Posts filed under ‘Religious – Christian – End Times’
What Are We to Think of the Prophets and Apostles that Exist Today? Part 1
Today’s Christian is often overwhelmed by a complete lack of knowledge regarding God’s Word. Because of it, too many are tossed to and fro, running here and there, seeking the next religious fad. At the same time, we are told that to relay too much on His Word is a form of Pharisaical legalism that keeps Christians from moving on with God with His alleged new revelations. We are told we need to be open to signs and wonders, to new movements of the Spirit, words of knowledge, and prophecies. Those who are not open to it are considered legalistic and in “religious bondage.”
End Times Prophets are at It Again
Evil is on the move and just because that’s happening, it does not mean that God is powerless or unable to complete His will unless the Church steps up. As I’ve stated numerous times before, God is allowing Satan near-free reign over this world so that Satan will have every opportunity to bring his promises of Isaiah 14 to fruition. Remember, his last promise was that he would become like the Most High (Isaiah 14:14). God is giving Satan the chance to make that happen, which is why we are moving toward the Tribulation, which is why Satan’s spiritual son (Antichrist) will rule this world in the final Gentile empire first revealed in Daniel 2, which is why Satan’s attempted public humiliation of God will end when Jesus returns physically and destroys Antichrist with but a word!
Our Relationship with Jesus is a Call to Fellowship
Like any relationship, being a Christian – being in relationship with Jesus – is hard work. It requires a commitment that many will find difficult. Like other relationships, many find it easier to simply stop working, to walk away, and to find a new way to live. The temptation to do this where Christ is concerned is just as real, just as palpable, and just as serious.
Romans 8: Life in the Spirit, Part 4
People who become Christians often experience a sense of joy because of the realization that our sin – all of it – has been forgiven because of Christ’s atonement and our faith in Him and His atonement. This joy eventually gives way to the realization that we still sin and we do so because though we have become a “new creature” in Christ, our sin nature – the very thing that has created enmity between ourselves and God – is still resident within us. This truth tends to take away the joy we experienced when we first became Christians.
Romans 8: Life in the Spirit, Part 3
What Paul is saying here – in fact, he is emphatically teaching it – is that we become the products of our environments and pursuits. This means that if we become Christians, but continue to live as though we are not, we will continue to live the way the world lives. The world lives by the “flesh,” that is doing, thinking, and speaking the way of the flesh. The flesh Paul is speaking of here is not our physical skin. Paul is speaking of the evil that is in the world that stems from everyone’s sin nature and the general curse placed by God on the Creation itself. Romans 8:6 states quite simply that the “outlook” or end result of the flesh is death. If we follow the dictates of our sin nature, we can be assured that its end is death, which is separation from God.
Romans 8: Life in the Spirit, Part 2
The perfect life that Jesus lived actually “condemned sin in the flesh.” Jesus was the only One who did that. No one else came close. Jesus kept the righteous decrees of the law at all points, at every turn. So if He actually lived among us today and drove a car and owned a cell phone, you would never see Him texting while driving. He would never break the law at any point. Because of that, the perfection of His life (righteousness) condemned sin. It is because He condemned sin in the flesh, with the righteous requirements of the law being met fully, that He was able to offer Himself as a sacrifice for our sins (and sin nature) – yours and mine (Revelation 5).
Romans 8: Life in the Spirit, Part 1
Romans itself, in its entirety, is a book that in all likelihood, surpasses others in explaining how pitifully weak man is in being able to help himself out of the predicament that he has gotten himself into, through the fall. Paul spends much time developing the narrative and presenting the truths – one after another – that proves beyond doubt that man, beset with sin, is incapable of saving himself. It doesn’t matter whether we are referring to Jew or Gentile, male, female, slave or free. All are in the same boat and that boat is sinking. The only survivors will be those who trust not in themselves but in Someone outside of themselves to save them from the wrath that is to come.
And Still They Die…Every Day
The terror of falling into the hands of the living God after death is something I cannot fathom in its fullness. If I could, I might actually be willing to get in people’s faces about eternal matters. As it is, the realization of the truth of Hebrews 10:31 tends to cause me to pause. It even tends to paralyze me a bit with some measure of fear for those who resolutely go through this life with nary a thought of God. When they do consider Him, they are so cavalier and dismissive in their manner, that it is shocking. They really cannot see due to blindness that has such a grip on them. They prefer their blindness because it allows them to be more accepted by others. One thing a celebrity in particular cannot handle is the rejection of fans on a large scale. Not only can that be emotionally devastating but career ending.
StudyGrowKnow 