01 Genesis 29-31 - J Vernon Mcgee - Thru the Bible

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Why you should stand with Israel (biblical)

Israel’s very existence symbolizes the dichotomy of “possessing the land” amid jaundiced neighbors. Several years ago, the West heralded the Arab Spring as the dawning of democracy in nations ruled by tyrannous dictators. Nevertheless, the fruit of those political uprisings has been anything but freedom and stability.

For Israel, it simply increased the shared nightmare most Jews live with each day. That they are staring down the barrel of a gun, no matter which direction they turn.

Tragically, we’d prefer to argue over the differences between supporting Israel as a state versus supporting the Jewish people, rather than stand up for those whom God has called His people (Joel 2:18; 3:2; Jer. 50:6-7).

Why Standing with Israel Matters So Much

As Christians, we know who will return to reign physically over this global focal point. Even though this region has been dominated with strife and violence since the days of Abraham.

Why, then, should believers be so concerned over such a tiny speck of land? What does it really matter? What does the Bible say about standing with Israel?

I am convinced one of Satan’s greatest tools is to minimize or negate the role Israel plays today. It keeps the Western church in the dark concerning God’s end-time plan for our world.

Some within the church disregard Israel’s crisis in favor of the Palestinian plight (whom they argue have equal rights as “sons of Abraham”). Meanwhile, others have gone so far as to adopt a replacement theology perspective.

Replacement theology believes that the church, through Jesus Christ, has replaced Israel when it comes God’s purpose, plan and promises. But followers of this theory disregard much of what the Bible says about standing with Israel.

So, Why Stand with Israel Today?

All of these viewpoints are not only misguided. They also come at the expense of Israel at a time when the church is called to be her strongest ally amid an emergence of nations possessing a demonically driven desire to see the Jewish people eradicated.

Given this, let’s get a few foundational things straight. Let’s look at what the Bible says about standing with Israel.

Israel is a land about which God says uniquely, prophetically and repeatedly in the Bible, “This is Mine” (Joel 1:6; Zech. 2:5-7; Gen. 35:10-15). Also, God refers to Israel as He does to no other land on earth – He raises Israel to be a light to the Gentiles.

Bring Communities Home in Israel

Displaced Israelis need your help to return home

In the Words of Jesus

What does the Bible say about standing with Israel in the New Testament? Perhaps the most pointed statement regarding the importance of the Jews is from the lips of our Lord and Savior Himself. In His conversation with the Samaritan woman, recorded in John 4:1-26, Jesus is very definitive: “Salvation is of the Jews” (v. 22).

With these words He categorically points to the pathway which brings to earth the entirety of God’s program of redemption. His Person’s presence becomes this ultimate path.

Further, the church at its inception was virtually entirely Jewish. And it remained so until the gospel began to spread. Ultimately the gospel spread to Antioch, where the first Gentile congregation began. From there, the gospel spread into all the world.

Israel, Gentiles, and the Church

In Romans 9-11, the apostle Paul deals specifically with the question of the Jews’ role in God’s providence and purpose. Within the whole of the Bible, these three chapters virtually stand alone as an elaboration of the theology of God’s dealing with Jews.

The Jews were the first fruit—the first people (through Abraham) to understand a covenant God. Then, they relayed the riches of that truth to the world, and through their agency the Messiah came into the world.

The Word of God calls Jews the “root” and Gentiles the “branches” (Rom. 11:16-27). We’re reminded that while “because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith,” we are not to become haughty but to fear: “For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either” (vv. 20-21).

When the fullness of the Gentiles is completed, “all Israel will be saved” (v. 26)—that is, the present Church Age.

Yet, we are not to be passive in the face of prophecy. Our calling is to pray with passion, to intercede and to minister according to the words of the Savior. Who also said it is not our task to speculate when the end will be. It is our responsibility to do “kingdom business” until He comes (Luke 19:13).

Eight Biblical Reasons to Stand With Israel

This is not about politics; this is about the Word of God. This is what the Bible says about standing with Israel. But the political ramifications are extremely dramatic. Accordingly, it is critical that believers understand the specific reasons for why we should stand with Israel today.

1) Divine Order

Understanding the basis of the attention we give to the Jews has to do with understanding God’s divine order and things He has said. This involves both a people and a land (the latter of which we will cover shortly in another reason).

Abraham and the Beginning

Remember, the Lord first selected a people. He began by selecting a man named Abraham. The Lord said that through Abraham’s seed (in relationship with his wife, Sarah, giving birth to the promised child, Isaac), all the nations would be blessed. Through this people, every human being would have access to the divine blessing of Almighty God (Genesis 12:3).

Upon Jesus’ return to earth, the Lord will judge nations and deal with them for their decisions, just as He does individuals. Yet He makes a specific promise of judgment—of being either blessed or cursed—related to Abraham’s seed. It’s vital that we see this relates not only to a people (Jews), but also to a land (Israel).

What the Bible Says about Standing with Israel

God chose the Israelites to be the vessels for four overarching things:

i. The Adoption

God’s divine choice of the seed of Abraham as a people (Romans 9:4-5).

ii. The Glory

The manifest presence of God revealing Himself.

iii. The Covenants

The commitments that God makes. These are evident in three forms through Scripture:

The Abrahamic Covenant. In this foundational covenant, God essentially told Abraham, “I will give you a people and a land, and through this seed the nations of the earth will be blessed” (Gen. 17:2-8).

The Mosaic Covenant. Through Moses, God offered the revelation of the Law, given as a teaching means to lead us to Christ: redemption through the blood of the Lamb (Gal. 3:19-29).

The New Covenant. In Jeremiah and Ezekiel, God says in words almost parallel: “For the time will come that I will take My Law and I will make a new covenant with you, and I will put My Spirit within you” (Jer. 31:31-33; Ezek. 36:27).

iv. The Greatest Gift

The wonder of the gift of Jesus to mankind. John 3:16 explains that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” He gave Him through the Jews, and He came as a Jew. Jesus Himself, speaking to the woman of Samaria, said, “Salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22).

So Scripture speaks to us very clearly: We’re dealing with the root of everything that has to do with the revelation of God to humankind. Today’s proof exists today in the Jews as a people and in the fact of their national recovery (Ezek. 37).

woman talking on her phone while walking in Israel

2) Spiritual Link

Our place in God’s present order inextricably links us with the Jews as a people. And thereby also to the land of Israel, according to God’s Word. When we put our faith in the Redeemer who came through the Jews, we enter into a line of those who have trusted God according to His revealed grace and purpose.

Scripture declares that, spiritually speaking, when you receive the Lord, you inherit the Jewish legacy (Rom. 2:28-29, Gal. 3:26-29). If you are a believer, you cannot be consistent with the whole of Scripture and take a passive position toward the Jews and Israel.

As Christians, we stand with Israel, because they are forever linked with the spiritual promises of God. We have been grafted in and our Messiah brought us closer to Israel, for His name sake.

3) God’s Promises Over the Land

When we talk about Israel, we are dealing with two aspects of it. It is a piece of property that God has made pronouncements about. This is God’s people, and He gave the land to them.

God has made unique declarations regarding the land of Israel:

Leviticus 25:23—The land is the Lord’s land, and it is His to assign and dispose of.

Deuteronomy 32:43—“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people … He will provide atonement for His land and His people.”

2 Chronicles 7:20—God says, “[If the people violate Me], I will uproot them from My land which I have given them.”

Psalm 85:1-2— The Psalmist says the Lord has been favorable to Israel’s land, He has forgiven the iniquity of the people and covered all their sin.

Isaiah 8:8—This land belongs to Father God, and it is the land of His Messiah.

Jeremiah 2:7—The Lord tells the people there will come the loss—the destruction—of Jerusalem, because the people defiled the land and made God’s heritage an abomination.

Ezekiel 38:16—God is speaking to people in the end times who rise up against Israel, and He is speaking of a confrontation that will take place in His land.

Joel 1:6; 2:18; 3:2—Three times in this book, the land is referred to as belonging to the Lord.

Hosea 9:3—The prophet speaks of the scattering of Israel.

Zechariah 9:16—God promises to “save them [Israel] in that day.”

Not only does this land belong to God, but also, He has committed it to Abraham and his offspring via Isaac forever (Gen. 17:7-8). Additionally, Isaiah 54:8-10 reaffirms this. The loss of governance by Israel through sin and dispersion has not altered God’s announced commitment to make it theirs forever. If you doubt this, read Ezekiel 37.

4) Media Misrepresentation

Virtually every news report on the conflict involving Israel today presents Israel as the aggressor, notwithstanding the fact that Palestinian or Hamas rocket fire provoked the hostilities. Still, the media reports consistently assign responsibility to Israel as the initiator of aggression.

In 2005, Israel gave Gaza back to the Palestinian people as an effort to establish grounds for advancing the peace process. Within months, the same area became a staging ground for new unprovoked attacks on Israel. This represents the futile efforts Israel has faced at every turn when attempting to negotiate peace.

The general attitude of the world today regards the Palestinians as the underdog and the victim. But Israel defends the land covenanted to her in 1917 and that the United Nations Assembly established in 1948. There is no expansionism or racism on the part of Israel, just efforts to defend her citizens.

The Palestinian goal is not to secure a homeland but to drive Israel out altogether. Meanwhile, for the sake of mounting public opinion against Israel, the surrounding well-resourced Arab nations have never offered refuge to the Palestinians.

5) Arab Rights

Standing for Israel does not require an anti-Arab stance and doesn’t require us to be loveless toward other people. We do not oppose the Arab people as an entity. Nor do we oppose the rights of Arabs living in Israel to a peaceful, politically secure and prosperous life.

Remember, this is not about politics, yet the ramifications of this struggle inevitably involve governments. They governments should represent people groups. And among Christians, this is where we often confuse the matter—which is why it’s crucial that we understand the full picture.

God has no disposition against any human being. Certainly not Arabs, who are the offspring of Ishmael, the other son of His chosen leader, Abraham. Though the world may not understand this stance, we can defy their logic through Christ.

As Jesus said, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).

6) Spiritual Warfare

The relentless animosities of sectors of the Arab world are not merely political causes. Spiritual powers drive these causes. They will not be satisfied until Israel ceases to exist.

Even unbelievers recognize the uncanny patterns of vehement anti-Semitic rhetoric. The likes of Adolf Hitler and modern-day Arab leaders such as Ahmadinejad, Khamenei and their successors share this. The forces opposed to Israel are not simply those of people who don’t like Jews.

We are caught in the stream of spiritual forces greater than humanity. In other words, forces that cannot be overthrown politically or by the power of persuasion. These forces break down only by intercessory prayer, casting down principalities and powers.

7) Shared Persecution

If we think Israelis are the only ones in the line of fire in this conflict, we’re deceived. The same spirit driving these animosities equally opposes Christians and Jews, and in time will eventually bring persecution to both.

The Scripture describes two witnesses that will be put to death in Jerusalem at the very end of time (Rev. 11). Generally the “two witnesses” that have stood for the living God throughout history have been the Jews and the Christians.

The presence of the entire Judeo-Christian ethic, values and testimony is the most assailed spiritual testimony in today’s world. And it is allowed to be persecuted with impunity. Too often we hear incidents where such “witness” exists, and the violated rights or outright brutality finds only a silent response from the U.N. or the world press.

The hostilities and animosities are just as leveled at believers as they are at Israel. Because there is a spirit of the world that is against “all that is called God” (2 Thes. 2:4) and all things testifying to His existence, love, worth and glory.

8) God’s Summoning to Stand with Israel

A biblical assignment and a divine promise summon our stand in faith, our intercession with expectancy and our support with promise (Eph. 6:10-20).

Scripture declares there will come a time when all the nations of the world will turn against Israel (Zech. 12:1-14). Ongoing developments in the Middle East inescapably demonstrate the present moment and make it highly conceivable that this could happen in our time. What the Bible says about standing with Israel is not always simple.

Our calling is to stand with Israel today because we could be people of the last hour. The Lord has called us to be people with moral and biblical conviction, walking wisely and knowing His Word. He honors those who make an abiding commitment to stand with the land He calls uniquely His.

two men walking through a tunnel in the city in Israel

Standing with Israel in the 20th and 21st Century

This miraculous era that has seen the Jewish people regain political control of their own land. Which they were without for more than 2,300 years, but once again they became an official nation. Meanwhile, we could be people of the last hour, as they once again face global hostility.

The modern-day struggle is over Jerusalem, over Israel and over the presence of Jews and their right to have a land. Almost every nation refuses to make an abiding commitment to stand by the Jews and Israel. Only a few remain, but the Bible says God will honor those who do.

Every believer is charged to make the Jews a priority in his or her value system. Why? Because God has. As a result, we are to render thanksgiving for God’s work via them as a people.

source:

https://firmisrael.org/learn/8-biblical-reasons-stand-with-israel-today/

Spirituality has been the central fixation of my human experience.

I started out in the Black Apostolic Pentecostal church.

In college, I had transformative experiences studying and learning among people who practiced or took strong interest in Jewish Mysticism and Christian Gnosticism, the Hebraic roots of Christianity (including Black Hebrew Israelites, Messianic Jews, and Sacred Name believers), a very helpful and insightful Jehovah’s Witness, Nuwabians, and many others.

I gravitated to a more Hebrew culturally appropriated view of Christianity for a while and in my back pocket contemplated the more esoteric ideas of Gnosticism and other wisdom outlooks who utilized more allegory than literalism.

When I had my break from Christianity, I left in summary bc my studies poked too many holes in doctrinal and what I believed was historical information that was essential to my belief, that the fruit of the Spirit was in poor supply among my survey of saints and other Christians (that ended up being bigger a deal than the initial heartbreak of doctrinal fallacy), and the judgment of traditional and conservative Christian based morals seemed more harmful than any form of loving.

The day Jesus Christ was no longer my God in the way that I had grown up believing him to be was the biggest heartbreak of my life. I was on the phone with a friend who I would study at length with when the realization hit me. I fell to the floor and wailed in fetal position broken bc I knew nothing would be the same. This was probably somewhere in 2005. I held on and did mental gymnastics to stay a Christian. 2012, I had become pretty secular far as practice and by 2014/2015 I had pretty much de-converted.

I don’t know when it resonated, but the Sermon on the Mount and the giving of the Great Commandment sunk deeply into my heart. If anything is actually Christian about me for real, it is that I hold the Shema as the most important scripture and is the foundation upon which I attempt to live my life and the basis for any beliefs that I have evolved spiritually.

Hear O Israel, the LORD our God is one LORD; and you shall love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy strength.

And ye shall love thy neighbor as thyself.

I prefer to translate it: Hear O Israel, YHWH is our God, YHWH alone! You shall love YHWH your God with all of your heart, all of your soul, and all of your strength.

And you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

And I love the KJV translation of the last part of the Great Commandment when Yeshua Messiah / Jesus Christ says:

“On this hang ye the whole law.”

That was what struck me.

By this time, I’m DEEP in my bible bag. Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (aka The Book of Names/Shemot) is the most important commandment in Judaism. I equate Deut. 6:4-5 to be what St. John 3:16 is to most evangelicals and what Acts 2:38 meant to the Black Apostolics of my childhood.

Jesus/Yeshua was a Jew, a Jewish rabbi on top of that. Up until this point in my life, Jesus/Yeshua (and for a period of my journey Yahshua/Yahushua/Yahoshua) was not only a prophet or a religious leader, and even more than identifying him as the Messiah, the Lord and Savior, but the very God that so many of us believe we are connected to or working to connect to or have devoted our lives to his service. Jesus was it for me. Jesus was All for me.

By this time, my break with him being that level of divine had already occurred but that did not remove the magnitude of how important I thought he was to me. So when I finally departed the Christian faith, I kept love with me. The commandment of love was what made it worthwhile to me to what I considered literally risking my seat in heaven for a fiery hell grave…love.

If a commandment, a doctrine, a theology, a point of holy living contradicted love as I knew it, I would break it, forsake, and even become angry at it. Send me to hell if I cannot love.

The Jesus I came to know spent much of his time with people that society and the church continually look down upon and treat as less then. It taught me a lot about myself and my own self righteous attitude.

It lead me to do a full deconstruction of my faith.

That journey has been fascinating and significant. I have entered and traveled to many doors and portals.

I have encountered and experienced much that has shaped me.

So love was my concluding principle I keep from my experience as a Christian.

Some other tidbits I keep that are reflections of my evolution, especially utilizing gifts I obtained during my years of nerding out the bible:

God is a term translated from Semitic terms whose literal definitions are that of “power”, “might”, or “strength”.

Spirit is a term translated from Hebrew, Greek and Latin that all mean “breath” or “wind”.

Every spiritual person I admired, I admired for their Wisdom (Sophia) over their Power / Authority (God).

Every spiritual person I admired was warm, non-judgmental, down to earth, earthy, nature loving, nature living or at least nature leaning.

I concluded that spirituality should be about “breathing” for me. That Power is a resource not something or someone to covet and for me there are no messiahs, no prophets, no pastors, no gurus and no anointed ones. That “no” is a loose “no”, meaning generally speaking. Those who are “chosen” or “anointed” are less identified with the ego of stature and recognition and more by their witness, their impact, their fruit. These kinds of children of light are a lot more unassuming than loudly proclaimed either by themselves or their “following”. They often seem regular degular, blink and you’ll miss them sharing love and good will almost haphazardly along the way.

Thanks to a solid stint with my best bud I got to explore science, humanism, atheism and agnosticism at length. Coming out of Christianity (a very much literalist faith) and being kind of a literal person myself (aka I’m a dumb guy or more nicely put probably on the spectrum somewhere), I struggled to reconcile the things I could learn from evidence based research and experiments and this faith in something bigger and beyond the physical realm that gives me affinities for things that do not jive with science.

Having an atheist for a best friend, very thoughtful, knowledgeable, fun loving, good natured, empathetic atheist was a profound experience. We discussed everything at length and I tuned in to some of his favorite lectures and debates from leading white atheist speakers like Richard Dawkins or Sam Harris. These men might not be my cup of tea, but I took some real things from them that I am happy to keep.

Mainly, a term “Intellectual Honesty” or the ability to admit that one could be wrong or that at least there is yet no empirical evidence for whatever belief one may have. Growing up Christian, especially in a Black church based family, “intellectual honesty” is blasphemy, would probably get me an ass whooping (and has gotten me an ass whooping), and/or potentially kicked out of your family or community to be honest.

Niggas can’t question God or the bible for real.

Anyways, I never identified with atheism, but I do have some atheistic ideologies. I consider myself some form of a theist and held contradictory beliefs now for the last 10 years. Technically, I’m agnostic, but I prefer to identify with believing…probably bc I’m Black and that shit is law for majority of us and that same power of faith still resides in me despite my “intellectual honesties”.

In the last 5 years or so, I became fixated on my health (mostly mental health) as an extension of my spiritual angst and curiosities.

During my bible nerd days another literal definition of a Semitic term resonated with me: “shalom”. Shalom, we all know, means “peace”. “Salaam” is the same from Arabic. Well, while that is an accurate translation of the term, it has a more literal definition in Hebrew and is also translated as “whole”. As in a “whole” stone or a whole number or a whole note in music. The word “shalom” would be the Hebrew term used.

So now we are arriving to where I have come to currently…being whole.

In my bible nerd days, being “whole” meant being balanced and comprehensive. To expand the scope of my spiritual practice from simply worship, service and study, to how I engage my whole life, my whole needs, and my whole health.

It lead me to a healing journey that started in my darkest days during what I like to call “my cane and crutch era”, when the autoimmune conditions I manage were undiagnosed and running wild in my body.

I nearly unalived myself during that period…still working to not do that even now 😬

Anyways, when I was beginning that intense inner work I began to greet, toast and salute one of my friends who got down in that trench with me to help me pull myself out with “wholeness and wellness”. It was how I adopted shalom for myself.

It started in the body and in my practice. Then it moved to mental health, my own personal Normandy Beach Doomsday battle. How to help my heart and mind be whole.

I viewed all this as spiritual in nature.

I’m shortchanging the details now bc well I’m tired of writing but WHOLE is where I landed.

Whole or Shalom, also became All and One.

Throughout my journey, beginning with my dear old Gnostic friend, the Oneness of all things, the ALL that is God and the entirety of the universe began to seep into my psyche. How could we all be eternal? Even Christians sometimes teach that the human soul is eternal not only in the future but also from the past before we were conceived even.

A good friend of mine who too journeyed from my Black Apostolic past, illuminated the spiritual understanding of the Big Bang Theory. They simply introduced me to the notion that we are “stardust”. All those studies in Gnosticism, Mysticism, Eastern Thought, New Age thinking and other Wisdom traditions began firing off for me.

Long story short, I have landed comfortably with Omnism. Omni in Latin means “all” as in “omnipotent” means “all powerful”, “omniscient” means “all wise”, and omnipresence is literally “everywhere”.

We are All from One, through One, and to One.

In him we live, we move and we have our being.

The ALL from all of my esoteric and Black consciousness experiences.

Pantheism from Eastern beliefs.

Panentheism.

The Universe.

The Most High.

The Creator.

The One.

All of that began to resonate deeper and deeper over the years.

I am also a secular humanist. I am also still Christian. I am a child of god, of the light, of the day. I am from the beginning. I will be there at the end. I am eternal. I am being. I am becoming. I shall become what I shall become. I will be what I will be. I am who I am.

I am breathing (spirit). I am powerful (god). I am one with all things. I am the image and the likeness of god. I am!!!

Arm, leg, leg, arm, head (ALLAH).

Godbody.

Godhead.

Godly.

God.

G.

Greg.

Gregory.

Give.

ALL are a Path to One.

Ancient Christians did not call their path Christianity. They called it “The Way” or “The Path”.

For I am The Way, The Truth, and The Life. No one comes to the Father, but by me.

I and my Father are One!

I am in the Father and the Father is in me.

Both And/Or.

All.

I am an Omnist. Om 🧘🏿‍♂���. Shal(Om).

All.

One.

Whole.

God.

The Universe.

Spirit (Breath or Wind).

God is Peace. Power is Whole.

I am the son of the Star. Jesus is the light. He is the “light-bearer”. I am stardust. I am a spark of the eternal flame. I am forever and ever. The first and the last. The Alpha and the Omega. I am the One.

The Big Bang is the last piece. It is where I marry science and faith, reality and imagination.

For me, fantasy is necessary as is reality.

Reality without imagination is bleak. Fantasy without reality is delusion.

For me, faith, love, purpose, imagination, creativity, expression, discovery, magic, healing, art, fantasy, make believe, joy, innovation, the mind are all the same thing.

It is the hallmark and defining characteristic of what it means to BE as a human. It is what connects us, develops our empathy, gives such exceptional talent and ability to impact our environment.

It is the birthright of humanity. Harmony, connection, co-existence (not uniformity).

I accept and embrace it all.

For we are but the chaos and violent debris of a collapsing star, forever expanding into the abyss and one day we became aware of ourselves and sought to make our short time in this vast universe worth while.

Asé

Jesus Christ is born! Our promised Messiah King is here! Joy to the world, the Lord has come! Today we can celebrate how God loved the world so much that He sent His only Son to be born to save us from our sins and give us eternal life with Him. He is our source of hope, peace, joy, and love this season as we remember Him as our Lord who was born in a lowly manger. The angel brought this Good News to the shepherds, which would cause great joy for all the people. God kept His promises found in the Old Testament of the coming Savior, the Son of David, when the One who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world! No matter where you are today, and no matter what you’ve done, the Savior of the world has come! For YOU! Let His light shine on all the dark places of your life and restore what has been lost in the darkness. The Light is here, and He has declared that you never have to walk in darkness again. Receive His love and experience Christmas like never before! Guided Prayer: Father, thank You for preparing a way since the beginning of time for us to be close to You again. Thank You for sending Your Son to be born so I could be born again and to die so I could have new life! Today, as I celebrate Christmas, help me have a deep appreciation of Your love for me and the Light You have brought into my life. I praise You for making it possible for me to never walk in darkness again! In Jesus’ joyous Name, Amen. - - - #god #jesus #bibleverse #bibleverses #bible #biblestudy #godisgood #amen #jesuschrist #jesuslovesyou #worship #blessed #christ #christian #christianity #holyspirit #truth #grace #joy #peace #scripture #prayer #christianquotes #church #gospel #christmas #pray #faith #hope #love https://www.instagram.com/p/Cml6wcZrKhE/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Hi, I'm curious about your take on whether or not Christians should be Zionists. I thought the bible supported this. Can you help me?

Hi!

I'm going to categorical here :

anyone with a proper grasp of the what New Testament, the New Covenant, and what the Church (capital C) of Christ stands for, cannot support Zionism.

I know supporting Israel is some sort of default in modern church to be pro Israel but most churches these days are demon filled bewildering the flock. That's why I think God made a big favor to Christians through the quarantine, closing down churches (little c) and pushing Christians to seek Him in the secret of their room and not blindly believing the lies of wolves in sheep's clothing shoving their down to hell with their doctrines of demon.

As CHRISTIANS, we are not entitled to one specific land or nation, and have no specific race (Galatians 3:28). The promises of God Zionists are hellbent on to justify kicking out Arabs are those of the Old Testament. But Christ happened. He told us to go out in the World and Save the nations - not conquering a place to build another kingdom of Israel.

I'd like to remind you that Jews do not acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah and have a pathological HATRED for Jesus, so I'm always baffled to see Christians uncritically defending a nation dedicated to deny the core of their faith.

Jews are literally oppressing CHRISTIANS in Israel:

Interesting how Christians will be harsher on Muslims, when Muslim hold Jesus (and Mary) and on a much higher respect than Judaism ever will....(I think a lot of this has to do with racism and cultural essentialism...)

I made a bunch of articles/post on my Christian apologetics side blog (I have a tag dedicated to anti zionism) so I'll list them down below.

Debunking the "We Stand with Israel" mantra WITH THE BIBLE

Debunking the "We Stand with Israel" on an Old Testament VS New Testament perspective

"The Synagogue of satan" (Revelations 2:9)

A documentary with Jews scholars expressing their outlook on Christianity and Judaism (you'll hear straight from the horse's mouth that the Talmud says that Jesus is boiling is excrement, was a magician, and that Mary was a harlot.... but yeah Christianism is totally compatible with Judaism...🤡)

also here's a post a reply I wrote to someone who mad at this doc and said it was aNtiSemiTe

Just today I saw that documentary about Jewish settlers and while I appreciate how balanced it was, it was quite unnerving to see the overall fanatic of these settlers thinking they are entitled to these land based on their holy book and arguing the Jews race is protected from God...when the same God is actually the one who kicked their ancestors out because how unfaithful and rebellious they were - a rebellion modern religious Jews are still uplifting are today. There's a reason why Jewish people suffered so much throughout History and have been an everlasting exiled nation.....it was all a sanction from God because of their betrayal. So it's kinda tragi-comical whener Jews are bragging about being the "chosen people"...chosen people to suffer? SMH

The state of Israel is NOT a miracle. Without the American taxpayer money, it wouldn't exist. It's a mirage entertained by delusional fanatical, thinking soldiers bombing children and expropriating families is the will of God and godly protection.

Those people need to repent and acknowledge the Messiah already came, and will come again to judge the world. Some Jews will, and they're the 144,000 the Bible (Revelations 7) talks about - but beside any of this, modern day fraudulent Israel will disappear, and be replaced by the TRUE heavenly kingdom of God: the New Jerusalem, that Jesus HIMSELF (and not American or IDF soldiers) at his 2nd coming will build up for those who had accepted Him and their lord and savior (so not Jews).

Devotional Hours Within the Bible

by J.R. Miller

The Apostles Imprisoned (Acts 5:17-32)

The sin of Ananias and Sapphira and the swift judgment that followed, did not check the progress of the Church. "Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by." Every one of us casts a shadow of influence on other wherever he goes.

But the bitterness of the rulers was not allayed by the judgment. They grew more and more fierce. The narrative goes on: "The high priest rose up, and all they that were with him. … and they were filled with jealousy ." The word "jealousy" gives us the key to this whole incident. The apostles were received with favor by the people. Multitudes were thronging about them with their sick, brought to be healed. It was the wonderful success of the gospel that so enraged the high priest and his party. There are some people who cannot bear to see other people succeed or to hear other people praised. Even in churches are sometimes found those who are embittered and aroused to jealousy by the prosperity of other churches. Instead of rejoicing that souls are saved, that the poor are helped, that evil spirits are cast our, that good is done - they criticize, talk bitterly, and oppose the efforts which are so manifestly of God.

A godly Christian minister put it down at the end of a year, as one of the year's lessons that he had learned to rejoice in the prosperity of others. No lesson is harder to learn, and none is more beautiful in life. We are all too apt to be jealous of those who are more honored in life and work, than ourselves.

The rulers had not yet learned that walls do not make a secure prison for Christ's friends. "They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out." There is no use trying to fight against God. He who sits in heaven laughs when rulers take counsel against His anointed.

Joseph's brothers thought they had got the boy out of the way when they had sold him as a slave - but the Lord only laughed at their plot and took him into His own hands, making a mighty man of him.

The princes chuckled when they got Daniel into the lion's den - but the laugh was turned when he came out unhurt and they themselves were cast to the hungry beasts!

There was fiendish glee in certain quarters when the three Hebrew youths were cast into a fiery furnace. Their stiff knees would be limbered now. But that laugh was turned too, before the end came.

Haman chucked when he got the gallows built for Mordecai. He would soon be rid of the old Jew who had been in his way so long. But he fell into his own trap!

The rulers crucified Jesus and sealed the stone and set a guard about His grave. But they only brought derision upon themselves; while by their act they exalted Jesus to a place of highest honor and glory.

Just so here, the rulers cast the apostles into prison, bolted the doors, and set their guard - but an angel came quietly by night, took the prisoners out, and left the keeper standing guard over an empty prison! Wicked men do not have all things their way in this world. There is a God who is just and true, who keeps His hand upon all the affairs of the earth, who takes care of His own and guards them as the apple of His eye. This is one of the most precious truths of the Bible, for the suffering and imperiled servants of God. They are absolutely safe in the hands of God!

The angel who brought the apostles out their prison had a message and a commission for them: "Go, stand in the temple courts, and tell the people the full message of this new life." The angel did not tell the apostles to flee away and hide from the rulers. That is what escaping prisoners usually do. But these men were set free, not to go away from danger - but to continue their work. Then, they were not to go and talk about their trials and hardships, to excite sympathy among the people. They were not to say a word about themselves at all - but were to declare the words of "this new life," eternal life, the way of salvation. They were not to go and speak in quiet places, away from danger - but were to stand in the temple, the most public place in all he city. They were to speak to the people - that is, to all the people, poor as well as rich, ignorant as well as learned. It is a suggestive name, by which the gospel is here called, "Life" - this Life. Jesus Christ came that we might have life and that we might have it abundantly. The apostles were prompt and eager to obey the angel's bidding. They hastened to the temple about daybreak and began to teach.

The high priest did not know what his prisoners were doing. Full of rage, he was eager to have them punished, and called a full meeting of the court, and sent officers to bring the apostles from the prison. "But the officers returned, saying: We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside!" The high priest was sure of his victims. He had them safely locked in the guardhouse. It was a startling surprise when he learned that the prison was empty! There is an old Bible promise which says, "The Lord knows how to deliver the godly." There is a promise also which assures us that "God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above that you are able; but will with the temptation make also the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." Satan is very shrewd and cunning, and by long practice has learned to do his work well. But God is stronger and wiser than Satan - and knows how to deliver His own out of Satan's hands!

At length the apostles stood before the court and were accused of having disobeyed the command to speak no more in the name of Jesus. To this Peter answered, "We must obey God - rather than men." This should be the motto and life-principle of every one of us. This has been the martyr's motto in all Christian centuries. Bunyan, when condemned to three months imprisonment for preaching the gospel, and told that if he did not promise to abstain, he would be banished; nobly replied: "If I were out of prison again today - I would preach the gospel again tomorrow, by the help of God!" Not many of us will be called to assert the principle in such circumstances of peril; but in life's ordinary business, in its common affairs, in school, at home, at play, we shall every day have opportunities to follow conscience, to do what God commands, without being swerved from duty by what men say. It would be very fine to do some such heroic thing as the apostles did here - but it is fine in God's sight - to live faithfully and loyally in the midst of the countless little temptations of the most commonplace life!

"God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel!" Here we have the whole gospel. Jesus was the Messiah of God. He was rejected and killed by those He had come to deliver and save. But God raised Him up and exalted Him to the throne of glory. There He is not only King of kings - but also the Savior of all who will believe in Him. The two words, "repentance" and "forgiveness", are full of meaning. We are not saved merely from sin's power - but from sin itself. That is, we are pledged to give up our sin. Repentance means this. Then forgiveness means more than merely wiping out the penalty; it means also the putting away of sins themselves!

The Church is United in the Essentials

(Note to readers: “If” you would rather watch a video of this lesson, you can find it here: https://youtu.be/jB7BcEjS2mQ ).

Today we're going to begin a new series of lessons under the general heading of:

Don't Forget.

 We will be drawing Scriptures from the 15th chapter of the Book of Acts.

  We're going to be discussing the nature of salvation with a focus on the subject of "justification."

 Now, even though we have discussed this subject of justification before, I think it would be a good idea to revisit the theological definition of the word again.

 In Christian theology,

justification is God's righteous act of removing the condemnation,

the guilt,

and the penalty of sin,

by grace, while, at the same time,

declaring the ungodly to be righteous,

through faith in Christ's atoning sacrifice.

 Lots of words get thrown around by the "religious" crowd.

Sometimes, when we get all in to it and use words like justification, sanctification, glorification, and others, and without realizing it, we’re talking over the heads of lots of people.

But before we get into the lesson, I'd like to talk briefly about something that often happens among groups of people who are "trying" to get something..... spiritual to happen.

We’ve all heard the word, "ritual"

casually used in conversation.

And, all of us perform rituals without giving them a second thought.

When you habitually do the same things every morning preparing for your day, it's said to be a ritual; you’re “routine.”

Yet, there are lots of rituals people perform in an effort to experience something......supernatural.

If you're watching this video, more than likely, you do believe in the supernatural.

And it's a good thing to believe in the supernatural.

In 1st Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 18 Paul writes:

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

But it's not "just" the message of the cross that the church is projecting to the rest of the world.

Thanks to modern technology, people from every culture can watch as Christians perform a variety of rituals throughout the year.

Rituals, defined, are solemn ceremonies that incorporate a series of actions that are performed according to a prescribed order.

It's kind of like following a recipe to end up with a dish you want.

I mean, you don't use tuna to make a strawberry cake.

It wouldn't be fair to single out any particular group here.

However, to the world at large, religious folks do some pretty strange things at times.

Here's a few of them.

This video that’s playing in the background here shows the holy fire ceremony of Easter in Jerusalem, …. Jewish people at the wailing wall, also in Jerusalem,… and a baptismal ceremony in the Jordan River.

I'm not condemning any celebration that lifts up our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

But at the same time, there's a big difference between commemorating a holy day and trying to perform something........ well..... magical.

There are tons of people in this world that know full well that magic, real magic, exists.

Magic is where you apply beliefs, rituals, or certain actions so that you can control and manipulate natural or supernatural beings or forces.

Magic's something that's not really science or religion.

But, the most important thing to remember about magic is that God hates it!

In Deuteronomy 18:10-12, Moses is inspired by God to write:

"Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens,

engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD;

because of these same detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you."

(people really did offer their babies to Baal...through the fire; and they really did, and still do practice all of the things I just read to you...... and God hates it!)

On the surface, it would appear that God detests these sorts of things because they lure people away from Him.

And, I’m sure that’s part of it. But it goes much deeper than that.

Where do you think the power behind magical abilities comes from?

Right!

It comes from the ultimate liar!

It comes from Lucifer himself.

And, just in case you didn't already know it; Lucifer hates you!

On the other hand, God created man to ultimately be His companions far beyond time itself.

Lucifer is not invited to that party!

He had already been thrown out of heaven long before God created man.

And it's because of Satin's work to sully the purity that Adam and Eve lived in, that sin, ….. that rebellion entered the world of humans.

Now, God has made the way for individuals to make their way back to Him.

He has made a way to justify us.

 So, once again,  

justification is God's righteous act of removing the condemnation,

the guilt,

and the penalty of sin,

by grace, while, at the same time,

declaring the ungodly to be righteous,

through faith in Christ's atoning sacrifice.

  Section 1:

 The Church Debates the Nature of Salvation

 Acts 15:1-5;

 Some men came down from Judea and began to teach the brothers,

"Unless you are circumcised according to the custom prescribed by Moses,

you cannot be saved."

 After Paul and Barnabas had engaged them in serious argument and debate,

Paul and Barnabas and some others were appointed to go up to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem about this issue.

 When they had been sent on their way by the church,

they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria,

describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles,

and they brought great joy to all the brothers and sisters.

 When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church,

the apostles, and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them.

 But some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said,

"It is necessary to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses."

 From the very beginning, different people had different understandings about salvation. It’s important that we be constantly vigilant of the things we accept as truth. We just can’t afford to allow things like legalism to creep into the church. So, what’s legalism look like? The 1st verse I just read to you: Some men came down from Judea and began to teach the brothers,

"Unless you are circumcised according to the custom prescribed by Moses,

you cannot be saved."

At the very heart of legalism, is the idea that ’unless you add so-and-so to your faith, you cannot be saved. The Bible teaches us that we are graciously accepted by God as righteous by faith alone in Christ alone; nothing else. I have attended churches over the years who preached and believed that unless you…… well, they were hanging

customs, rituals, and “procedures” onto this simple salvation that the Lord offers us. So, always remember, salvation comes ”by faith alone in Christ alone.” Nothing else. Seriously, adding any other means of seeking God’s acceptance is misguided, wrong, and, quiet frankly, it’s downright dangerous. That group of Jewish Christians that spoke up were insisting that the Gentile converts had to   become Jews through the rite of circumcision in order to become Christians. These Jews who resisted the idea that Gentiles were converting to Christianity without becoming Jewish believed that salvation was something that had been offered to the Jews alone. These very same people believed Jesus was the Messiah, and that salvation was in Jesus alone. Yet, they were trying to add ritual or custom to salvation in demanding the converts become Jewish as well. We just studied the subject of “unity.” Legalism is a device of the devil. When people among the congregation go down that road of legalism, their words and actions rob the members of their joy and unity. In adding their demands to the gospel of grace, these legalists begin to pass judgment on everyone who does not meet the new demands. Then, the legalists criticize the leadership for not imposing their standard on the rest of the body. Then, division begins as the legalist tries to gain support for their position. Now you have two sides. The demands and judgments of the legalists continue to tear the church apart. Never let your guard down. It’s so easy to be drawn in, and the truth is still as simple as I’ve already stated. Salvation is in faith alone, in Christ alone.

Legalism distorts our Biblical view of God. The root of legalism is our own distorted view of God. When we have a wrong view of God, we WILL have a wrong view of salvation. A wrong view of God is why sinners are still sinners. The world does not see our God as we do. This is why it is so very important that we live our lives in a way that others can Jesus in us.

 Section 2:

 The Church Affirms Justification by Faith Alone

 Acts 15:11, 14-18;

 The apostles and the elders gathered to consider this matter.

 After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them,

"Brothers, you are aware that in the early days God made a choice among you,

that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the gospel message and believe.

 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them by giving them the Holy Spirit,

just as he also did to us.

 He made no distinction between us and them,

cleansing their hearts by faith.

 Now then, why are you testing God by putting a yoke on the disciples' necks that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear?

 On the contrary, we believe that we are saved thorough the grace of the Lord Jesus in the same way they are."

 ..................................

 Simeon has reported how God first intervened to take from the Gentiles a people for his name.

 And the words of the prophets agree with this, as it is written:

 After these things I will return and rebuild David's fallen tent.

I will rebuild its ruins and set it up again,

 so that the rest of humanity may seek the Lord..... even all the Gentiles who are called by my name.....

declares the Lord who makes these things

 known from long ago.

 What’s being described in these verses was the 1st church council; the Council of Jerusalem. The Apostles and the church elders convened together for the purpose of making an important decision concerning a matter of salvation through justification. In all, there have been 22 councils held. By the year 325, the year the Council of Nicaea was called by the Roman Emperor Constantine, the church was already calling itself “Catholic” (a word that means all-encompassing, universal, or all-embracing). The Council of Nicaea, and the following 20 councils were convened primarily because of, you guessed it, legalism that had entered the church. There was great division within the body of Christ on a variety of subjects that the church “fathers” felt they had to over and over again to settle the matters. By 1517 the German monk, Martin Luther, nailed his proclamations onto the church doors and started the Protestant movement. Today, there are those who claim that as many as 38,000 different denominations of the church exist. Churches have split over things as simple as whether to use the word, “is” or “as.”

 One that I’ve toyed around with for years, is often quoted from the pulpit. It’s: 2 CORINTHIANS 5:8 KJV "We are confident, [I say], and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord."

Preachers will misquote the Scripture and say something along the lines of: ”To be absent from the body IS to be present with the Lord.” The words “is” and “and” are not equal and they do not mean the same thing. But I’m not telling y’all this to divide us; it’s just an example. An example that illustrates how easily you can be drawn in to a “legalistic” argument. But, before moving on, I would like to point out that the example I just used has absolutely nothing at all to do with salvation. The important thing to always remember is that salvation comes by grace alone, in faith alone, in Christ….ALONE! This is not double-speak; it follows a very logical progression of thought.

This message of salvation is for everyone; whether Jew or Gentile.

 Section 3:

 The Church Advocates Freedom in Love

 Acts 15:19-21;

 Therefore, in my judgment, we should not cause difficulties for those among the Gentiles, who turn to God,

 but instead we should write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols,

from sexual immorality,

from eating anything that has been strangled, and from blood.

 For since ancient times, Moses has had those who proclaim him in every city, and every Sabbath day

he is read aloud in the synagogues."

 If memory serves me right, Moses issued a total of 613 laws.

There was a reason God gave these to Moses. It was to show the children of Israel that no matter how hard they tried, they could not save themselves, because they could not keep the law in its entirety. So why did the Jerusalem Council tack on four of the Mosaic laws? (abstaining from things offered to idols, from sexual immorality, from eating things that have been strangled, and from blood?) For one thing, these four things were tied to the pagan temple practices of their day. This was certainly the case for the people of Corinth at that time. It was there that some in the church believed that since they were saved by faith, it freed them to actually continue to sin. And, there are folks out there today who believe that justification by faith frees them to continue to sin. The Apostles mentioned these things because they understood that the gospel still has expectations for holiness and for love in the lives of believers. There’s a section of Scripture in the 1st chapter of 1st Peter entitled:

Living Before God Our Father.

 In it, Peter quotes from the Law of Moses by saying, As Christians, we’re to seek, to strive to live our lives in love and holiness; not because we’re attempting to gain God’s favor, but because He has clearly told us to be holy because He is. Paragraph from lesson: …………………………………………… The apostles and the elders, with the help of the Holy Spirit, maintained the unity of the church by not adding anything to the gospel of grace. But with their four commands, for the sake of the Jews, they did ask the Gentiles to obey the “law of Christ”, or ”the royal law”…… ”Love your neighbor as yourself.” Our obedience to God and His Son, Jesus, is out of love. If we love God, we will obey Him.

 If we love Jesus, we will keep His commandments. The doctrine of justification by faith does not free us to sin; it empowers us to love….. to love God and to love others. ……………………………………….

 The thing is, the Jews had been dispersed throughout the known world of their time. These people, God’s chosen people, though scattered, continued to take part in their traditions and their law-keeping in their synagogues. So, to maintain a faithful witness to the Jews and to maintain loving fellowship with their Jewish-Christian brothers, the apostles asked the Gentiles to abstain from those things that most offended the Jews. So, out of love, Gentiles were

To pursue holiness and leave off their old pagan ways. The gospel of grace frees us to love one another. We are no longer under the Old Testament and it’s myriad of laws. However, the Mosaic Law still has implications for believers because it’s God’s Word. The 10 Commandments were given under the law. Just because Christ came and fulfilled the law, does that mean it would be okay to murder, to steal, or to lie on your neighbors? Of course not! The Scriptures are an infallible guide to salvation. The Bible does use round numbers here and there, and varying perspectives of different events, but it is still completely truthful. As for Christianity, until Christ returns, there will always be disagreement over issues; both small and great. We really do have the freedom to disagree with one another over some things in our faith and understanding. But I like to think these are things that, in no way, affect our salvation. Our understanding of God and of the gospel of Jesus Christ just can’t be a point of divisiveness. Eternity lies in the balance. We should all be determined to contend vigorously for the foundational doctrines, like justification by faith alone. From Jesus to the apostles to us, the Holy Spirit has safeguarded the Christian faith over many, many generations. That’s how the Spirit keeps us united in faith and united for our mission to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. Let’s pray….

THE MAJORITY HAS NEVER BEEN RIGHT BY STEVE FINNELL

When the subject of Christianity has been debated the  majority has never been right.

The majority of first century Jews rejected Jesus as the messiah.---The majority has never been right.

John 4:25, 26 The woman said to Him. "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When He comes, He will tell us all things."

26 Jesus said to her. "I who speak to you am He."(NKJV)

The majority of world rejects Jesus as the only Savior.---The majority has never been right.

Acts 4:10-12 ...the name of Jesus Christ.....12 "Nor is there no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."(NKJV)

The majority of those who claim to be Christians believe the false doctrine of original sin. They believe that because Adam and Eve sinned that all men are guilty of spiritual sin at birth. They believe in inherited sin.---The majority has never been right.

Ezekiel 18:20 "The soul that sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself. (NKJV)

No man has inherited the guilt of Adam. Men will face spiritual death because of their own sins.

Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned---(NKJV)

Death spread to all men because all men have sinned.

The majority of those who claim Jesus as Savior believe that modes of water baptism are sprinkling and pouring---The majority has never been right.

Mark 16:16 Whoever trusts and is immersed will be saved; whoever does not trust will be condemned. (Complete Jewish Bible)

Mark 16:16 He who has believed, and has been immersed, will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. (The Better Version of the New Testament by Chester Estes)

There are no translations that translate Mark 16:16 as such, "He who believes and has been sprinkled or poured shall be saved."---The majority has never been right.

The majority of Baptist believe that water baptism is not essential to the forgiveness of sins and that once you are saved you can never be lost---The majority of Baptists have never been right.

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.(NKJV)

Galatians 5:1-4.....you have fallen from grace.(NKJV)  

The majority of those who claim to be Christian believe that their church denomination is the final authority when it comes to faith and practice of the Christian faith---The majority has never been right.

The word of God found in the Bible and the Bible alone is not only the final authority, but the only authority for mankind.

THE MAJORITY WILL NOT BE GOING TO HEAVEN

Matthew 7:13-14 "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 "Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.(NKJV)

If the majority were always right there would be many who find life eternal, however---The majority has never been right.

Luke 13:23-24 Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?" And He said to them, 24 "Strive to enter the narrow gate for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.(NKJV)

What does "believe in the gospel" mean?

Okay! Thank you for letting me geek out.  Please note, I am not an unbiased perspective (but I’m of the opinion that no one is), so I definitely value one understanding of “gospel” over another.  With that caveat, here goes:

  So “gospel” can mean a few different things.  The word gospel comes from the Greek word “euangelion” and means good news, or a good message.  So, the first four books of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) are officially titled “The Gospel According To [insert name here]” (eg. The Gospel According to Matthew).  Essentially, they are “The Good News According to Luke,” etc.  [Side note, they are titled like this because they are each different! Written to different communities, have different things they want to focus on, tell the story of Jesus’ life, ministry, and death in different ways.  If someone tries to tell you they are all the same or conflate them into one thing, they’re wrong.  It’s important that they are different, there’s a reason why four were chosen to be included in the Bible’s canon instead of one.  But that’s a whole different thing.]  

  These four books are collectively called “the gospels” plural in Christianity because they are telling different versions of the same story: that of Jesus’ life, ministry, and death.  There are other gospels (aka books that talk about Jesus’ life) that aren’t included in the Bible called the apocryphal gospels, but that’s also a different thing.  

  Mark, for example, opens with “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ” which might say “gospel” instead, depending on the translation.  “Christ” isn’t a name, but a title which means “anointed one.”  It is essentially the Greek version of the Hebrew word “Messiah,” which also means “anointed one.”  The Messiah was also the expected king of Israel.  The kings (and priests/prophets) of Israel were anointed with oil (Exodus 30:22-32, 1 Sam 10:1) to consecrate them as holy (set apart by and for God) and signify their role, hence “anointed one” evoking the idea of kingship and relationship with God.  So, Jesus Christ could also be said as “Jesus the Christ.”  And this opening of Mark is a powerful political statement in the context of the Roman Empire when it was originally written.  

  In the context of the Roman Empire, the “good news” of Jesus Christ (ie. Jesus the anointed king/savior of Israel), would have been understood by the Israelites as challenging the “gospel” of Caesar who claimed to be a “savior” who brought peace to the world.  However, Caesar’s peace (aka the Pax Romana which was the peace between nationalities in the Roman Empire, “pax” meaning peace) was not peace predicated on justice.  Rather, the Pax Romana only happened because of Rome’s military might, so it was really coercion of “do what we say, get along with each other, don’t challenge the Roman rule, because otherwise you’ll end up nailed to a cross.”  So the Pax Romana was actually compliance to the status quo via fear, intimidation, and violence, not actual peace [especially not peace as the Israelites would have understood it, which was “shalom” which meant peace as in justice, friendship, welfare, prosperity, and health as in wholeness (wholeness of community and relationships between both humans and God, aka right relationships built on justice and equity).]  The Pax Romana was framed as the “good news” (gospel) of the Roman Empire, so saying that Jesus’ life, ministry, and death was actually the Gospel/good news of the “Christ” (messiah, king of Israel), is a direct challenge to Roman imperial rule.  [This is why Jesus’ death was a political one!]

  For the context of Christians today, “gospel” can still mean a few different things when people  say “believe in the gospel,” depending on their theology.  If they are more conservative or fundamentalist, they might mean “believe in Jesus as your personal savior, who has redeemed you by grace so that you can go to heaven.”  The gospel in this understanding is very much just the death and resurrection of Jesus, aka the Easter story.  Jesus died for our sins, he rose from the dead, we are redeemed by this.  This is a very individualistic faith and meaning of “gospel,” the “Jesus is my personal Lord and Savior” understanding of gospel.  This understanding of “believe in the gospel” doesn’t touch on the political aspects of Jesus’ life/ministry/death at all, the ways in which he challenged the Pax Romana and the status quo.  Rather, this understanding of “gospel” is very ethereal and spiritual, in that it’s all about the future heaven, not about the here and now.  This is typically the white, middle-class, Evangelical, American Christian understanding of “gospel.”

  If someone is a progressive Christian, ascribing to more communal (versus individualistic) faith, and/or leaning more into liberation theology, “believe in the gospel” means something a little different.  For this group, the gospel/good news IS political; they don’t mean just “believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ,” but “believe in the gospel of the kingdom of God.”  The gospel in this understanding is also the life and ministry of Jesus, not just his death/resurrection.  Therefore, the gospel does include the message of Jesus as savior and the gift of God’s grace, but it doesn’t stop there.  The Gospel is also about God’s kingdom, which isn’t a future heaven with pearly gates, but a possible reality that we can experience on earth, one that Jesus began to usher in with his ministry and miracles during his life, one that he was killed for.  And so, the “gospel” in this regard is also an invitation to participate in the in-breaking of God’s kingdom, in continuing the work that Jesus began by continuing to challenge the status quo of the world and demand economic and social justice, by centering and lifting up marginalized and silenced voices.  So, when someone says “believe in the gospel” from this theological standpoint, they are saying “believe in Jesus as the Savior, in the God of the oppressed, in the now-and-not-yet kingdom of God that dismantles hierarchy and offers peace via shalom: wholeness and justice.”  This understanding of “gospel” is way more often going to be an understanding from a marginalized perspective, versus a perspective of privilege.

  To cite sources and to live into the uplifting of marginalized voices and communities, here are a number of liberationist and womanist theologians of color who talk about this second understanding of “gospel”: James Cone in his “God of the Oppressed” and “The Cross and the Lynching Tree,” Delores Williams “Sisters in the Wilderness,” Kelly Brown Douglas “The Black Christ,” Shawn Copeland “Enfleshing Freedom: Body, Race, and Being,” Gustavo Gutiérrez “A Theology of Liberation.”  In addition, here’s a website for resources from queer theologians: https://www.wordmadequeer.com/resources.

This was submitted by user puppercut, go check them out!

Thank you so much for explaining this to me! Literally everything that I’ve ever heard in church makes a lot more sense now and you’ve helped me understand a lot both about the history of the gospel and the current significance. Also thank you for being super nice about it, I was worried I was coming off as ignorant but you’ve been awesome at not making feel like I’m a bad person for not knowing all this. 

Eternal Life: Do You Want It? – Dr. Charles Stanley

AlbertLeRoy.BlogSpot.com

07/12/2020 DAB Transcript

1 Chronicles 12:19-14:17, Romans 1:1-17, Psalms 9:13-20, Proverbs 19:4-5

Today is the 12th day of July welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it is great to be here with you today. How are you? How are you? Just checking in here. Where at the threshold. We’re about to step into this shiny sparkly new week that’s here before us. So, just kind of check…checking in, understanding that this week, there may be lots of plans for this week, but none of those things that happened yet. We may have much to accomplish before this week is out, but it's in front of us. And then there's always the serendipity of the unknown that is out in front of us because we don't know the future. So, here we are at this threshold looking into a new week. And every time we do this we get the chance to…to make some internal decisions about how we’re gonna live this week, just some motivating factors, right, some postures of our hearts that will dictate how this week goes for us. And, so, let's live into it well. And as I have said before, one of the ways that we do that is to continue with the rhythm of allowing God's word to come into our lives each and every day as we gather around this Global Campfire and hear from God through His word. So, we’ve got a brand-new week and we’re gonna read from Lexham English Bible this week. And we’re still in the book of first Chronicles in the Old Testament, but when we get to the New Testament today, we’re entering a completely different genre of literature. We’re entering a portion of the New Testament that we will be in for quite a while. They are letters. So much of the New Testament is letters to churches and today we will begin the letter to the Romans. And we’ll talk about that when we get there, but first first Chronicles 12 verse 19 through 14:17.

Introduction to the book of Romans:

Okay. So, yesterday we concluded the book of Acts, and we concluded the book of Acts with Paul finally arriving in Rome. And he wanted to go to Rome. He had been wanting to go to Rome but he's…he's…he's arriving in Rome as a prisoner to stand trial before the Emperor for what the Hebrew people were claiming he did back in Jerusalem. So, Paul's been incarcerated now for couple of years, but in the book of Acts we got to know Paul. We traveled with Paul on his missionary journeys. So, we’ve been by land and sea with Paul including a harrowing shipwreck on the island of Malta. So, weve kinda got…gotten to know Paul through his travels. Now we’re going to begin to get to know Paul through his letters, so through his words. And here's the thing. Most of the theological underpinning for the Christian faith are things that Paul wrote and interpreted. Like he’s highly, highly influential. In fact, I pretty much believe there would be a almost unanimous consensus among biblical scholars that the faith as we know it wouldn't exist without the writings of Paul although Paul never actually met Jesus in life during his ministry at all. What happened was, Paul met Jesus, what we would know as the cosmic Christ or celestial, like the risen Christ, who had ascended but was appearing to Paul in visions and instructing him. And we should also remember Paul was a Pharisee in Jerusalem. So, he is an educated religious person, a literate person in a sea of illiteracy and a person trained in the Mosaic law and its interpretation and its implementation because, you know, when you have the Mosaic law given say a couple thousand years ago and you're trying to interpret it today then you understand like there are new things going on. So that's how it was for Paul 2000 years ago. We’re 2000 years into the future still. And, so, things have changed. And, so, you have to look at the Scriptures and go, “okay. How does this work in the world that exists right now?” And, so, Paul had been engaged in this activity as a Pharisee. Once he had this experience with Jesus things shifted dramatically for Paul and he began to see Jesus threaded through the story of the Hebrew people, Jesus as the Messiah but Jesus also as the inclusive savior of the world, that anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord can be saved, that all Jew or Gentile are welcome, that as we’ll learn from the letters of Paul, there is no Jew, there is no Greek, there is no male, there is no female, there is no slave, there is no free. In Christ, we are equal, which most certainly was not how things were on the outside, like in the outside culture and world that Paul lived in. Another thing that's fastening about the letters of Paul is that some of Paul's letters are the earliest Christian writings that we have. Paul was writing letters to churches that had been established before the Gospels were even written down. I mean, the history of the earliest Christian times is so fascinating because they didn't have a New Testament to refer to. And, so, the gospel was passed around orally. The stories of Jesus and things were eventually written down about all kinds of stuff was written down. But Paul's letters had been being passed around during this time because they're some of the earliest Christian writings that we have. And, so, they have endured indeed until today. This letter, Romans, probably was written in the city of Corinth where Paul spent some time and some…some of the greatest accomplishments for the kingdom were achieved and probably somewhere in the mid-50s AD. And, so, when he finishes this letter, he sends a Deaconess, a woman named Phoebe from a church in Cenchreae, which is just outside of Corinth. She was to hand-deliver this letter and make an introduction to Paul to the church in Rome. And the church in Rome wasn't established by Paul. This wasn't one of his churches and there's only conjecture about how the gospel got to Rome. I guess if you want to speculate…once you get into speculation that's what you're doing, your speculating. But the speculation is that somebody, maybe even a small group of somebody's who were influenced by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost in Jerusalem who were either there who had witnessed this happening ended up carrying the story and the gospel back to Rome and a church was established there. And Paul writes this letter to encourage them. Also, to give them the gospel as he understood it as it was given to him by Jesus. And what we’ll notice is a bit of a contrast because, I mean, like I said, there's a lot of stuff going on in the earliest early church and there was a lot of contention over allowing Gentiles to be considered followers of The Way, the disciples Jesus. And we’ve talked about this in the past and we’ll talk about it some more, so I’m not gonna go into it right now, but there was a lot of tension and this is why Paul was on the hot seat in Jerusalem, because…because the Jewish people, including his fellow Pharisees were hearing the Paul was out around the world saying nobody had to obey God's law anymore, the Mosaic law anymore. And this is where we will begin to see a contrast in what Paul's thinking is. So, as a Pharisee, as an educated Hebrew leader these people are studying Moses, right? They’re studying the law of Moses, the law God gave through Moses. Paul…this…this meeting with Jesus had to be so disruptive to him that he had to go back to the beginning of the story. Well, we would think, “the beginning of the story is Genesis and Adam and Eve”, but for Paul, the beginning of the story is Abraham, the first person called by God to go into a land that he didn't know. Like the first person to originate the story that would become the Hebrew people. So, not Moses but Abraham is the beginning point for Paul. And when he begins there and tells the story forward it includes Moses, but it's a different viewpoint. And we’ll see why. Fundamentally, we’ll see why because Paul will argue Abraham didn't have a law to obey. He didn't become righteous because he obeyed perfectly a law. He became righteous because people believed what God told him. And that is a fundamental difference in the Christian faith and in the writings of Paul. So, let's get to it. Romans chapter 1 verse 1 through verse 17.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for bringing us into this brand-new week. And as we enter this brand-new week, we enter a brand-new book of the letter of Romans, letter to the Romans. And, so, the complexion of what we've been reading changes and we invite Your Holy Spirit as we take this journey through the book of Romans to help us understand why we believe the things that we believe and what that means, the implications of what that means. Come Holy Spirit, open our eyes that we might see and become aware of what You are doing in and among us. We ask this in the name of Jesus our Savior. Amen.

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And that's it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hey guys this is Tiffany from New Mexico from the four corners area and I have a lot to say and only two minutes to say it so I’m gonna try to make this fast. But I was thinking of you all this morning and I wanted to take a moment and tell you just how much I love and appreciate you all. I didn’t know several years ago, I had no idea when I started listening to DAB just how vital this community would be to me, this family, all of you, the body of Christ. You have made such a significant impact on my life. You have helped me get through some of the most challenging times and you have helped me celebrate some of the best times and I know that you will continue to be there. And specifically you guys have prayed me through several health challenges, you guys, many of you set my boys birthday cards when they had to celebrate in quarantine. And some of you have become my very, very close friends that I know I could lean on for anything. In short, you guys have helped renew my hope, and my faith and my heart for the body of Christ and I know you will continue to. And I want you to know that my family pray for you daily and we will continue to encourage all of you how we can. And again, we’re praying for all of you. I want to give a shout out to my friend Barbara, my friend Lois, Kathy, Paula, Pastor John, thank you guys for all of your love and for caring about me and my family. And actually, that goes for all of you. Thank you. And I will continue to be praying for you guys and I will pray specifically for all of you during my long walk today. So, be encouraged. Have a great day.

Hello, my beautiful sisters and brothers this is Dawn calling from New York on our long walk day. Giving thanks to God for this special time that we’ve set aside. Grateful for the beautiful Heart production from Brian. Thank you so much and just praying for everyone. What a year and asking God to renew our hearts, give us strength, courage, hope as we move into the second half of this amazing 2020 year we are journeying together. God bless all of you. I give thanks to God for you.

Hey DAB family this is Nelly I’m just calling just asking for your prayers. I probably recorded this a couple times. Just to be completely transparent I am struggling so hard with my voice just…just speaking out. I want to be used by Christ. I want to be a speaker of truth. I want to minister. And I feel this calling, but I feel also this amount of fear and second-guessing my…my words and knowing what to say. So, just praying that God gives me a voice of wisdom, a voice of strength and truth with grace. I’m just really wanting to be used by Him in any way I can be, and I don’t want to be afraid to speak out anymore. So, will you stand in prayer with me? Thank you.

This is Soaring on Eagles Wings from Canada and I listened to Monday, July 6th’s podcast and I heard the cry of Woman of Honor. She has done all that she could possibly do – fasting, praying waiting. She’s now at the point of no return and thoughts of death assails her. Well my dear sister, I understand what you’re feeling, and I just want to take you to the throne of grace. I just read something that says, “when you come to the end of your rope and patience seems to fly away settle back into God’s waiting arms.” Father God You have seen all that she has done, You hear her cry, You see her tears. She can’t do anymore, that’s what she said. She’s at the point of no return. And, so, now I pray that You would take over and You will do only…what only You can do. You see her pain. You hear her cries. Father, Abba Father, touch her today, revive her, give her hope again. Remind her that her hope is in You and You alone. And the enemy often times tries to take us down but I’m praying for her Lord. I’m standing in your corner sister. Hold on tight to the...

Good morning this is Adrian from Maryland. This morning we are praying for Oligna and his family with premature baby Dji. Oligna not just lost his daughter, Dji’s mom. She died a week after the baby was born. And Dji is still in the NICU because he was born two months early and something happened to his mom and she died. This is tragic for the family. They’re are going to need a ton of support. So, Lord please take care of Oligno’s family and Dji’s family as…as Dji comes home from the NICU at some point and they learn to take care of Dji without his mom. Please wrap Your arms around them, love on them and give them the strength and support that they need to learn how to live together without their mom and daughter. Thank You so much Lord. We love You so much. You’re such a good and faithful God. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Good morning DABber family this is Walta the burning bush that will not be devoured for the glory of our God and King. Guys today I heard Alina’s call praying his daughter…praying for his family. He just lost his daughter a week before we called. Father God on praying for his grandson Dji. God, I pray that you will to protect that baby. I pray blessings upon that family. God made that baby be a blessing to the family. Lord I pray that you will comfort…comfort their souls and their hearts as they grieve the loss of their daughter. God, I pray for trusting in God. Her son battles with mental illness. For the first time God I pray that in the name of Jesus You will send Your ministering angels to that hospital that he will…not only will he yield to taking his medication but God that You will help them find the right…the right…just the right medication for him. I pray for healing God. I know You can heal with and without medication, so we just commit that boy into Your hands Lord. He is Your son first God. We pray for divine intervention in the name of Jesus. I pray piece in her heart in the name of Jesus as she waits. Sam from Texas called in. She is a survivor of coronavirus and she’s praying for Spain. God, I pray not only for Spain for the world Lord. I pray that You will touch the heart of believers that we will begin to stand in the gap and pray the sickness out of our nations in the name of Jesus. God protect those who have not yet contacted…contracted the virus and pray for those who are battling the virus and I pray for healing in the name of Jesus. Finally, Lord I pray that as we go out Lord that we will be witnesses to You Lord. Help us to speak and act justly, be examples. In Jesus’ name we love You Lord. Amen.

The Virgin Mary

   I was first inspired to write this biography by an issue of LIFE magazine that was completely about Mary. As I was reading I realized that despite being raised in a Christian household, as well as being surrounded by Serbian Orthodox and Catholic families for most of my young life-- the only thing I truly knew of Mary was that she was the virgin mother of Jesus. It’s important for me to note that although my family was full of devout Christians, I had spent all of my life rejecting it as a non-believer. I still stick to this thought process today. 

  I had learned later in my first semester of college of the symbolism and religious rites that surround her, but I still did not know anything of the Historical life around her. Was she real? What kind of life did she live? And who really was she? I wanted to know the truth vs myth of who Mary was. 

“The young Jewish girl goes to the stone synagogue in Nazareth. She offers devotions in the small women’s section adjacent to the main prayer hall. In chorus with the other congregants, the girl recites Psalms and absorbs their lessons: ‘Abandon yourself to God.’

 One extraordinary day she is visited by an angel who asks if she’ll play a part in the birth of God’s son. She answers yes. Perhaps a little more than 2,000 years ago, she makes her way with her husband Joseph, a carpenter, to a village called Bethlehem. Perhaps Bethlehem; some scholars posit Nazareth as more likely. In a stable, for the inn was filled, Mary and Joseph celebrate the birth of a son. They lay the infant in a feeding stall and name him Yeshua -- in Greek: Jesus. she raises Jesus to be a strong, brave young man. A leader of other men. That is the story of Miriam of Nazareth. And that is all we really know,”

But how did we get to this story? If as stated by Jarslov Peikan, we could copy on an eight by eleven sheet everything there is about Mary in the New Testament. Then why is Mary so popular through the ages? I think Mary is the perfect and most original examples of what happens when an idea evolves and grows from its original source.

Miriam of Nazareth: Miriam was born in a small village in Galilee. Known as Mary to the masses, her real name would have been Miriam or Maryamme-- one of the most common names of the day. As a young Jewish woman living in Palestine, she was a second class citizen. Not knowing how to read or write, she worked alongside her mother since she could walk. Basically, she was a poor woman and modern depictions of her are usually able to recognize that, But, the catholic church had a huge role in presenting us with images of a fair-skinned woman robed in blue silk. When she was a Mediterranean woman of low class who would have most definitely worn a simple wool or linen tunics and a shawl over her head.  

The political environment of Mary’s life was a complicated one with constant Jewish oppression in the form of Roman legions. The end of the dictatorship of Herod the Great had made way for the Romans to storm into Galilee and squash Jewish revolts. Which I think is a perfect breeding ground for Jewish prophecy of a savior to form in. Josephus, a Jewish writer records that many cities were burned and people murdered by the Romans 

Mary and Joseph: So, where does Joseph come into the life of Mary? The popular image of Mary we have come to know is that of a young woman in her early twenties birthing the savior. But, if we think realistically of the time period, she was probably only 12 or 13 years of age when betrothed to Joseph. Who would have been much older than she. However, Mary became pregnant before her marriage to Joseph. Let’s see how the Bible addresses this: 

(NCV) Luke 1:26-38: 

“God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin. She was engaged to marry a man named Joseph from the family of David. Her name was Mary. the angel came to her and said, ‘Greetings The Lord has blessed you and is with you.’ But Mary was very startled by what the angel said and wondered what this greeting might mean. The angel said to her ‘Don’t be afraid Mary; God has shown you his grace. Listen! You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of King David, his ancestor. He will rule over the people of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘how will this happen since I am a virgin?’ The angel said to Mary, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you. For this reason the baby will be Holy and will be the Son of God.’ Mary said, ‘ I am the servant of the Lord. Let this happen to me as you say.’ And the angel went away.”

For the millions of Christians, Catholics, and sub-sets of these practices, the Immaculate Conception is proven fact based on the actual fact the Bible records it as such. The apparently divine conceptions of Jesus Christ, is a miracle -- a simple and unquestionable matter of Faith. But the gospels tell us very little about Mary and the pregnancy itself. Nor does it cover the societal reaction of Mary exposing to her village, let alone her husband. When Joseph had found put, he would have most definitely thought of her as unfaithful. We do know that when Joseph found out, he had the idea to divorce her quietly, as not to expose her to shame and death from the village elders. But the Bible does state that an angel appeared to Joseph and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, Because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to name his Jesus, because he will save people from their sins. 

Since most scholars today consider most of the Bible to be legend and mythology, it could be theorized that Mary, a young girl of no younger than 12 but no older than 16 had been raped by a stranger or Joseph himself. I believe it could be Joseph because I don’t know why he would have motivation to cover up another man’s rape child as the birth of the savior. I theorize essentially, that Mary and Joseph had premarital sex and Mary was impregnated. I will not determine that Joseph actually raped her as there was no such thing as statutory rape back then and they were already betrothed. I know that does not exclude it. But, given the context of the time, That is my estimate. No one will ever know what actually happened probably besides Mary herself. 

But was the immaculate conception truly just a couples cover up? Maybe. We probably won't ever really know. I cannot prove or deny what is fundamentally the foundation of 2 major religions and its sub-branches. But, I as someone who believes in nothing, have a hard time thinking that this was simply a Hebrew God formulating the redemption of Man. However, the New Testament, and I suppose history; say that Joseph was a kind man, and did not give away Mary to the Elders or have her stoned for “adultery.” As far as how and exactly when the conception happened, that will continue to remain between Mary and Joseph... Or maybe Mary and herself. Even then, practically impossibly, it could be true that Mary gave birth to the Jewish Messiah. 

Mary the Idea: It’s important to address the immaculate conception and life of Mary as the ultimate catalyst for what she would become. So how did Mary become the exalted Saint and Mother of All ideal to the populace? 

When taking a look at Mary’s fame, it is not terribly difficult to see her evolution as the Virgin Mother of the Messiah to the Virgin Mother of all the Christian World. Though it is important to know that she is more popularly worshiped by catholic sects, Christianity also celebrated her above any other biblical figure, Save God/Jesus himself. 

“Not everyone needs a brother or sister or savior, or accepts that a savior has arrived historically, or will do so one day. But everyone once had a mother.” Basically, even with all the majesty of the universe going on and changing around you, we all need a mother. Even though she is not the only saint to patron mothers, children, motherhood, and orphans-- she is regarded as the Mother of Mothers and Jesus/God is the King of Kings, Having a mother (with special circumstances aside) is the one most universal experiences of life. We all have one and we all want to love them and be loved in return. And Mary is clearly the finest and most ideal example of a mother in all of history. She is the mother of Jesus, How could she herself not be equally perfect?

But as we know, Mary as a mother is not really explored in the Bible. Basically through the centuries, as Christianity spread through European missionaries and expanded as an idea/religion, Mary expanded as well. If Christianity were not so against “false idols” I think she would be a Christian god in her own right. She was also a huge inspiration to poor people as an impoverished second class citizen becoming the “Queen of Heaven.” 

Millions of people today and throughout history have turned to Mary for help, fortune, and love. She is the most named after woman in history and the most prayed to saint in all of Catholicism. Mary was a girl whose choices and circumstances made her into the most famous woman ever. Not all to her own credit as I hardly assume she could have predicted this, The spread of Christianity through colonialism was probably the biggest amplification of her life and story. Allowing her to become Mary, Mother of All. 

Objections to Baptismby

Dave Miller, Ph.D.

Some churches historically have taught that water immersion is the dividing line between the lost and the saved. This means that a penitent believer remains unforgiven of sin until buried in the waters of baptism (Romans 6:4). Much of the denominational world disagrees with this analysis of Bible teaching, holding instead that one is saved at the point of belief, before and without water baptism. Consider some of the points that are advanced in an effort to minimize the essentiality of baptism for salvation.Objection #1: “Jesus could not have been baptized for the remission of sins because He was sinless; therefore, people today are not baptized in order to be forgiven. They merely imitate Jesus’ example.”The baptism to which Jesus submitted Himself was John’s baptism (Matthew 3:13; Mark 1:9). John’s baptism was for the remission of sins (Mark 1:4; Luke 3:3). This truth is particularly evident from the fact that when Jesus presented Himself to John for baptism, John sought to deter Him, noting that, if anything, Jesus needed to baptize John (Matthew 3:14). Jesus did not correct John, as many seek to do today, by falsely arguing that baptism is not for remission of sins. Rather, Jesus, in effect, agreed with John, but made clear that His baptism was an exception to the rule.Jesus’ baptism was unique and not to be compared to anyone else’s baptism. Jesus’ baptism had the unique purpose of “fulfilling all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). In other words, it was necessary for Jesus to submit to John’s baptism (1) to show His contemporaries that no one is exempt from submitting to God’s will and (2) more specifically, Christ’s baptism was God’s appointed means of pinpointing for the world the precise identity of His Son. It was not until John saw the Spirit of God descending on Jesus and heard the voice (“This is My Son...”) that he knew that “this is the Son of God” (John 1:31-34; Matthew 3:16-17).Of course, John’s baptism is no longer valid (Acts 18:24-19:5). John’s baptism paralleled New Testament baptism in the sense that both were for the forgiveness of sins. But John’s baptism was transitional in nature, preparing Jews for their Messiah. Baptism after the cross is for all people (Matthew 28:19), in Jesus’ name (Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38; 19:5), into His death (Romans 6:3), in order to be clothed with Him (Galatians 3:27), and added to His church (Acts 2:47; 1 Corinthians 12:13). We must not use Jesus’ baptism to suggest that salvation occurs prior to baptism.Objection #2:“The thief on the cross was not baptized, and he was saved.”When we “handle aright the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15), we see that the thief was not subject to the New Testament command of immersion because this command was not given until after the thief’s death. It was not until Christ was resurrected that He said, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16). It was not until Christ’s death that the Old Testament ceased, signified by the tearing of the temple curtain (Matthew 27:51). When Jesus died, He took away the Old Testament, “nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14).The word “testament” means “covenant” or “will.” The last will and testament of Christ is the New Testament, which consists of those teachings that apply to people after the death of Christ. If we expect to receive the benefits of the New Testament (salvation, forgiveness of sin, eternal life), we must submit to the terms of the will for which Christ is mediator (Hebrews 9:15), for “where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator; for a testament is of force after men are dead; otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator lives” (Hebrews 9:16-17).So prior to the Lord’s death and the sealing of the New Testament, New Testament baptism for the forgiveness of sins was not a requirement for those who sought to be acceptable to God. People now, however, live during the Christian era of religious history. Prior to Christ’s death, there were no Christians (Acts 11:26). For a person to reject water baptism as a prerequisite to salvation on the basis of what the thief did or did not do, is comparable to Abraham seeking salvation by building an ark—because that’s what Noah did to please God. It would be like the rich young ruler (Matthew 19) refusing Christ’s directive to sell all his possessions—because wealthy King David did not have to sell his possessions in order to please God.The thief on the cross could not have been baptized the way the new covenant stipulates you and I must be baptized. Why? Romans 6:3-4 teaches that if we wish to acquire “newness of life,” we must be baptized into Christ’s death, be buried with Christ in baptism, and then be raised from the dead. There was no way for the thief to comply with this New Testament baptism—Christ had not died! Christ had not been buried! Christ had not been raised! In fact, none of God’s ordained teachings pertaining to salvation in Christ (2 Timothy 2:10) and in His body the Church (Acts 2:47; Ephesians 1:22-23) had been given. The church, which Christ’s shed blood purchased (Acts 20:28), had not been established, and was not set up until weeks later (Acts 2).We must not look to the thief as an example of salvation. Instead, we must obey “from the heart that form of doctrine” (Romans 6:17)—the form of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection through baptism (Romans 6:3-4). Only then can we be “made free from sin to become the servants of righteousness” (Romans 6:18).Objection #3: “The Bible says, ‘Christ stands at the door of your heart’ and all we have to do to be forgiven of sin and become a Christian is to invite Him into our hearts.”It is no doubt startling to discover that the Bible simply does not say such a thing. The phraseology is reminiscent of Revelation 3:20—the passage usually quoted to support the idea. But examine what Revelation 3:20 actually teaches. Revelation chapters 2 and 3 consist of seven specific messages directed to seven churches of Christ in Asia Minor in the first century. Thus, at the outset, we must recognize that Revelation 3:20 is addressed toChristians—not non-Christians seeking conversion to Christ.Second, Revelation 3:20 is found among Christ’s remarks to the church in Laodicea. Jesus made clear that the church had moved into a lost condition. The members were unacceptable to God since they were “lukewarm” (3:16). They had become unsaved since their spiritual condition was “wretched and miserable and poor” (3:17). Thus, in a very real sense, Jesus had abandoned them by removing His presence from their midst. Now He was on the outside looking in. He still wanted to be among them, but the decision was up to them. They must recognize His absence, hear Him knocking for admission, and open the door—all of which is figurative language indicating their need to repent (3:19). They need to return to the obedient lifestyle essential to sustaining God’s favor (John 14:21,23).Observe that Revelation 3:20 in no way supports the idea that non-Christians merely have to “open the door of their heart” and “invite Jesus in” with the assurance that the moment they mentally/verbally do so, Jesus comes into their heart and they are simultaneously saved from all past sin and have become Christians. The context of Revelation 3:20 shows that Jesus was seeking readmission into an apostate church.Does the Bible teach that Christ comes into a person’s heart? Yes, but not in the way the religious world suggests. For instance, Ephesians 3:17 states that Christ dwells in the heartthrough faith. Faith can be acquired only by hearing biblical truth (Romans 10:17). When Bible truth is obeyed, the individual is “saved by faith” (Hebrews 5:9; James 2:22; 1 Peter 1:22). Thus Christ enters our lives when we “draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience [repentance—DM] and our bodies washed with pure water [baptism—DM]” (Hebrews 10:22).Objection #4: “A person is saved the moment he accepts Christ as his personal Savior—which precedes and therefore excludes water baptism.”To suggest that all one has to do to receive the forgiveness of God and become a Christian is to mentally accept Jesus into his heart and make a verbal statement to that effect, is to dispute the declaration of Jesus in Matthew 7:21—“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” To be sure, oral confession of Christ is one of the prerequisites to salvation (Romans 10:10). But Jesus said there is more to becoming a blood-bought follower of His than merely “calling on his name” (see

Lyons

, 2004) or “inwardly accepting Him as Savior.” He stated that before we can even consider ourselves as God’s children (Christians), we must show our acceptance of His gift through outward obedience—“He that does the will of My Father.” Notice the significant contrast Jesus made: the difference between mental/verbal determination to accept and follow the Lord, versus verbal confession coupled with action or obedience (cf. James 2:14,17). This is why we must do everything the Lord has indicated must be done prior to salvation. Jesus is telling us that it is possible to make the mistake of claiming we have found the Lord, when we have not done what He plainly told us to do.Jesus said: “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). Jesus also stated: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16). Honestly, have you accepted Christ as your personal savior—in the way He said it must be done? He asks: “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46).Objection #5: “We are clothed with Christ and become His children when we place our faith in Him.”Read Galatians 3:26-27: “You are all children of God by faith in Christ Jesus, for as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” The words “put on” (NKJV) are a translation of the Greek verb enduo which signifies “to enter into, get into, as into clothes, to put on.” Can we be saved prior to “putting Christ on” or “being clothed” with Christ? Of course not. But when and how does one put on Christ—according to Paul? When one is baptized in water. Those who teach we can be saved before baptism are, in reality, teaching we can be saved while spiritually naked and without Christ! Paul affirms that we “put on” Christ at the point of our baptism—not before.Paul wrote these words to people who were already saved. They had been made “sons of God.” But how? At what point had they “been clothed with Christ?” When were they made “sons of God?” When were they saved? Paul makes the answer to these questions very plain: they were united with Christ, put on Christ, were clothed with Christ—when they were baptized. Ask yourself if you have been clothed with Christ.Objection #6: “Baptism is like a badge on a uniform that merely gives evidence that the person is already saved.”The New Testament nowhere expounds the idea that baptism is merely a “badge” or “outward sign of an inward grace.” Yes, baptism can biblically be referred to as a symbolicact; but what does it symbolize? Previous forgiveness? No! Romans 6 indicates that baptism symbolizes the previous death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Thus the benefits of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection (remember, Jesus’ blood, which blots out sin, was shed in the context of His death, burial, and resurrection) are realized and received by the individual when he obediently (in penitent faith) submits to a similar ordeal, i.e., the death of his own “old man” or “body of sin” (Romans 6:6), burial (immersion into a watery tomb), and resurrection (rising from the watery tomb).Denominational doctrine maintains that forgiveness of sin is received prior to baptism. If so, the “new life” of the saved individual would also begin prior to baptism. Yet Paul said the “new life” occurs after baptism. He reiterated this to the Colossians. The “putting off of the body of the flesh by Christ’s circumcision” (Colossians 2:11) is accomplished in the context of water immersion and being “risen with Him” (Colossians 2:12). Chapter 3 then draws the important observation: “If then you were raised with Christ [an undeniable reference to baptism—DM], seek those things which are above [an undeniable reference to the new life which follows—not precedes—baptism].”Objection #7: “Baptism is a meritorious work, whereas we are saved by grace, not works.”“Works” or “steps” of salvation do not imply that one “merits” his salvation upon obedient compliance with those actions. Rather, “steps” or “a process” signifies the biblical concept of preconditions, stipulations of faith, or acts of obedience—what James called “works” (James 2:17). James was not saying that one can earn his justification (James 2:24). Rather, he was describing the active nature of faith, showing that saving faith, faith that is alive—as opposed to dead and therefore utterly useless (2:20)—is the only kind that is acceptable to God, a faith that obeys whatever actions God has indicated must be done. The obedience of both Abraham and Rahab is set forth as illustrative of the kind of faith James says is acceptable. They manifested their trust by actively doing what God wanted done. Such obedient or active trust is the only kind that avails anything. Thus, obedient response is essential.The actions themselves are manifestations of this trust that justifies, not the trust itself. But notice that according to James, you cannot have one without the other. Trust, or faith, is dead, until it leads one to obey the specifications God assigned. Here is the essence of salvation that separates those who adhere to biblical teaching from those who have been adversely influenced by the Protestant reformers. The reformers reacted to the unbiblical concept of stacking bad deeds against good deeds in an effort to offset the former by the latter. Unfortunately, the reactionary reformers went to the equally unacceptable, opposite extreme by asserting that man need “only believe” (Luther) or man can do nothing at all (Calvin). The truth is between these two unbiblical extremes.From Genesis to Revelation, faith is the trusting, obedient response that humans manifest in response to what God offers. This is the kind of “justification by faith” that Paul expounded in Romans. Like red flags, he defined what he meant by “faith” with the words “obedient faith” (hupakoein pisteos) at the very beginning (1:5) and at the end (16:26) of his divinely inspired treatise. Until faith obeys, it is useless and cannot justify.The Hebrews writer made the same point in Hebrews 11. The faith we see in Old Testament “men of faith” availed only after they obeyed God-given stipulations. God rewards those who “diligently seek Him” in faith (vs. 6). Noah “became heir of the righteousness which is by faith” when he “prepared an ark.” If he had not complied with divine instructions, he would have been branded as “unfaithful.” The thing that made the difference, that constituted the line of demarcation between faith and lack of faith, was obedient action—what James called “works,” and Paul called “faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6). In this sense, even faith is a “work” (John 6:29). Hebrews 11 repeatedly reinforces this eternal principle: (1) God offers grace (which may at any point in history consist of physical blessings, i.e., healing, salvation from enemies, land or property, etc., or spiritual blessing, i.e., justification, forgiveness, salvation from sin, being made righteous, etc.); (2) man responds in obedient trust (i.e., “faith”) by complying with the stipulated terms; and (3) God bestows the blessing.It would be wrong to think that man’s obedient response earns or merits the subsequent blessing. Such simply does not logically follow. God always bestows blessings which men do not deserve (Luke 17:10). His rich mercy and loving grace is freely offered and made available—though man never deserves such kindness (Titus 2:11). Still, a non-meritorious response is absolutely necessary if unworthy man is to receive His blessings.Objection #8: “Not only is baptism nonessential to salvation, even faith is a gift from God to a person. Man is so depraved that he is incapable of believing.”Surely, God’s infinite justice would not permit Him to force man to desire God’s blessings. God’s intervention into man’s woeful condition was not in the form of causing man to desire help or miraculously generating faith within man. God intervened by giving His inspired Word, which tells how He gave His son to make a way for man to escape eternal calamity. Faith is then generated in the individual by God’s words which the person must read and understand (Romans 10:17; Acts 8:30). The individual then demonstrates his faith in obedience.Did the walls of Jericho fall down “by faith” (Hebrews 11:30)? Absolutely. But the salient question is: “When?” Did the walls fall when the Israelites merely “believed” that they would fall? No! Rather, when the people obeyed the divine directives. The walls fell “by faith” afterthe people met God’s conditions. If the conditions had not been met, the walls would not have fallen down “by faith.” The Israelites could not claim that the walls fell by their own effort, or that they earned the collapse of the walls. The city was given to them by God as an undeserved act of His grace (Joshua 6:2). To receive the free gift of the city, the people had to obey the divinely-stipulated prerequisites.Notice the capsuling nature of Hebrews 11:6. Faith or belief is not given by God. It is something that man does in order to please God. The whole chapter is predicated on the fundamental idea that man is personally responsible for mustering obedient trust. God does not “regenerate man by His call, thus enabling man to respond.” God “calls” individuals through, by means of, His written Word (2 Thessalonians 2:14). In turn, the written Word can generate faith in the individual (Romans 10:17). How unscriptural to suggest that man is so “totally depraved” that he cannot even believe, thus placing God in the position of demanding something from man (John 8:24) of which man is inherently incapable. But the God of the Bible would not be guilty of such injustice.Some people approach passages like Romans 10:17 in this fashion: (1) God chooses to save an individual; (2) God gives him the free gift of faith; and (3) God uses the Gospel to stir up the faith which He has given the person. Yet neither Romans 10:17, nor any other passage, even hints at such an idea. The text states explicitly that faith comes from hearing Christ’s Word. Notice verse 14, where the same sequence is given: (1) the preacher preaches; (2) the individual hears the preached word; and (3) believes. This sequence is a far cry from suggesting that God miraculously imparts faith to a person, and then the Holy Spirit “stirs up” the faith. Such a notion has God giving man a defective faith which then needs to be stirred up. The text makes clear that God has provided for faith to be generated (i.e., originated) by the preached Word. God does not arbitrarily intervene and impose faith upon the hearts of a select group of individuals.According to 1 Corinthians 1:21, mankind did not know God, so God transmitted His message through inspired preachers so that those who respond in faith would be saved. Paul wrote in Romans 1:16 that this gospel message is God’s power to save those who believe it. Notice that the Gospel is what Paul preached (vs. 15). Thus the preached message from God generates faith and enables people to be saved.We see the same in Acts 2:37. What pierced the hearts of the listeners? Obviously, the sermon. Acts 2:37 is a demonstration of Romans 10:17—“faith comes by hearing…the word of God.” God did not change the hearts of the people miraculously; Peter’s words did. If denominational doctrine is correct, Peter should have said: “There’s nothing you can do. You are so totally depraved, you can’t do anything. God will regenerate you; He will cause you to believe (since faith is His ‘free gift’).” Yet, quite to the contrary, Peter told them that they needed to do some things! And they were things that God could not do for them.First, they were required to “repent.” Biblical repentance is a change of mind (Matthew 21:29). A “turning” follows repentance (Acts 3:19) and consists of some specified action subsequent to the change of mind. John the Baptizer called this turning activity, which follows repentance and serves as evidence that repentance has occurred, “fruits” (Matthew 3:8). After being convicted (Acts 2:37—i.e., believing the truth of Peter’s contentions), they were told to “repent,” to change their minds about their previous course of life. What else were they to do?Peter did not tell them to “repent and believe.” Their belief was already abundantly evident in their pricked hearts and their fervent petition for instructions. What was lacking? Peter said (i.e., God said) they still lacked baptism. Remember, the only difference between dead faith and saving faith is outward action—compliance with all actions that God specifies as necessary before He will freely bestow unmerited favor in the form of forgiveness.Thus baptism marked the point at which God would count them righteous if they first believed and repented. Baptism served as the line of demarcation between the saved and the lost. Jesus’ blood could wash their sins away only at the point of baptism.Objection #9: “The preposition ‘for’ in the phrase ‘for the remission of sins’ in Acts 2:38 means ‘because of.’ Hence, they were baptized because of sins for which they were forgiven when they believed.”The English word “for” has, as one of its meanings, “because of.” However, the Greek preposition eis that underlies the English word “for” never has a causal function. It always has its primary, basic, accusative thrust: unto, into, to, toward. We must not go to the text, decide what we think it means, and assign a grammatical meaning that coincides with our preconceived understanding. We must begin with the grammar and seek to understand every text in light of the normal, natural, common meaning of the grammatical and lexical construction. The exact same grammatical construction of Acts 2:38 is found in Matthew 26:28—“into the remission of sins” (eis aphesin hamartion). Jesus’ blood, the blood of the covenant, was undeniably shed for many “in order to acquire remission of sins.” This is the natural and normal meaning of the Greek preposition—toward, in the direction of. Had the Holy Spirit intended to say that baptism is “because of” or “on account of” past forgiveness, He would have used the Greek preposition that conveys that very idea: dia with the accusative.Similarly, in Acts 2:38, if repentance is not “because of” remission of sins, neither is baptism. Regardless of person and number considerations, Peter told his hearers to do both things. The act of baptism (connected to the act of repentance by the coordinate conjunction) cannot be extricated from the context of remission of sins by any stretch.Objection #10: “When the Philippian jailer asked what to do to be saved, he was simply told to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.”As further proof that God does not miraculously bestow faith on a person through the Holy Spirit, observe that Paul told the jailer that he (the jailer) had to believe; he did not answer the jailer’s question with: “You don’t have to do anything. God will give you faith.” On the contrary, Paul and Silas told him that he had to manifest faith in Jesus. But was the jailer in a position at that moment to do so? No, he would have to be told both how and what to believe. No wonder, then, Luke records immediately: “they spoke the word of the Lord to him” (Acts 16:32). If Romans 10:17 can be trusted, the words which Paul and Silas proclaimed generated faith in the jailer. And those same words surely included the necessity of repentance and baptism, because the jailer immediately manifested the fruit of repentance (by washing their stripes), and likewise was immediately baptized (not waiting until morning or the weekend). And then observe carefully Luke’s meticulous documentation that it wasonly after the jailer believed, repented, and was baptized, that the jailer was in a position to rejoice. Only then did Luke describe the jailer as “having believed in God” (vs. 34), i.e., now standing in a state of perfected belief.Objection #11: “Saul was saved before and without baptism while he was on the road to Damascus when Jesus appeared to him.”The sequence of events clearly shows that Saul was not saved while on the road to Damascus. Jesus identified Himself and then accused Saul of being a persecutor (Acts 9:5). Saul “trembled” and was “astonished” (hardly the description of a saved individual), and pleadingly asked what he should do—a clear indication that he had just been struck with his lost and undone condition.This question has the exact same force as the Pentecostians’ question (Acts 2:37) and the jailer’s question (Acts 16:30). All three passages are analogous in their characterization of individuals who had acted wrongly (i.e., the Pentecostians had crucified Jesus, Saul was persecuting Christians, and the jailer had kept innocent Christians jailed and guarded). Likewise, in each instance, the candidates for conversion are portrayed as unhappy (i.e., the Pentecostians were “cut to the heart,” Saul “trembled” and “was astonished,” and the jailer “came trembling”—i.e., he was frightened). They were scared, miserable individuals, suddenly brought face to face with their horribly unacceptable status before God. Such is hardly an apt description for saved individuals! Where is the joy, peace, and excitement that comes when one’s sins have been washed away?Saul was not forgiven on the road to Damascus—he still needed to be told what to do! He still lacked “hearing the word of the Lord.” The only way for Saul to hear the Gospel was through the agency of a preacher (Romans 10:14; 1 Corinthians 1:21)—not a vision of Jesus on a road. Saul—like Cornelius—still needed to hear words from a preacher. An angel told Cornelius (Acts 10:4) that his prayers and money had gone up for a memorial before God—yet he was unsaved. He needed to contact an inspired preacher, Peter, “who will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved” (Acts 11:14). Likewise, before Saul could learn of God’s plan that he be the great “apostle of the Gentiles,” he first needed to hear the Gospel expounded and told how to respond to what God offered in Christ.Rather than tell him what he needed to do to be saved, Jesus told him to go into the city, where a preacher (Ananias) would expound to him the necessity of salvation. Notice: Saul waited in Damascus for three days without food and drink, and still blind! Here’s an individual who is still miserable, unhappy, and unsaved, awaiting instructions on how to change his unfortunate status. Acts 9:18 condenses Saul’s response to the preached Word, while Acts 22 elaborates a little further on the significance of Saul’s response. Acts 22:16 says, “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”Notice Ananias’ inspired connection between baptism and sins being cleansed. If Saul was saved prior to baptism, it was wrong for Ananias to say that Saul still had sins that needed to be washed away. Ananias did not congratulate Saul because his sins already were washed away, and tell him that he needed to be baptized only as a “badge” or “outward symbol” or “picture” of what had already occurred. He plainly said Saul’s sins yet needed to be washed away. That can be accomplished only by Jesus’ blood in the act of baptism. The water does not cleanse the sin-stained soul—Jesus does. And Ananias clearly states when(not how or by Whom) that occurs. If Saul’s penitent faith would not lead him to submit to water immersion, he could not have had his sins washed away by Jesus. Instead, he would have remained in opposition to Jesus. Remember, Scripture never portrays baptism as symbolic of previous sin removal. The only symbolism ever attached to the act of baptism is its (1) likeness to Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection (Romans 6:3-5); (2) its comparison to the removal of sin like circumcision removes skin (Colossians 2:12); and (3) its likeness to Noah’s emergence from a sinful world (1 Peter 3:20-21). God literally (not symbolically) removes sin and justifies the individual by grace, through faith, at the point of baptism.Objection #12: “If baptism is necessary to salvation, Jesus would have said, “but he who does not believe and is not baptized will be condemned” in Mark 16:16. And besides, the last nine verses of Mark 16 are not included in the oldest and best Greek manuscripts.”The omission of “and is not baptized” in Mark 16:16 is totally logical and necessary. The first phrase (“he who believes and is baptized”) describes man’s complete response necessitated by the preaching of the Gospel: Faith must precede baptism, since obviously one would not submit to baptism if he did not first believe. It is non-essential to ascribe condemnation in the second clause to the individual who is not baptized, since the individual being condemned is the one who does not initially believe. The person who refuses to believe “is condemned already” (John 3:18) and certainly would not be interested in the next item of compliance—baptism. He who does not believe would obviously not be baptized—and even if he would, his failure to first believe disqualifies him from being immersed. Only penitent believers are candidates for baptism. An exact grammatical parallel would be: “He who goes to the store and buys coffee will receive $5.00. He who does not go to the store will be spanked.” Obviously, if the child refuses to go to the store, he would not be in a position to buy coffee, and it would be redundant—even grammatically inappropriate—to include the failure to purchase the coffee in the pronouncement of an impending spanking.The textual evidence supporting the authenticity of Mark 16:9-20 is exceptional in light of the vast sources available for establishing the original text. While it is true that Vaticanus andSinaiticus omit the last 12 verses, it is positively misleading to assume that “the validity of these verses is weak.” In fact, the vast number of witnesses are in favor of the authenticity of verses 9-20. The rejection of Vaticanus is less weighty in light of its comparable exclusion of the Pastoral Epistles, the last part of Hebrews and Revelation. The rejection of Sinaiticus is similarly unconvincing, since it includes some of the Apocryphal books. [NOTE: For a thorough discussion of this matter, see

Miller

, 2005, 25(12):89-95.]Objection #13: “Romans 10:9-10 indicates that all one needs to do is believe and confess Jesus.”The use of eis in Romans 10:10 cannot mean “because of.” Verse nine explicitly says one will be saved “if” he confesses and believes in the heart. Confession and faith are therefore prerequisites to forgiveness. They are God-ordained “responses” to the preached Word (vs. 8) and must occur before salvation is imparted by God. In other words, one’s soul is purified when he obeys the truth (1 Peter 1:22). Jesus provides eternal salvation to those who obey Him (Hebrews 5:9).But is baptism excluded from salvation since only faith and confession are mentioned in Romans 10:9-10? Notice the order of Romans 6:17-18: (1) slaves to sin; (2) person obeys; (3) made free from sin (righteous). Item (3) cannot occur unless item (2) occurs first. The “whole” of man is to reverence God and keep His commands (Ecclesiastes 12:13). To whom does God give the Holy Spirit? To those whom He arbitrarily chooses, without any consideration of the individual’s necessitated response? No. Acts 5:32 says God gives the Holy Spirit to those who obey Him. God has always conditioned the bestowal of spiritual blessing upon prior obedient response (Jeremiah 7:23; Genesis 26:4-5). Deuteronomy 5:10 says God shows mercy to those who love Him and keep His commands.In Romans 10, Paul is not stressing the specific aspects of the conversion process. That is not the context. Rather, the context addresses whether one is acceptable to God in the Christian dispensation due to physical heritage (i.e., race/ethnicity), or whether one is saved when one complies with God’s instruction. Paul was stressing that Jewish nationality could not bring them into God’s favor. Rather, people are saved when they render obedience to the Gospel. He quoted Joel 2:32, where the emphasis is on the word “whosoever” in contrast to “Jews only.” Verse 12 argues that God does not distinguish on the basis of race. The individual’s response to the preached Word is the deciding factor. However, Romans 10 does not reveal all of the details of that obedient response. One must be willing to search out the whole truth on such a subject.If repentance is essential to salvation, one must concede that such teaching must come from some passage other than Romans 10. Does Romans 10:10 mean that repentance is unnecessary, just because it is unmentioned in the text? If not, then why assume baptism to be nonessential simply because it is not mentioned in this particular text? To ascertain the significance of baptism in God’s sight, one must go to passages that discuss that subject, rather than dismiss them in deference to verses on faith. If God says, “faith saves” (Romans 5:1), let us accept that truth. If God says, “baptism saves” (1 Peter 3:21), let us accept that truth, too! Jesus Himself said: belief + baptism = salvation (Mark 16:16), not belief = salvation + baptism.Notice also, Romans 10:10,13 does not say that salvation can be acquired by mere verbal confession (e.g., “I accept Jesus into my heart as my personal Savior”). Why?(1) Nowhere is the statement, “Accept Jesus as your personal Savior,” found in scripture.(2) Jesus forever dashed the idea of salvation by mental acceptance/verbal profession alone in Matthew 7:21 and Luke 6:46, where He showed that oral confession alone is unacceptable. In every age, there have been specified actions of obedience that God has required before He would count individuals as pleasing or acceptable. In fact, if faith is not coupled with the appropriate obedient action (like baptism), then such faith is unable to justify. Such faith is imperfect (James 2:17,20,26) and therefore cannot save!(3) The phrase “call on the name of the Lord” is an idiomatic way to say: “respond with appropriate obedient actions.” It is the figure of speech known as synecdoche (i.e., the part stands for the whole). To “call” on God’s name is equivalent to saying, “Do what He tells you to do.” Isaiah 55:6 tells the Jews of Isaiah’s day to call on God. Verse 7 explains how: (1) forsake wicked ways, (2) forsake wicked thoughts, (3) return to the Lord. To obey these three stipulations constituted “calling on God.”Likewise, those in Jerusalem who “called on the Lord’s name” (Acts 9:14,21) had done so, not by verbal confession, but by repentance and baptism for forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). Similarly, Paul himself became a Christian, that is, he “called on the name of the Lord”—not by verbally confessing Christ—but by being baptized (Acts 22:16). For Paul, “calling on the Lord’s name” was equivalent to (not precedent to) being baptized. Baptism washed his sins away at that moment.

CONCLUSION

Though the bulk of Christendom for centuries have veered off into Calvinism and other post-first century theological thought, the meaning and design of baptism is determined by the New Testament. The verses in the New Testament that speak about baptism are definitive. They indicate that water immersion precedes salvation. No objection may be put forth that overturns this divinely-intended function.

REFERENCES

Lyons, Eric (2004), “Calling on the Name of the Lord,” [On-line], URL:

http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/597

.Miller, Dave (2005), “Is Mark 16:9-20 Inspired?” Reason & Revelation, 25[12]:89-95, December, [On-line], URL:

http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/2780

.

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My Christian Journey

This year (2018) has a been a rollercoaster ride for me; physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. There are too many ups and down that, I couldn’t handle it myself (See my other blog: #DepressionAndAnxiety). I came to Church as often as I can praying and pleading for guidance during my hardships. But after going to Church I feel that something is missing, maybe my faith wasn’t strong as it was before or I became a Sunday Christian without even knowing it. So I started to have my spiritual journey.

Last August 2018 I started to attend CCF - Christ’s Commission Fellowship (August 5 to be exact). I’ve been watching their videos for the previous months especially Pastor Bong Saquing since my colleague/friend Paulo recommended it to me and I learned a lot from it and started to become curious what it’s like feels like to attend CCF. It was my first time to attend a non-Catholic Church, not culturally shookt (yes millennial) but I was welcomed with a smile from everyone; the Ushers, Church-goers, Pastor in CCF - Las Piñas was welcoming. Even though I was alone, I feel that the Holy Spirit is guiding me. The experience was intimate; from the praise songs, the discussion about the Series - Legit, everything hit me in the heart. After the service, I wanted to go to the Welcome Center but there’s no one there and out of my shyness, I decided to leave and get my coffee at my favorite Coffee Shop and re-read every Bible verse that was discussed during the service.

2nd Sunday (August 12) I was not able to attend the Service because I woke up in the afternoon (sarap matulog eh). 😅 But I watched the live broadcast of the Sunday Message Service entitled “By His Power Be His Witness”. Pastor Ricky Sarthou and Pastor Nett Gochuico discussed our purpose: Sharing the Gospel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ivAkBh3hGg&t=5s).

3rd Sunday (August 19) I woke up late again but I checked the schedule of CCF - Bay Area and found out that they have a 3 PM service. I was anxious that I will be late because it’s already 2:20 PM and I was still not able to ride a jeep but luckily through God’s will there was no traffic at the expressway. 😁 CCF - Bay Area was a bigger center, the Ushers, Church-goers, Pastor was welcoming. The Usher (I forgot to get her name so I will call her Tita) greeted me and asked if this was my first time to attend the service, I answered no but I cleared that I already attended CCF at LP. The second question that she asked if I wanted to join a D-Group, I answered yes but I cleared that I was not a member yet and I’m still a Catholic; she answered with a smile and said: “It’s okay, everybody’s welcome here”. 😊 The service that I attended was in Filipino-English, but when the worship song was played I was singing along as if I know the lyrics a long time ago. The topic was a replay of last week but I was still amazed by the story of Pastor Nett. When the service ended, Tita ushered me to the Welcome Center and Bro Caesar welcomed me and shared the gospel with the 4 of us (3 are also new to CCF, sorry I forgot their names).  😅 Bro Caesar shared the good side and bad side of the gospel. I was intrigued by his sharing that I immediately searched for it after attending the service. After searching the internet I found a similar article: God is Just (https://www.allaboutgod.com/god-is-just.htm).

4th Sunday (August 26) I attended CCF’s 34th Anniversary at CCF Center, Pasig. Just a background, I was worried if I can attend anniversary at CCF Center because I don’t have extra money left (Yes, #PetsaDePeligro feels) but I remember that I have collected new 5 peso coins in my coin box. After counting all the 5 peso coins, I decided that I will attend the anniversary at CCF Center. I left our house before 12nn because I might encounter traffic heading north. I rode MRT from Taft to Ortigas, luckily my Beep Card still has P75 load so I have extra money for transportation. 😏 After arriving at Ortigas, I checked if I can ride a jeep going to the CCF Center but the route is away so I rode a taxi. The CCF Center was huge and state of the art and a lot of people waiting for the next service. If my memory serves me well, I think I arrived at 1:30 pm so I took a seat near the Welcome Center. After the 12nn service, I entered the auditorium and seated in the center row (3rd row to be exact). The auditorium was huge, I know that it’s huge watching it from live streaming but in person, it’s much larger than expected. Everyone was busy so I decided to take pictures. As usual practice, 30 minutes before the start of service is Prayer Time. The service started with worship and everything was magical, everything was prepared well. The worship was great, all the songs are like arrows strafe into my heart then the message of Pastor Pastor Peter Tan-Chi was heartwarming. He discusses the “Grow in Christlike Compassion” which is rooted in the bible verse Matthew 28:18-20: “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” also known as “The Great Commission”. And Pastor Peter expounded that our mission is to be a Disciple of Jesus that will make Christ-committed followers. What also struck me is the quote of Pastor Peter: “The greatest tragedy is not death but life for a wrong purpose.” When Pastor Peter asked if someone wanted to promise to his life to follow Lord Jesus Christ, I raised my right hand with confidence. And that day I promised to Lord Jesus that I will surrender my life to follow Him just like a broken vessel, once lost but found, once blind but now I see the amazing grace of Jesus Christ for me. After the service, I patiently waited so that I could personally thank Pastor Bong and Pastor Peter about their impact through my Christian Faith, luckily I was able to take a picture with Pastor Bong but not with Pastor Peter because I was shy to take a picture because my turn was already over.

After the service, I went to the Welcome Center and was welcomed by one of the Ushers (sorry I forgot their names) and joined the group of 2 high school boys that are attending CCF - Elevate. He discussed "What is the Best Decision you've made in your life?" and "The 4 Important Truths that we must know". Truth #1 - God loves you and desires that you have eternal life with Him (John 3:16), have an abundant and meaningful life with Him (John 10:10). Truth #2 - Man has a sin problem that separates him from God; everyone has sinned (Romans 3:23) and the penalty of sin is death (Romans 6:23). He expounded that the Bible talks about Different Kinds of Death; Physical Death (Hebrews 9:27) and Spiritual Death or Eternal Separation from God (Revelation 21:8). He continues with a question “Since sin separates man from God, what is the solution to this problem?”, we answered one by one and he summarised that “We often think that Religion, Good Works, Good Morals are the solution. But there is only one solution from God” which lead to Truth Number 3. Truth #3 - Jesus Christ is God's only way to eternal life. Why? He is the only way (John 14:6), He completely paid the penalty of our sins (1 Peter 3:18), His resurrection proves that He is the Son of God, The Messiah, The Only Living Savior (Romans 1:3-4), He promises eternal life (John 3:36). Truth #4 - We must place our faith in Jesus Christ to save us; we are saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8-9). Based on Ephesian 2:8-9, if salvation can be expressed in a formula: Faith in Jesus + Nothing from us = Salvation. Good works are not the means to salvation, rather they are the evidence of your salvation. We show our faith in Jesus Christ by 1 - Accepting His gift of eternal life. 2 - Turning away from our sins. Surrendering our lives to Him (Romans 6:23, Matthew 16:24). God promised that you can know today that you have eternal life when you trust in Jesus (1 John 5:13). After the discussion he asks us a question “Are you willing to make a decision to trust and follow Jesus as your Lord and Savior” and we responded Yes and prayed in faith. He finally discussed if we have trusted Jesus Christ then the following things have happened to us: Your eternal life with God begins today (John 6:40). All of your sins are paid and forgiven - past, present and future sins (Colossians 1:13-14). You are a new person in God’s eyes, a new life has begun for you (2 Corinthians 5:17). You became a Child of God (John 1:12). And our session was ended with a prayer; I thanked him and my group-mates for the opportunity to share this wonderful experience at the CCF Welcome Center.

As of today, I’m still attending at CCF Bay Area every Sunday and already have my own D-Group with Kuya Glenn, John Rey and hopefully, I can serve through one of its ministry. My life is imperfect and I am not perfect, I still have my struggle until now. But as I grow, in my relationship with Jesus, He gives me the grace to resist and to overcome sin. I know that my discipleship is gonna be a long journey and my transformation is not yet complete but knowing that my entire being is not mine but God’s, my response is to give my all to Him (Yes all, even love life). Galatians 2:20 NIV says “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Hope that somehow you are inspired with my testimony. I am Lucky Salonoy, once lost but now found by Him who redeems, confirms, strengthens, restores and makes things all new. Soli Deo Gloria! ☝🏼

Devotional Hours Within the Bible

by J.R. Miller

The Trial of Peter and John (Acts 4:1-31)

The healing of the lame man made a great stir in the temple. Peter at once began to speak to the wondering people, explaining the miracle. In doing so he told again the story of Jesus Christ, who had been rejected by the rulers and crucified - but whom God had raised up and glorified. Through Him, said Peter, is this man made strong and well. It grieved the rulers that Peter was proclaiming Jesus Christ as the power through which the lame man had been healed, and also as the author of the resurrection.

While Peter was thus speaking, there came a party of priests and Sadducees with a squad of temple police, to arrest the apostles, whom they put in prison over night. This, however, did not check the progress of the gospel. In the very next sentence we read, "But many of those who heard the Word believed." The rulers had cast the apostles into prison - but they could not put chains upon the Holy Spirit. The number of the converts continually increased until the three thousand of the day of Pentecost had become five thousand.

Always opposition has helped God's cause. The storm that sets itself to put out the flames, only fans them into intenser violence. This truth should give great confidence to those who are called to suffer persecution. There is a beatitude for such, "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness' sake - for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

The story of the trial of the apostles vividly recalls the scenes of our Lord's trial, a few weeks before. The place was the same, and we find the same names - Annas and Caiaphas, for example. The rulers imagined that they could compel the apostles to submit to their dictation. How farcical all this appeared to the angels, as they looked down upon it, out of the skies!

Peter was the spokesman, and he spoke well. This is a different man from the old Peter of former days, especially the Peter of the night of Christ's betrayal, when he lacked courage to confess his Lord, and quailed before the taunting words of a girl. Now he stands before the highest tribunal of the nation, and exhibits a courage, which makes the rulers tremble. It was because for the hour of need, the Spirit of God freshly filled him. It was not Peter that spoke - but the Holy Spirit who filled him and spoke in him. The Spirit is for us - as truly as He was for the apostles. He is ready to fill us with His own life whenever we have any work to do, any testimony to offer, or any trial to endure. Let us claim our spiritual birthright.

The rulers implied that the apostles had used some secret are - magic or sorcery in healing the lame man. They had demanded, "By what power, or in what name, have you done this?" intimating that some agency other than divine had wrought the cure. Peter was not angry; he kept his temper and spoke calmly. He used no insulting words. Then he was also tactful. He referred to "a good deed done to an impotent man, by what means this man is made whole." There ought to be no criticism or condemnation of a good deed done to a lame man, restoring him to strength. We condemn people for hurting others, not for helping them.

He then told his judges at once the source of the power which had healed the man. "Be it known unto you all." Christianity has nothing to hide. It has no secret arts by which it accomplishes its great works. It uses no incantation, practices no tricks, does nothing in the dark. It wants the whole world to know just what is the secret of its power. It has nothing to fear from the closest and most critical examination of its methods. This is not the case with the world's religions. They make everything as mysterious as possible. They dare not throw open to the gaze of men, the arts and practices by which they claim to work. One of the proofs of the genuineness of Christianity, is that it challenges the inspection of the world. Its secret power is an open secret. It has nothing to keep back. It never fears to submit to the fullest examination and the severest tests. It possesses an abounding confidence.

Peter then declared boldly that is was "in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised," that the man had been cured. Why did he add the words about the crucifixion of Jesus? Why did he not refrain from using these offensive words, which threw the terrible charge right in their faces? That would have been trimming the truth down to make it less offensive, cutting off the very part that his judges disliked to hear. It would not have been faithful witnessing, for it would not have told his hearers of their sin and guilt, nor would it have proclaimed the power of God in raising Jesus from the dead. In our efforts to be courteous and polite, "wise as serpents," and to avoid giving offense, let us be sure never to keep back any part of the truth.

Peter further declared boldly that this Jesus was the Messiah. "He is the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone." They had rejected Jesus as unsuitable to be their Messiah - but God had made Him the Savior and Lord of the world. In the same way do human and divine estimates differ continually. In the things men admire - God sees no beauty; and in the things which men despise - God beholds the rarest loveliness. He took for the foundation of His heavenly temple, a stone which the human builders thought unfit to be used anywhere in the wall, and He is building the whole temple out of things that men despise, for the saints of the Lord are not those whom this world honors. God is gathering into His Church, those whom earth sets aside, and then its glory in the end will outshine all the splendors of this world.

"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." Peter declared also to the rulers, that there is no possibility of personal salvation in any other but in Jesus Christ. If these men themselves, these rulers, ever reached heaven - it would be by the way of the cross which they themselves had despised. To all rejecters the same is true - if they ever are saved, it must be by the Christ whom they are now despising. There is no other way.

Two facts are unanswerable. One was the effect of Christ upon His friends. They were "unlearned and ignorant men," men who had not had the teaching and training of rabbis and scholars - and yet they were evidently men of great power. "They took knowledge of them - that they had been with Jesus." The marks of Jesus were in their lives. They had been impressed by His influence. They saw it in their very faces. There was something in them which recalled the bearing of Jesus that morning when He was on His trial, and then they remembered that they had seen them with Him at that time. It is a great thing when we make people think of Christ, by the way we bear ourselves. No one can be with Jesus as a companion, a teacher, a friend - and not show it in his life. It was said of Dr. Babcock that "the secret of his wondrous influence among men, was that he made God so attractive. He helped men to fall in love with Jesus Christ."

The other fact which they could not answer, was the man himself. There he stood, healed - how? "Seeing that man who was healed standing with them, they could not say nothing against it." They could not say the man had not been lame - everybody had known him as the beggar of the Beautiful Gate. They could not deny that he had been healed. There was a man who said he had been able to refute every proof offered by the Christian religion, save one - his mother's life. There is no argument in proof of the power of the gospel equal to what the gospel itself has done in the lands into which it has gone. Regenerated men and women were unanswerable proofs of the regenerating power of Jesus Christ.

Your word for today

FOUNDATIONS OF FAITH SERIES #17

BAPTISMS

SIGNIFICANCE OF CHRISTIAN BAPTISM

What is the spiritual significance of Christian baptism ?

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death?

Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death; That like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Rom 6:1-4

When you repent and accept Jesus Christ as Savior, you die to sin and the old life and there is creation of a new life of righteousness lived for God:

Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto

God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey the lusts

thereof...

For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but

under grace.

Rom 6:11,12,14

2 Corin 5: 17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Christian baptism in water is a symbol of the death and resurrection of Jesus.

It symbolizes death to sin as you are immersed in that "grave" of water and resurrection into a new life lived for God in righteousness as you come up out of the water.

The believer who is raised up out of the water to live this new life does not do this in his own power.

The new life is lived by the power of God, the same power that raised Jesus from the grave.

The effect of water baptism depends on the repentance and faith of the one being baptized.

Without this, baptism is of no value, it becomes an empty ritual

True Christian baptism means we are baptized into Jesus Himself, not into a particular church or denomination:

For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Gal 3:27

BAPTISMS: A CONTRAST

Both John's baptism and Christian baptism occur by immersion in water, but there is a difference between the two.

When Paul visited the city of Ephesus he found a group of people who were disciples of John the Baptist.

They had heard John's message of repentance and been baptized, but had heard nothing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ:

Acts 19:1-5

After Paul explained the Gospel, these people accepted it and were baptized again.

This time they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

This example shows that the baptism of John and Christian baptism are different.

John's baptism was no longer accepted after the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Those who had received John's baptism were baptized again in Christian baptism.

John's message prepared the hearts of the people of Israel for the revelation of their

Messiah, Jesus Christ.

By baptism they outwardly confessed repentance of their sins and their belief in the coming Messiah.

After the death and resurrection of Jesus, people were then baptized in the name of the Father, and the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

By doing so they outwardly demonstrated their acceptance of the Gospel message and the fact that it had changed their lives.

Jesus commanded this baptism:

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

Matt 28:19

The difference between Christian baptism and the baptism of John is that Christian

baptism is to be done in the full authority of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

John's baptism could not be done with this same authority.

It was only a baptism of repentance and confession of belief in the coming Messiah.

Christian baptism is a baptism confessing acceptance of the completed redemptive plan of God.

WORDS SPOKEN AT BAPTISM

We have discussed the requirements to be met before baptism and confirmed that it is to be total immersion in water.

One question remains:

What are the words that should be spoken at the time of baptism?

Jesus said to baptize in the name of "the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Many ministers choose to use these exact words when baptizing and this is acceptable according to Scripture.

But it is also acceptable to use just the name of the Lord Jesus.

The Bible records that the disciples did this:

...They were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Acts 8:16

And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.

Acts 10:16

When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Acts 19:5

Note this:

Jesus did not command His disciples to baptize in the names [plural] of the Father, the Son and of the Holy Spirit, but in the "name" [singular] of the persons of the Trinity of God.

The name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit is the name for "Lord Jesus Christ" because...

In Him the whole fullness of deity [the Godhead] continues to dwell in bodily form, giving complete expression of the divine nature.

Col 2:9, AMPL

Scripture teaches we are baptized into Christ:

Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death.

Rom 6:3

There is so much controversy over the words to be spoken at the time of baptism, some claim one wording is right and the other is wrong.

But according to the Scripture baptism "in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ" or in the "Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit" are both acceptable to be spoken at the time of Christian baptism.

There is no conflict between either wording as both refer to the Trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Its been suggested that to be consistent with the Scripture and at the same time bring unity in this area, we use the following wording:

"Upon the basis of the confession of your faith, in the name of God the

Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I baptize you into the Lord Jesus Christ."

PRAYER: "Father thank you for giving me you son Jesus to die for me on the cross he was buried and rose to a new life.

As I'm being baptized I die together with him, I'm buried with him and rise together with him to a new life of righteousness.

I thank you for the new life in Jesus name" Amen

Much blessing

© Pst Brucely Hanya

October 2021 daily word

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