The objection as stated can rightly be called heresy from it being biblically incorrect and not sound teaching. Inherent in the wrong thinking of it is esoteric gnosticism in which parts or all of sound teaching are selectively rejected. Those propagating this point are gnostic heretics who rely on natural theology in combination with their erroneous gnostic peccadilloes. I've met staunch Jews who hold to a similar heresy that only those of a certain ethnicity are qualified to be saved. The doctrines of Mormonism contain yet another similar heresy, propagated by early Mormon leaders, that the pre-existing spirits of black people had sinned in heaven by supporting the rebellion of Lucifer against God [to say it more precisely, these premortal spirits were taught to have been neutral in the war in heaven and/or did not fight as valiantly against Satan] - a viewpoint that regarded them as spiritually unequal, but not necessarily barred from the Mormon concept of heaven.
The objection is dealt with rather well by even just a small group of Bible verses. We know from Romans 5 that as a result of the sin of Adam (and Eve), death, condemnation, and sin spread to all men. Therefore, whatever ethnicity one is born as, they are still born under the condemnation of original sin. All have this, and so all have a "sin" or "wicked" nature. There is not one ethnicity more prone to sin than any other. The doctrine of "total depravity" spells out the human nature is thoroughly corrupt. We know also from Romans 5 that even "as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men" (Romans 5:18). The stipulation there of justification to "all" is covenantal and in regards to those of any race or ethnicity being able to receive the gospel after the ushering in of the new covenant by Christ. Similar verses, such as John 3:16-17 that refer to "the world" being now saved are taken to mean that in the cross-section of the elect who are saved, we will find those from among all nations and ethnicities- whereas the old covenant was expressly, first and foremost, for the Jews, the children of Israel. Likewise, 1 Timothy 2:4 "all persons to be saved" is taken to mean "all sorts of persons." Thus is the gospel message supposed to be preached through the whole world (Mark 16:15).
The biblical evidence that there is not one "strain" that can't be saved for being that strain is abundant. Paul seems to spend a large part of Galatians arguing against thinking like that. "There is [now no distinction in regards to salvation] neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you [who believe] are all one in Christ Jesus [no one can claim a spiritual superiority]. And if you belong to Christ [if you are in Him], then you are Abraham's descendants, and [spiritual] heirs according to [God's] promise" (Galatians 3:28-29 AMP). Throughout the Bible I find precept after precept, verse upon verse, that salvation is through faith, not my fleshly ethnicity or ancestry. There's no need to belabour the point here for the reason that it is heavily promoted in the Bible to begin with.
The idea of some "Nephilim" (defined irrationally by some as "angelic entities" or aliens) being involved with humans is drawn by these heretics (wrongly) from Genesis 6:2 and 6:4. There is no way to prove or assert that the "sons of God" in this passage are angels. It is more likely the fact of the matter that the passage is describing men who were "of God" in their thinking and conduct. As the Keil and and Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament says "But if the title 'sons of God' cannot involve the notion of physical generation, it cannot be restricted to celestial spirits, but is applicable to all beings which bear the image of God, or by virtue of their likeness to God participate in the glory, power, and blessedness of the divine life." The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges says, "There is no trace, however, in the book of Genesis, of any tradition respecting either the fall, or the rebellion, of members of the angel-host." To read into the passage that angels took human women as wives, is reading something into the passage that cannot be reasonably brought out from exegesis. The word "Nephilim" of Genesis 6:4 in the original language simply means "giants." They were "the men who were of old, men of renown" (6:4). It was likely a race of people like the Anakim who were large (Numbers 13:33).
The scriptural evidence, interpreting other scripture with scripture seems to indicate that the verses Genesis 6:2 and 6:4 are talking about men, not angels. Even so, all the progeny described in Genesis 6:1-4 are destroyed and wiped off the face of the earth in the Great Flood in Genesis 7. No doubt my heretic opponents who are "of the devil" will want to say that a wicked (somehow unsavable) strain came through Noah even. While it is correct by sound doctrine that humanity is by nature totally depraved after the Fall of Man, the line and genealogy of Noah is blessed actually for being through Seth, not Cain. While it's possible that God did bless some ancestral lines over others, salvation is not by one's ancestry or ethnicity. Furthermore, the punishment of the Great Flood was a judgment upon humans for their evil (see Genesis 6:5).
Like the other heresies I have written about, the one I have refuted here is especially heinous for trying to bind people's thinking into believing that they can't ever be saved from being from an evil ancestral line. These people have devised machinations of thought by which to send people to hell by eroding their faith through wrong beliefs. There is not one race more wicked by nature than any other, and such an assertion is actually patently racist also. The way to both account for the existence of evil, and to justify equality in the traditional sense, is from the Bible.
Sunday, July 16, 2017
Tuesday, July 4, 2017
I don’t have legalism. That should explain things
Many of you probably noticed that I have referred to secular songs multiple times in my posts. The reason why I can be a professing Christian and listen to and/or refer to secular songs...
ThiS iS hOw wE HAve To coMmuniCAte riGht NOW: I don’t have legalism. That should explain things:
ThiS iS hOw wE HAve To coMmuniCAte riGht NOW: I don’t have legalism. That should explain things:
Friday, April 14, 2017
"The Size of the Universe" is Not an Argument for Atheism
Atheists and unbelievers like to point to the size of the universe as a supposed refutation of the book of Genesis account of creation which centers around the creation of human life. I was blessed to have once heard a lecture by Christian astrophysicist Hugh Ross, in which he explained that scientific facts point to the very opposite conclusion- the universe seems designed to support human life. The universe must be the size that it is (it must have the exact mass that it has) in order for there to be the array of scientific elements that there are, and those elements are needed to support life on Earth. God created the universe as a whole (as well as human life) and designed the universe and the earth specifically to support human life.
I was able to dig up for my readers here some of Dr. Ross's writing on the same subject. http://www.reasons.org/articles/anthropic-principle-a-precise-plan-for-humanity
Dr. Ross did write a complete book on the subject matter, as well, and the book is available on Amazon.com, called Why the Universe Is the Way It Is.
I was able to dig up for my readers here some of Dr. Ross's writing on the same subject. http://www.reasons.org/articles/anthropic-principle-a-precise-plan-for-humanity
Dr. Ross did write a complete book on the subject matter, as well, and the book is available on Amazon.com, called Why the Universe Is the Way It Is.
Thursday, March 23, 2017
Confronting the objection: “What do modern believers have anything to do with Jesus and His promises?”
The
objection as stated has the bias that believers in Christ are somehow removed
from His promises so that they cannot claim them as their own. The perpetrators of the objection would have us to think that Jesus was just some guy who lived centuries ago and in no way can modern "believers" in Him claim any link, relationship, or benefit. The idea must
have its roots in ignorance or a false view Jesus Christ.
The inerrancy, infallibility, and especially
the historical reliability of the Scriptures has to be established. I cannot be
your sole source of information for everything. There are plenty of good
articles on the internet which have that information and good arguments in
favor of inerrancy, infallibility, and historical reliability. Here are two
such articles: http://www.findingtruthmatters.org/articles/inerrancy/
Once those things are understood, then
we’ve established that the gospel books of the New Testament contain the
historically accurate record of the life of Jesus Christ. It is not really
incumbent upon me to prove all that, because having understood what the Bible
is and having tested it for errors yourself, you would come to know its
inerrancy and properties as God’s Word.
From the promises spoken by Jesus as
recorded in the gospel books, we can know as a fact that those who believe in
Him receive his promise of eternal life, among other promises. Here are just two of the quotes that promise eternal
life to those who believe:
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." John 3:16-18
"This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day." John 6:39-40
The specific sins of the specific people that Jesus saves were punished when Jesus died upon the cross. The well-known concept of "expiation" is literally the idea that the sins of those who believe in Jesus are placed on Him on the cross for God to punish and thereby annul. "Expiation" as an idea has it roots in the Old Testament as the concept of atonement in Numbers 8:7, Deuteronomy 32:43, Psalms 65:3, 79:9. Expiation through Jesus is first of all prophesied in Isaiah, declared in the words of John the Baptist, implied in the words of Jesus, and spelled out further in the letters and epistles of Paul and Peter, and in the book of Hebrews.
(in the prophecy of Isaiah): "But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him." Isaiah 53:5-6
(as declared by John the Baptist):
"The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He on behalf of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me." John 1:29
(as declared by Jesus):
"He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." John 3:36
(by Jesus, after His resurrection):
"Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things." Luke 24:45-48
(Paul):
"He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." 2 Corinthians 5:21
"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us- for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree" - in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." Galatians 3:13
(the author of Hebrews):
"so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him." Hebrews 9:28
(Peter):
"and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness, for by His wounds you were healed." 1 Peter 2:24
Jesus's promises are extended to those alive past his first advent (his first bodily time on Earth). They do not only apply to the disciples that were in His immediate presence while He was on Earth. They apply to any believers in Christ shortly thereafter until the present day. The following quotes are from the words of Jesus to support that conclusion. They tend to indicate that following him by being obedient to His words and loving Him place a person in His good grace and love. One would not have to have literally followed him around in bodily form to do that. In John 14 Jesus is explaining how the exact situation is going to work that He is leaving them and "going to the father."
(Jesus):
"He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him." John 14:21
"If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me." John 14:22
"These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you." John 14:25
"You heard that I said to you, 'I go away, and I will come to you.' If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I." John 14:28
"If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full." John 14:10
Jesus gave the disciples in his presence "the great commission," but instructed them to make more disciples in the absence of his bodily earthly presence. That would not be the case if Jesus only wanted the disciples in His immediate presence to believe in Him and receive His promises. The continuing intercession of Jesus from heaven after His ascension is described in the book of Hebrews and 1 John. His continuing role as mediator between God and man is spoken of in Hebrews and in 1 Timothy.
(Jesus): "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the 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." Matthew 28:18-20.
"And He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned." Mark 16:15-16
(the author of Hebrews): "Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them." Hebrews 7:25
(John): "My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world." 1 John 2:1-2
(Paul): "For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." 1 Timothy 2:5
(the author of Hebrews): "But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises." Hebrews 8:6
Thus, the promises for eternal life to those who believe in Christ are clearly stated in the Bible. The Bible is the inerrant and infallible word of God (2 Timothy 3:16, Matthew 15:6). It is clearly indicated throughout the Scriptures that the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross takes away the sins of the world- those who would believe in Him. The literal sins of those specifically who believe in Jesus were placed on Jesus and punished at the cross so that Jesus takes away all of their blame, shame, and guilt. The Scriptures clearly indicate that that and all the other promises given to believers are still valid for those who believe in Jesus even after He ascended to heaven.
While I have focused mainly on the eternal promises for salvation, the initial objection, "what do believers have anything to do with Jesus," also dangerously and incorrectly seeks to nullify the truth of what is currently involved in believers' relationships with Christ while they are still alive on earth- that is to say, the "temporal blessings" that come from Christ. Believers in Jesus are members of "the body of Christ" which is the church (the people that comprise the church) and have an identity in Christ. (Romans 12:4-6, 1 Corinthians 12:12; 12:27). Believers have Christ in them (Romans 8:10). So to say that modern believers have nothing to do with Jesus is totally incorrect.
I have focused first on, and emphasized the salvific/redemptive dimension of all this, but to not do so is to downplay the the severity and consequences of the Fall of Man. "So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness, there resulted justification of life to all men" (Romans 5:18). That is to say, I have tried to give it proportionately the same emphasis as the Scriptures. From Christ to those who believe and are saved comes "every spiritual blessing," even temporally (Ephesian 1:3). The first chapter of the book of Ephesians contains a good explanation of the many blessings and "inheritance" promised to those who can claim "adoption as sons" through Jesus Christ. We have a good savior who cares. He does not redeem us for heaven later just to simply leave us in disregard on Earth. Believers in Christ can claim all the promises of the Scriptures, including being "sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory," (Ephesians 1:13-14), and many other promises.
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." John 3:16-18
"This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day." John 6:39-40
The specific sins of the specific people that Jesus saves were punished when Jesus died upon the cross. The well-known concept of "expiation" is literally the idea that the sins of those who believe in Jesus are placed on Him on the cross for God to punish and thereby annul. "Expiation" as an idea has it roots in the Old Testament as the concept of atonement in Numbers 8:7, Deuteronomy 32:43, Psalms 65:3, 79:9. Expiation through Jesus is first of all prophesied in Isaiah, declared in the words of John the Baptist, implied in the words of Jesus, and spelled out further in the letters and epistles of Paul and Peter, and in the book of Hebrews.
(in the prophecy of Isaiah): "But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him." Isaiah 53:5-6
(as declared by John the Baptist):
"The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He on behalf of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me." John 1:29
(as declared by Jesus):
"He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." John 3:36
(by Jesus, after His resurrection):
"Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things." Luke 24:45-48
(Paul):
"He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." 2 Corinthians 5:21
"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us- for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree" - in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." Galatians 3:13
(the author of Hebrews):
"so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him." Hebrews 9:28
(Peter):
"and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness, for by His wounds you were healed." 1 Peter 2:24
Jesus's promises are extended to those alive past his first advent (his first bodily time on Earth). They do not only apply to the disciples that were in His immediate presence while He was on Earth. They apply to any believers in Christ shortly thereafter until the present day. The following quotes are from the words of Jesus to support that conclusion. They tend to indicate that following him by being obedient to His words and loving Him place a person in His good grace and love. One would not have to have literally followed him around in bodily form to do that. In John 14 Jesus is explaining how the exact situation is going to work that He is leaving them and "going to the father."
(Jesus):
"He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him." John 14:21
"If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me." John 14:22
"These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you." John 14:25
"You heard that I said to you, 'I go away, and I will come to you.' If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I." John 14:28
"If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full." John 14:10
Jesus gave the disciples in his presence "the great commission," but instructed them to make more disciples in the absence of his bodily earthly presence. That would not be the case if Jesus only wanted the disciples in His immediate presence to believe in Him and receive His promises. The continuing intercession of Jesus from heaven after His ascension is described in the book of Hebrews and 1 John. His continuing role as mediator between God and man is spoken of in Hebrews and in 1 Timothy.
(Jesus): "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the 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." Matthew 28:18-20.
"And He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned." Mark 16:15-16
(the author of Hebrews): "Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them." Hebrews 7:25
(John): "My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world." 1 John 2:1-2
(Paul): "For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." 1 Timothy 2:5
(the author of Hebrews): "But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises." Hebrews 8:6
Thus, the promises for eternal life to those who believe in Christ are clearly stated in the Bible. The Bible is the inerrant and infallible word of God (2 Timothy 3:16, Matthew 15:6). It is clearly indicated throughout the Scriptures that the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross takes away the sins of the world- those who would believe in Him. The literal sins of those specifically who believe in Jesus were placed on Jesus and punished at the cross so that Jesus takes away all of their blame, shame, and guilt. The Scriptures clearly indicate that that and all the other promises given to believers are still valid for those who believe in Jesus even after He ascended to heaven.
While I have focused mainly on the eternal promises for salvation, the initial objection, "what do believers have anything to do with Jesus," also dangerously and incorrectly seeks to nullify the truth of what is currently involved in believers' relationships with Christ while they are still alive on earth- that is to say, the "temporal blessings" that come from Christ. Believers in Jesus are members of "the body of Christ" which is the church (the people that comprise the church) and have an identity in Christ. (Romans 12:4-6, 1 Corinthians 12:12; 12:27). Believers have Christ in them (Romans 8:10). So to say that modern believers have nothing to do with Jesus is totally incorrect.
I have focused first on, and emphasized the salvific/redemptive dimension of all this, but to not do so is to downplay the the severity and consequences of the Fall of Man. "So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness, there resulted justification of life to all men" (Romans 5:18). That is to say, I have tried to give it proportionately the same emphasis as the Scriptures. From Christ to those who believe and are saved comes "every spiritual blessing," even temporally (Ephesian 1:3). The first chapter of the book of Ephesians contains a good explanation of the many blessings and "inheritance" promised to those who can claim "adoption as sons" through Jesus Christ. We have a good savior who cares. He does not redeem us for heaven later just to simply leave us in disregard on Earth. Believers in Christ can claim all the promises of the Scriptures, including being "sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory," (Ephesians 1:13-14), and many other promises.
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