Ask me! God’s been good to me.

About two weeks ago a few of my friends went to a weekly night festival here in the Chattanooga area. We take this time to serve God by sharing the Gospel one-to-one with people that come our way. Over the years I have learned to keep an eye open for easy opportunities to chat with someone. Sometimes I will use a button that someone might be wearing or a shirt with a question on it to strike up a conversation. That is exactly what happened on this night.

Across the park I saw a man wearing a t-shirt that read, “God’s been good to me”. What an invitation to talk to someone!

I walked up to the man and asked him “So, God’s been good to you?”

“Yes”. He said.

“How has He done that?” I asked.

“Well, He woke me up this morning. I had something to eat today. I’m not in any pain right now. Yeah, God has been good to me.” He said.

I just smiled and told him that was a great answer. But I began to probe further…”Tell me. How else has God been good to you?” This started a 45 minute conversation that took many twists and turns. As the conversation continued he asked me to sit down with him on a park bench. His name is Anthony. He tried to show off his Biblical knowledge to me by quoting all of the books of the Bible and he did this FAST. I was actually very impressed. “Wow!” I told him. “There is no way I could do that”.

Something was missing out of Anthony’s story and he admitted it. He had not been living for the Lord. He had fallen on some tough times. He was very quiet and humble. He kindly held on to every word that I spoke to him. His eyes were dead locked right into mine.

I presented God’s holiness to Anthony. I tried to explain God’s love for everyone but that God is also Just and Perfect so He must punish wrong doing. He must punish sin.

Before Anthony and I parted ways he asked that I pray for him. So I grabbed his hand and took his name before the Father, sitting right there on a park bench with hundreds of people around.

He told me, “I know God sent you here tonight. He sent you here to talk to me.”

“Yes He did, Anthony. It’s your move now. What are you going to do about it?”

We parted ways we exchanged contact information and I gave him a copy of Mark Cahill’s book “One Heartbeat Away”. He thanked me, I thanked him, and off we went.

Fast forward – Yesterday afternoon my cell phone rang with a number that I did not recognize. It was Anthony! He called to let me know that he had been out of town spending some time with loved ones in Michigan. He wanted to let me know that he had been reading Mark’s book and was underling all the parts that talked about the Bible. He added, “so most of the book is underlined!”. He reminded me that he knew God has arranged our meeting a few weeks ago.

He said, “You know that right? Don’t you ever let anyone tell you different!”

You better believe I know it. So Christian, I will echo Anthony’s words. Don’t you ever let anyone tell you different? You don’t HAVE to establish relationships before you share the Gospel. You don’t HAVE to earn someone’s trust first. The relationship that I earned/established with Anthony was based on the truth of the Gospel. I didn’t have to hide my motives in wanting to talk to him. He knew upfront!

Look for those opportunities to start conversations with people – clothes they are wearing or books they are reading. Be on the lookout, the lost are everywhere.

Book of the Dead/ 10 Commandments

This past weekend with a few friends of mine we hit the streets of Chattanooga to share our faith with the people downtown. I had some great conversations and learned quite a bit. During one such conversation someone made the claim the Ten Commandments were copied from an ancient Egyptian text called “The Book of the Dead”. After asking him to verify his resources I thought I would spend some time to research this myself so I could be prepared to give an answer on this topic should it come up again. (1 Peter 3:15)

 

According to Wikipedia:

"Some historians....have argued that the Ten Commandments originated from ancient Egyptian religion, and postulate that the Biblical Jews borrowed the concept after their Exodus from Egypt. Chapter 125 of the [Egyptian] Book of the Dead (a.k.a. the Papyrus of Ani) includes a list of things to which a man must swear in order to enter the afterlife. These sworn statements bear a remarkable resemblance to the Ten Commandments in their nature and their phrasing.....The Book of the Dead has additional requirements, and, of course, doesn't require worship of Yahweh."

 

The writings that I researched were from Chapter 125 of the Book of the Dead. I will concede that a few of the concepts are the same, but not anywhere close to how the Ten Commandments are stated.

 

As I read Chapter 125 I could only find some, not all, of the concepts that could be found in the Commandments. Let me say this again..What the Book of the Dead states is not even close to the Ten Commandments when it comes to wording. Nowhere near. The following ones are:

 

6^th Commandment – You shall not murder

7^th Commandment – You shall not commit adultery

8^th Commandment – You shall not steal

9^th Commandment – You shall not lie

 

For us to be intellectually honest we must also take note that they are just as many Commandments not listed:

 

1^st Commandment – You shall have no other Gods before me. (The ancient Egyptians believed in many gods – Polytheism)

2^nd Commandment – You shall not make a graven image (Why? Because ancient Egyptians made all types of idols from the many gods that they worshiped)

3^rd Commandment – You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain

4^th Commandment – Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy (nothing is mentioned about the Sabbath in the Book of the Dead)

5^th Commandment – Honor your father and mother

10^th Commandment – You shall not covet

So we can tell just by reading the list above that there appears to be just as much in common as there is not. This is simply an attempt to discredit the Bible, a weak uninformed attempt I might add.

 

Why would the Book of the Dead have anything in common with the 10 Commandments?

That is an easy question. If anything the Book of the Dead verifies the Bible. The Bible states that God has written His law on the heart of every man. Everyone knows that certain things are wrong. We know it is wrong when we lie, cheat, steal, or commit adultery. You don’t have to have an ancient Egyptian writing to tell you that. Do you?

 

Romans 1:14,15 - For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them

 

If you are ever confronted with this argument I would suggest asking the following questions:

• What evidence do you have for that?
• Where did you get your information from?
• What chapter in the Book of the Dead does this appear in? (If they truly haven’t researched this I doubt they will even know)
• What Commandments are wrote about and which ones are left off?
• The Book of the Dead also states the following:

  I have not held back the water when it should flow.
  I have not diverted the running water in a canal.
  I have not put out a fire when it should burn

  So, tell me…What does that have to do with the 10 Commandments?

This is just a quick way to give an answer to someone who many try to back you up against a wall. When you ask the questions above be prepared to give them the answers if they do not know. Most people who will bring this up to you have seen a video on YouTube or have been told second hand. I doubt they have researched it themselves or have any evidence to back it up.

Born without wings and expected to fly

In a recent debate with an atheist we were discussing the Fall of Adam and how the sinful nature has passed down to all men from that one act in the Garden of Eden. The atheist that I was speaking with could not understand how God would hold anyone accountable for their sins if He created them with a fallen sinful nature. The atheist stated that if God did exist it wouldn’t make any sense for Him to punish people if they were born into a sinful state of being. He said it was like being “born without wings and expected to fly.” I thought that was an interesting thought but let’s examine that from a Biblical perspective to see if it is true.

If we were expected to fly (by nature) and did not have wings then I agree that would be impossibility. In this case we would not be given the proper equipment to produce the outcome needed. Does God leave us in such a way that we are without any knowledge of Him and completely enslaved to sin? No. He did not leave us in such a state. The Bible makes it clear that God has revealed himself by “general revelation” in two different ways.

Romans 1:18-20 - 18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

God has revealed Himself in a general sense to everyone through nature and what has been created. Basic logic would suggest that if something is created there must be a Creator. We can look at nature and it suggests a few things about God’s nature. God is infinite and the universe is infinite. God is a God of laws and the universe operates on laws. God is structured and is ordered and the universe is obviously ordered.

Secondly, everyone has a conscience. I don’t have to tell you that it is wrong to lie, cheat, or steal. You know it is. I don’t have to remind you that it is wrong for a man to cheat on his spouse. You know that it is. That is because God has given you a conscience to know that He exists. You may suppress and dim your conscience, so to speak, but there is always that small voice who speaks to you about justice for you sins.

Romans 2:15-16 - 15in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, 16on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.

Conclusion: God hasn’t left you without “wings”. He has given you everything that you need to know that He exists. Just because you were born with a sinful nature does not mean that you will not be held accountable. God will judge all people, everywhere for their crimes against Him. Please determine what type of proof you would need to know if a God exists. But as you ponder your thoughts remember this: You don’t determine the proof for God’s existence. He does and He says that He has given you creation to know there is a Creator. He has provided you with a conscience to know that He exists and to know that you are accountable to Him. Whether you believe He exists or not is irrelevant. What matters is truth.

Is the Father called Kyrios?

Many times in speaking with Jehovah’s Witnesses I will try to show them what the Scriptures teach about the deity of Christ. The Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Jesus is a created being by the Father and He is now the archangel Michael. More than once I have had a JW to go 1 Corinthians 8:6 to try and prove their point. So I thought I would spend some time studying this wonderful verse of the Bible to see what it had to say.

1 Corinthians 8:6 - yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.

The JW will attempt to use this verse to show that the Father and Jesus are two separate beings. They may start by saying “See there is only one God, the Father, therefore Jesus cannot be God because the Bible says the Father is the only God.” This type of hermeneutical interpretation is flawed and I will demonstrate that in this article.

I might respond by testing the waters of the Jehovah’s Witnesses knowledge by asking, “If the Father is the one God and Jesus is the one Lord then is the Father ever called Lord?”

They will respond by stating that LORD (all caps) in the Bible refers to the Father but Lord in the Bible refers to Jesus. Well let’s see if that rule always applies. Shall we?

In 1 Corinthians 8:6 the word “Lord” in the Greek which refers to Jesus is Kyrios. It simply means “Supreme in authority”. Below are many examples where the same exact word is used in relation to the Father.


• Greek – Ho Kyrios = The Lord
Matthew 1:22 - Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

Mark 5:19 - And He did not let him, but He said to him, "Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you."

Luke 1:6 - They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.

Luke 1:28 - And coming in, he said to her, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you."

Romans 4:8 - BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT."

Hebrews 7:21 - "THE LORD HAS SWORN AND WILL NOT CHANGE HIS MIND, 'YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER' ");

1 Peter 1:25 - BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER."


• Greek – Kyrios = Lord
Mark 13:20 - "Unless the Lord had shortened {those} days, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days.

Luke 1:58 - Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her.

Acts 7:49 - 'HEAVEN IS MY THRONE, AND EARTH IS THE FOOTSTOOL OF MY FEET; WHAT KIND OF HOUSE WILL YOU BUILD FOR ME?' says the Lord, 'OR WHAT PLACE IS THERE FOR MY REPOSE?


• Greek – Kyrios Ho Theos = The Lord God
Matthew 4:7 - Jesus said to him, "On the other hand, it is written, 'YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.' "

Matthew 4:10 - Then Jesus *said to him, "Go, Satan! For it is written, 'YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.' "

Matthew 23:37 - And He said to him, " 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.'

Luke 1:16 - "And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God.


• Greek – Kyrios Sabaoth = Lord of Hosts
Romans 9:29 - And just as Isaiah foretold, "UNLESS THE LORD OF SABAOTH HAD LEFT TO US A POSTERITY, WE WOULD HAVE BECOME LIKE SODOM, AND WOULD HAVE RESEMBLED GOMORRAH."

James 5:4 - Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, {and} which has been withheld by you, cries out {against you;} and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.


• Greek – Kyrios Pantokrator = Lord Almighty
2 Corinthians 6:18 - "And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me," Says the Lord Almighty.


• Greek – Kyrios Ho Theos Ho Pantokrator = Lord the God, The Almighty
Revelation 4:8 - And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY {is} THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME."

Revelation 11:17 - saying, "We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign.


• Greek – Kyrios Ton Kurieuonton = Lord of Lords
1 Timothy 6:15 - which He will bring about at the proper time--He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords,


• See also…Lord of Heaven and Earth
Matthew 11:25 - At that time Jesus said, "I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from {the} wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.

Luke 10:21 - At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, "I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from {the} wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight.

Acts 17:24 - "The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands;


Ok. Now that we have proven that the Father is called Kyrios in the Greek, which is the same word that refers to Jesus let’s get to the part of logically and hermeneutically refuting the JW’s claim.

Let’s now revisit the JW’s claim to 1 Corinthians 8:6. The JW claims that since the verse states that there is only one God, which is the Father that Jesus cannot be God. I might say something to the JW as follows:

“In order to be consistent with your interpretation you would have to say that the Father cannot be Lord since Jesus is the “one Lord”. So I ask you, Is Jehovah not your Lord? If the JW says yes then he is being inconsistent with his interpretation of the verse since Jesus in the only Lord. If he says no then he is in direct violation of what the Watchtower teaches. They simply cannot get around this logically. If the JW interprets “one God” as only applying the Father then he would have to be consistent in applying “one Lord” only to Jesus.

Something else to take note of is Jude 4.
“For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

Notice that Jesus is called our “only Master and Lord”. Once you have answered the JW’s questions ask if he is willing to be consistent with his view in the interpretation of this verse.

Now let’s spend a few minutes detailing exactly what 1 Corinthians says about the Father and the Son.

The Father – 1 Corinthians 8:6 --------The Son – Colossians 1:16
From whom are all things ---------------For by Him “all things” were created
We exist for Him------------------------All things have been created though Him and for Hin

The Son – 1 Corinthians 8:6 -----------The Father – Romans 11:36
By whom are all things -----------------“From Him…all things”
We exist through Him ------------------“through Him….all things”

It seems the terms “from whom” and “by whom” are synonymous. The logic behind that statement is as follows. If I make or create something is it not from me and by me that it is made? If something comes into being by someone (God) then it is naturally from Him as well.

It should also be noted that the same Greek word is used for “from whom” and “by whom”. I’m not a Greek scholar and why it is translated as such is a question for another article. I simply just find that interesting.

Conclusion: 1 Corinthians 8:6 is a powerful and clear affirmation of the essential equality of God the Father and God the Son.

Limited Atonement - Reformed Theology

Over the past few weeks I have been reading "What Is Reformed Theology" by RC Sproul. This book has answered many of my questions. Besides the doctrine of election many people question Limited Atonement vs. Unlimited Atonement so I thought I would post a quote from this book that I found extremely helpful.

"Let me consider the benefit of Christ’s atonement for me. I am presently a believer in Christ. Today I enjoy the benefit of an atonement made for me centuries ago. Did that atonement satisfy the demands of God’s justice on all of my sins? If it did, then it satisfied the penalty for the sin of my previous unbelief. Was that sin paid for before I believed? Or was Christ’s atonement not complete until I came to faith? Did his death cover my unbelief or not? If it did, why then does his atonement not cover the unbelief of unbelievers? It covers my former unbelief but not the present unbelief of unbelievers. Advocates of unlimited atonement say that sin of unbelief is not covered unless the condition of faith is met. My faith then makes Christ’s atonement efficacious for me.

If faith is necessary to the atonement, then Christ’s work was indeed a mere potentiality. In itself it saves no one. It merely makes salvation possible. Theoretically we must ask the obvious question, What would have happened to the work of Christ if nobody believed in it? That had to be a theoretical possibility. In this case Christ would have died in vain. He would have been a potential Savior of all but an actual Savior on none. "

So far this is a great book. I would highly recommend it!

One Heartbeat Away

For those of you who know, a few weeks ago my best friend from my high school years passed away. It was sudden. He died of a heart attack at only 35 years old. After this happened to Rodney I knew it was time to get myself checked out. I mean, let’s face it. I’m no “spring chicken” anymore at the ripe old age of 36. Man! How time goes by fast. It seems like I remember just a few weeks ago playing with a plastic golf club in my grandparents front yard using their small ditch as a “hole in one”.

So this past week I went in to see my doctor to get a checkup on my heart and some blood work to make sure all is well. After some initial testing and hearing of my family history the doctor wanted me to come back the next day for an echocardiogram to make sure everything is above board. That night I did not sleep well at all. Even though I know everything is in the hands of a Sovereign God, I didn’t want to be sick. Who would, right? So, I skipped breakfast as directed and went in the next morning for the test. I walked into the testing room and was asked to lie back on the small bed next to the ultrasound machine. So they “gelled” me up and put the hand device onto my skin. Within seconds I was able to see an ultrasound picture of my heart on the screen. “That is amazing” I said to the doctor. I was able to see all the chambers of my heart, the valves opening and shutting, both red and blue colors representing oxygen filled blood, and the motion of my heart as it was beating! All I could think of was “How can anyone believe this happened by random chance? You’ve got to be kidding me.”

The technician spent the next 10 minutes or so looking at my heart from all types of angles and taking measurements to pass on to the doctor. He told me that he would not be able to discuss anything if something was wrong but told me from what he could see that everything looked “A-Ok”. But what if it wasn’t? How would I handle that type of sickness? What about you? Could you handle such a thing?

As a stared at the monitor watching my heart beating I realized that I was surely just one heartbeat away from death. If this mass of tissue inside of my chest gave out I was going to die. There is no way around that. My body is contingent and dependent of the fact that it needs blood circulated and so is yours. So the question we should all be asking is – What happens when our heart finally gives out? If you would like to find out I have a small gift for you.

Here is a picture of a book written by Mark Cahill. If you would like a free copy of this book please just email me or post a comment with your information and I would be glad to send it to you completely free of charge. This is one of my most favorite books of all time and I don’t have a lot of them.

All of us one day will step out into eternity. What is going to be waiting for you? Fear or Certainty? Reward or Punishment? A loving Savior or a Righteous Judge?

Is there more revelation to come?

Could the canon be opened with more revelation to be added?

That is primarily a theological question to which I can only give a theological answer.

2 Peter 1:3 - seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

This verse at the beginning of 2 Peter speaks of grace and peace being multiplied to us and knowledge of Jesus our Lord. This grace and peace is being multiplied in the fact that He has by His divine power granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness. Now I ask the question “Is there something missing in Scripture that is necessary for life and godliness?” Could Peter say these things if there was a lack or a deficiency that needed to be made up? But that is not all look at Jude 3

Jude 3 - Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints

Once for all delivered to the saints. In fact the literal reading would be “The once for all delivered to the saints faith.” Now what is that faith? What is the content of that faith? Is there something that the scriptures don’t tell us about that faith? I don’t believe so.

Hebrews 1:1 - God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,

Now the point of that being that God’s way before to speak to His people was through prophets but now a final and complete revelation has come in the person of Jesus Christ. Now you may say – What a minute! What about Paul’s writings and Peter’s writings and Hebrews coming after Jesus. That is true, but what is the content of their revelation? The content of their discussion of revelation is Jesus Christ.

If there was to be anything more it would be about Jesus Christ and Him only because He is the final revelation and nothing other than that.

I then have to ask the question “Could there be anything more than what has been revealed?” Why would God wait? This is what the Bible calls the end times and we know how swiftly God put together the New Testament. Roughly over a period of over 55 years...

Everything that has been offered as being a continuation or addition to the canon of Scripture has always failed the test that the early church utilized. Everything that man has come up with to attempt to add to the canon of Scripture has always taught something contradictory to what was already there. This includes the Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price and other LDS scriptures. The Jehovah’s Witnesses are guilty of the very same thing with their so called on-going revelation of God from the Watchtower and/or Governing Body.

Rodney Morgan 1973 - 2009

On Wednesday morning on my way into work I learned about Rodney Morgan. I didn’t know all the details then but I was told that he had passed away. From what I am told Rodney suffered from a massive heart attack. So young to die, so young to have lived his life.

I first met Rodney in the 5th grade and we weren’t too crazy about each other until the next year in 6th grade but soon after that we developed a friendship that I would cherish for the rest of my life. During the 80’s “Hair metal” was the big thing and that is what drew me into hanging out with Rodney. It was about music and playing video games. Within a few years it was about chasing girls and fast cars. What every teenage boy dreams of, right? We spent much of our school years together but just like everyone else real life soon took over, we became husbands and fathers and we lost touch over years. I so regret that now. I wish I would have thought of him more. I wish I would have made time to find him. Through a turn of events I was able to speak with him right before Christmas. We talked for about 20 minutes just catching up on old times, having some good laughs, and realizing that life can be really, really tough sometimes.

After learning about his death my mind began to race thinking of him. I was thinking of all the fun and trouble that we used to get in to. I thought of the fights that we would get into when we spent weeks and weeks around each other. I remember how he and I accidentally set the back interior of my red 1988 Honda Accord on fire while shooting fireworks. I spent weeks and a lot of money trying to hide that from my mother, by the way. I remembered the countless hours I spent listening to him play the guitar and trying to put some great hair metal songs together for us to “jam” to. I don’t think I could pick one thing that I will miss the most about him. I guess it’s knowing that a good friendship had ended and I will never be able to sit and discuss these memories with him. Now I can only share them with others.

What do memories remind us of? Hopefully it will remind us that we have a limited time on this earth. That one day death will come for us too. In one way or another, whether it is a youthful parting or a passing as an elderly person we will all face the cruel reality of our own deaths. What do you think the other side holds? What will happen to you when you die?

In John 14:3 Jesus said these words, “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am you may be also.” What did He mean by that? Where is the Lord that we could be with Him? Jesus is in Heaven and he wants all to be there with Him, but this promise from the Lord is not universal. What I mean is – this promise does not apply to you personally just because you are living and breathing today. This promise is only given to those who are his disciples. Is that you? If not, I hope your question is “How can I become a disciple of Jesus?” Let me see if I can explain…

First I must give you the bad news so hang on, there is good to come. In the Bible God reminds us that we have violated His law and because we have broken this law all of humanity will face death one day, this means you and me both.

So, what is this Law? The Ten Commandments. The Bible tells us not to lie, steal, blaspheme God’s name, or to look with lust (which is adultery of the heart) and if we have done these things God must judge our sin because He is perfect and holy. But God is also good, kind, and is full of mercy and loving-kindness in that He sent Jesus Christ to be a sacrifice for sinners like me and you. Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man.

He never broke the 10 Commandments, not even once. Even though he lived a perfect life He voluntarily went to the cross and suffered the punishment that you and I deserve. Three days later He arose from the grave defeating death forever! The Bible says if you will forsake your sins and put your faith and trust in Christ alone that God will forgive you of your sins. Not only do you and I need forgiveness from God, but we need atonement. That is someone to take our place. This is what Jesus did. He paid the ultimate price that you and I could never do.

We are all familiar with John 3:16 but please take just an extra moment to read these words of Jesus just a few verses later...

16"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
17"For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
18"He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19"This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.
20"For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
21"But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God."

I will miss Rodney for the rest of my days. I will keep his memories close to my heart and cherish the times I was able to call him my friend. I sincerely hope that our memories of Rodney will remind us that one day we too will draw our last breath and leave behind memories to our loved ones. Make everyday count, love others and serve God. Life is short and eternity is forever. God bless…

Are there two Jehovahs?

One of the things that I like to do with Jehovah Witnesses when they come to my door is ask them if I could use their Bible to show them something that I want them to teach me about.

I will say to them “I read some verses and when I read them I found them very intriguing and interesting. It’s almost confusing but I think I know what’s going on but I would like to see what you think about it.” Be honest! Don’t lie or try to be deceptive here. Just ask them the straight forward question. Most of the time they will politely respond…"Sure!"

Use their Bible (the New World Translation) and go to Genesis 19:24

24 Then Jehovah made it rain sulphur and fire from Jehovah, from the heavens, upon Sod´om and upon Go·mor´rah.

How many Jehovah’s are there? There are two. Now that can throw a monkey wrench into things!

You can also go to Amos 4:10,11 in the New World Translation

10 “‘I sent among YOU people a pestilence in the nature of that of Egypt. With the sword I killed YOUR young men, along with the taking captive of YOUR horses. And I kept making the stink of YOUR camps ascend even into YOUR nostrils; but YOU did not come back to me,’ is the utterance of Jehovah.
11 “‘I caused an overthrow among YOU people, like God’s overthrow of Sod´om and Go·mor´rah. And YOU came to be like a log snatched out of [the] burning; but YOU did not come back to me,’ is the utterance of Jehovah.

God is speaking in this passage. When asking a Jehovah’s Witness about these passages from their own Bible more times than not they will look at you and ask, “Are you trying to show me the Trinity?”

Simply respond with, “You got the Trinity out of that?”

This is just a small way to plant a seed of Truth to many Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Have You Died?

Romans 5:15-18
15 - But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.

16 - The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification.

17 - For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

18 - So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.

Let me ask you a trick question. Have you died? Yes. As a Christian you have died.

Romans 6:8 –Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,

Colossians 2:20 - If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as,

Colossians 3:3 - For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

2 Timothy 2:11 - It is a trustworthy statement:For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him;

So, as a Christian you have died. We are not talking about a physical death here but a spiritual one. Whenever we have any Scriptures that talk about any dying in relationship to Jesus, in relationship to His atonement, or in relationship to the cross, in any way, it is only speaking of believers. You never have an unbeliever dying with Christ. You never have an unbeliever dying to the principles of the world. This just refers to the Christians.

2 Corinthians 5:14 - For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died;

Who is the all who died? The Christians. He died for all, therefore all died. Who is the all that died? Only the Christians. Now you might be saying, “Hold on! You’re playing word games.” No I am not. Let me ask you this question. Does God know everyone? No, He does not know everyone.

Matthew 7:23 - "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'

Romans 8:29 - For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;

See the ones foreknown are the predestined ones. The text does not say that He looked into the future to see who was going to pick Him and then He picked some of them. It does not say that. God foreknew the predestined ones. It is the exact same group. So, when God says that He knows someone it means they are saved. When He says He does not know them it means they are lost. This is how God uses the term.

What I am trying to illustrate here is that if we are going to use the term correctly we have to see how God uses the term in His Word. We must also look at the context and usage to see what is going on.

Now you know that the Greek term “agape” means divine love right? Nope, not always.

Luke 11:43 - "Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the chief seats in the synagogues and the respectful greetings in the market places.

The word love is the Greek is “agape”. So, does it mean divine love? Does this really make any sense? “Woe, to you Pharisees because you divinely love the front seats.” Huh? So here it simply means that their love was a love, complete, given over to feeling. Then it would fit the context of what the scope of the Scriptures was talking about.

The reason I’m trying to illustrate this is words mean what they mean when God defines them not the way we presuppose a word should mean.

For example, “all the world” means everybody who has ever lived. Right? I just don’t think so.

Colossians 1:6 - which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth;

“All the world”. Really? What about Australia? Japan? Canada? Of course not. So, “all the world” doesn’t mean every single individual because it simply just can’t! Words mean what they mean…in context. What we need to do is look at how words mean, what they mean, the way they are being spoken, and the context of what they are being spoken of.

2 Corinthians 5:14 - For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died;

What does this mean when it says all died? The only way to look at that and to know it is by going through the Scriptures and seeing how it is used. All died, it is reference to the believer and their relationship to Christ. So, when Paul says Jesus died for all therefore all died, you either have Universalism, which cannot be true because Matthew 25:46 and Revelation 21:8 clearly refute that. Or the word all is only in reference to the believer. There is no other way around this. We must remember that the Bible interprets the Bible. Again, only the Christians have died in reference to Jesus Christ. Unfortunately some Christians think the Bible is always very easy to understand.

God's Sovereign Election

"Rebekah's children had one and the same father, our father Isaac. Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad--in order that God's purpose in election might stand: not by works, but by Him who calls--she was told, 'The older will serve the younger.' Just as it is written: 'Jacob I loved--but Esau I hated.'" Romans 9:10-13

Jacob supplies us with the clearest and most unmistakable illustration of God's sovereign election to be met with in all the Bible. The case of Jacob gives the most emphatic refutation to the theory that God's choice is dependent upon something in the creature--something either actual or foreseen--and shows that the eternal election of certain individuals unto salvation--is due to no worthiness in the subjects--but results solely from God's sovereign grace. The case of Jacob proves conclusively, that God's choice is . . .
entirely sovereign,
wholly gratuitous,
and based upon nothing but His own good pleasure.

The God of Scripture then, is the God who chooses one--and passes by another. He is the One who exercises and exhibits His own sovereign will. He is one who shows Himself to be the Most High God, ruling in heaven and earth and disposing of His creatures according to His own eternal purpose. He is the One who singles out the most unlikely and unworthy objects--to be fashioned into vessels of glory. Yet, He is the One who necessarily always acts in harmony with His own divine perfections.

Election is not as some have supposed--harsh and unjust--but is a most merciful provision on the part of God. Had He not from the beginning, chosen SOME to salvation--ALL would have perished! Had he not before the foundation of the world chosen certain ones to be conformed to the image of His Son--the death of Christ would have been in vain, so far as the human race is concerned!

Reduced to its simplest terms, ELECTION means that God chose me--before I chose Him. Our Lord said, "You have not chosen Me--but I have chosen you." (John 15:16) We love Him--because He first loved us. Election means that before I was born, yes, before the foundation of the world--I was chosen in Christ and predestined unto a place in God's family! Election means that we believed--because He made us willing in the day of His power. Election then,
strips the creature of all merit,
removes all ground of boasting,
strikes us helpless in the dust,
and ascribes all the glory to God!

Jehovah's Witnesses and Colossians 1:15

Inevitably when witnessing to any Jehovah’s Witness the deity of Christ will come up. This is a crucial topic for us to share with the Witnesses because the Watchtower teaches their students the Jesus is Michael the Archangel. Having witnessed to many JW’s over the past two years I thought I would share some of my knowledge and pass on some witnessing tips that I have learned from the MacArthur Study Bible. One of the main verses that any Jehovah Witness will go to is Colossians 1:15. So let’s take a closer look to know how to answer the JW’s challenge to this verse (1 Peter 3:15).

Colossians 1:15 - He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

image of the invisible God

The Greek word for “image” is eikon, from which the English word “icon” derives. It means, “copy” or “likeness”. Jesus Christ is the perfect image – the exact likeness of God and is in the very form of God (Phil 2:6, John 1:14, John 14:9) and has been so from all eternity. By describing Jesus in this manner, Paul emphasizes that He is both the representation and manifestation of God. Thus, He is fully God in every way. (Col 2:9, John 8:58, 10:30-33, Heb 1:8)

the firstborn over all creation

The Greek word for “firstborn” can refer to one who was born first chronologically, but most often refers to preeminence in position, or rank (Heb 1:6, Romans 8:29). In both Greek and Jewish culture, the firstborn was the ranking son who received the right of inheritance from his father, whether he was born first or not. It is used of Israel who, not being the first nation, was however the preeminent nation (Exodus 4:22, Jer 31:9). Firstborn, in this context clearly means highest in rank, not first created (Psalm 89:27, Rev 1:5) for several reasons…

1. Christ cannot be both “first begotten” and “only begotten” (John 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18; 1 John 4:9)
2. If Paul was teaching that Christ was a created being, he was agreeing with the heresy he was writing to refute.
3. It is impossible for Christ to be both created, and the Creator of everything (Col 1:16, the very next verse!)

Thus, Jesus is the firstborn in the sense the He has the preeminence and posses the right of inheritance “over all creation” (Heb 1:2, Rev 5:1-7, 13). He existed before the creation and is exalted in rank above it.

Winter Jam 2009 and Downtown Outreach

This past Friday night our group went out to the Winter Jam 2009 concert. I must admit I was a bit uncertain about how we would be received while we were out witnessing at a Christian concert. My plan was simple to ask the Christians there some basic theology questions and see how they responded. Some replied with some very simple yet firm answers to these questions, while a few of them could have used a basic introduction course in Christian theology.

Keith Higgins from SavedFromWhat.org came up from Atlanta to join us at the concert and also to participate in our downtown outreach.
Keith and I spent most of our time passing out hundreds of Gospel tracts out to the crowds and asking Christians that were in line some basic questions. Questions like…

1. Is the Bible inspired by God? Does it contain contradictions or errors?
2. Is Jesus God?
3. If I am a good Muslim can I still go to Heaven?
4. If you were going to witness to me how would you do that?

Most of the people took the Gospel tracts from us with a smile and said thank you. Keith was even able to do a few open-air sessions in which he asked the Christians to make sure their “calling and election was sure”. Afterward we had a few concerned people come to us and ask us why we were witnessing at a Christian concert. We assured them that we didn’t have any problems with the concert or the music but we have a concern that not all who profess Christ there were saved. Most people seemed to understand but still disagree with our method. One guy even asked Keith if he had heard of Way of the Master!

After most of the people flooded into the arena we took off and headed for the downtown area. One thing I have learned about living in the south is that just about everybody thinks they are saved. So many people that you talk to seem to have the right answers because they know the “Christian terminology”.

I spoke to many people while downtown that night. One group of teenagers claimed that they tell God they are sorry so it’s ok and they are saved. I tried to reason with them by showing how telling a judge you are sorry doesn’t do any good, because the law has been broken and justice must be served. Two of them stormed off, but they third stayed for another minute and told me he would think about what we talked about.

While Keith was preaching open-air downtown I noticed another group of young people that seemed to be getting a laugh as they walked by so I stopped them and we began to chat. As I took them through the commandments it seemed that they had a problem with the Sabbath. I’m pretty sure they were just playing “Let’s stump the Christian”. They all claimed to be Christians..only God knows their heart.

When talking to professing Christians I have found the following questions to be effective:

1. Do you know the Lord?
2. Is Jesus precious to you?
3. Do you read your Bible every day?
4. Are you born again?

Below are some pics of our outreach. God bless!

Annihilation (Jehovah’s Witness) or an eternal Hell?

The theological teaching that God will condemn sinners to an eternal Hell is one that even Christians can struggle with. In today’s culture there is so much talk of God’s love and compassion that it is tough for us to imagine that such a place could exist. But the Bible is clear that there is a Hell where sinners who do not repent and trust Christ will spend eternity. Do all groups hold to this teaching? No, they do not. One is the Jehovah’s Witnesses. This group believes that when an individual is judged and condemned, they are not sent to an eternal Hell, but are annihilated by God.

The Watchtower teaches that Jehovah will annihilate the wicked and they will simply cease to exist. The Bible teaches the endless punishment of the wicked.

The Bible teaches that when Christ comes back with the saints at the end of the Tribulation period to establish his kingdom on Earth (Rev 19), one of the first things He will do is have the Antichrist (also known as the beast) and the false prophet (the Antichrist’s right hand man and religious leader) thrown into the lake of fire (Rev 19:20). This happens before the 1000 year reign. After this event, we read in Rev 20:2 that an angel is sent with a chain and seizes the devil and throws him into the Abyss, and locks the door for 1000 years. (Rev 20:3)

At the end of that 1000 year period, Satan is permitted to come out for a short time (Rev 20:7), in which he leads one final rebellion against the Lord (Rev 20:8-9). When the Lord ends the rebellion, we read this in Revelation 20:10…

Revelation 20:10 - The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

When were they (the AntiChrist and the false prophet) thrown into the Lake of fire? When Jesus comes back at the end of the 7 year tribulation period. When is Satan thrown into the Lake of fire? One thousand years later. He is locked up for that one thousand years in a place called the Abyss. When he is finally judged and put away forever, his is thrown into the lake of fire, a thousand years later and look who he is going to meet there. Two individuals..the antichrist and the false prophet and notice that the Scriptures says it is at the very place where they “are” also. They are currently there is what John is saying. When Satan is thrown in there those two individuals will be there. He doesn’t say that the antichrist and the false prophet use to be there or that they were annihilated there. No, they are still there suffering when Satan is finally cast in to join them. The rest of the verse tells us that they (all 3 of them) will be there and they will be tormented day and night. For how long? Forever and forever.

The devil who will finally be cast into the lake of fire, will meet up with two people who will already have been there for 1000 years. Those who end up in the lake of fire will not be annihilated, as the Watchtower teaches; they will go on experiencing torment “forever and ever” Rev 20:10

This is the very place where the unrighteous will spend eternity. Rev 20:15 – And anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. The very same place that Satan, the antichrist and the false prophet will spend eternity.

Matthew 25:41,46
41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Revelation 14:11 - And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”

I will be posting a part 2 to this entry in which we will briefly look at a few Greek words describing the eternal nature of Hell. God bless!

Did Joseph Smith really see the Father?

Last night I continued my meetings with the Mormon missionaries that have been coming to my home for Bible studies over the past two weeks or so. We began our discussion with the restoration of the Priesthood and how Joseph Smith claimed to have seen the Father and Jesus Christ. This is one of the most important claims that Mormonism makes. According to Mormonism the reason this vision was given was to restore the true gospel back to the church. If Joseph Smith really did have this vision then Mormonism is the true church, but if he did not then Mormonism is automatically proven to be false.

Joseph Smith claimed to have actually seen the Father by his own words:

"When the light rested upon me, I saw two personages, whose brightness and glory defined all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name, and said, pointing to the other -- 'this is my beloved Son. Hear him!

Ok, it is clear that Mormons will support what their prophets say, but what does the Bible have to say about seeing the Father.

1 Timothy 6:16 - who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.

Jesus also said...

John 6:46 - Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father.

Simply put…here are two Scriptures that say no one can see the Father. Joseph Smith says that he saw the Father. Who is right? What about Steven in Acts 7, right?

Acts 7:55 - But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,

Right before Steven was stoned he was allowed to catch a glimpse of the majesty of Jesus Christ. What exactly did he see? He saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God. The “right hand” is simply a position of authority in that day’s culture. If you were on the right hand of someone that was a place of honor and preeminence. It showed that you had authority.

Did Steven see the Father? Does the text say that he saw the Father or the glory of God? He did not see the Father only the glory of God.

The Bible also says:

John 1:18 - No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son,who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

If the Bible says that no one can see the Father, but Joseph Smith says he has seen the Father, how can we reconcile these things? Easy. The Bible says that no one can see the Father therefore Joseph Smith did not see the Father, therefore Mormonism is false because it violates the clear teaching of Scripture.

For a deeper look at this subject. I recommend looking at the link at Carm.org – Can the Father be seen?

How can I know?

Recently I had a two Mormon missionaries come over to my home for a visit. It took a few phone calls but we finally were able to connect, meet, and spend about an hour or so together. The last time I met with the other missionaries they gave me a booklet on the LDS church, asked me to read it and get back in touch if I had any other questions. So, that was exactly what I did.

The last page of the booklet tied up everything nice and neat with the question, “How do I know?” What a great question! The Mormon religion makes a lot of claims so there must be a way to know if it is all true or not. Here is a quote for page 16 on the booklet…

“You can know this message is true. If you ask your Heavenly Father in prayer, you can receive an answer from Him through the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is also called the Spirit of God, and one of His roles is to witness, or testify, of the truth.”

May I ask you a question? Have you ever had a feeling and thought something was true but you turned out to be wrong? I know I have. What does the Bible say about trusting in our hearts?

Jeremiah 17:9 - The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked;Who can know it?

Ephesians 2:1 - And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,

Ephesians 2:5 - even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

From the LDS perspective they are in the restored church and I am in the church of the devil. So if I am to pray to God and ask Him about the Book of Mormon but I am dead in trespasses and sins and my heart is deceitfully wicked…How can I trust myself? How can I know these feelings are true? Why should I trust myself when the Bible tells me not to?

The LDS booklet continues to answer this question.

“The Holy Ghost confirms the truth through feelings, thoughts, and impressions. As taught in the Bible, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance” (Galatians 5:22-23)

So, is that true in its proper context? I don’t think it is. Basically what this book is saying is that if it feels good it must be of God. If it feels good and you are seeking the Lord then it must be from Him. Is this a proper Biblical interpretation?

2 Corinthians 11:13-15 - For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.

So you see temptation can feel good. Things that are bad for us can seem right. Temptation can feel and seem good to us or it wouldn’t be temptation. This verse very plainly tells us that Satan can mimic things like peace and joy. Satan can appear as an angel of light! So it brings me back to my original question….How can I know?

Let’s examine a verse from the Book of Mormon and compare it against Scripture to see if the two are harmonious.

“And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost” (Moroni 10:4 - BOM).

Consider this: As a Mormon, have you ever prayed about whether or not the Koran is true, or the Jehovah’s Witness Bible, or a Satanic text? Have you ever prayed about whether or not God would want you to rob a bank or commit adultery? Did you pray with a sincere heart, with real intent? Of course not! There is no need to pray about that which contradicts God’s Word. To do so would be to test God, which is a sin. So we need not to pray about the Book of Mormon. We need only to test it against the Bible.

“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11).

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).

There is no need to pray about the Book of Mormon or to pray and ask if Joseph Smith’s first vision was true. We only need to compare everything (including Mormon doctrine) to Scripture and if it fails the test we are to leave all false teaching behind.

Change!

It’s all for the Glory of God. As Christians we say this quite a bit. I hope that we mean it but…do we? It’s a tough question I know, but it’s one that needs to be answered in the quietness of our heart. Within my sinful flesh I know that there are many things that I would love to take the glory for. I know that sometimes I would love to be able to say that I go out witnessing, share Gospel tracts, preach the Good news of Jesus Christ because I am such a “spiritual” disciple. I know at other times I would love to take the credit for how good looking, powerful, and rich I am. (Just kidding!) :) But as I search my own heart I know that all too many times I do not just want the glory but I even steal it from God and He is breaking my heart over it. I wouldn’t do such a thing, would I? God is drawing my heart toward other things. He is quietly whispering to me of other things to come. While teaching and preaching the Gospel is my main calling in life, I don’t want to ignore other areas that I need to address.

I cannot and will not take credit for anything any longer. Did I do anything to save myself? No. Did I know in my sin that I needed a Savior? No. The Father drew me to Himself. Can I do anything to keep myself saved? No, I am only secure in His hands, not my own efforts. If I cannot take credit for saving myself how can I take credit for anything after that?

My point is this. There is a format change that will be taking place in this website. I will not be posting every single detail of my witnessing encounters just so I can post every single detail of my witnessing encounters. I will be trying to reach more false religious systems and learning better apologetical arguments. I might even try to exposit a Scripture or two. (Oh, pray for me!). Even if I do not post all my witnessing conversations know that they are still taking place. If I learn something that I think is of value that will help us to reach others I promise you I will post it here, but not just for doing so any longer. The best is yet to come! To God be the glory!

Saved by faith or something else?

We are saved by grace through faith after all we can do, right? Wrong, I just quoted 2 Nephi 25:23 in the Book of Mormon. We are saved by grace through faith based only on what Christ has done. That question was a bit of a setup I must confess. Again, we are justified by faith in Christ alone. What good work can you do to earn, keep, or maintain the grace of God? If you said “repentance”, then read 2 Timothy 2:25.

25 with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth,

If you said “faith”, then read Philippians 1:29

29 For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,

Your believing is the work of God – John 6:28,29

28 Therefore they said to Him, "What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?" 29 Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent."

So again…What can you do? You can receive – John 1:12

12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,

What are you able to do to become saved? The only thing you can do is to trust in Christ. What if someone were to say to you that God’s grace is a substance that that is infused into a person’s soul and this infused grace in them enables them to do good works and then God judges their salvation based upon two things. 1) Their faith in Him and 2) Their good works. What would you say to that? Would that type of thinking be damnable heresy?

What are we talking about here? Justification. How are we justified?

Romans 4:5 - But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,

Romans 5:1 - Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

I can go on and on quoting verses plainly stating we are justified (made right) by faith alone. Paul does not combine grace, faith, and works. He says it is either grace or works. Not grace and works. If you are saved by grace and your works, then you are saved by your WORKS! Because grace is the unmerited favor of God. Works is what is due to you because you have earned something. So, you cannot be saved by the unmerited favor of God and the merited favor. Which is it?

So to say that you are saved by grace through faith with works that you perform is damnable heresy because it is denying justification by grace through faith alone in Christ alone.

Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and many other so-called Christian religions are false because of the reasons mentioned above. They deny the essentials of the Christian faith by saying grace is given to us by God but YOU have to do something to finish the work that Jesus Christ did on the cross. The grace of God is then given to them so that they may perform good works by which they are ultimately judged for salvation. But these works they say are done with the grace of God. So, they can call it salvation by grace. What they are doing is speaking from Satan’s mouth and speaking lies about the Word of God.

Now, I have a tough question for you. Do you want to honor God and serve Him in truth? Do you want to do what Jesus did, what the apostle Paul did, and what Peter did? What happened to them when they spoke the truth? They were persecuted. Did they cower down to change their message to what the crowds wanted to hear? No way. They stood on the truth of the Word of God just as Christ did in the Gospels. We are all called as Christians to do the same thing and as Christians we better get this concept down and understand it. That justification by grace is through faith in Christ alone and if you mix works with it then you are damned. Because what you are doing is saying that you have to accomplish and finish what Christ hasn’t finished on the cross.

Mormonism is an apostate religion because it has a false god and it adds works to earn salvation. The same is true for Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Watchtower. Whenever you compromise the doctrine of God then the next thing that is compromised is the doctrine of salvation. If God is the true and living God who alone saves, who alone predestines and elects, then your effort is nothing before Him and you cannot be saved in anyway by what you do which is why the Bible says “But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness”.

So, grace in order to make works is salvation by works and grace, but biblically grace is unmerited favor of God. Works is what is due, what is merited, so you cannot be saved by grace through faith and by the works that He works in you. Because then it is by merit that YOU accomplish those things. This is a contradictory, self-refuting system. It is false and it is from the pit of Hell. I am sure that I will have to say this a hundred times or more over the next year.

Please understand that I am not in any way mocking Mormons or Jehovah Witnesses. But, we must ask whether or not anyone can achieve salvation through his own efforts of keeping the Law or any part of it. The Word of God is clear…

Jesus Christ - The only way...for us?

What happens to someone who has limited knowledge of the Gospel. Do they go to Heaven or Hell? Also, what about those people who haven’t heard of the Gospel and are not Christians? Do they go to Heaven or Hell?

Many people subscribe to the “Wider Mercy” view. This ideology states that God’s mercy can and does extend to other people of different kinds of faiths. God will save Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, Hindus, and all around just “good people”. The Wider Mercy view is inclusive of other people outside of the Christian faith. God wouldn’t send someone to Hell who has never heard the Gospel….would He? Many people, even professing Christians, will say something like, “Jesus is the right religion for me. I believe that this is way for us (Christians), but God’s mercy might include others.”

Well let’s quickly examine the claims of Scripture to see if that is true or not.

Isaiah 42:8 - Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other;I am God, and there is no one like Me,

Before we go any further let’s make sure we all agree on one thing. There is only one God! The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Spirit is God, three personages, but one God, according to the Scriptures. Agreed? Great, moving on…..

Acts 4:12 - 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.

What name are the Scriptures referring to here? Jesus Christ, of course. How many other ways of salvation are there? None. Is there another name by which any man or woman can be saved? No there is not…according to the Scriptures

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

By Jesus’ own words there is no such thing as “multiple choice”. With this statement alone Jesus removes Himself and sets Himself above any way to be saved other than through Him alone. If Jesus is the truth of God (John 1:14) and the life of God (John 1:4) then everything else is false (a lie) by default. Something cannot be true and false at the same time. This violates the law of non-contradiction. Again, according to the Scriptures Jesus is the only way to the Father.

1 Timothy 2:5 - For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

According to the Scriptures how many mediators are there? One. A mediator is one who reconciles differences between disputants. Jesus did this for sinners when He suffered and died on the cross. He paid the debt for sin that was amassed toward a Holy and Righteous God. Who is this ONE mediator? Jesus Christ! Not Muhammad, not Buddha, not Joseph Smith or another other false idol.

There are only two religious paths. The broad road that leads to destruction and everlasting torment or the narrow road that leads to everlasting life with God (Matthew 7:13,14). If there are other ways for someone to get to Heaven then why would God have to give up His son for sinful mankind? Why would Jesus, who is God in flesh, have to step off of His throne and stuff Himself into the likeness of human flesh and suffer a horrible, bloody, brutal death by the cross? If other paths can lead to everlasting life with God why would He do that? I’ll tell you why He did. Because it is just as Jesus said, He is the only way to salvation. You cannot find everlasting life in anything else but the Messiah that God sent to this Earth. You cannot pay the price for your lying, stealing, lust, and total selfishness. Only God can satisfy God’s law. Have you broken God’s law? The 10 Commandments? God will forgive you if you call on His name and repent. You are commanded to do that (Acts 17:30,31). There is only one who rose from the dead and He is Jesus Christ. He is the “I AM”…

I am the bread of life – John 6:35
I am the light of the world – John 8:12
I am the door – John 10:7,9
I am the good shepherd – John 10:11,14
I am the resurrection and the life – John 11:25
I am the way, the truth, and the life – John 14:6
I am the true vine – John 15:1,5
I am the I am – John 8:58

Christian, do you believe that people can find God even though they are a Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, etc? If so then why be a Christian? Could you be something else? Why evangelize? If multiple paths to God exist then why would He tell us to go into all the world to preach the Gospel? Christian, do you believe the Scriptures? I certainly hope so. The Bible plainly tells us that there is only one way and that way to God is through Jesus Christ. Do you believe that? If not, then just reject the whole thing because you cannot blend the two. Either God is right or He is wrong. Either He is faithful to us by giving us truth or He has given us a lie. It cannot be both ways! According to the Scriptures God offers only one way of salvation to mankind? Are you preaching and teaching that to others? Can you boldly proclaim that to others? Of course you can…but will you?