NOTHING MAKES SENSE WITHOUT FREEWILL

I might add that everything makes sense with free will. Pick the subject that would keep anyone from believing and view it as if we have free will and it is obvious that we (mankind) are responsible for it.

 

Sin abounds in this world and if we have no free will then God would be responsible for it. It is sin that separates us from God. If there is no free will then it is God that separates us from Him by making us sin. Those who understand God know He would not do such a thing.

 

There are those who say “I can not believe in God because a loving God would not allow war”, but God must allow war, because if He stopped it no one had the right or power to sin in that way. The fact that man goes to war proves free will: just as any sin proves free will.

 

We pray that God will stop sin, especially when someone is sinning against us, but with a little thought it can be seen that God has tied His own hands and can not stop sin without ending this age.

 

I believe that it is right to pray that sin be stopped, however I think we should always add that we want God’s will to be done. There are more sinners that God knows will turn to Him and therefore He does not end this age.

 

Pick your sin, any sin, murder, theft, even child abuse and if you apply free will to it you can see that God cannot completely stop it without removing the power to commit it.

 

It is God’s plan that we have the power to sin. He did not prevent Eve from eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, though it cursed all of mankind. Unfortunately all sin hurts others as well as the one that sins: which is one of the reasons that God hates sin.

 

Consider these two verses. (Exo 32:33 NIV)  The LORD replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book” and though I usually quote from the NIV it seems to me that the KJV says this better, (Mat 18:7 KJV) Woe unto the world because of offences! For it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!

 

It may seem a dichotomy, but I am not saying God can not stop sin. If you believe that God can do anything then stopping sin would not be beyond His abilities. I just don’t think it would be in His will.

 

Right now we face a great depression and life will not be as easy as it was. It will help if we can keep in mind that it was the greed of the rich that has caused it and if we are adversely affected it is not God’s fault. It is time to remember what God has done for us and to know these problems will not last forever. After theses times we will live forever happy.

 

Now we need to feel sorry for the rich and pray for them, because they are the ones who are really poor: poor in spirit and that is true poverty.

WHY I BELIEVE THAT THE GOD OF THE BIBLE IS THE TRUE GOD.

I and all Christians are often asked this question. Our first response is to try to convince the one who asks by quoting the Bible, but if you are not a Christian you can not understand the Bible. The question is usually asked in an attempt to trap the believer and if asked with that motive is not asked in truth. This leads to arguments as the unbeliever tries to convince the Christian that he, or she is wrong and the Christian becomes frustrated because the other person doesn’t understand what is so clear to them.

This post is about my experience, so please excuse the constant reference to me.

At some point in my studies I began to believe the God of the Bible was the true God. I believe it was when I admitted to myself that I was truly a sinner. I suppose that one can say that I began to know God when I began to know myself.

To search for God is to search for truth and if you are not willing to apply truth to yourself then why would God reveal Himself to you?

I didn’t understand this at that time. I thought that it was all me, that I was going to find God, but now I see that it was God that revealed Himself; not because I searched, but because I searched in truth.

OK, so it was partially me. I do not think God reveals Himself if you don’t search and ask Him to.

When I knew that I was a sinner I knew also that God didn’t like sinners. I did not yet understand sin, but I could understand that I was not going to Heaven the way I was. God then lead me to understand Jesus and the realization that I could be forgiven. Whereupon, I asked Jesus to come into my heart and save me. That is purely a selfish act, but one God wants. I was then baptized and received the Holy Spirit to teach me about God. It should be apparent that if you do not have the Holy Spirit to teach you then you can not learn. Most people think they can learn about God on their own, but that is not God’s way. If you are not willing to admit the truth and want to change, then God is not willing either.

I wanted and still want to know everything about God. The more I learn the stronger my faith becomes.

If one does not start their search for God in truth they will find and make up all kinds of gods. Some gods are mere idols and some though they come close to the real God are an image of a god that is not loving or merciful.

Well, I suppose you could say that I believe the God of the Bible is the true God because He taught me that He is. I told you that you couldn’t understand if you were not a Christian, didn’t I?

WHAT IS THE UNFORGIVABLE SIN?

We are told in 1 John 5:16 (NIV) “If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that he should pray about that.”

So there is one sin that will not be forgiven. I like everyone before me wondered just what that particular sin was. It is kind of frightening to think there is a sin that will not be forgiven. I don’t know about you but it scared me to think that I might have committed it, or that I might in the future. Not knowing what that sin was I could not be sure of my salvation. I also didn’t understand why I shouldn’t pray about the one unforgivable sin. It seemed to me that if the sin was unforgivable I certainly should pray about it, but I am told not to.

I didn’t understand this, just like many things in the Bible when I first read them, but I was, and am, sure that everything in the Bible will be revealed if anyone asks and believes God will answer. I did and He did, so let me try to explain it.

First things first, all sins lead to death. The unsaved or those who refuse to accept the free gift of salvation that Jesus died to offer anyone and everyone who will accept it, will die because of their sin. The only way sin can be paid for is with death. If not by the death of Jesus then by the sinners own death. I am not speaking about physical death as we all must face that death. I am talking about the second death which is separation from God and all of His blessings. I am saying this to make it clear that the verse is not speaking about everyone, but only about a brother in Christ.

It would be great if once we turned to God that we would no longer sin, however that is not the case. We are given the Holy Spirit to teach us the ways of God, not to control us completely. If the Spirit would control us we would not sin, but we do.

When we accept Jesus as our Savior “all” of our sins are forgiven, so at that time there is no unforgivable sin. God does not control us or make us do anything, so He did not make anyone turn to Him. It is true that He has done everything to offer this salvation to us, but He doesn’t make anyone accept it. Nor will He make anyone continue to be a Christian.

This is the unforgivable sin, “To turn away from God after turning to Him.”

We are told in Matthew, Mark, and Luke that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the unforgivable sin. One who has not accepted Jesus does not have the Holy Spirit, so he can not speak against that which he does not know, but when anyone turns and accepts Jesus they are given the Spirit and He becomes one with the believer. That person is still free to reject Jesus, just as he was free to accept Him, so that “brother” can commit the unforgivable sin.

This explains why we should not pray about the unforgivable sin. We would be praying that God would take away the persons free will and make him or her be a Christian. If God were going to make us be Christians then there would be no reason for Jesus to die on a cross. God would just say the words and we would be forgiven, but His plan is that we should accept Him of our own free will and not be programmed, or commanded, or made to accept His salvation. We would be praying that God change His whole plan of salvation.

For the unbeliever the unforgivable sin is not accepting Jesus as their Savior and for the believer the unforgivable sin is rejecting Jesus. The sin is the same for both. The only difference is that all of the sins of the unbeliever are unforgivable and only one sin is unforgivable for the believer.

SHOULD WE SPEAK ABOUT HELL?

Well, hell yes!!! Sorry Christians, but the line was just too funny to pass up.
There seems some reluctance to speak about hell in our Churches in these times. It wasn’t always that way. When I was young you would hear Christian leaders preach about Hell, but now it is hardly ever mentioned.
I have to ask everyone, “Why would anyone need a Savior if there is no Hell?” If you do not tell people about the consequences of ignoring God why would they worry? How would you ever make the message of the New Testament clear if you do not explain Hell?
Before you chastise me for saying the unsaved should worry because worry is a sin, think about it. Worry is a sin for those who have overcome the world, because it demonstrates their lack of faith; not total lack mind you, but still some unbelief. Because the unbeliever has no faith (In God) it is not a sin for them to worry.
It is something like fear. Fear has two definitions, one is to be afraid, and the other is extreme reverence. Fear, or to be afraid, is the beginning of understanding. The beginning of understanding leads to extreme reverence. It would be a sin for a Christian to be afraid, because he or she should understand that God is in control. Yes, I know we all sin, but those sins have been paid for, so don’t worry. You see what I mean?
Anyway, to get back to the subject, if we do not explain Hell we are leaving out the most important part of “The Good News” (Gospel). The Gospel is that we do not have to go to Hell: there is a Savior for anyone that will be honest enough to admit that they are a sinner and need a Savior and then do what God wants in order to receive salvation and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Well, I suppose the first step is to be honest enough to admit that there is a God.

THE KEY TO HAPPINESS.

How it works and why it works for everyone.

There is a key to happiness. It doesn’t even matter what you believe about God, gods, no gods, or the great invisible nothingness.

If you read my posts you now that I am a flaming evangelical Christian, so you know that the key comes from the Bible, but you don’t even have to believe the Bible to accept this wisdom. I only included it because the Author should receive the credit.

The key comes from Philippians 4:8

(NIV)  Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.

How it works.

The key to understanding how it works is

“YOU FIND WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR”

If you are looking for whatever is lovely you will be concentrating on what is lovely, not on what is ugly, and you will find it. The same can be said for noble, pure, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy.

Looking for the opposite is also true if you are looking for what is ugly you will look right past something that is lovely, pure, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy and you will not find any of these qualities: you will only find ugly.

The verse says, “think about such things.” If that is what you are thinking about you will also be looking for it. There is an old saying “You are what you eat”. Well, I am not buying that, but you really are what you think. If you spend your time thinking about good you will be good and if you spend your time thinking about bad you will be bad.

Why it works for everyone.

There are some in this world who only see ugly. Part of the reason is that they only look for it, but even if one is blind to beauty and they can only see what is ugly, if they would spend all of their time looking for beauty they would have no time left to look for ugly. Though they would not be as happy as someone who did not share their natural pessimism they would be as happy as they could be. (The old saying that some are only happy when they are miserable is just that; a saying with no merit)

If that sounds too simple for you, stop trying to complicate it. The really wonderful things in life, the things that bring great enjoyment, are simple.

YES, THE USA IS IN THE BIBLE!!!

There are those who say that the USA isn’t in the Bible. Well, if they mean by name they are correct. However the type of government is described. (If you have ears to hear)

Consider Daniel chapter two where the statue of king Nebuchadnezzar’s dream is detailed. Notice that the governments that are in control at the end of time are of iron and clay mixed.

Metal is the symbol of all the governments. The head is of gold to symbolize the value of the government of Nebuchadnezzar. God chose and installed Nebuchadnezzar as the king. Man had nothing to do with it (Dan 4:25), therefore the government was of great value: even if Nebuchadnezzar wasn’t always merciful or fair.

The governments become of less value as time proceeds toward the end. They are of less value because men interfere in the process of choosing leaders. It is true that man could not choose leaders unless God let them, but God does let us and it degrades the government.

God let Israel have a king and He also let us have a president and I believe He will also allow separation of God and State (We say Church and State, but we mean God and State. Because Christians are the Church the term “Separation of Church and State would actually mean separating Christians from the State and though most believers of other religions and nonbelievers would like that, it is politically incorrect.). It seems to me that God gives us, and is giving us enough rope to hang ourselves.

(Dan 2:40 NIV)  “Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron–for iron breaks and smashes everything–and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others.”

The end time government is a mixture of iron and baked clay (Verse 43). Iron because when compared with the other metals in the statue is of little value, though it is stronger than the other metals. Democracy has crushed and broken many of the other governments: though not all (not yet). It even breaks and smashes it’s own citizens.

The clay represents people, because we all come from Adam and he came from dust which is dirt and clay is dirt. So one can say we all came from dirt. (That ought to humble you) The clay is baked clay because our hearts have been hardened. We have hardened our own hearts by thinking that we should chose leaders. You know the phrase, “By the people, of the people, and for the people”. As a Christian shouldn’t we really be saying, “By God, of God, and for God”? Which phrase sounds right to you?

The truth is anyone who can not see the future is not qualified to lead, or even to choose leaders. It is only a guess if a bill will work as claimed (Usually it is only a “bill of goods”) and just speculation that a politician will do what he, or she promised. (Does anyone really believe a campaign promise?) Please don’t take my word for this, just check history.

Many think that the fourth kingdom is one ruler of the whole world, but the verses do not refer to one government. We know this because verse 44 says “In the time of those kings”; not king. The word kings is used rather than presidents and prime ministers because no one would have understood the present names for the prime leaders.

Though the metals and parts of the statue represent actual governments a better understanding is that they represent different forms of government.

Verse 43 says, (NIV) “And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.” Iron doesn’t mix with clay and the government doesn’t mix with the people either. The only time the government even seems to mix with the people is at election time. Do you think they have a motive other than our welfare?

(Just a thought, if your banker, bookkeeper, police, doctor, or anyone else purposely lies to you and harm results from that lie they can be prosecuted, but we expect a politician to lie and you can’t prosecute them for it. The person with the most power is the person with the least accountability! Could that be a basic flaw in the system? Do you think it possible that politicians would make a law that would allow prosecution for a “Campaign Promise”? If you do I’ve got a used bridge in Minnesota for sale and you are a qualified buyer!)

I ask you, “Are we united?” Doesn’t everyone have an opinion about everything? (Yes, I am also guilty) Do we all agree on any one issue? Just one?

I doubt that we can even agree on this post. The only other thing that I will add at this time is, “Watch out for the Rock”!

ATHEIST I KNOW WHY YOU DO THAT

A little while ago I wrote a post titled “Atheist why do you do that”. I asked for an explanation, but as of yet I have not received one that really answered my question. So far the only thing that you have done is try to ruin my faith in God. Which is what caused me to ask the question in the first place.

I guess me asking you to examine your own beliefs is just too much to ask. Even your silence was enough to make me think about your motives.

First I think I understand the game (I’m sure you will deny the accuracy of my deductions). You all hide and wait, then one of you throws out the bait (A Post). Along comes some Christian that believes you just don’t know the truth and he believes he can help you. He doesn’t know (At first) that you don’t care about the truth. When he bites and comments on your bait you all jump out and try your best to destroy his, or any one else’s faith.

The Christian is at somewhat of a disadvantage as he must answer with the truth as he understands it, but you have no such limits. Therefore you are free to attack his character, intelligence, or anything else you can think of.

Don’t take me wrong. The game can be fun for both sides if both sides understand the game and the Christian doesn’t take it too seriously. (Thinks he can help you)

However, that is not why I am writing this post. I know why you play the game.

No one puts forth much effort without expecting something in return.

So what drives you to put so much effort in trying to convince others that you are right is nothing more than pure vanity! You are proud of your intelligence and you just can not get enough strokes. Have you never pondered why anyone would be proud of something they didn’t produce?

It is impossible for you to learn anything because you would have to admit that you were wrong (Or not completely right) about something. You are way to perfect for that. If you were to admit that you could be wrong all of your friends would abandon you. You would not fit in with all of the super intelligent beings that have determined, by their own un-provable theories, that there is no God.

You need your friends because they give you strokes and you need strokes. When they leap out of the bushes they usually complement you for your great understanding and you, of course, must return the complement (If you don’t you might not get stroked the next time).

You may well be intelligent (No I’m not playing the game), but you waste it on yourself.

Why spend your time trying to convince Christians that they are wrong when, if their beliefs are applied, will only benefit you and all society? Is that really intelligent?

If you are truly intelligent go find a cure for cancer, find a way to go to the stars, do something constructive. Or would that put your intelligence to the test?

Actually your constant attempts to destroy Christian beliefs put your intelligence to the test and you fail!

“O” by the way, I’m not being a bad Christian for saying this. Because I am a Christian I must obey the second royal law “(Luke 6:31 NIV) Do to others as you would have them do to you.” If I were in your shoes I would want someone to wise me up.

JESUS “IS” THE SON OF DAVID 3

Let’s consider the genealogy of Jesus Christ that is listed in Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-38.

The first thing that we as Christians know is that Joseph was not the father of Jesus. The second thing is that the two genealogies are different. Christians have struggled with this ever sense it was written. We have looked for the key that would reconcile the two genealogies, but no one has really found it.

Now I have to laugh as those chills go up and down my back, as they do when God shows me something that He has hidden from me. (Hidden in plain sight as He does many times in His Word)

As I said, the first thing that we know is Joseph is not the father of Jesus, so why is the genealogy of Joseph even to be considered? Then you have to ask yourself, why do the two genealogies not agree?

The answer to the first question is it really doesn’t matter and the answer to the second question is “because” it really doesn’t matter. It is wrong on purpose!

Matthew states that the genealogy he lists is that of “Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham”, not the genealogy of Joseph, so it is only important that it correct from Abraham to Jesus. If Joseph was the father of Jesus both lists would have to agree, but he wasn’t. I might add that both of the genealogies do agree from Abraham to Jesus.

This agrees with the statement that the Messiah would come from David. If Jesus was to come through the line of David then Joseph’s linage would have been important and would have been properly listed. Also the verses that say before Marry and Joseph came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit would have to be removed from the Bible. It would have to read that she was found to be with child through Joseph.

I have reached a point in my walk with God that I do no longer doubt anything that is in the Bible. I have realized that I do not understand everything, but when I find something that doesn’t seem to fit I know it does and I am almost overcome with joy, because I know I have something more to learn; and usually God shows me the key to understanding it. (Not always as I don’t have a clue when it comes to prophecy)

Because I am so sure of the infallibility of the Bible I never thought of the possibility that God might allow an error on purpose; which after all would not be an error. The genealogies in Matthew and Luke from David to Joseph are just that. They are there to prove that Joseph is not the father of Jesus.

JESUS “IS” THE SON OF DAVID 2

After I wrote my last post I thought some might think that I may no longer believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Rest assured nothing has changed.

Spirit and flesh are different entities and it is possible for them to both occupy the same space at the same time.

Every believer knows that the Holy Spirit is part of them. I know that I have received the Spirit because I can feel it. God has given me the Spirit to teach me His ways. I do not audibly hear the voice of God, but if I am quiet I have thoughts that can not come from a sinful mind like mine. Those thoughts come from the mind of Christ which I was given when I turned to God. God teaches me if I will but listen and I’m no different than you.

Well, I am not the swiftest of students so I sin sometimes and as soon as I realize that I have sinned it seem as though the bottom drops out of my stomach. It is said that we are led by the Spirit, but the Spirit doesn’t lead me; He teaches me. If He led me I would not have sinned in the first place. He lets me sin so that I can learn that it is wrong to sin.

I believe that later when we all live with God the Spirit will lead us as Isaiah says in 30:21 (NIV) “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”” Right now I don’t hear that voice so I don’t always turn the right way. I am depending on my own understanding. Understanding that I am trying to base on the Word of God, but never the less, because I am not perfect I do not hear the voice of God until I sin.

Jesus was/is both man and God. He allowed Himself to be perfectly led by the Spirit of His Father. There was no reason to teach Jesus anything because He allowed Himself to be led exactly as the Spirit directed. He could hear the voice behind Him saying “This is the way; walk in it”.

John says the Word was God (John 1:1) and he said the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us (1:14). I believe that the flesh that the Word became was the Messiah, the son of David and I am only echoing what God said (Mat 1:1, Psa 89:3, 4, 29, 36, Jer 15, 17, 18 and more).

Let me ask a question from the Bible and then give you my answer.

(Isa 51:1 NIV) Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

My answer is ME and now YOU also. (If you have ears to hear)

I must say one more time “Rabbis we have no disagreement, Jesus is the son of David as well as the Son of God.

JESUS “IS” THE SON OF DAVID

I have been following the posts titled “Analyzing Jesus” on the Politics & Religion blog. It caused me to examine the reasons why the Jewish people can not accept Jesus as the Messiah. They have a few really good reasons that they cite to support their views and they seem logical to me.

First as Numbers 1:18 says tribal lineage is traced through a person’s father. This seems to be a problem, not just to Christians, but also for the Jews. If the Messiah has yet to come how could one possibly trace His linage now, as the records are no longer available?

Laying that aside I am going to agree with the Rabbis and with God (of course). God said that the Messiah would come from the line of David and therefore He must.

Awe, but the New Testament says He “is” the son of David (Mat 1:1) and it also says that he was thought to be the son of Joseph (Luke 3:23). The Jews still think that He is the son of Joseph and all of the Christians think that He is the Son of God.

Of course because I believe the New Testament to be from God just as the Old Testament is I believe He is the Son of God (first born), but I also believe that all who accept Jesus as the Messiah are sons of God. Not the first born, but still sons of God.

I and most Christians have always viewed Jesus as having no earthly father. Mathew 1:20 says what was conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit and I guess in my mind I thought of Jesus as half man and half God.

Let’s think about science for a minute. We have learned much about DNA lately. We know that in most of our cells there are 46 segments of DNA. Twenty three of them came from our mother and twenty three from our father. The 23 that were in the egg of our mother became a new person when the 23 from our father united with them.

Man can create a new person today by taking the egg out of the mother, fertilizing it, and then returning it to her womb, and we can by using sperm that has been frozen create a new person from someone who has been dead for quite sometime. I said this to illustrate how far from nature man can go and still create a new life. We can also by artificial insemination create a new person. If even man can do such things would it be too much for God?

The Bible says Marry was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. God is Spirit and I don’t believe spirit would have DNA so God would have to supply the DNA for the male segments of DNA.

If you have followed me so far then you probably know what I’m going to say. Yes, David is the earthly father of Jesus. Jesus didn’t come through Solomon or any others in the line of David, but from David himself.

I am not making anything up. The Old Testament says the very same thing. In 2 Sam the seventh chapter God is talking to Nathan the prophet, and He says “Go and tell my servant David”, (2 Sam 7:12 NIV) When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom.

The Genealogies in the New Testament only has to be correct from Abraham to David. I think that the discrepancies between the two descriptions are there to show us that Jesus came directly from David. If this is true it certainly is well hidden(well, not to the Rabbis), but then how could God explain artificial insemination to those who knew so little about how physical life is begun?

It is also only logical that Marry came from the line of Moses, as Moses brought the law and Jesus came to complete the law.

You can only begin to understand why this is a wonderful revelation to me. I have always thought of Jesus as half man and half God as Marry supplied the flesh and I thought the male part of Jesus was directly from God. So though I was told to be like Jesus I didn’t really think that I could be. Now I know that Jesus is the son of David as well as the Son of God I feel like there is a chance that I can be, at least somewhat, like Jesus.

If you are Jewish and think I am “nuts” (and of course you do) can you see that for a Messiah to come, one that would fulfill the requirements that are in the Old Testament, He will have to be similar in the form of birth (2 Sam 7:12)? How could he be counted as from the line of David when there are no records? If Jesus is not the Messiah there is no earthly hope for one.

I also have to agree with you that I was wrong about how I viewed Jesus.  You say that according to Christian teachings, Jesus had only a human Jewish mother, not a human Jewish father.  This human Jewish father would be essential for anyone to be a legitimate heir to the throne of David, which the real messiah will be. You were and are correct, but He does.