A Plea to the Lost
Remember, last of all, that the Law which is so sharp and terrible to men when it only deals with them for their good, will if you and I die without being brought to Christ be much more terrible to us in eternity, when it deals with us in justice for our punishment . Then it will not be enshrined in the body of Moses, but, terrible to tell, it will be incarnate in the person of the Son of God sitting upon the throne.
He will be at once the Lawgiver, the Judge, and the Savior; and you that have despised Him as the Savior will have to appear before Him as your Judge. No such judge as He, His justice will be clear and undiluted now that His mercy has been scorned. Oil is soft, but set it on fire, and see how it burns! Love is sweet, but curdle it to jealousy, and see how sour it is! If you turn the Lamb of Zion into the Lion of the tribe of Judah, beware, for He will tear you in pieces, and there shall be none to deliver.
Rejected love will change its hand. The pierced hand was outstretched with invitations of mercy, but if these be rejected — O sirs, I am telling you solemn truth, and hear it, I pray you, ere I send you away — if from that hand that was pierced you will not take the perfect salvation which He is prepared to give to all who confess their guilt, you will have to receive from that selfsame hand the blows of that iron rod which shall break you in pieces as a potter’s vessel.
Fly now, and kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish from the way while His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him! Amen.
Charles H. Spurgeon
Friday, July 25, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Sarcasm of the year (so far) award
From Douglas Groothuis over at The Constructive Curmudgeon:
Why I Will Vote for Obama
Yes, he doesn't share my views on abortion, but so what? After all, aborted babies go to heaven. If they grow up, they might go to hell. Abortion on demand is the best form of evangelism ever invented. So, with Obama we'd continue to get over a million babies into heaven year, and Supreme Court Justices to insure that it goes on for another generation.
Obama would push for more and more federal funding for abortions, which means we would be using state money for evangelism! How cool is that?! And I'm sure the ACLU would never call him on it. Yes, I know the Bible talks about "Thou shalt not murder" and caring for "the least of these," but let's not get legalistic and impose our Christian morality on others.
Why I Will Vote for Obama
Yes, he doesn't share my views on abortion, but so what? After all, aborted babies go to heaven. If they grow up, they might go to hell. Abortion on demand is the best form of evangelism ever invented. So, with Obama we'd continue to get over a million babies into heaven year, and Supreme Court Justices to insure that it goes on for another generation.
Obama would push for more and more federal funding for abortions, which means we would be using state money for evangelism! How cool is that?! And I'm sure the ACLU would never call him on it. Yes, I know the Bible talks about "Thou shalt not murder" and caring for "the least of these," but let's not get legalistic and impose our Christian morality on others.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Hocus Pocus Religion
From Time 2 Change Churches......Pastor Brian has nailed a concern of mine and I had to post it here. Thank you Sir!
American Churchianity
In making an attempt to describe the american church to someone it is necessary to set the original groundwork down so the person can understand some major differences between the original ACTS church and the American Church.
ACTS Church
41 So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added. 42 They were devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Reverential awe came over everyone, and many wonders and miraculous signs came about by the apostles. 44 All who believed were together and held everything in common, 45 and they began selling their property and possessions and distributing the proceeds to everyone, as anyone had need. 46 Every day they continued to gather together by common consent in the temple courts, breaking bread from house to house, sharing their food with glad and humble hearts, 47 praising God and having the good will of all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number every day those who were being saved.
American Church
So an advertisement went up at the local Wal-Mart promoting the Elvis impersonator and the gospel according to him. There was no teaching that would take place, it was all about the fellowship and the breaking of the bondage that we are in. Exceeding gladness came over everyone as they listened to the songs (especially Love Me Tender). All who believed that Elvis was truly saved (because of his fruits of debauchery, drunkenness, adultery) came forward at the end of the service. Afterall, he MUST be saved if he sang gospel songs! Once a week the people would gather to look down their noses at the other people, often complaining about what clothes they were wearing and gossipping about what so and so did yesterday. Hot dogs were sold immediately after the service and everyone was praising the hot dog maker. And the Lord did not see fit to add to their numbers. But Satan did. Their numbers continued to grow each week as new programs were added to the service. Motorcycle jumps were added, free gas was given away, talks on sex were sold out immediately. Girls were seen wearing dresses that were a full 10 inches above their knees and the men were seen looking at the girls. This church "must" be blessed because the pastor is a best selling author and since millions of people buy his books, he must be right. As the people came to church, no mention of sin was found. No mention of repentance was found either. The sinners prayer was said and people were magically saved. Hocus Pocus -- You are saved!
In the Acts church, the people that were saved were knowledgeable of the Law. They knew the Law, they did not know about the grace of God. Once they learned that, they gave themselves to Him and were saved. For people who do not know the Law, it is important that we use the Law to convict people of their sins. The law acts as a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. We are not saved by the Law, it just acts as a mirror to show us how God sees us. Sinners in need of a Savior. Imagine what it must be like to try to live by the law. There is no human possible way that any person could keep the whole law of God. A person would feel as though he had no chance at all of going to heaven. Then the Savior came! Victory in Jesus! These people who knew they were destined for hell, found out about a Savior that loves them so much that He died on the cross and took their punishment upon Himself. It was the grace of God that saved them!
How many times do we see people get saved only to never set foot in a church again? Do we see people who are really hungry for God's Word? No. The hunger is gone from the American church. People are more interested in being entertained than they are in hearing God's Word. In fact, you can see people start looking at their watches after about 20 minutes of preaching. Some people will actually leave a service because it is infringing on their lunch date at the local Sirloin Stockade. The American Church is so void of reverance for God, so void of true honor and glory to Him. The American church has been relegated to nothing more than a meeting place for the world to pretend they care about God. It has become filled with lazy, boring, entertainment oriented pastors, who have not got a clue as to how much danger they are in. They have perverted the Word of God. They have shaken hands with the Devil in order to be seen acceptable to the world. They have become money hungry estates where the pastor is the beneficiary.
The pastor, in all his glory, has decided to stop preaching the whole gospel and has taken the easy way out. Instead of training people to get out into the streets and actually start reaching the lost, he is making his church (not God's church, but "his" church) a place where it is filled with unbelievers. The church was never meant to be for unbelievers. It is for believers so they can worship God, praise Him and be edified by His Word. It is a time of like-minded believers to share in fellowship with one another. What we have today is a church filled with the world and there is absolutely no growth taking place. When we make church services to be geared towards the lowest common denominator (the unbeliever), then there will never be any growth. That is why Willow Creek will never have true spiritual growth within their walls. When Church becomes a marketing scheme, it will come across exactly as that, a scheme!
Everyone is being trained to get people to say the sinners prayer."If you will just repeat after me, you can know for sure you are going to heaven...Dear God, I am sorry. Please forgive me of my sins. I want to ask you into my heart and I want to live for you. Thank you for sending Jesus to die for me. I accept you. in Jesus Name, Amen."
First off, it is not US that needs to accept Jesus. We need to pray that HE accepts us! We are the lowly sinners who are headed for hell. There is nothing we can do to earn our way into heaven. Jesus is not a beggar hoping someone will accept Him. He is the creator of all things. He is LORD! Just because someone says the sinners prayer does not mean they are saved.
Secondly, the sinners prayer is not biblical. It is not found anywhere in the Bible. There is not even anything close to it. It is a lazy man-made scheme to bring people to Christ. Why not take time to do the real work of a Christian. Learn God's Word, take it to the streets and tell people what they need to know. If you do it the right way, they will fall to their knees on their own and on their own they will cry out to God to save them! That person is much more likely to come to church because they will hunger for God's Word.
We can't keep using the sinners prayer as a Hocus Pocus, you are saved, method of bringing people to Christ. Let's keep it biblical. I have heard pastors say that their way is the best way. Never are we to do it OUR way. We are the sinners who have not got a clue. We should always do it the way Jesus did it! The way He taught His disciples to do it. Why in the world would we want to deviate away from biblical teachings? Why? Because it is offensive to the world and the American Church would never want to offend anyone!
Here is the biblical way to witness and share your faith....c'mon, you can do this!
Now get out there and share your faith. People are dying and going to Hell. You have the words of life!!
American Churchianity
In making an attempt to describe the american church to someone it is necessary to set the original groundwork down so the person can understand some major differences between the original ACTS church and the American Church.
ACTS Church
41 So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added. 42 They were devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Reverential awe came over everyone, and many wonders and miraculous signs came about by the apostles. 44 All who believed were together and held everything in common, 45 and they began selling their property and possessions and distributing the proceeds to everyone, as anyone had need. 46 Every day they continued to gather together by common consent in the temple courts, breaking bread from house to house, sharing their food with glad and humble hearts, 47 praising God and having the good will of all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number every day those who were being saved.
American Church
So an advertisement went up at the local Wal-Mart promoting the Elvis impersonator and the gospel according to him. There was no teaching that would take place, it was all about the fellowship and the breaking of the bondage that we are in. Exceeding gladness came over everyone as they listened to the songs (especially Love Me Tender). All who believed that Elvis was truly saved (because of his fruits of debauchery, drunkenness, adultery) came forward at the end of the service. Afterall, he MUST be saved if he sang gospel songs! Once a week the people would gather to look down their noses at the other people, often complaining about what clothes they were wearing and gossipping about what so and so did yesterday. Hot dogs were sold immediately after the service and everyone was praising the hot dog maker. And the Lord did not see fit to add to their numbers. But Satan did. Their numbers continued to grow each week as new programs were added to the service. Motorcycle jumps were added, free gas was given away, talks on sex were sold out immediately. Girls were seen wearing dresses that were a full 10 inches above their knees and the men were seen looking at the girls. This church "must" be blessed because the pastor is a best selling author and since millions of people buy his books, he must be right. As the people came to church, no mention of sin was found. No mention of repentance was found either. The sinners prayer was said and people were magically saved. Hocus Pocus -- You are saved!
In the Acts church, the people that were saved were knowledgeable of the Law. They knew the Law, they did not know about the grace of God. Once they learned that, they gave themselves to Him and were saved. For people who do not know the Law, it is important that we use the Law to convict people of their sins. The law acts as a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. We are not saved by the Law, it just acts as a mirror to show us how God sees us. Sinners in need of a Savior. Imagine what it must be like to try to live by the law. There is no human possible way that any person could keep the whole law of God. A person would feel as though he had no chance at all of going to heaven. Then the Savior came! Victory in Jesus! These people who knew they were destined for hell, found out about a Savior that loves them so much that He died on the cross and took their punishment upon Himself. It was the grace of God that saved them!
How many times do we see people get saved only to never set foot in a church again? Do we see people who are really hungry for God's Word? No. The hunger is gone from the American church. People are more interested in being entertained than they are in hearing God's Word. In fact, you can see people start looking at their watches after about 20 minutes of preaching. Some people will actually leave a service because it is infringing on their lunch date at the local Sirloin Stockade. The American Church is so void of reverance for God, so void of true honor and glory to Him. The American church has been relegated to nothing more than a meeting place for the world to pretend they care about God. It has become filled with lazy, boring, entertainment oriented pastors, who have not got a clue as to how much danger they are in. They have perverted the Word of God. They have shaken hands with the Devil in order to be seen acceptable to the world. They have become money hungry estates where the pastor is the beneficiary.
The pastor, in all his glory, has decided to stop preaching the whole gospel and has taken the easy way out. Instead of training people to get out into the streets and actually start reaching the lost, he is making his church (not God's church, but "his" church) a place where it is filled with unbelievers. The church was never meant to be for unbelievers. It is for believers so they can worship God, praise Him and be edified by His Word. It is a time of like-minded believers to share in fellowship with one another. What we have today is a church filled with the world and there is absolutely no growth taking place. When we make church services to be geared towards the lowest common denominator (the unbeliever), then there will never be any growth. That is why Willow Creek will never have true spiritual growth within their walls. When Church becomes a marketing scheme, it will come across exactly as that, a scheme!
Everyone is being trained to get people to say the sinners prayer."If you will just repeat after me, you can know for sure you are going to heaven...Dear God, I am sorry. Please forgive me of my sins. I want to ask you into my heart and I want to live for you. Thank you for sending Jesus to die for me. I accept you. in Jesus Name, Amen."
First off, it is not US that needs to accept Jesus. We need to pray that HE accepts us! We are the lowly sinners who are headed for hell. There is nothing we can do to earn our way into heaven. Jesus is not a beggar hoping someone will accept Him. He is the creator of all things. He is LORD! Just because someone says the sinners prayer does not mean they are saved.
Secondly, the sinners prayer is not biblical. It is not found anywhere in the Bible. There is not even anything close to it. It is a lazy man-made scheme to bring people to Christ. Why not take time to do the real work of a Christian. Learn God's Word, take it to the streets and tell people what they need to know. If you do it the right way, they will fall to their knees on their own and on their own they will cry out to God to save them! That person is much more likely to come to church because they will hunger for God's Word.
We can't keep using the sinners prayer as a Hocus Pocus, you are saved, method of bringing people to Christ. Let's keep it biblical. I have heard pastors say that their way is the best way. Never are we to do it OUR way. We are the sinners who have not got a clue. We should always do it the way Jesus did it! The way He taught His disciples to do it. Why in the world would we want to deviate away from biblical teachings? Why? Because it is offensive to the world and the American Church would never want to offend anyone!
Here is the biblical way to witness and share your faith....c'mon, you can do this!
Now get out there and share your faith. People are dying and going to Hell. You have the words of life!!
Monday, July 14, 2008
Eternal abhorrence -- Infinite love
Eternal abhorrence--infinite love
(John Fawcett, "Christ Precious")
"Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through Him!" Romans 5:9
The blood of our Divine Savior is emphatically called precious blood. 1 Peter 1:19. The shedding of His blood procures--our pardon, our peace with God, and our everlasting salvation. On the cross--our sins were imputed to Him--and His righteousness was imputed to us. We look to Calvary, and view the suffering Savior--as bearing our sins in His own body on the tree, and putting them away by the sacrifice of Himself.
The complete atonement which Jesus Christ has made for our sins, by the sacrifice of Himself--is the life and center of the evangelical system, and that which endears it so much to the hearts of those who believe. Here we see pardon procured, and the sinner saved--while sin is condemned and punished. Here we see the most solemn display of justice and holiness, in conjunction with the freest exercise of mercy. Here we see sinful rebels delivered from deserved punishment, and advanced to a state of dignity and honor; and at the same time, the rights of that divine government against which they had rebelled, inviolably preserved and maintained. Through what Jesus Christ has done and suffered for us--we behold the righteous law of God magnified, in justifying those who had violated its precepts, and brought themselves under its curse. In the death of that Lamb of God, we perceive at once--the Almighty's eternal abhorrence of that which is evil--and His infinite love to His offending creatures.
To a condemned malefactor--a pardon sent from his offended sovereign must be precious. Just so, nothing can be matter of greater comfort--than to know that we have redemption though the blood of Jesus, the forgiveness of our sins, according to the riches of His grace. "Yes, He is very precious to you who believe!" 1 Peter 2:7
(John Fawcett, "Christ Precious")
"Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through Him!" Romans 5:9
The blood of our Divine Savior is emphatically called precious blood. 1 Peter 1:19. The shedding of His blood procures--our pardon, our peace with God, and our everlasting salvation. On the cross--our sins were imputed to Him--and His righteousness was imputed to us. We look to Calvary, and view the suffering Savior--as bearing our sins in His own body on the tree, and putting them away by the sacrifice of Himself.
The complete atonement which Jesus Christ has made for our sins, by the sacrifice of Himself--is the life and center of the evangelical system, and that which endears it so much to the hearts of those who believe. Here we see pardon procured, and the sinner saved--while sin is condemned and punished. Here we see the most solemn display of justice and holiness, in conjunction with the freest exercise of mercy. Here we see sinful rebels delivered from deserved punishment, and advanced to a state of dignity and honor; and at the same time, the rights of that divine government against which they had rebelled, inviolably preserved and maintained. Through what Jesus Christ has done and suffered for us--we behold the righteous law of God magnified, in justifying those who had violated its precepts, and brought themselves under its curse. In the death of that Lamb of God, we perceive at once--the Almighty's eternal abhorrence of that which is evil--and His infinite love to His offending creatures.
To a condemned malefactor--a pardon sent from his offended sovereign must be precious. Just so, nothing can be matter of greater comfort--than to know that we have redemption though the blood of Jesus, the forgiveness of our sins, according to the riches of His grace. "Yes, He is very precious to you who believe!" 1 Peter 2:7
Thursday, July 10, 2008
The Judgment at Christ's Coming
The Judgment at Christ’s Coming (1 Thess 2:5-12)
This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
How should we interpret the above verses? Should we interpret literally, figuratively, symbolically, poetically or allegorically?
There are ‘Christians’ who say that we can’t take the Bible literally. They will tell you that a literal interpretation of the Bible is only a 500 year old (young?) tradition.
Folks, not only should the above verses be taken literally, all of Scripture should be taken literally. If we start picking apart the Scriptures and saying, “This one I like, so it must be a literal statement. This one I don’t like, so it must be symbolic or figurative.” we undermine the Holy Word of God and make Him out a liar.
When we study and read the Scriptures we must absolutely ask ourselves what the writer, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, was trying to tell us.
God tells us to rightly handle His Word correctly (2 Tim 2:15). In order to do this we must understand all contexts in which the Scripture was written.
Did the disciples take God’s Word literal? You bet they did. Did Jesus take the Scriptures literal? You bet He did! Jesus quoted the Word of God to Satan when rebuking him. Jesus brought up Jonah to the Pharisee’s (You know, that whole man in the belly of a fish thing).
Please…….Please……..somebody tell me how to interpret the above verses any way but literally.
Oh what a terrible day it will be for those who do not know God and those who do not obey the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Please take God at His Word. He is angry at sin and sinners and will crush them on the Day of Judgment. Sin is transgressing God’s Law. Lying, stealing, adultery, blaspheming, making a graven image and so on, is sin. God hates this.
You don’t have to be crushed and condemned eternally in Hell. God did something awesome for you. God clothed Himself in flesh and walked a perfect sinless life. He allowed Himself to be taken by sinful man and to be brutally tortured and hung on a cross. He died on that cross and three days later God raised Jesus from the dead.
He did this awesome thing so you could have forgiveness of your sins.
Repent today and trust in Christ to save you. If you are still breathing its not too late.
This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
How should we interpret the above verses? Should we interpret literally, figuratively, symbolically, poetically or allegorically?
There are ‘Christians’ who say that we can’t take the Bible literally. They will tell you that a literal interpretation of the Bible is only a 500 year old (young?) tradition.
Folks, not only should the above verses be taken literally, all of Scripture should be taken literally. If we start picking apart the Scriptures and saying, “This one I like, so it must be a literal statement. This one I don’t like, so it must be symbolic or figurative.” we undermine the Holy Word of God and make Him out a liar.
When we study and read the Scriptures we must absolutely ask ourselves what the writer, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, was trying to tell us.
God tells us to rightly handle His Word correctly (2 Tim 2:15). In order to do this we must understand all contexts in which the Scripture was written.
Did the disciples take God’s Word literal? You bet they did. Did Jesus take the Scriptures literal? You bet He did! Jesus quoted the Word of God to Satan when rebuking him. Jesus brought up Jonah to the Pharisee’s (You know, that whole man in the belly of a fish thing).
Please…….Please……..somebody tell me how to interpret the above verses any way but literally.
Oh what a terrible day it will be for those who do not know God and those who do not obey the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Please take God at His Word. He is angry at sin and sinners and will crush them on the Day of Judgment. Sin is transgressing God’s Law. Lying, stealing, adultery, blaspheming, making a graven image and so on, is sin. God hates this.
You don’t have to be crushed and condemned eternally in Hell. God did something awesome for you. God clothed Himself in flesh and walked a perfect sinless life. He allowed Himself to be taken by sinful man and to be brutally tortured and hung on a cross. He died on that cross and three days later God raised Jesus from the dead.
He did this awesome thing so you could have forgiveness of your sins.
Repent today and trust in Christ to save you. If you are still breathing its not too late.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Literal or not
Is God angry at sinners? Was Jesus Christ a propitiation for our sins?
Erika said this about God's wrath and Christ's atonement on Doorman Priests blog
*You do, of course, know that this is a fairly modern view of the atonement, no more than 500 years old.*
*Wayne,reading the bible literally is also no older than 500 years.*
My responses:
Hmmm. let's see if the Bible has anything to say about atonement or propitiation (in which dictionary.com says :The act of appeasing the wrath and conciliating the favor of an offended person; the act of making propitious.)
Romans 3:25
whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,
Hebrews 2:17
Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
1 John 2:2
And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
1 John 4:10In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Propitiation for what? Wrath of God for our sins.
John 3:36
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.”
Romans 1:18
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
Romans 5:9
Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
Ephesians 5:6
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
Colossians 3:6
Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience,
God is angry and will be full of wrath on sinners who die their sins. But He is rich in mercy and provided a propitiation (atonement) in Christ Jesus who took the full wrath for our sins at Calvary. If we repent and trust in Christ He will save us from the terrible Day.
Erika - I invite you to tell me which of the above verses you would take literal and which ones you do not. I also ask you to tell me how you would interpret them if they are not to be taken literal.
Erika said this about God's wrath and Christ's atonement on Doorman Priests blog
*You do, of course, know that this is a fairly modern view of the atonement, no more than 500 years old.*
*Wayne,reading the bible literally is also no older than 500 years.*
My responses:
Hmmm. let's see if the Bible has anything to say about atonement or propitiation (in which dictionary.com says :The act of appeasing the wrath and conciliating the favor of an offended person; the act of making propitious.)
Romans 3:25
whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,
Hebrews 2:17
Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
1 John 2:2
And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
1 John 4:10In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Propitiation for what? Wrath of God for our sins.
John 3:36
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.”
Romans 1:18
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
Romans 5:9
Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
Ephesians 5:6
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
Colossians 3:6
Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience,
God is angry and will be full of wrath on sinners who die their sins. But He is rich in mercy and provided a propitiation (atonement) in Christ Jesus who took the full wrath for our sins at Calvary. If we repent and trust in Christ He will save us from the terrible Day.
Erika - I invite you to tell me which of the above verses you would take literal and which ones you do not. I also ask you to tell me how you would interpret them if they are not to be taken literal.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Thursday, July 03, 2008
The Ultimate Independence.
This Friday is the 232 birthday of our great country. This 4th of July we will celebrate yet another year of independence from a country that once held us captive.Our forefathers sacrificed everything they had to fight and secure for us a country where we would be free to exercise the freedoms found in our great Constitution.
Christian, this Friday there will perhaps be hundreds or thousands of folks gathered together to celebrate and watch a dazzling fireworks show in a town near you. Most of these people will still be in bondage. They are still captive and held hostage to sin. You, Christian, have the words of life that can set them free. You have the cure that will gain them independence.
As the masses wait at their favorite places to sit and wait to watch the fireworks show, go and share the good news of the Gospel. Hand out some tracts. Engage in a conversation. Plant a seed. Water a seed. Lead someone to the Lord.
Everyday 150,000 people step off the face of the Earth into eternity somewhere. Look at the counter on the right side of this blog…..how many have stepped into eternity since you have been on this page?
Take a few moments this 4th of July to witness to someone and give them the words of life. Maybe, through your obedience to God, someone will have the shackles of sin loosed and they will be freed from their captivity.
Give someone a chance this day to gain the ultimate independence!
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