Posts filed under ‘christianity’
Pope Francis Equates Bible to Qur’an; Christianity to Islam
PLEASE NOTE: It has come to our attention that we used a spoof site – the National Review – as the source of this article. We nearly made a similar mistake with another article a while back, but caught our mistake in time.
Not to excuse our mistake, but with so much out there about how this particular Pope has been moving toward Islam, even recently praying in a Turkish mosque, it gives one reason to pause.
That said, we should have checked our sources more carefully and we appreciate a reader bringing this to our attention. We will be removing this article soon.
Salvation is By Faith; Rewards Gained are by Faith AND Effort
If that is the case, then the thief on the cross was blessed indeed because he never had the opportunity to “lose” his salvation once given (Luke 23) by living longer than that particular day on which he was granted salvation. But what kind of tragic cruelty is this? That God, who grants salvation based on the recipient’s faith in Him, will remove that salvation once a person’s faith wanes? I hear people state that they hope to be found faithful. The entirety of their salvation rests on this wish of theirs. They say they won’t know until they die. The Bible grants us confirmation of our salvation, yet to hear some tell it, we are reliant upon the Ancient Egyptian form of religions where our deeds – good and bad – are weighed and that determines whether or not we were able to keep our salvation! This is absurd. Our deeds – both good and bad – are “weighed” to determine what, if any rewards will be ours, not whether or not we will keep or maintain our salvation. That is God’s department. Read about this in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 where the believer’s works are judged. The outcome determines what we gain or lose in the next life with respect to rewards and privileges, not whether or not we continue to have salvation.
Christian Suffering to Gain Rewards and Benefits?
More than once the apostle Paul speaks about suffering for Christ. In fact, he actually seemed to relish the idea because it would allow him to share in Christ’s sufferings, not as being equal to Messiah – there is only ONE Messiah/Savior – but as a true believer who wants to be able to fully identify with his Master as much as possible.
Believing Faith vs. Evil, Unbelieving Heart for the Christian
However, based on my previous articles connected somewhat to this article, I fully believe that true Christians can have small to huge issues with unbelief. Having said that, I want to be sure that people know I fully believe the Bible teaches eternal security. I do not believe, like some, that our salvation can be lost. I appreciate the earnestness of those who believe such a position and their desire to prove their love and loyalty to the Lord, but for me, the true reality is that salvation is totally God’s department. He calls, He saves, He secures, He seals, He guards, He will bring those who trust Him for salvation into eternity. He will also judge all believers regarding their works and folks, if you learned one thing from my previous series on salvation, it is this: the works that we do here and now are based on belief or unbelief in God, period.
Yes, Christians CAN Fall Away from God…
When we choose to disbelieve God, we do so because we have chosen to believe something else. This stems from an evil heart, a heart that is extremely difficult to know and understand (cf. Jeremiah 17:9). It’s not “backsliding” as if we simply lost our footing while trying to climb up a metal slide. It is giving way to an evil, unbelieving heart! Maybe if we were willing to call it what it is, we would be more willing to humble ourselves and acknowledge that we are capable of doing what Moses did, what David did, what Peter did and what others have done.
Good News of Hebrews 4…
Living a life based on constant belief in God means going from strength to strength (Psalm 85:7). Understanding this can create a very stark comprehension of how Christians are to live. The focus, instead of being on what we are to do or not do, is on believing God. Since this is the starting point, I firmly believe that we will live a life that stems from that believing. This is not to say that we do not need to learn what God’s Word says. Clearly, we do need to study to know whether or not we are believing God at every turn and whether or not our life measures up to His standard.
Is Salvation a Sure Thing or Dependent Upon Us? Part 9
Moses chose through unbelief to strike the rock twice. Had he been tempted to do that, but instead did what God told him to do, Moses would not have sinned. He was angry with the Israelites and rather than controlling his anger, he allowed his anger to control him and he sinned because of it. His anger clouded his thinking and instead of doing things God’s way, Moses thought he had a better way. Ultimately, he came to believe that God’s way was not the best and his way was. Proverbs 14:12 certainly applies here.
Is Salvation a Sure Thing or Dependent Upon Us? Part 8
What did this believing in God cause these individuals to do? They walked in righteousness. Their actions proved their belief in God. Noah believed God and…built the Ark. Lot believed God and…left Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham believed God and…left Ur to go the Land of Promise. But some of these same people also had times in their lives where, through unbelief, they parted ways with God. In the case of Ananias and Sapphira, they did not get the opportunity to come back from their path of unbelief. Neither did Moses. We haven’t even talked about David, have we? He was a believer, a man after God’s own heart, yet, through unbelief, he sinned, first through lust, which gave birth to adultery, which then gave birth to murder. Even though David repented, things were not the same. God was not happy that David had chosen to go off the path of righteousness and down the trail of unbelief leading to death.
Is Salvation a Sure Thing or Dependent Upon Us? Part 6
So what exactly does it mean to depart from God? The writer of Hebrews is connecting this action with the actions of those from the Old Testament, those of Israel who left Egypt and hardened their hearts against God. What did they do to cause their hearts to harden? Quite simply, they chose to disbelieve Him. Because they refused to believe that God would overcome their enemies in the Promised Land of Canaan, they were not allowed to enter into that land, or “rest.” God made them wander in the wilderness until that generation of men aged 18 and up were dead.
Your Blood, Your Body, and the Holy Spirit’s Temple, Part 1
I firmly believe that while it is extremely important to avoid sexual immorality, drugs, drunkenness, and the rest of what Paul speaks of here in Corinthians and elsewhere, it is equally important to avoid eating and drinking things that will cause the type of physiological issues that can do tremendous harm to our bodies. In essence, as Paul says, many of the things we eat and drink are not beneficial to us at all! We need to take note of it and learn exactly how harmful they may be for us, including what type of toll they take on our physical bodies.
StudyGrowKnow 