Rapid-Onset Gender Dysphoria Research Vindicated – Family & Society – WORLD

https://world.wng.org/content/rapid_onset_gender_dysphoria_research_vindicated

The Complete Incompatibility of Islamic Theocracy with Democracy – Islam’s 1400 Year Quest to Fulfill Muhammad’s Prophecy to Dominate the World

John Quincy Adams, President of the United States, served on the Board of Trustees in 1832. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

6th President of the United States of America John Quincy Adams on Islam: 1824-1829

“In the seventh century of the Christian era, a wandering Arab of the lineage of Hagar [i.e., Muhammad], the Egyptian, […..] Adopting from the new Revelation of Jesus, the faith and hope of immortal life, and of future retribution, he humbled it to the dust by adapting all the rewards and sanctions of his religion to the gratification of the sexual passion. He poisoned the sources of human felicity at the fountain, by degrading the condition of the female sex, and the allowance of polygamy; and he declared undistinguishing and exterminating war, as a part of his religion, against all the rest of mankind. THE ESSENCE OF HIS DOCTRINE WAS VIOLENCE AND LUST.- TO EXALT THE BRUTAL OVER THE SPIRITUAL PART OF HUMAN NATURE…. Between these two religions, thus contrasted in their characters, a war of twelve hundred years has already raged. The war is yet flagrant … While the merciless and dissolute dogmas of the false prophet shall furnish motives to human action, there can never be peace upon earth, and good will towards men.”   

Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1955. Deutsch: Winston Churchill, 1940 bis 1945 sowie 1951 bis 1955 Premier des Vereinigten Königreichs und Literaturnobelpreisträger des Jahres 1953. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Winston Churchill on Islam:

“How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live.”

“A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement; the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property, either as a child, a wife, or a concubine, must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men.”

“Individual Moslems may show splendid qualities, but the influence of the religion paralyzes the social development of those who follow it.”

“No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilization of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilization of ancient Rome.”

— Sir Winston Spencer Churchill (The River War, first edition, Vol. II, pages 248-50 (London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1899)

These were not uneducated men who knew nothing of their subject and had simply spoken recklessly. 

Rather, both of these great leaders of the free countries of Great Britton and of the United States of America spoke the real truth.

The word Islam means ,”Submit”. (Choice is ultimately not respected, and force is doctrine).

Qur’an (3:151) “We will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve”

In America we do not understand that Islamic doctrine demands NO SEPARATION between church and state. All Muslims believe Islam must advance until all the world submits to Allah, that apostates must be killed, and what the Quran says must be followed. Unlike old Testament violence in the Bible only in a couple of special circumstances, the Quranic verses that call for violence in the name of Allah do so under all circumstances, even today.
There is no new testament in the Quran.

But in the Bible Jesus said, 

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”(John 8:36)

“He,(Jesus), stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. 

The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 

He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

(Luke 4:17-21)

One religion will bind you, the other resonates, defines, and inspires freedom.

filled in your hearing.”

(Luke 4:17-21)

One religion will bind you, the other resonates, defines, and inspires freedom.

One rules by fear, the other by faith and love.

These representations are based on the central tenets of the religions compared here and not the misrepresentations of said core beliefs. In short, it is when Christianity is misrepresented that violence is perpetrated. Islam is genuine when violence is perpetrated. The confusion comes when we mistake the natural tendancy for evil in human nature with religion in general. Islam is specifically designed to appeal to the darkness in men’s hearts. Genuine Christianity displaces the darkness.

One rules by fear, the other by faith and love. 

Related articles

• http://www.pewforum.org/Muslim/the-worlds-muslims-religion-politics-society-exec.aspx
• Sharia Law versus the U.S. Constitution, No Room Here for a Theocracy! (dcclothesline.com)
• Islamophile Apologist UK PM Cameron On Woolwich Jihad: “Nothing In Islam Justifies This” “A Betrayal of Islam” (ironicsurrealism.com)
• UnMasking Islam: What You Need to Know (thedailysheeple.com)
• Arab Writer: Islam’s Uncivilized ‘Civilization’ Has Accomplished Nothing, ‘Philosophy And Logic Are Considered Heresy In Islam’ (midnightwatcher.wordpress.com)
• Muslims Force Islamic Prayer into Dearborn Public Schools (independentsentinel.com)
• Islam Falsifies All Other Religions: “Jesus is a Slave to Allah” (atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com)
• Michigan Muslims Attack Off-Campus Bible Studies and Get Permission to PRAY IN SCHOOLS (dcclothesline.com)
• MICHIGAN: On its way to becoming the first Islamic sharia-compliant state in America (iranaware.com)
• At King’s Islamic hearings, Muslim victims warn Congress while Dems question their very participation, and Hamas-CAIR says, “No such thing as Islamism,” Islam is Islam (atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com)

http://www.salon.com/2015/11/14/it_was_probably_not_the_amish_bill_maher_urges_liberals_to_wake_up_about_islam_after_paris_attacks
http://wikiislam.net/wiki/The_Story_of_Umm_Qirfa

80+ dead’ after truck crashes into crowd at Bastille Day celebrations in Nice ‘terror attack’. http://tiny.iavian.net/b8cx

“Follow Jesus, My Brethren, and Not the Church”

“Follow Jesus, my brethren, and not the church, for our Lord has never said to his disciples, “Follow your brethren,” but he has said “Follow me.” He has not said, “Abide by the denominational confession,” but he has said, “Abide in me.” Nothing must come in between our souls and our Lord.” ~C.H.Spurgeon~ The Prince of Preachers

The Only Fire Able to Temper the Firmest Resolve

“We love Him because He first loved us.”
(1John 4:19 NKJV)

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
(John 3:16 NKJV)

To Know the Love of Christ – A Sure Cure for Two Dimensional Religion

The real Jesus Christ draws people to Himself and is continually intriguing.

The personage and love of Jesus is unlimited in width and length and depth and height. Jesus is multi – dimensionally infinite.

“that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Eph 3:17-19 NKJV)

Why are so many people not drawn to church ?

Have so many of our churches become so shallow and uninteresting?

Perhaps we have adopted the world’s shallow 2 dimensional philosophy of the heart and mind. A mind devoid of a transformed heart is shallow by comparison with the renewed heart and mind.

To truly know Christ is to experience love that transcends that which the mind is even able to comprehend.

If the church can reflect Jesus Christ and God’s love to the world, people will be drawn to worship Christ as they were drawn to Him during His earthly ministry.

The transformed mind and heart will come to know Christ and His unlimited personage, divine personality, and infinite love.

Then we will be able to introduce Jesus to others.

To know Him and experience Him we must be rooted and grounded in love with Him through faith in Him.

“For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Rom 10:10 NKJV)

And then we must continually be, “grounded in love, “”that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” This is the path to transformation and then to ongoing discipleship.

Father God please help us know the width and length and depth and height of Jesus and His love so we can better share Him with everyone.

Desire to Know Truth No Matter Where It Leads You

My wife and I were sitting in the office of a marriage counselor as he gave us an, “interview”.

We had hit the proverbial bump in the road and had just agreed to seek counseling after two months of separation.

I asked the counselor what purpose an interview with him would serve towards the reconciliation of our marriage.
He told me the purpose of the interview was to determine if the two of us sincerely wanted to know the truth about our relationship with one another, and how to mend it, and whether or not he was willing to be our marriage counselor.

I was shocked.

He continued to tell us how most people don’t really want to know the truth in regard to what is wrong with their marriage.

“I estimate about 90 percent of the people who come to me for help don’t really want to know the truth about what’s wrong and how to fix it,” he said.

That was twenty years ago and I still remember the feeling of shock I had at the thought that most of us, more often than not, are reluctant to know the truth even when our very lives depend on it.

Yes, it has been tough at times. But we’re still married after 37 years.
And we owe a great debt of gratitude to a counselor who dared to be painfully honest with us even though we could have easily been offended and walked out of the office that day.

We have learned a great lesson;

The truth is often hard to take, but is always best for us.
We should always follow the truth no matter where it leads us.

C. S. Lewis reflected on his conversion to Christianity in a similar way in his book, “Surprised by Joy”.

“You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England.”
~C.S.Lewis~

Consider what Jesus said in regards to the truth ;

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
(John 8:32 NKJV)

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
(John 14:6 NKJV)

The truth is that we all need Jesus as Savior before this life ends, reluctant as we may be to accept that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Follow Jesus.

Watch “The Cross – Billy Graham’s Message To America”

Witness the power and reality of a man who knows Christ to such a degree that he became God’s prophet to the nations of the world.

Millions have come to know Christ through the ministry of the Reverend Billy Graham.

Watch this video and see how God has used and is still using Billy Graham as His instrument to bring life through Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world.

” For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

We Acknowledge a King Men did not Crown and Cannot Destroy

” Our western civilization, like all others before it, must some time or other decompose and disappear. The world’s way of regarding intimations that this is happening is to engage equally in idiot hopes and idiot despair. On the one hand, some new policy or discovery is confidently expected to put everything to rights: a new fuel, a new drug, détente, world government, a common market, North Sea oil, revolution or counter-revolution. On the other hand, some disaster is as confidently expected to prove our undoing: Capitalism will break down, communism take over, or vice versa; fuel will run out, atomic wastes will kill us all, plutonium will lay us low, overpopulation will suffocate us.In Christian terms, such hopes and fears are equally beside the point. As Christians we know that here we have no continuing city, that crowns roll in the dust, and that every earthly kingdom must some time founder. As Christians, too, we acknowledge a King men did not crown and cannot destroy, just as we are citizens of a city men did not build and cannot destroy. It was in these terms that the apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome and in Corinth, living as they did in a society as depraved and dissolute as ours—under a ruler, the emperor Nero, who makes even some of our rulers seem positively enlightened—with the games, which, like television, specialized in spectacles of violence and eroticism: “Be steadfast, unmoveable,” he exhorted them, “always abounding in God’s work and concerning yourselves with the things that are not seen; for the things that are seen are temporal, and the things that are not seen are eternal.” It was in the breakdown of Rome that Christendom was born, and now in the breakdown of Christendom there are the same requirements and the same possibilities to eschew the fantasy of a disintegrating world and seek the reality of what is not seen and is eternal—the reality of Christ. In this reality we see our only hope, our only prospect in a darkening world.”

Malcolm Muggeridge

Free Will Explained Well

“God does not choose us because we believe, but that we may believe.”

~Augustine~

“Until God saves us ,we are all like Lazarus. We are dead and unable to even call out to Christ.”

“Christ calls us out of our tomb of death into life.”

The First Christmas Gift – God Came Down To Us

 

 

The First Christmas Gift – God Came Down To Us

Click on this link above to watch an amazing Christmas pageant by Kensington Church in Troy Michigan.

The humorous intro includes NFL ,(American), Pro Football Detroit Lions players Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson.

Following that is ,”The Christmas Song”, an original Jazz/Rock piece by the Kensington praise musicians that about blew me away.

Most or all of this stage performance was recorded live, so the video includes a 1 minute intercession after the initial song.

What follows is an amazing  theatrical story that illustrates how when God came to be with us , He brought life and light into our dark and dead world.

The Bible says that we didn’t understand who Christ,why He came, or what He was doing.

When the story begins, everything is in shades of black, white , and gray.

Interestingly, the color red is used, the color of blood, to symbolize how Christ gave His life in order to give us life.

Then everything bursts into vibrant color to symbolize new life through Christ.

The video is 86 minutes long but can be started or stopped at any point.

If you wonder what Christmas is all about, or if you feel like you have lost the joy for Christmas, this video will help you find your joy.

The pageant is filled with amazing original music and a simple yet profound message.

I recommend watching this regardless of your condition in life.

Whether alone or with family,..

this message is meant for each one of us no matter where we are in life.

God came down to us!

The first Christmas gift was to us!

Bee-lieve

Like a Bee to the sweet nectar of a flower, come to Jesus, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Cast off all your heavy burdens and believe in Jesus, for He bore our burdens on the cross.

He paid the price of the penalty of our sins.

Ask Jesus to save you and He will.

Only believe.

Mark 1:15 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

Mark 16:16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:

John 3:15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

John 3:18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

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.”

John 5:24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

John 6:29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

John 6:35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

John 6:40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

John 6:47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.

John 7:38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

John 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 11:26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

John 14:1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.

John 20:29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

John 20:31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

Acts 10:43 To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.”

Acts 13:39 and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

Romans 4:5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,

Romans 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
1:17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

Romans 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Romans 10:10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 10:11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it  is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

I John 3:23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.

I John 5:13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue  to believe in the name of the Son of God.

Closing the Theological Loop of the Faith and Works Debate.

The Death of Jesus (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Cruising the blogosphere or Twitter can be very revealing.

It seems you can always find a comment or article by someone expressing concern for an apparent lack of focus on works and holiness on the part of Christians. They almost always quote James 2:17.

 ^“Even so faith, if it has not works, is dead, being alone.”(James 2:17)

And then you have another group who only wants to quote about love.

 “ If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”(1 Corinthians 13:3) 

Both are true. The Answer is in closing the theological loop of the Faith and Works Debate.

Faith without Works is dead.

Works without Love is Nothing.

The only question is; “How do we find this LOVE we need so our works will amount to something instead of nothing?”

This is how,…

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus. He is God in flesh and He came here just to save us and make us His own.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus and His cross. Jesus was born to die there. He took our sins on Himself. He was perfect and Holy. Christ alone was worthy to pay our debt.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus and His resurrection from the dead. He conquered death so He alone could give life to all who come to Him in faith, believing Christ died for them and accepting Him as Lord and Savior.

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the JOY set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2)

“We love because he first loved us.”(1 John  4:19)

The Pathway to Blessing

Commitment on Trial

Genesis 22:4-18

Abraham began walking with the Lord many years before he was asked to offer Isaac on the altar. His first step had been to leave his home and relatives and go to a land God pledged to show him. But now he was being told to give up the person he cherished most. Isaac was the son of promise–the one through whom God would bring forth a great nation and bless the entire world. This was the biggest challenge Abraham had ever faced, yet he obeyed.

The Lord never allows us to rest on a spiritual plateau. That’s why He at times tests our commitment. These stretching opportunities are an expression of His love because He knows that standing still is not what’s best for us. The testing is designed to help us grow in faith, obedience, and spiritual maturity while increasing our dedication. That is the way we become valuable servants in His kingdom.

Abraham’s obedience to this crucial test was determined by his understanding of God. He believed that the Lord would keep His promise to give him descendants through Isaac, even if it required raising the boy from the dead (Heb. 11:17-19). That’s why Abraham confidently declared to his servants, “We will worship and return to you” (Gen. 22:5, emphasis added). He knew the Lord was faithful.

If you’re going through a time of testing, God is seeking to raise your commitment to a new level. He wants to prove to you that He’s faithful to His promises and will greatly bless you for your obedience. The stretching may be painful, but He will wrap you in His love and carry you to victory.

Charles Stanley

These Great Minds Believed in The God and Father of Jesus Christ

There is no shortage of great minds professing belief in God. Let no one insult your intelligence for joining the ranks of these men: Paul of Tarsus, Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, John Damascene, Origen, Augustine, John Chrysostom, Boethius, Erigena, Anselm, Abelard, Aquinas, Bonaventura, Scotus, Ockham, Nicholas of Cusa, Cajetan, Luther, Calvin,

Thomas Aquinas

Copernicus

Kepler

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Leonardo Da Vinci

 Michelangelo

BlaisePascal

 Galileo

Sir Isaac Newton

Louis Pasteur

Tolstoy

Dostoyevsky

G.K.Chesterson

C.S.Lewis

T.S.Eliot

Tim Keller

Kepler, Bacon, Ignatius Loyola, Dante, da Vinci, Michelangelo, Descartes, Pascal, Leibniz, Berkeley, Copernicus, Newton, Kierkegaard, Newman, Pasteur, Jaspers, Marcel, Galileo, Tolstoy, Chesterton, Dostoyevsky, T. S. Eliot, C. S. Lewis and Tim Keller.

https://www.facebook.com/Logical.Faith/posts/412949245438955

God Grant Me Faith – Prayer

Lord thank you for the faith to change what I can, the courage to believe nothing is too hard for you, and the wisdom to know that for sure. — God Came Down

“The Spirit which rests upon Jesus must anoint us also, or the measure of faith will not be enlarged.”
Breathe then the prayer to God, my brother, “Increase my faith:” this will be a far wiser course than to resolve in your own strength, “I will believe more,” for, perhaps, in rebuke of your pride you will fall into a decaying state, and even believe less. After having made so vainglorious a resolution, you may fall into grievous despondency: do not therefore say, “I will accumulate more faith,” but pray “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.” Herein is your wisdom.”– C.H.Spurgeon —

What the Church Has to Offer – Jesus The Lamb of God – The Huffington Post?

“What the Church has to offer must center on an enactment of the life of Jesus. Inexplicably, the churches of the right, left and middle have tended away from Christ’s vivid example of living and dying, offering church-likeness instead of Christ-likeness.” (The author)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/mark-labberton-phd/what-the-church-has-to-offer_b_1681111.html?utm_hp_ref=religion&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000008

A Sign of The Times

Does anyone still believe politics can save America?

We are way beyond anything politicians can fix.

Many of our politicians need help themselves, so how can they help us?

Jesus is the reason we were blessed.

Only Jesus can save us.

Pastor Mike Says

We have to do something and soon, or God‘s house will surely fall.

Confidence in organized religion hits all-time low in Gallup poll

gallup.com

By Jason White, msnbc.com

Americans’ confidence in religious institutions has hit an all-time low, with only 44 percent expressing a “great deal” of confidence in organized religion, according to a new Gallup survey.

This follows a downward trend since the 1970s, when 68 percent of Americans had a high degree of confidence.

Gallup cites two big blows to confidence in organized religion: 1980s scandals involving televangelists like Jim Bakker and the Catholic sex abuse scandal in the 2000s.

Perhaps as an outgrowth of the abuse scandal, Catholics lag far behind Protestants in their confidence in the church, by a margin of 10 percentage points.

But the scandals of recent decades, and the ensuing lack of confidence in organized religion, are not necessarily affecting…

View original post 89 more words

Christ Centered Sermon – Octavius Winslow – 1808-1878

My Prayer

May God grant this generation men who know and portray Jesus so well that our hearts burn within us. May we be consumed by the realization of who Christ is and how infinitely God has loved us. May any and all things that compete for His love in our hearts and minds be consumed in the blazing inferno of God’s love for us in and through Christ Jesus.

Amen

“They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

(Luke 24:32)

THE INK SLINGER

“He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree!” 1 Peter 2:24

The most significant and appalling demonstration of God’s holiness that the universe ever beheld, infinitely distancing and transcending every other – is the sufferings and death of His only and beloved Son! The cross of Calvary exhibits God’s hatred and punishment of sin in a way and to an extent which the annihilation of millions of worlds, swept from the face of the universe by the broom of His wrath, could never have done!

Behold the most solemn display of God’s hatred of sin! Finding the sins of the Church upon Christ as its Surety, Substitute, and Savior – the wrath of God was poured out upon Him without measure! Finding the sins of His people laid upon His Son – God emptied upon His holy soul, all the vials of His wrath due to their transgressions! Go…

View original post 250 more words

A Simple Rule to Avoid a Christ-less Christianity

There are three things that are absolutely essential to every Christian message.

Jesus, Jesus,and Jesus!

And I’m completely serious!

Discipleship is first and foremost a relationship between man and his Maker Jesus Christ.

Ultimately,we don’t just teach rules and morals to make disciples.

Rather, we introduce people to Jesus Christ who alone is able to make disciples by His indwelling Spirit.

Only Christ can renew and transform from the inside.

“The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.”

(John 6:63)

We will not be successful in making disciples of Jesus Christ if we ignore Christ!

And that is why I recommend all Christians adopt this one simple rule.

We should use this rule to evaluate all Christian writings, teachings, and sermons.

As we read or listen, we should ask ourselves any of these questions;

Is Christ given the preeminence due Him? 

Is Christ the central theme of every message?

Is Christ revealed as the answer to every problem?

How long does the communicator go without giving honor to Christ who is the creator of everything and also the answer to everything?

 Any one of the above questions will work.

And a few words of caution:

A very intellectually stimulating sermon without Christ is worthless.

A very passionate sermon without Christ is worthless.

A very amusing, logical,and even truthful sermon without Christ is worthless.

So don’t be fooled. Christ-less Christianity is becoming  the norm in America.

But we can turn this around!

So please pray this prayer with me.

“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.”

( Matthew 18:19)

Dear God.

Thank you for Jesus Christ who loved me and died for me.

Thank you that He rose from death to defeat it.

Thank you for the new life you freely gave me after believing and accepting Jesus Christ as my Savior.

Help me love Jesus more and more every day until I love Him more than I love

anything else in this world. I want to love Jesus with all that is in me!

Then help me never settle for anything less than all of Jesus!

In Jesus name,…Amen

The 4th of July and True Freedom

Freedom.
We think we have it.
But do we?
Every Christian denomination in the USA is feeling a degree of pain right now. Statistics show we are closing 3,600 Christian churches per year. We are told that 80% of Christian  churches have zero growth or are in decline.
And Christian denominational Leadership seems to be clueless.
I get really concerned when the guys I admire most, from the denominations I amire most are blind to our predicament!
Its almost as if Christ has, “taken away our candelstick. I fear we already are Ephasis of the Book of Revelation.
As a result, we have a lot of discussion about ,”What the Church in America Needs”,but I keep thinking of a few stories from the Bible as I read such articles.
Like when the disciples were in a boat on a lake and a storm threatened to capsize the boat. The disciples thought they were going to die,even though Christ was also  in their boat,(asleep, but there). He rebuked them for not having faith.
Or the time Jesus was at the tomb of His friend Lazarus and everyone was weeping even though He was there. He,”groaned in the Spirit “,every time they showed a lack of faith. Each time their comments and actions reflected that they overlooked the reality of who Christ was and what He can do, and He wept.
For every believer, Christ is both WITH and IN you! And He promised to never leave!
So why are we asking,”What America Needs”, as if Christ were neither present nor the answer?
Why is the Gospel Coalition Senior Editor defending a certain moralistic view of Calvinism as the answer to the same problems in the reformed church yet Christ is merely given honorable mention in that article? (“Reformed or Deformed”).
I believe Jesus still weeps as He wept over Jerusalem for He changes not.
I can imagine Him saying to us as He did to Jerusalem;
O America, America! How often I would gather you under my wings as a hen her chicks, but you would not.
I pray we take note and turn back.
Denominations can do a few things wrong and still be successful if they hold up Jesus as preeminent.

If the Son of Man makes us free,  then we are truly free indeed.
HE is the answer.
Christ, the Son of Man.
If you really want to celebrate, accept the redemption Christ alone could afford! And you will be free indeed!

True Christianity – Like No Other Religion of the World

 

No other religion of the World has a founder who loved so unconditionally as Jesus Christ of Christianity.

Exclusivity: How can there be just one true religion? By Dr. Tim Keller

A 30 Minute sermon. Click for audio on the link below.

://sermons2.redeemer.com/sermons/exclusivity-how-can-there-be-just-one-true-religion

The Truth Spoken in Love Leads Us to the Compassion of Christ

“Christians are in themselves no wiser than are other men. What they have, they have by grace. They must be ‘all things to all men.’ But it is not kindness to tell patients that need strong medicine that nothing serious is wrong with them. Christians are bound to tell men the truth about themselves; that is the only way of bringing them to recognize the mercy, the compassion, of Christ. For if men are told the truth about themselves, and if they are warned against the false remedies that establish men in their wickedness, then, by the power of the Spirit of God, they will flee to the Christ through whom alone they must be saved” (The Intellectual Challenge of the Gospel).

“Only Jesus Christ and His death on the cross can wash away all our sins. Jesus died and rose again. No one else has done that for you. Van Til asserts: “If God was to continue communication with His creature, it was either to be by condemnation or by atonement.” God, through His mercy, provided a perfect and effectual atonement through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. Believe in Him and you will be saved.”

Corneilus Van Til

Perfect Freedom – We Are All Slaves to Something – A Sermon by Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church – Manhattan N.Y.

 

 

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36)

We are all enslaved to something.

Most of these things are a source of temporary fulfilment.

The obvious ones are sex, alcohol, drugs, and we all know people who are enslaved to such.

But the less obvious things we also seek to find our ultimate identity and fulfillment in are status, achievement, career, relationships, children, spouses, and countless other things that are not at all bad in and of themselves.

We make these things bad for us when we seek our ultimate identity and fulfillment in them in an inordinate way.

Only Christ is worthy of being the source of fulfillment for our deepest desire for identity.

“Why not give yourself to the one who gave Himself  for you?”

Tim Keller

“Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”

(John 6:35)

Listen to the free audio sermon – click the link below

http://sermons2.redeemer.com/sermons/perfect-freedom

Related articles

• Better Than Miracles – An Audio Sermon By Dr.Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church – Manhattan, NY. (christcenteredteaching.wordpress.com)
• How The Gospel Changes Us – An Audio Sermon By Dr.Tim Keller, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Manhattan, NY (christcenteredteaching.wordpress.com)
• “The Bible – End Or Means ?” – Is The Bible Simply A Set Of Laws, Morals and Principles From God, Or The Means To A Relationship With Him ? An Audio Sermon By Dr. Tim Keller , Redeemer Presbyterian Church , Manhattan NY. (christcenteredteaching.wordpress.com)
• A Reason For Living – An Audio Sermon By Dr. Tim Keller – Redeemer Presbyterian Church- Manhattan, NY- Keller Answers The Big Question- “What Is The Reason,Meaning, And Purpose For Life?” (christcenteredteaching.wordpress.com)
• The Centrality of The Gospel – Printable Bible Study Outline by Dr. Tim Keller – Redeemer Presbyterian Church – Manhattan New York (christcenteredteaching.wordpress.com)

Original Sin – Muslim vs Christian – 9 Min.

Chuck Colson (1931 – 2012) The Authenticity of Christ – “take it from an expert in cover-ups”

Richard Nixon, Time cover April 30, 1973, "The Watergate Scandal" (Photo credit: cliff1066™)

Today , April 21, 2012, Chuck Colson passed from this life to the next. I will miss his influence and encouragement.
I have listened to Breakpoint for many years now.  Free audio and an average length of 2 or 3 minutes. You can search these by subject.    http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries

“nothing less than a resurrected Christ could have caused those men to maintain to their dying whispers that Jesus is alive and is Lord.”

Chuck Colson

The year was 1973 and President Richard Nixon and the closest members of his administration had been accused of corruption.

At the heart of the cover-up was a brilliant member of the president’s cabinet named Charles Colson.

Colson  became a believer in the midst of this scandal and later would start several successful ministries for the cause of Christ.

The following quote is Colson’s first hand insight on human nature as it relates to cover ups, and adds credibility to the claims of Jesus Christ and His death, burial, and resurrection according to the Bible.

“The Watergate cover-up reveals the true nature of humanity. Even political zealots at the pinnacle of power will, in the crunch, save their own necks, even at the expense of the ones they profess to serve so loyally. But the apostles could not deny Jesus because they had seen Him face to face, and they knew He had risen from the dead. No, you can take it from an expert in cover-ups — I’ve lived through Watergate — that nothing less than a resurrected Christ could have caused those men to maintain to their dying whispers that Jesus is alive and is Lord. Two thousand years later, nothing less than the power of the risen Christ could inspire Christians around the world to remain faithful –despite prison, torture, and death.”

(Charles (Chuck) Colson ,Breakpoint )

Related articles

• Of Watergate and Christ’s Resurrection (erickbrockway.com)

Better Than Miracles – An Audio Sermon By Dr.Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church – Manhattan, NY.

“The Essence of God is not His power but His love.”

Tim Keller

Redeemer Church Synopsis – “1 Corinthians 13 seems sweet, but in the context of the entire book of 1 Corinthians, it is a sober warning against straying from the Gospel. If a person is gifted—as many of the Corinthians were—then it is frighteningly easy for that person to mistake their spiritual gifts for spiritual fruit. When we serve others in the church, are we serving Jesus or are we serving ourselves? Additional scriptural references made in this sermon are: Acts 18:9-11; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; 1 Corinthians 8:1; 1 Corinthians 10:24; Matthew 7:21-23.”This sermon is remarkable in that the Pastor identifies the main target audience as his own church staff. That in itself is not so remarkable, but the subject makes it so; that of their own salvation. Keller wants Christians, and those who are trying to understand Christianity, to know who easy it is to place our faith in our own giftedness and the successes we often realize because of them. The real mark of a Christian and Christian character is love. (John 1:17)

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matthew 7:21-23)

This sermon embodies so much of what I desire for Christians and non Christians to know.

 Quotes from this sermon;

“Not giftedness but grace, not our accomplishments but Christ’s on our behalf.”

“If you are godly and loving everyone will follow you.”

“Love is the miracle above all miracles.”

“Love, Christian love , is more miraculous than miracles.”

“Don’t get your identity from your ministry instead of Jesus.”

“Love is the essence of faith.”

“The grace in your heart has unlimited potential.”

“What you really need is to give your heart to the Gospel.”

“Love drove Jesus down to us.”

“The more you see the love He showed , the more love will grow in your heart.”

This is another sermon that is worth listening to several times over.

Free to stream online and also downloadable to listen at your leisure.

Click the link below.

Enjoy!

http://sermons2.redeemer.com/sermons/better-miracles

Legalism, License, and The Love of God

Rembrandt’s “The Three Crosses” Courtesy of British Museum

Just as Christ was crucified between two thieves, Legalism and license oppose the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The two thieves rob power from the message of Christ’s complete and finished work on the cross.

I’m in awe with the thought that God himself came down to save us and gave Himself on the cross for you and I.

God Himself is the Gospel. Such an incredible thought!

And even more, I think this truth holds a key to something that is holding the church back from revival.

Here’s what I mean…

Legalism and license oppose the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Self righteousness, moralism, legalism, at various levels and degrees in the hearts of Christians robs the church of power and keeps those who would enter from doing so.

I know license is present in the world, but legalism is the Christian man’s primary problem.

Christianity ascribes all truth to the Bible and the keys to renewal are contained therein.

License is pleasure based and legalism is power based.

Both are self-centered.

Both devastate our world by misrepresenting the truth of the Good News of the Gospel.

We need to distinguish between license and legalism in order to recognize them.

License is based on the idea that God is only love, that Jesus died for us, and now we can take grace for granted and sin willfully by doing whatever we want.

License is also known as relativism because absolute truth is usually denied  in this belief.

Legalism takes undo pride in works of righteousness and in pride looks down on others, thinking that works merit favor with God.

 “The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 

    “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

   “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”(Luke 18:11-14)

Legalism is also known as moralism.

The best example from the Bible was written by the Apostle Paul .

He wrote the letter to the Galatians addressing Christians to defend them and the Gospel from legalism, the idea that we attach our own works to Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.

Legalistic religious leaders were the primary enemies of Christ and orchestrated the crucifixion as prophesied in the old testament of the Bible.

Legalistic religious leaders also tormented Paul his entire ministry.

I believe legalism is still the primary threat to the purity of the Gospel today.

Pastor Tim Keller seems to believe this as well.

Keller thinks that a moralistic view of the Gospel is the norm today.

What do you think?

Do you agree that a moralistic view of Christianity is the norm today?

Far too often we Christians try to honor God by emphasizing His Holiness or His Sovereignty or His Justice, as if to cull favor with God by associating with these attributes of God, while ignoring His love, His mercy and Jesus Christ who loved us and gave Himself for us on the cross.

The writers of the new testament centered their claims on Christ,relating their claims back to Christ 27% or more of the total words they wrote on average.

Almost one-third of everything in the New Testament is specifically about Jesus or centers on His personage. The point is it is all about Jesus. If you have the Son you have the Father, if you don’t have the Son then you don’t have the Father.

Do we even come close to giving Christ preeminence today?

I fear not.

God’s great love is the only one of God’s attributes that makes us worthy subjects to honor all His other attributes. His love is His Grace by which we are saved.

Only His great love which He personally expressed on our behalf on the Cross of Christ can save us.

We Christians make the mistake of thinking the primary reason God sent Jesus to die for our sins was because He is Holy and Righteous and His justice had to satisfied.

God is all those things but that is not why Jesus came to save us.

God’s word tells us why.

It says God so loved! (John 3:16)

GOD SO LOVED!

God so loved that He became man.

God so loved that He paid for our sins, the just for the unjust.

His motive was to save you because He loved you.

I have found that most people and perhaps most Christians too, do not have a heart that is awakened to the love of God and its full meaning to them.

Fellow Christians often take issue with those of us who emphasize God’s love as, “The Greatest of These.”

Time and time again I have heard angry responses such as, “God is not just love, He is Righteous and Holy too!”

That was when I finally understood why one of the greatest sermons ever was titled.”Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God.”

(This sermon was preached by Jonathan Edwards.)

In that sermon, the hand of God is the only thing keeping us from falling into eternal fire.

I personally know God is love, because it is written and portrayed throughout the Holy Bible.

If all God wanted was to satisfy His Holiness, Righteousness and His Justice; then God would just send everyone to Hell.

The verdict was already given and only death prevents that sentence from being carried out on all who have not received Christ as Savior.

The only thing that can prevent what had already been determined to happen was provided to us because God so loved.

Legalism, license and the Love of God.

We need to know the difference because only one of them can save us and the others are apostasy,( they deny the fullness of faith in Christ alone to save).

Only the true Gospel that starts and ends with, “God so loved”, will save.

Any other gospel is not the one true, pure work, because they deny Christ’s finished work by adding to it or by watering it down.

Both views of the Gospel, moralistic legalism and relativistic license, rob the true meaning of Christ’s sacrifice and make it null and void to save and change us.

 “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” (Romans 10:10)

We have nothing else like God’s gift of love and must create a new category in our hearts and minds where Christ’s gospel resides uniquely.

If you need to settle that in your own heart, just tell God you believe Christ died for your sin.

Ask Him to save you, and He will. Because He loves you so.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Related articles –

Barna Research – Majority of People who call themselves Christian are more like Pharisees than Christ like.

http://www.barna.org/faith-spirituality/619-are-christians-more-like-jesus-or-more-like-the-pharisees

“Nothing that is God’s is obtainable by money.”- Tertullian

“Nothing that is God’s is obtainable by money.”- Tertullian

“For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s”. ( 1 Corinthians 6:20)

Our Journey of Life – Sign Post 7 – Believer

Believers know Jesus.

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me-” John 10:14

Believers know Jesus paid it all.

“I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” Galatians 2:21

Believers know God.

“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, and Jesus Christ , whom you have sent.” John 17:3

Believers know that their own works do not factor into their salvation.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2: 8, 9

Believers know that they are now made alive in Christ.

“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.” John 10:28

Believers know that God’s Spirit now lives in them forevermore.

“Because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever:” 2 John 1:2

Believers know God’s love.

“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” 2 Corinthians 5:14,15

Believers respond by the power of God’s Spirit of love that lives in them.

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

Believers follow Christ because they love Him.

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me.” John 10:27

Believers want everyone to know Jesus Christ.

“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:20,21

God’s Love is for All

All inclusive, and far beyond mere tolerance, God lovingly compels all to come to Him just as they are..

All who are weighed down.

“Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest, take my yoke upon you and learn of me , For I am meek and lowly and you shall find rest for your souls, for My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:29-30

All who are on the wrong road in life.

“He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but that everyone to come to repentance.” 2Peter 3:9b

All the world He so loved.

“For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

All who answer His call.

“Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed on His name. gave He the right to become children of God-” John 1:12

All the world.

“Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” Mark 16:15″

All mankind.

“And all mankind will see God’s salvation.” Luke 3:6

All kinds of people, no matter what race, color, class, or gender.

“For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body- whether Jew or Greek, slave or free- and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.” 2 Corinthians 12:13
“For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile – the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him.”
Romans 10:12
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave or free, male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28

All who trust in Him.

“As the scripture says,”Anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame” Romans 10:11

All who call on Him.

“for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:13

All are sons of God who believe.

“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” Galatians 3:26,27

All made alive.

“For as with Adam all die, So in Christ all will be made alive.” 1 Corinthians 15:22

All nations.

“And the gospel must be preached to all nations.” Mark 13:10

All will be changed.

“Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will be changed-in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:51,52

All men.

“This is good and pleases God our savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” 1Timothy 2:3,4
“But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” John 12:32

All are more than conquerers who know His love.

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerers through Him who loved us.” Romans 8:37

All who acknowledge Him as Son of God.

“If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.”
1 John 4:15

He died for all.

“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, therefor all died.” 2Corinthians 5:14
“He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all- how will He not also graciously give us all things?” Romans 8:32

The Gospel Story – So Unlike Man Made Stories it Must Be True

Nobody would make up a story about the leader of their religion like the story of Jesus Christ in the Bible.

“Embarrassing testimony is powerful evidence for historical accuracy.” Frank Turek

The four Gospels all record events that some historians call, “The Criterion of Embarrassment“.

The list has caused quite a lot of debate, and the kind of commentary that includes a lot of anger in the absence of coherent reasoning on the part of naysayers.

The list of embarrassing stories is long and I have only recorded a few of them here for examples.

——————-

Jesus Christ was accused repeatedly by His contemporaries of being born illegitimately.

His parents were not from nobility or influential.

He was born in a stable.

His arrival was announced by a chorus of Angels, not to nobility, but to humble shepherds watching their flocks by night.

His brothers did not believe in Him.

The religious leadership of His day hated Him.

He didn’t flaunt His miraculous powers for influence on a grand scale.

He did not free Israel from its Roman oppression as they wanted.

He didn’t even own a sword himself and forbid His followers from using them to defend Him.

He did not choose men of nobility to be His 12 Disciples. Instead He chose fisherman and tax collectors.

Many of the disciples did things that Jesus corrected them for doing, lack of faith, hunger for power, being judgmental and so on.

Most of the disciples betrayed Him when He was captured, and Peter denied he knew Him three times.

He showed tender mercy,kindness and respect to women during a time and culture that was very oppressive to women, and over one thousand years before the rest of the world would do so.

He made His Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt instead of a valiant steed.

He took the role of a servant and washed His disciples feet.

He allowed Himself to be captured by His enemies.

He did not speak in defense of Himself before the Jewish and Roman rulers.

He suffered public torture and shameful humiliation, but did not speak out in resistance to it.

He allowed Himself to be crucified on a Roman Cross.

While on the cross, He cried out,
“My God ,My God, why have you forsaken Me?”

He did not save Himself from undue punishment, instead, He died for those who rejected Him.

He was laid in a borrowed tomb,( but He rose again on the third day !)

All of these events and much more, stand in stark contrast to the things that commonly and historically appeal to the heart of mankind.

If the story of Jesus Christ was manufactured by men,

they would omit these events and try to cover them up in an effort to fabricate a leader devoid of embarrassments.

 ^“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,

who, being in the form of God,

did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation,

taking the form of a bondservant,

and coming in the likeness of men.

 And being found in appearance as a man,

He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death,

even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:5-8)

Why not believe in Jesus Christ and follow Him.

He alone is worthy.

Man’s Pride Infects The Gospel – The Doctrine of Repentance

 

 

Choosing to follow Jesus will result in men turning from their sin in exchange for Christ’s most precious love. But if a person is told they must first forsake their sin as a condition to follow Christ they will turn away if they are honest because they know they are slaves to sin. The world and Church both know the Church has enough hypocrites.

Salvation is a free gift bought and paid for with the blood of Christ, and if a person knows they need Jesus then they know they need a Savior. That means they know they are condemned without Him. That is Biblical repentance. The problem is that we have confused sanctification of desires with awareness of need for salvation.

We have put the sanctification cart before the Holy Spirit horse.

Some context for making this point-

A major role of Paul the Apostle was to defend and confirm the Gospel.

Philippians 1:7 “…in the defense and the confirmation of the gospel,”
Philippians 1:17 “knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel.”

Pride was as prevalent back in those days as it is now. In my previous blogs I tried to paint a clear picture of how pride is not only the main weakness of all of mankind, but also the main weakness of all created beings, even angels. Pride lead to Lucifer’s downfall. Then Lucifer was cast down to Earth and out of Heaven along with 1/3 of the angels who followed him in his unsuccessful attempt to over through God. Lucifer,(Satan), wanted to be,”like the Most High”.
There can only be One God.

Perhaps in an attempt to get even with God, Lucifer tempted Adam and Eve to disobey God with the prospect of being,”like God”, the same sin that lead to Lucifer’s downfall.

Self Centered Pride lead to the downfall of man. It is leading us to the ruin of all of mankind.

Man’s pride leads to the creation of cults that serve man’s lusts. National Geographic 2011 featured the disturbing reality of child brides that are given in the name of religion. Some as young as 6 years old, almost an infant bride. The dark depths of the heart of man seem almost bottomless at times when I hear of such things as this. Pride and the ultimate lust of mankind to rule his own destiny at the expense of all others seems to be pushing the boundaries of evil ever closer to the depths of Hell.

Pride is a given. It’s the root of all evil. Money is not. Men who are old and have more than they could ever spend are using money to leverage power. Only the sense of being powerful comes close enough to the God Complex that it takes to make leaders behave like they are insane. Men who behave in such a way seem willing to destroy both mankind and this world in their quest to gain power. They may or may not realize that they desire to be,”like the Most High.”

Even after we become Christians, and God puts His Spirit in our hearts, our desires are at war with our ,flesh.”
Our flesh is the part of us that remains pride oriented and is reclaimed gradually by God after our salvation. We call this Sanctification and Discipleship. In simplified terms, those two words mean growth and development by God’s Spirit working in the believer. We are assured that upon passing from this life to the next we will be changed from our corruptible flesh to sinless incorruptible bodies, not prone to lusts. God changes our desires here and now by loving us and living in us. His humility and love shown to all on the cross is the measure of how much He loves us.

Pride even infected the presentation of the gospel in the early church. Paul recorded the event and related ones as we read in the book of Galatians in the Bible. Certain people who claimed to be Christians added a requirement for salvation to God’s free gift, bought and paid for by the only one worthy to do so, Jesus Christ.

Paul’s tone in this letter can be summed up by counting the exclamation marks and question marks in the six chapters that make the book.

Paul used about 11 exclamations and 13 questions in six chapters. This is very telling of Paul’s frame of mind. In verse 6 of the first chapter Paul tells the Galatians his frame of mind.Depending on the translation, he is,”astonished,” “I marvel.” He is astonished ,“that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who troubled you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.”

The guys that upset Paul only wanted a small thing added to Christ’s finished work. Jewish circumcision was all they asked in addition to faith in Jesus as Savior. To many it obviously seemed insignificant, almost like a token of good faith.

To Paul it was huge. Either Jesus paid it all or nothing. Faith in Christ had to be faith in Christ alone plus nothing.
Paul even mentioned this to the Galatians in regard to growth and development,(sanctification).

Galatians 3:3“Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?”

So we see that neither they nor we can save ourselves, nor can we make the kind of ongoing changes that give us victorious living here and now to live selfless fulfilling lives modeled after Jesus Christ.

So here is the point of this post-

Why do we tell someone about Jesus’ sacrifice, compel them to accept His free gift of salvation bought and paid for with His blood, and then say, Only turn from your sin and accept Christ as Savior.”?

Turn from sin? Before they have the indwelling Spirit promised to all who believe?
Are we so foolish? Men can understand their sin has ruined them and condemned them to Hell but sin may still rule their desires. They may not turn to Christ because they know sin still owns their desire and they don’t want to be hypocrites. I have met people like that.

I tell them to let Jesus deal with their desires!

Only God can change our desires through Christ!

^” for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” Philippians 2:13

This is making an additional condition for accepting salvation’s free gift. Turning from sin is something an unbeliever ,who has not been empowered by the Holy Spirit, does not have the ability to affectingly do! He can want to be set free by Christ! That is repentance.

We must not confuse the two as if we do not already know that sanctification takes place only by the power of the Holy Spirit indwelling the believer after salvation. To say otherwise is putting the cart before the horse, or putting sanctification before salvation/conversion.

Demanding an unbeliever to turn from sin in order to accept God’s gift is foolishness in the highest degree!
Demanding an unbeliever to turn from sin before Christ comes in is the modern version of adding circumcision as a condition for salvation. It is adding the works of the law to grace!
It is perversion of the gospel, and it is another gospel!

This is the gospel, God so loved you that He came down and became one of us as Jesus Christ. Jesus lived a humble life even though everything belonged to Him. He was one of us! He lived a perfect sinless life, the life none of us ever could. Jesus said;

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus did ALL the heavy lifting, paid ALL the amount due,and continues to restore our broken lives until His return when He will suddenly make us complete and whole in an instant. Jesus does it ALL from beginning to end.

Add NOTHING to what Jesus has done. Repentance is God-given. God leads us to repent by revealing our need and how He can cancel our dept if we accept Christ by faith. In addition God makes us His children, sons and daughters.

 “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and long-suffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?”Romans 2:4

If God affects a person’s heart to realize they need a Savior, then they obviously see their predicament!

Genuine repentance is an automatic response to God-given revelation of our own need for Christ.

When we see a clear picture of Christ we see our depravity.This is the goodness of God. GRACE! And to an infinite degree that leads us to true repentance.

We must never offer guilt in the absence of Grace.

Both repentance and acceptance take place or neither happens.

Give us Jesus and we have everything we need.
Not another gospel, just Jesus, and only Jesus!

Galatians 5:1 “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”

Galatians 2:16 “knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.”

God Was Manifested in the Flesh

” And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit,Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.”1Timothy 3:161

 The above verse from the Bible states that Jesus is God revealed to mankind in Bodily Form.

Just to think the God of all that is , was, and shall be personally came down to Earth as Jesus, to be one of us and to make a way for us back into fellowship with Himself.

This amazing love and humility is also beyond comprehension.
Great is the mystery.

Related articles

• God Came Down! (samuelatgilgal.wordpress.com)
• Manifest in the Flesh (samuelatgilgal.wordpress.com)
• Jesus is Truly God and became Manifest in the Flesh (samuelatgilgal.wordpress.com)

The One and Only Son

 “For God so loved the world that he sent his one and only son, that whoever believes in him should not parish but have everlasting life.”John 3:16 

God did not create another God when he had a son.

Jesus is the one and only son , but not a son in the sense of created by God, for he is God and is therefore eternal as is God.

He is the one and only son because…

God came down as man.

God humbled himself to became one of us in order to defeat sin by living a sinless life and then offer himself as a sacrifice worthy to take our punishment , by the crucifixion, death, and then to show he can defeat death by raising from the dead.

Christ did for us what we cannot do for ourselves so that he could offer freely to all who believe the free gift of eternal life to all who believe.

Humble is our God, in that he became one of us in order to save us.

God so loved the world. He was the one that sin offended and he is the one who satisfied the requirements for justice for the offense.

God became one of us in the person of Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man.

He said , no man takes my life, but I freely lay it down.

Therefore, Christ’s death on the cross was the ultimate expression of humility, because it came from the highest place, the very throne of God himself.

Mankind is enslaved to pride, God is the master of humility.

Jesus living in our hearts is the answer.

Related articles

• Greater Love Has No Man Than This (christcenteredteaching.wordpress.com)
• Legalism, License, and The Love of God (christcenteredteaching.wordpress.com)

God Came Down -The Greatest Expression of Humility Ever – Bible Passages That Support The Claim That Jesus is God

Whereas selfish pride is the downfall of mankind, God’s ultimate expression of humility has provided for our restoration.

God came down to us to save us.

This act of love and humility traveled the greatest distance anyone can imagine.

God came from the highest place in Heaven to Earth as the man Jesus Christ.

Then He died in our place and went to death for us.

He paid our debt when He sacrificed Himself for our sins by allowing Himself to be tortured, crucified and gave His perfect life for our imperfect lives.

He went to the grave, yet rose in victory over death three days later.

Jesus is now worthy to offer new life to all who believe in Him and ask Him by faith to save them.

John 8:58
“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

“I am”, is the name God gave Moses when asked ,”they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?”

Exodus 3:14
And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

He is the Image of the Invisible God

Colossians 1:15-20

(speaking about Jesus)

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible,…all things were created through Him and for Him. He is before all things and in Him all things consist.”verse 19, “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.”

Jesus is the Same God the Prophet Isaiah Saw on His Throne in All His Glory

“Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about Him.”

John 12:41 

Equal With God

Philippians 2:5-8

“who being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God.”

verse 8- ” And being found in appearance as a man,He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

He Who Has Seen Jesus Has Seen God

John 14:7-11

” If you would have known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him”.

“All the Fullness of the Godhead Bodily”

Colossians 2:9

“For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.”

Our God and Mediator Are One in the Same, The Man Christ Jesus

1 Timothy 2:5,6

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.”

God Reconciling the World to Himself

2 Corinthians 5:19

“that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.”

Jesus is the true God and Eternal Life

1 John 5:20

“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.”

Christ Shared in God’s Glory Before Creation

John 17:5

“And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”

“I and the Father are one”

John 10:30-38

” Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him,(vs.31)
…”you, a mere man claim to be God.”
(The Jews knew that there can only be one God,and to claim that you are God’s son is to claim to be God for there can only be one eternal, divine, all-powerful Holy God.)

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Hebrews 13:8

Jesus Christ did not earn the right to be God as a result good works and exaltation, as if being God was a position to be earned, for Jesus Christ is God.

Jesus Christ is God and always has been the same, always will be the same, yesterday today, and forever. (Eternal)

To Hate Jesus is to Hate God.

John 15:24

“If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father.”

2 Corinthians 4:4

“;Christ, who is the image of God,“

“Christ came,who is over all, the eternally blessed God.” Romans 9:5

“He made the worlds.“

Hebrews 1:2

Hebrews 1:2-3

(Jesus),”who being the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power,when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”

Hebrews 1:6

“Let all the angels of God worship Him.”

Hebrews 1:8

“But to the Son He says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,”

Hebrews 1:9

“Therefore God, your God has anointed you”…

Hebrews 2:8

“You have put all things under His feet.” ( Speaking of Jesus).

God Became One of Us in Order to Save Us.

Hebrews 2:14-18

(Speaking of Jesus from verse 9) , “He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is , the devil.” vs 17 ” Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in all things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people”
“For in that He Himself has suffered being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.”

Luke 10:18

” I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”(Jesus speaking to the Jews).

Who is Himself God

John 1:18

“No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.”
This verse says Jesus is God in two ways. First it states that Jesus is the one and only Son. This is also stated in John 3:16 where Jesus is called ,”One and Only Son.” God did not create another God because there can only be one All Powerful, All mighty, All Knowing , Most High God. So Jesus is the One and Only because, as this verse also clearly states,”…the one and only Son, who is himself God,”.

John 10:38

“...the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” (Speaking of oneness).

The Jews in Christ’s day knew what Jesus was saying when He claimed to be one with the Father

John 10:30,33

” I and my Father are one.” vs 33 “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied,”but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”

Christ Centered Teaching- Because It’s All About Jesus

Solus Christas Emphainein – Emphasize Christ Alone

Christ Centered Teaching – Initial Post

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

“looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith,” (Hebrews 12:2)

Christian – The word literally means like Christ.

Jesus Christ is the Central Figure of the Christian faith.

Christ is the Founder of the Christian faith.

Christ is the Perfecter of the Christian faith.

True Christianity begins with Jesus and then continues by Jesus Christ IN the believer for all eternity.

Think of Christ as the SUN in the Christian solar system around which everything else revolves.

Christ is the center and core of Christianity. Our life ,growth and power all come from Christ and He starts and then continues the changes in us that make us Christ like.

When we accept His sacrifice on the cross to pay for our sins, God immediately sees us as perfect, and then He puts His Spirit in us to guide and grow us. He changes us.

Some preaching is Christ Centered. Some preaching is not Christ Centered. How we can become more Christ like without becoming more familiar with Jesus?

A term that is useful for all who study Christianity as a way of living is,”Biblical Emphasis.” Biblical Emphasis takes into account that the New Testament has about 8,000 verses. As an example we can ask,How often do the many names given for Jesus,( God’s Son, Messiah, Savior, Lord, Christ), occur in the new Testament?

Answer; about 2,000 times. So if we want to know how Christ Centered a message is in reference to Biblical Emphasis of the Bible, all we need to do is divide 2,000 into 8,000. That means the Holy Spirit inspired the New Testament writers to relate their subject to Jesus Christ about 25% of the time. That is the Biblical standard for being Christ Centered. The writers of the Bible never went more than three steps away from Jesus in reference to anything they talked about. In fact, the actual percentage is closer to 27%.

I’m not willing to accept anything less than Jesus Christ as King in both context and content.

That is what God wants too.This is what is written in God’s word, the Bible –

“And you shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, and with all of your soul, and with all of your might.” Deuteronomy 6:5

And God does not require that we love Him without reason.

God also gives us a mind-blowing reason to love Him. God sent His Son Jesus Christ to pay for all the things we did wrong. Jesus took our punishment, suffered at the hands of evil men, was subjected to Roman crucifixion, died and was buried for three days, and defeated death when He rose from the tomb to prove He can give life to all who put their trust in Him as Savior.

” For God so loved the world that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have ever lasting life.” John 3:16

Yes I love Jesus. I want to be like Christ. I want to be Christian.

So this is what troubles me. Most often when I visit a church,or listen to a preacher on the radio, or read a Christian article on Christian subjects, tragically, the author hardly makes mention of Christ! How can it be Christian without Christ? How can listeners or readers become Christian when Christ is only mentioned indirectly once or twice in a 20 minute sermon? The average Christ Centered temperature of most speakers seems to be cold.

So what is our problem? Why do people, preachers, churches, religious institutions, organizations,banks, governments, politicians, nations, and societies seem destined to drift into self-centered ruin? Why do messengers of Christ not speak His name?

Let me propose that any time we put God or His Son second we are putting ourselves first.

So the problem can be described in the word PRIDE. The universal problem that leads mankind, nations, governments to drift always in the direction of ruin.

Lucifer, also known as Satan or the Devil, was the first to succumb to this problem . Satan and one-third of the angels where cast out of Heaven and God’s presence as a result of it. (Isaiah 14:12 – 17)

Then Satan tempted mankind with the same thing that lead to his downfall. The result was the fall of mankind as recorded in the book of Genesis. This event brought sin, death, suffering to mankind and separation between us and our perfect, Holy Creator. (Genesis 3:1-6)

The Devil will tempt mankind with pride once more at the very end of the age in man’s final rebellion before Christ judges all of creation, as recorded in the book of Revelation, the final book in the Bible.(Revelation 20:1-10)

• A Simple Rule to Avoid a Christ-less Christianity (christcenteredteaching.wordpress.com)