Posts filed under ‘salvation’
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 7
What? Moses was accused of God as not believing Him! Moses? Yes, Moses, the man who walked with God and spoke with Him as one man speaks to another. Moses spent years learning from God, trusting Him, and being obedient to Him. Yet, here, just prior to the end of Israel’s journey to the Promised Land, Moses makes a terrible mistake and that mistake was the result of the fact that Moses chose not believe God. Wow. Stop and consider that for a moment, will you?
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.
Is Salvation a Sure Thing or Dependent Upon Us? Part 5
If we were to simply leave it there, we would be very tempted to think that the writer of Hebrews is referring to salvation and if we are not careful, we will lose that salvation through an “unbelieving heart.” In fact, this verse (among others) is often used as a proof-text to show that salvation can be lost. I do not believe this is the case and if we take the time to strongly consider the context, which we must do, then we will all arrive to that very same conclusion. The question to ask is whether or not the writer of Hebrews is speaking of our salvation beginning with Hebrews 3:12 or something else entirely?
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.
It is Easy to Misinterpret Scripture By Ignoring Context
THEN we get to verse 6b of Zechariah 13 and the famous verse that some take to refer to Jesus. It is clear that the false prophet is being questioned here, but about what? The “wounds” on his arms. This is where some people assume it refers to Jesus (because of the wounds He received leading up to and including the crucifixion). Unfortunately, IF we consider that the context is all about false prophets, then the wounds referred to here are more in line with what the prophets of Baal did to themselves in 1 Kings 18:28. They cut themselves in order to get Baal’s attention, much the same way Muslims cut themselves today during certain ceremonies to gain Allah’s attention and favor. Throughout history, there were many of these types of self-mutilation ceremonies connected with Phrygian, Syrian, Cappadocian, and other cultures.
New World Government Has Been in the Works in America for Generations
Christians today need to grasp the big picture, the one from God’s perspective. Instead, we are often too concerned about saving America. Our job is the Great Commission, in which Jesus tells us to go and make disciples of all nations. He never tells us to save a specific country. He is concerned about lost souls and so should we be. The problem is that all too often (and we can all fall prey to this, including this author), we become embroiled in the political scene because we think that if good men “do nothing,” disaster is the result. We need to choose carefully what it is we are “to do,” because we cannot be both evangelists to the lost and politically involved to save America.
Is Salvation a Sure Thing or Dependent Upon Us? Part 4
I’m not sure the average Christian truly understands how important it is that Christians actively persevere in the faith, on a daily basis. Though I believe that this will occur for all true Christians, too often today, those who profess to be Christians provide themselves with every excuse to act like the world. We have lost a true reverence for God (if we ever had it). We have no real fear of failure. We do not understand the depth to which our sin causes the Holy Spirit to grieve. We are constantly giving ourselves a pass on the things that we do that we know are wrong. Our job is to submit to Him that His will might be lived out in and through us. He doesn’t expect us to do that in our own strength. He will provide the strength. He simply says we must open ourselves to His will all the time. This is what actively recreates the character of Jesus in our hearts and lives, though clearly, God is in charge of that. Nothing can be taken away from Him.
Why Have Classic Hymns Essentially Been Banished from Churches Today?
But if you take the time to listen to the so-called Christian music of today, much of it is short on majesty, theology, and reverence and long on showmanship. Take time to really listen to the singer of some of the music that is being pushed by Christian artists. Some of them sound as though – forgive me – they are sexually aroused while they are singing. That is the growing trend. Then, when a young woman gets up in church to do the same song, who do you think she imitates? Yes, the original artist. So, there she is, standing at the microphone, both hands on the mic, sort of “growling” and slightly swaying as she croons her way though the song. When she’s done? People applaud. They applaud, which simply proves to me that all eyes are on the singer and not God.
Scientology and the Problem of Peer and Group Pressure
It should be obvious that if Christians are not careful, we too can fall prey to the trappings of peer or group pressure. Recently, a group of people in a local church were put on a committee to go through all the resumes in hopes of finding a new minister of music. Eventually, one was found and those involved extolled the process as being good and unifying. They felt that the person they eventually called to the position (and he accepted), must be the person because they (the committee), was in full unity over it.
StudyGrowKnow 