WHAT IS A CHRISTIAN?
A FOLLOWER OF GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST HIS DEAR SON WHO TAUGHT US THE WAY OF SALVATION, AND HOW TO LIVE OUR LIVES.
WE ARE ALL SINNERS, AND WILL NEVER COME CLOSE TO THE GLORY OF GOD IN OUR OWN WILL, STRENGTH, OR POWER.
- ROMANS 3:23 “FOR ALL HAVE SINNED AND FALL SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD.”
WE HAVE A DAMAGED NATURE THAT WAS INHERITED FROM THE FALL THAT OCCURRED AT THE BEGINNING OF MANKIND WITH THE DISOBEDIENCE OF ADAM AND EVE.
- ROMANS 5:12 “THEREFORE, JUST AS SIN CAME INTO THE WORLD THROUGH ONE MAN, AND DEATH THROUGH SIN, AND SO DEATH SPREAD TO ALL MEN BECAUSE ALL SINNED.”
GOD PUT A MORAL LAW INTO OUR HEARTS. HE WROTE IT IN STONE ON MT. SINAI TO SHOW ITS PERMANENCE. THESE LAWS WERE TO BE A GUIDE TO US FOR LIVING, AND TO SHOW US HOW WE ALWAYS FALL SHORT AND OFFEND GOD. THEY WERE NOT MEANT AS A WAY OF ETERNAL SALVATION.
- ROMANS 2:14-16 “FOR WHEN GENTILES, WHO DO NOT HAVE THE LAW, BY NATURE DO WHAT THE LAW REQUIRES, THEY ARE A LAW TO THEMSELVES, EVEN THOUGH THEY DO NOT HAVE THE LAW. THEY SHOW THAT THE WORK OF THE LAW IS WRITTEN ON THEIR HEARTS, WHILE THEIR CONSCIENCE ALSO BEARS WITNESS, AND THEIR CONFLICTING THOUGHTS ACCUSE OR EVEN EXCUSE THEM ON THAT DAY WHEN, ACCORDING TO MY GOSPEL, GOD JUDGES THE SECRETS OF MEN BY CHRIST JESUS.”
OUT OF THE MASS OF CORRUPT HUMANITY, GOD CHOSE ABRAHAM TO BE A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS AND THE JEWISH PEOPLE CAME OUT OF HIM.
- JAMES 2:23 “AND THE SCRIPTURE WAS FULFILLED THAT SAYS, "ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS COUNTED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS"—AND HE WAS CALLED A FRIEND OF GOD.”
GOD CHOSE THEM TO BE A PECULIAR PEOPLE TO HIM. THIS IS WHY HE GAVE THEM A LAW. HE MADE THEM A POWERFUL NATION.
- DEUTERONOMY 14:2 “FOR THOU ART AN HOLY PEOPLE UNTO THE LORD THY GOD, AND THE LORD HATH CHOSEN THEE TO BE A PECULIAR PEOPLE UNTO HIMSELF, ABOVE ALL THE NATIONS THAT ARE UPON THE EARTH.”
EVEN WITH ALL GOD’S LOVE AND ATTENTION, THEY MANAGED TO WORSHIP IDOLS AND STRAY FAR AWAY FROM THEIR GOD.
- 2 KINGS 17:15 ” THEY DESPISED HIS STATUTES AND HIS COVENANT THAT HE MADE WITH THEIR FATHERS AND THE WARNINGS THAT HE GAVE THEM. THEY WENT AFTER FALSE IDOLS AND BECAME FALSE, AND THEY FOLLOWED THE NATIONS THAT WERE AROUND THEM, CONCERNING WHOM THE LORD HAD COMMANDED THEM THAT THEY SHOULD NOT DO LIKE THEM.”
WHEN THE TIME WAS RIGHT, GOD SENT HIS SON JESUS CHRIST, WHO WAS AND IS GOD IN THE FLESH, TO BE OUR SAVIOR.
- ROMANS 5:6 “FOR WHILE WE WERE STILL WEAK, AT THE RIGHT TIME CHRIST DIED FOR THE UNGODLY.”
NO LONGER WAS IT A REQUIREMENT TO BE A JEW OR CONVERT TO JUDAISM AND LIVE IN ISRAEL TO BE A CHILD OF GOD. THROUGH FAITH IN GOD’S SON JESUS CHRIST, ALL THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD COULD BECOME THE CHILDREN OF GOD.
- GALATIANS 3:28 “THERE IS NEITHER JEW NOR GREEK, THERE IS NEITHER SLAVE NOR FREE, THERE IS NO MALE AND FEMALE, FOR YOU ARE ALL ONE IN CHRIST JESUS.”
THROUGH FAITH IN GOD’S HOLY SON JESUS CHRIST, ALL WHO COME TO HIM CAN HAVE FORGIVENESS OF THEIR SINS (SIN=THE BREAKING OF GOD’S LAW).
- MATTHEW 26:28 “FOR THIS IS MY BLOOD OF THE NEW COVENANT, WHICH IS SHED FOR MANY FOR THE REMISSION OF SINS.”
JUST LIKE ANY HUMAN LAW, BEING SORRY FOR BREAKING THE LAW DOESN’T GET ONE OUT OF TROUBLE. YOU MUST PAY THE FINE, WHETHER IT BE MONETARY, AS IN THE CASE OF A SPEEDING TICKET, OR YOUR VERY LIFE, AS IN THE CASE WITH MURDER. HOW DOES THE BREAKING OF GOD’S LAW GET PAID FOR? NOTHING UNHOLY CAN ENTER THE KINGDOM OF GOD. UNHOLINESS IS SIN, AND YOU AND I HAVE SINNED MANY, MANY TIMES. GOD WOULD BE TOTALLY JUST IN SENDING US TO HELL. JESUS CHRIST, PERFECT MAN AND GOD IN THE FLESH, PAID YOUR FINE FOR YOU, MAKING IT POSSIBLE FOR YOU TO SHARE IN GOD’S MERCY AND HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. ALL GLORY AND HONOR BELONG TO JESUS CHRIST!
- JOHN 3:16 “FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE.”
- ROMANS 10:9-10 “BECAUSE, IF YOU CONFESS WITH YOUR MOUTH THAT JESUS IS LORD AND BELIEVE IN YOUR HEART THAT GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD, YOU WILL BE SAVED. FOR WITH THE HEART ONE BELIEVES AND IS JUSTIFIED, AND WITH THE MOUTH ONE CONFESSES AND IS SAVED.”
- JOHN 3:18 “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM IS NOT CONDEMNED, BUT WHOEVER DOES NOT BELIEVE STANDS CONDEMNED ALREADY BECAUSE HE HAS NOT BELIEVED IN THE NAME OF GOD'S ONE AND ONLY SON.”
WHAT’S THE ALTERNATIVE? KEEP READING.
- 1 CORINTHIANS 6:9-10 “OR DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT THE UNRIGHTEOUS WILL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD? DO NOT BE DECEIVED: NEITHER THE SEXUALLY IMMORAL, NOR IDOLATERS, NOR ADULTERERS, NOR MEN WHO PRACTICE HOMOSEXUALITY, NOR THIEVES, NOR THE GREEDY, NOR DRUNKARDS, NOR REVILERS, NOR SWINDLERS WILL INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD.”
- REVELATION 22:15 “OUTSIDE ARE THE DOGS AND SORCERERS AND THE SEXUALLY IMMORAL AND MURDERERS AND IDOLATERS, AND EVERYONE WHO LOVES AND PRACTICES LIES.”
IF YOU THINK YOU ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THE ABOVE LIST, YOU PROBABLY NEED TO THINK ABOUT IT A LITTLE MORE. WHO’S RIGHT? YOU OR GOD WHO SAYS ALL HAVE SINNED? ONE LIE, ONE THEFT, ONE CASE OF ADULTERY, ONE HATRED, ONE GREEDY MOMENT, ONE CASE OF SEXUAL IMMORALITY, MAKES YOU A SINNER AND SEPARATED FROM GOD, JUST LIKE ONE RAPE MAKES ONE A RAPIST AND ONE KILLING MAKES ONE A MURDERED. GOD=TOTAL PERFECTION AND HOLINESS. MANKIND=SHOULD HAVE BEEN HOLY BUT WE'RE NOT.
MAYBE YOU THINK THIS SOUNDS TOO HARSH. THINK ABOUT IT. AM I LYING TO YOU? WHAT HAVE I GOT TO GAIN BY TELLING YOU WHAT THE SCRIPTURES SAY? IF YOUR HOUSE WERE ON FIRE I WOULD BANG ON YOUR DOOR TO WAKE YOU UP AND GET YOU OUT OF THE FIRE.
SO, THE CHOICE IS YOURS. BELIEVE WHAT YOU THINK IS RIGHT IN YOUR HEART (THERE IS A WAY THAT SEEMS RIGHT TO A MAN, BUT ITS END IS THE WAY TO DEATH. – PROVERBS 16:25) OR BELIEVE WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS, WHICH IS THE WORD OF THE LORD. (EVERY WORD OF GOD PROVES TRUE; HE IS A SHIELD TO THOSE WHO TAKE REFUGE IN HIM. – PROVERBS 30:5)
THIS ISN’T WRITTEN TO MAKE YOU FEEL BAD ABOUT YOURSELF. THIS IS SIMPLY WHAT THE WORD OF GOD SAYS. THIS IS WRITTEN TO LET YOU KNOW HOW GLORIOUS AND WONDERFUL OUR SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST IS!
HOW DOES ONE GET SAVED/BORN AGAIN/BECOME A CHRISTIAN?
- ACTS 16:30-31 “SIRS, WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? AND THEY SAID, BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, AND THOU SHALT BE SAVED, AND THY HOUSE.”
- MARK 16:16 “WHOEVER BELIEVES AND IS BAPTIZED WILL BE SAVED, BUT WHOEVER DOES NOT BELIEVE WILL BE CONDEMNED.”
THERE IS MUCH MORE TO WRITE, BUT THE BASICS OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE ARE BELOW.
- GALATIANS 5:14 “FOR ALL THE LAW IS FULFILLED IN ONE WORD, EVEN IN THIS; THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOR AS THYSELF.”
- JOHN 13:34 “A NEW COMMANDMENT I GIVE TO YOU, THAT YOU LOVE ONE ANOTHER: JUST AS I HAVE LOVED YOU, YOU ALSO ARE TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER.”
- 1 JOHN 4:7-8 “BELOVED, LET US LOVE ONE ANOTHER, FOR LOVE IS FROM GOD, AND WHOEVER LOVES HAS BEEN BORN OF GOD AND KNOWS GOD. ANYONE WHO DOES NOT LOVE DOES NOT KNOW GOD, BECAUSE GOD IS LOVE.”
- JAMES 4:6 “BUT HE GIVES MORE GRACE. THEREFORE IT SAYS, "GOD OPPOSES THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE."
Monday, August 31, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Classical, Liturgical, Confessional
I get Google Alerts on a couple Anglican topics, and they are so depressing that I usually just wind up deleting them. The ACNA is already having struggles between those who do/don't want woman's ordination, Anglo Catholics and Evangelical Anglicans (who, by the way, seem to be simply doing what all the mega churches are doing-selling out to the world), Charismatics and everyone else, which Prayer Book to use, etc. And, of course, the never ending blasphemy and heresy coming out of TEC and ELCA lands in my email inbox every day. Bahhh! It's all so tiring. I know where I stand and I can focus on the things that matter, like doing the works Christ told us to do; making disciples, feeding the poor, helping children and widows, etc., but mostly, proclaiming Lordship of Jesus Christ and the glorious salvation offered in Jesus Christ, our Lord.
I consider myself to be a Christian that happens to like confessional Christianity and traditional liturgy. Many, if not most, Anglicans and Lutherans of varying denominations have it backwards. They are Christians who put their denomination, disputes, errors and everything else before their Christianity. Such a shame. Such a waste of time.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Be what you want your children to be
A mother and her son were watching the Discovery Channel when, to the mother’s surprise, the little boy saw a statue of Buddha and said, “That’s the religion of some Asian people and in India too, I think”. The mother said “Do you know what they believe?” to which the boy replied, “I think they believe in a fat bald man who gives you good luck if you rub his belly. Some of them wear orange robes and are really nice and peaceful people.”
So she got out the encyclopedias and showed the boy other religious pictures, starting with a crescent moon, representing Islam. The boy said, “That’s the religion where ladies wear long black robes and cover their faces and all the men have beards. They really like their religion so much that they practice it all the time, even when they’re not at church.” “Wow” replied the mother “You really know your stuff! Where did you learn that?” The boy said “A friend at school lives by one of them.”
Then she showed him a Star of David. The boy said “That’s the Jews. A lot of them were killed by bad people. Some of the men wear all black and have black hats and curly sideburns. They go cry at a wall in Jerusalem because they are sad.” “Where did you learn that?” asked the mother. “From watching a movie on the history channel” said the boy.
The mother then showed the boy a Cross, to which the boy replied “Oh, I know that one. That’s about Jesus.” “You’re right!” said the mother. “What do we Christians do?” The boy said “They build really humungous and pretty buildings that nobody goes to, except for little kids, like when you drop me off at Vacation Bible School. But it’s hard to tell who a Christian is because they act, look and talk just like everybody else.”
At his response the mother started crying, realizing that she should have been practicing what she had claimed to believe.
The point is that one should be careful what one claims to be. In the United States, the vast majority of people claim to be Christian, or have been baptized in a Christian Church, and then never darken the doors of the Church with their shadow. Subsequently, their lives show absolutely no Christ-likeness, no change. You can’t say you love God and never visit Him, never worship Him, never do anything to grow closer to Him by learning obedience to His Word. That sort of a relationship doesn’t work with your parents, or especially with your wife or husband, does it? Try telling them you love them, then never visit them, never try to please them, and basically ignore their existence until you absolutely need them for something. This is the same way people treat God. Perfection isn’t possible, but love is, and Jesus said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. “
- Paul Thompson
So she got out the encyclopedias and showed the boy other religious pictures, starting with a crescent moon, representing Islam. The boy said, “That’s the religion where ladies wear long black robes and cover their faces and all the men have beards. They really like their religion so much that they practice it all the time, even when they’re not at church.” “Wow” replied the mother “You really know your stuff! Where did you learn that?” The boy said “A friend at school lives by one of them.”
Then she showed him a Star of David. The boy said “That’s the Jews. A lot of them were killed by bad people. Some of the men wear all black and have black hats and curly sideburns. They go cry at a wall in Jerusalem because they are sad.” “Where did you learn that?” asked the mother. “From watching a movie on the history channel” said the boy.
The mother then showed the boy a Cross, to which the boy replied “Oh, I know that one. That’s about Jesus.” “You’re right!” said the mother. “What do we Christians do?” The boy said “They build really humungous and pretty buildings that nobody goes to, except for little kids, like when you drop me off at Vacation Bible School. But it’s hard to tell who a Christian is because they act, look and talk just like everybody else.”
At his response the mother started crying, realizing that she should have been practicing what she had claimed to believe.
The point is that one should be careful what one claims to be. In the United States, the vast majority of people claim to be Christian, or have been baptized in a Christian Church, and then never darken the doors of the Church with their shadow. Subsequently, their lives show absolutely no Christ-likeness, no change. You can’t say you love God and never visit Him, never worship Him, never do anything to grow closer to Him by learning obedience to His Word. That sort of a relationship doesn’t work with your parents, or especially with your wife or husband, does it? Try telling them you love them, then never visit them, never try to please them, and basically ignore their existence until you absolutely need them for something. This is the same way people treat God. Perfection isn’t possible, but love is, and Jesus said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. “
- Paul Thompson
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
An email to my wife about spiritual things...
Hi my love,
Remember the other night when you said that you don't know if you believe that the Genesis account and other stories are just spiritual illustrations teaching us a cosmic lesson, instead it is less confusing and right to believe that these stories are literal? Well, you are right. When does one stop taking things as figurative and start taking it literally? You could take it all the way from Genesis to Revelation figuratively if you wanted to, but then where is truth in that? One could read Aesop's Fables and get a good lesson from it. I think it is right to think that when the Bible is figurative it is blatantly figurative, and when it is literal, it is blatantly literal.
Also, if you'll think about it, there is NO harm in playing it safe and believing less, or the bare minimum, but there is harm in believing heresies or stories as truth. So, take, for instance, a Baptist, who believes that the early church was simple, independent, having only a bishop (pastor or shepherd) and deacons like the New Testament says, and believes in "believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved". Then they meet together, sing hymns, pray together and hear the word preached, and lead holy lives. They stick only to what the Bible says. There is no harm in this. How could there be?
On the other hand, some church traditions treat their church traditions as if they have been there since the beginning. Sometimes these people begin to worship the idea of the church instead of the Lord. Then, as is evident in Catholicism and Orthodoxy, traditions such as the assumption of Mary, purgatory, intercession of saints, indulgences, immaculate conception and other doctrines become something that you MUST believe to avoid being a heretic. What does that do with the early church people who didn't believe in these doctrines? Make them heretics?
About Apostolic Succession and Apostolic Churches, I realize the purpose behind it, to ensure that godly men were put in place after the death of the previous bishop, but it took on a different form, becoming almost like a magical transmission of truth and power. That's not the case. Apostolic Succession never secured the church from error, and has never perfectly preserved the truth, has it? Any man who has a great knowledge of the Bible and leads an upright life can effectively teach the Scriptures to others and be their pastor. Truth is preserved in men who love God and desire truth, not in the laying on of hands.
Also, I have seen a lot of liturgical churches that have the scripture verse, "worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness" above a picture of an altar, or vestments or something. I think they are reading that verse backwards. I think that they may be reading it as "worship the Lord in the holiness of beauty". Beauty is not holiness to the Lord. Holiness, however, is beauty to the Lord. Holiness can be as homely as a dirty man in rags who loves God with all his heart, mind and strength and who loves his neighbor as himself, and who watches the words that comes out of his mouth, who helps the orphans and widows, who keeps himself unspotted from the world, who confesses his sins and repents, placing his trust in God and His Son. On the other hand, there are MANY people who have beautiful churches and wear beautiful vestments who molest children, or are very proud of themselves, who wear huge mitres upon their heads. Jesus slept on the streets and probably wore the same humble clothes for most of his adult life.
Love you,
Paul
Remember the other night when you said that you don't know if you believe that the Genesis account and other stories are just spiritual illustrations teaching us a cosmic lesson, instead it is less confusing and right to believe that these stories are literal? Well, you are right. When does one stop taking things as figurative and start taking it literally? You could take it all the way from Genesis to Revelation figuratively if you wanted to, but then where is truth in that? One could read Aesop's Fables and get a good lesson from it. I think it is right to think that when the Bible is figurative it is blatantly figurative, and when it is literal, it is blatantly literal.
Also, if you'll think about it, there is NO harm in playing it safe and believing less, or the bare minimum, but there is harm in believing heresies or stories as truth. So, take, for instance, a Baptist, who believes that the early church was simple, independent, having only a bishop (pastor or shepherd) and deacons like the New Testament says, and believes in "believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved". Then they meet together, sing hymns, pray together and hear the word preached, and lead holy lives. They stick only to what the Bible says. There is no harm in this. How could there be?
On the other hand, some church traditions treat their church traditions as if they have been there since the beginning. Sometimes these people begin to worship the idea of the church instead of the Lord. Then, as is evident in Catholicism and Orthodoxy, traditions such as the assumption of Mary, purgatory, intercession of saints, indulgences, immaculate conception and other doctrines become something that you MUST believe to avoid being a heretic. What does that do with the early church people who didn't believe in these doctrines? Make them heretics?
About Apostolic Succession and Apostolic Churches, I realize the purpose behind it, to ensure that godly men were put in place after the death of the previous bishop, but it took on a different form, becoming almost like a magical transmission of truth and power. That's not the case. Apostolic Succession never secured the church from error, and has never perfectly preserved the truth, has it? Any man who has a great knowledge of the Bible and leads an upright life can effectively teach the Scriptures to others and be their pastor. Truth is preserved in men who love God and desire truth, not in the laying on of hands.
Also, I have seen a lot of liturgical churches that have the scripture verse, "worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness" above a picture of an altar, or vestments or something. I think they are reading that verse backwards. I think that they may be reading it as "worship the Lord in the holiness of beauty". Beauty is not holiness to the Lord. Holiness, however, is beauty to the Lord. Holiness can be as homely as a dirty man in rags who loves God with all his heart, mind and strength and who loves his neighbor as himself, and who watches the words that comes out of his mouth, who helps the orphans and widows, who keeps himself unspotted from the world, who confesses his sins and repents, placing his trust in God and His Son. On the other hand, there are MANY people who have beautiful churches and wear beautiful vestments who molest children, or are very proud of themselves, who wear huge mitres upon their heads. Jesus slept on the streets and probably wore the same humble clothes for most of his adult life.
Love you,
Paul
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