that “I will love him”. Again He doesn’t say does love but will love. Then He is asked why doesn’t He manifest Himself to the world? The disciples knew what Jesus was saying and they wanted to know why He does not love everyone. See how Jesus answers? “If anyone loves Me… My Father will love him and We will come to him… ”
Clearly Jesus is saying that only they who submit to Him (obey His commandments) and loves Him only they will be the ones that God the Father and God the Son will love. He could not be anymore clear on this.
One more verse. In John 17, the great High Priestly prayer of Jesus, in speaking of they who will believe the Gospel Jesus says of them…
23…”that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.”
It is clear from all these verses that John 3:16 is not saying that God loves everyone. We have also seen that God hates people as well. And we have seen from these other verses that God’s love, in the words of Jesus, is only for those who believe the Gospel, submit to Jesus and obey Him and love Him. These alone are the ones whom God the Father and God the Son will love.
God loves only the true disciples of Jesus because they have been forgiven, because of what Jesus has done on their behalf, and have submitted to His Lordship. Those who do not do the same, they will only face the wrath of God because of His hatred of them for refusing to believe in His Son.
Look up these verses for yourself. Read them, study them and let the Holy Spirit speak to you from the Word of Jesus. I can only show you what the Word says, I can’t make you understand or believe; only the Holy Spirit can do that, and I pray that He does.
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