This blog is all about bringing information to your ears (and to your mind) that you might never have heard (or understood) before.
If you ever wondered "What is the Bible all about, anyway?", "What's the big deal over it?", or "How can any person dedicate themselves to a religion?" then you will have all those basic questions answered.
Also on this page will be certain perspectives on a few serious problems in the world that people rarely see or get to understand.
(-news2urears)
Whoops, I lied. THIS is the final blog post to cap off everything I've typed. :)
Look around the internet and you'll find all kinds of examples of people hating on Christians. My anonymous internet response to those people would be this: "You've got a negative perception of them, but look into the Bible itself. It contains the greatest example of love; and it's not a touchy-feely or flimsy example, either, if that's what you think that statement means. If you say you've studied it, can you tell me what the gospel is? What the terms mercy and grace mean? Stop having preconceived notions."
Read my post dealing with preconceived notions & hypocrisy.
Well, it's not exactly the #1 example of love anywhere in the world... If there was a positive integer before 1, the Bible would be THAT number of an example of love. So, if it's true, the gospel is simply the most wonderful news ever.
If I haven't been changed by the God of the Gospel, then all of my video gathering and information posting is just rooted in a cerebral pursuit and humanism: theology, Hebrew history, and the continuity of the Bible being genuinely interesting to me and fun to learn about, and then spreading the gospel online just in case it is true. Like I said, that's more of a humanitarian/humanist motivation than one of worship and obedience, the main drive for spreading the Gospel.
On the other hand, if I just happen to be such a new-born spiritually that I don't have assurance about the truth yet, then my online Good News spreading is something being caused by the spirit of God inside me.
If the first is true and the Bible is true, then that's more confirmation that God will even use the mouth of a donkey. But if the first is true and the Bible isn't true, then more people will just have the hugest example of sacrificial love as something to follow and learn from. (But if there is no theistic God then why would feelings and actions, such as love and sacrifice, logically matter at all? What's the grounding? See my post below dealing with the deistic god and Ravi Zacharias' lectures on worldviews, morality, and the origin of human worth.)
_____
Getting a full understanding of the Gospel out there would hopefully get rid of most of what I like to call "unicorn objections." Those are objections people make to the Bible's validity that are easily debunked. Like the fact that the Bible mentions unicorns. That's only because of English translation in the 1600s; the ancient Hebrews were writing about rhinos or some other creature and had no idea about the mythical European one-horned horse (source). Another example is when people pull out verses without the cultural, spiritual, and/or textual context:
"Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." Matt. 10:34
Look at the rest of the passage; immediately afterwards, Jesus continues:
"For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law..."
speaking about the persecution of believers – not the advocation of slaughtering unbelievers, which would be murder. Elsewhere, he says "Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. You will be hated by all because of My name..." And don't forget "Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword will perish by the sword."
The Bible wasn't written in verses! Those were added for easy reference. That little piece of information should also help out all those heath & wealth preachers. (Speaking of those verse-twisting televangelist teachings, probably about 80% of TBN's content is anti-Bible or non-Christian: www.bit.ly/love-truth).
With all of that said, there are even some really good and sound answers to the hard questions. Check out the quote from James MacDonald in my "Skepticism" post and John Dickson's lecture on Theocratic Judgement and other violence in the Old Testament. (Scattered in various nations and under various governments, Christians have no authority to carry out any form of sentencing – they are to be simply Gospel preachers and walking descriptions of the beatitudes.)
So, let me end with a couple of GREAT Gospel-themed videos and an encouragement to study everything I posted. Be sure to double-check, triple-check, and centuple-check my stuff for accuracy using quality sources.
"Crucifixion" by Nikolai Ge -public domain For many, this would lead to death by asphyxiation. According to the video above, it was more than just physical in this case.
All your children (you're married/with kids in this scenario) – who you actually like – and your spouse – who's not too bad either – were shot dead in your living room.
As you open the door you see the guy starting to cut up their bodies. Your jaw and grocery bags hit the floor and police rush in from behind you to arrest the murderer.
As they're exiting the room you say "Wait!" and have them uncuff the criminal, cuff you, and bring you to prison in the back of the cop car. Then you sit in the electric chair and are waiting to be shocked to death.
P.S. A little information is left in the public Google Doc that I didn't carry over into this blog. (This blog is an expansion of what I typed there.) It includes stuff on Manuscript Veracity and a hand-full of really good links (articles and podcasts).
The field of Textual Criticism helps get to the
original writings and the original claims of the writers.
P.P.S. This should be my final blog post. Dig in to all the linked and embedded information. Enjoy!
The conclusion of all my studying:
The only worldviews that I see as tenable are the Biblical one and Deism.
In my mind, the only way Deism could make sense is if its god is free of moral attributes (is neither good or bad) and just fabricated feelings of morality as a novelty to install in humankind. In that case, although you might not prefer murder to happen you can't logically say it's bad or wrong for someone to do it. You can't if there's no absolute standard.*
How can you account for the reasonability of any of YOUR moral pronouncements without an objective standard? With moral relativity there can only be preferences – no real right & no real wrong. But you know that’s not right. There are moral absolutes. What is their source?
In the Biblical worldview, our sense of morality comes from God. That's the origin. "Being in God's image" means we naturally have some of God's character (although it's twisted by sin). And that would be why we have court systems.
As humans we make moral pronouncements and place value on humanity and the idea of non-violence. Although societies do just carry things on, where did all of these values begin in the first place? The God presented by the Bible (or the God who presents Itself to people nowadays primarily through the Bible) would say that the source of all our different individual and imperfect moralities is a real objective and absolute standard. We all just inherently recognize and then borrow from that ultimate standard – altering it to fit ourselves. Making deviations in certain points. If you're still siding with moral relativity, why is it that you criticize anything? We've got consciences. And Justice can't be just an illusion, right?
As an aside, Genesis 1-11 doesn't weaken the tenability of the Biblical worldview. In my mind, that alone does not shatter everything with a single, crushing blow. Here's why. There are basically two groups of people who say they've been actually changed by the gospel: those who believe those first few chapters are figuratively/spiritually true and those who believe it is literally/historically true – the former group saying that most people aren't reading it the way the author intended (more on that throughout this episode of Stand to Reason), and the latter group saying that many scientists are getting the science wrong. Other theories exist in-between those two. (Have all the scientific questions been answered? Here are John MacArthur and Stephen Meyer on unanswered questions.)
And regarding miracles: wouldn't the Power that created matter and organized all life and existence be able to interfere with the natural order of things?
Regardless of your amount or lack of study, the root cause of your objections to the Bible might be that you don't want moral accountability (being held responsible for certain things you've done). An emotional reaction and not an intellectual argument.
Another edit/addition:
Deism and Theism are the only tenable options, as long as it's a logical form of it. Just listen to some of Dr. Ravi Zacharias' lectures. :)
My paraphrase: "No matter how much you section down physical reality, you find a quantity that doesn't account for its own origin." No object is self-existent. Its cause is OUTSIDE of itself. (See the Kalam Cosmological Argument.) There's one other argument I've seen that seems to reveal a high probability of a Creator (which shows that faith in a deity may be entirely reasonable and not a totally blind step): There can't be an infinite regression of time or else we would have never reached this current moment right now. So time had a beginning.
To illustrate: If you have an infinite number of black dominoes before a white domino – each falling, one after the other – the white one will never fall.And for there to be something existing in time there had to be a First Cause that's outside the bounds, or "dimension," of time.
And if something timeless can't be bounded by the spacial restrictions we live with, this first cause has to be immaterial and omnipresent. In addition to all this, some people put forward good arguments that DNA must have its origin in intelligence – not an unguided process.
"Well then who created God?" From a human perspective, everything MUST have a beginning. That's just logical to us since we have to deal with causes, effects, and time everyday. But for there to be any effect (time, matter, the universe) there had to be a cause. One that's timeless (eternal) and self-existent without being an effect of something, itself.
One might say, "The universe happened by chance."
But let me show ya somethin':
Flip a coin and see the result. Is it heads or tails? Okay.
What was the chance that it came out the way it did?
50%
Here's a question: How much influence did chance have on the outcome of the coin toss? Read that again. Chance didn't exert any power on the coin. Chance isn't a force. It doesn't DO things.
Rather, the flick of a thumb and physics cause the result. The proper definition of the word "chance" is just simply the probability of an effect occurring.
"Chance is only our ignorance of real causes."
— David Hume
Preemies have rights. And that makes sense.
If the parents go broke and can no longer pay the ICU bills to support their child, they aren't allowed to pull the plug. But if that kid didn't arrive early, the parents would be allowed to have them dismembered.
Premature - 23 weeks gestation
FYI, I won't post anything graphic on this blog – if you know what I mean. But I don't want to pretend those bio-hazard bags are swinging full of chocolates and cotton candy, either. Viewer Discretion is not necessary:
Madeline Mann (in the picture) shortly after her premature birth weighing 9.9 ounces. She is now an honors student in psychology at Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill.
People like Gianna Jessen, saline abortion survivor, and Abby Johnson, former Planned Parenthood affiliate employee of the year and current pro-life laborer, care about all the people involved. Them and many other pro-lifers. They aren't "only pro-birth" (ignoring the needs of kids afterwards), and they aren't anti-women.
You can find hypocrites on both sides of the issue, but these specific people I'm talking about stand outside abortion clinics and talk with the people about to go in – and actually "love on them." There's concern for the parent, too! Find out about all the organizations giving monetary help, emotional support, shelter, and other love-centered sacrifices to those with emergency/unexpected pregnancies.
This is about a life and death debate – not politics. And this isn't a religious belief issue, either. There are Catholics, Christians, Atheists, Agnostics, Hindus, Humanists, Feminists, Non-feminists, and all other kinds of people working in the pro-life movement. The question is this: What is the unborn? If there is humanity/personhood/value in the living, functioning organism there in the womb, then that's big. If there isn't, then go crazy – let people have all the abortions they want. But if there is uncertainty, shouldn't that at least be enough reason to pause?
Someone might say, "What if a woman doesn't want to put a child through the horror of a terrible life?" That is a wonderful concern to have. But isn't an abortion also gonna be a horror? And even without pain, is the action of the abortionist justifiable?
Info and Quotes from Abort73.com
Facts and information that is not provided in the abortion clinic:
"You care about me, right?" - an open letter to pro-choice people by Lindsay: http://www.abort73.com/help/you_care_about_me_right/
^ Text from the site: Lindsay graduated from Northern Illinois University in 2004 with a degree in Visual Communications. She currently works as an artist & designer in Rockford, IL. This is her abortion story
http://www.optionline.org/get-help
^ Text from the site: If you are wondering whether or not you’re pregnant, your mind is probably racing with questions. It’s common to feel confused, scared or overwhelmed. Option Line live chat is available any time, day or night. We offer free, confidential help, information about pregnancy signs and symptoms, information on all your options, and we can quickly connect you to the local assistance you need
Faye Wattleton, the longest reigning president of Planned Parenthood, in 1997:
I think we have deluded ourselves into believing that people don't know that abortion is killing. So any pretense that abortion is not killing is a signal of our ambivalence, a signal that we cannot say yes, it kills a fetus.
Ann Furedi, the chief executive of the largest independent abortion provider in the UK:
We can accept that the embryo is a living thing in the fact that it has a beating heart, that it has its own genetic system within it. It’s clearly human in the sense that it’s not a gerbil, and we can recognize that it is human life… the point is not when does human life begin, but when does it really begin to matter?
Naomi Wolf, pro-choice author:
Clinging to a rhetoric about abortion in which there is no life and no death, we entangle our beliefs in a series of self-delusions, fibs and evasions. And we risk becoming precisely what our critics charge us with being: callous, selfish and casually destructive men and women who share a cheapened view of human life...we need to contextualize the fight to defend abortion rights within a moral framework that admits that the death of a fetus is a real death.
Conclusion:
Listen to the compassionate (not hateful) yet professional debaters who happen to be on the "life" side of the fence, if you never have before. They're not brainless, condemnatory people as all pro-lifers are sometimes portrayed. They actually sound like pro-choicers sometimes – when they're talking on certain topics and making their way through certain logical arguments: "Life Report" Fan playlist ~ videos/podcasts
I currently subscribe to this notion: Just as teenagers, preteens, young kids, and newborns are developing human beings, embryos and fetuses are developing human beings. Fetuses and embryos aren't somatic cells like skin cells, but a full organism. An organism with functioning cells at that. Therefore it's living, but is it human? It has human DNA. But is it a person? That's where the real debate is.* And if it actually is a person, does a woman still have the right to withdraw "life support," so to speak, from a pre-born person – as they would if they were hooked up to a person in a hospital who is without kidneys? That's where the other debate is at.
Check out that Life Report show, where some 20- and 30-somethings talk about these serious topics while still remaining the fun and quirky people they are off camera; they aren't one-track robots. There is a polite (not just "civil") debate going on between some pro-choicers and some pro-lifers, and these people are involved in that arena outside of the studio.
Just because there are different opinions about something doesn't mean there can't be a correct answer. Not necessarily. Gray areas exist with certain things, but most likely not with this. People can be real without holding back, staying silent or attacking each other. So go ahead and dialogue with people. True tolerance is holding to your convictions while being able to respect the person who strongly differs with you. Good conversations can happen only in an environment of real tolerance. (Usually tolerance is talked about these days as giving up your position for the sake of peace – meeting in the middle. But that's not accurate.)
The terms "prolife" and "prochoice" are both loaded when used by the opposite sides. I get what both labels mean, as the proponents define them: person-hood rights and women's freedom. They DO NOT mean "anti-women bigots" and "baby-killers."
Whatever the truth is, the goal is justice. I'm sure every single person can agree on that. :) Women's freedom or Right to Life – justice would be upholding whichever cause is valid. Study the information out there and don't just have an emotional reaction. Emotions are natural, but just make sure your emotions are informed.
THE END
Here's a small article one of the Life Report hosts typed. First inform yourself with the first few videos of the playlist (at least 10 of 'em) and get a good review from the stats and arguments presented in text here.
And if you can handle a sad story (which is just linked here as food for thought), read this.
* I wrote a little bit more about all this in my "About Me" on Facebook.
If you've never studied a book of the Bible such as Romans or Hebrews, or studied the smallest bit of systematic-theology, then you probably have a preconceived notion of Christianity.* A version of it in your mind which you are either rejecting or just aren't that fond of. If that describes you, then the interesting thing is that the God of the Bible also rejects it. God's right along with you on that one. Learn what the real thing is.**
Watch a portrayal of Jesus teaching against hypocrisy: Jewish Humor
So Christianity-rejecters are right when they point out that hypocrisy is a sin. But if you feel like you're superior to a hypocrite (whether they are a real christian or not), aren't you being self-righteous?
And here's an interesting question: Would you take a bullet for a self-righteous person?
In the Bible, imputation is the opposite of self-righteousness. Once someone's really a Christian they will live a life of obedience and desire to sin less. But they're not doing that do look good to people or to God; God gets all the credit for saving them. (See the second footnote to get what that means.)
* It's really easy to slide into that – even for people who grow up in religious environments for years (that was me, kind of). And it's especially easy to stay in that mindset if you've seen crazy things like this and this on TV.
[See my previous posts to learn what the "gospel message" (good news message) is.]
The books known as Gospels were written by some of Jesus' twelve closest disciples (Latin word for "students") and/or their associates. Luke may have been the only Gentile among the Bible authors – but he was a doctor, so who knows? [ Joke by David Brickner ]
I take it Luke and the other associates conducted a lot of interviews. If you do the same sort of thing today, it is obvious that the truth can be seen and conveyed through many different perspectives. That's observable in news reporting and court testimony: even if all the people have the right facts, it won't come out identically the same through everyone's mouth.
Let's do an Activity! Well, I've actually done it already, but I'll give you all the tools to do it yourself:
A Link to download the four resurrection accounts -- here
A Printer and scissors -- umm...supply those yourself
I've formatted the resurrection accounts in a Word document table in such a way that you can cut out each verse and rearrange them at your will.
After you go about it for some time on your own, you can check out my outcome / solution.
Another edit/addition:
I just got the book One Perfect Life by John MacArthur. The whole thing is basically this sort of "activity" that we just did – but with a lot more of the New Testament. Fitting verses and passages together to make a single narrative layout, it's totally clear that the resurrection accounts work together. You can clearly see that Mary of Magdala first came to the tomb alone when it was still dark and the other women arrived with their spices when the sun was up. And some point after "Mary M." came back to the tomb with Peter and John (and met Jesus), they all met up on the way back to the eleven.
We've seen that the record isn't contradictory – but did any of it really happen?
Listen to Dr. William Craig talk about Evidence for the Resurrection.
The desert-dwelling, tent-living, sheep-herding, camel trading, and market place visiting of Bible people shouldn't conjure up a storybook/fairytale feeling in our mind when seeing movies and other artistic representations of Bible passages. People live like that nowadays, too, all over the world! It's their daily life – just set in a different environment from ours with its own system of habitation & business.
And also, people in or near those types of settings in ancient times had economies to deal with, studied things like astronomy, put together armies, and constructed great architecture.
Dry, emotionless, or Shakespearean-like readings don't help either. These movies (as well as the highly dramaticized "The Prince of Egypt" and this live-action Moses film) help put the humanity back in focus. And of course, making sense of the Bible greatly helps solidify seemingly nebulous passages/scenes; read more and study the main point – the "gospel message."
I wonder if any of you knew that the average life expectancy of a porn star is 37 and a half years. Abandon knee-jerk reactions and look into the facts with an unbiased outlook.
Every day when I look in the mirror, I see someone who is not a prude. And while I haven't seen in-depth documentation on that one bold factoid above, there are a lot of claims that are fully backed up at Porn Harms Research *sigh...* especially about the effects on the other side of the screen; I know firsthand about a lot of what this guy is saying:
When it comes to violence against women, the products of the porn industry are not helping women at all. I don't want the compulsive porn user to be free of blame, but everyone involved needs to take responsibility.
While I'm sort of on the topic, I'll jot down some of the "textbook information" I've learned regarding sexuality in general in relation to the main topic of this whole blog:
First off, I'll mention that there is no problem with sex. So some Christians and nominal christians should stop having an issue with sex. The problem is perversion. Even if there wasn't large amounts of abuse and horror in the porn industry (which there is— a good reason to stop watching/supporting) there would still be something wrong with watching other people's recorded escapades.
According to the the God of the Bible, sex is good. Sexuality is good. But when we play around with it and twist it, that's wrong. At the root it's supposed to be an act of love – not pleasure – between people who have already promised to actually love and serve each other for life. They are already committed, so neither one of them has to worry about waking up the next morning and finding out it was just a one-night stand. Also, if there's no covenant bound in real/unsentimental love, tightly bound hearts are violently ripped apart during break-ups if a couple has been "doing it" at the wrong time.
Sex is about closeness physically and emotionally, and pleasure is supposed to be a part of it. (And since babies can come from it, that's gotta be the basic biological family unit – the general foundation structure for raising new people.) But it's key to have that actual love and commitment known for sure before anything serious is done.
As a side note, author and pastor John Piper makes an interesting statement about sex: God created sex so that people would have the ability to understand what intimacy with Him must be like.
~The professionals in this video here mention some of this stuff from a purely sociological perspective:
[If this is the first post of mine you came to, it's a good one to start with. Be to check out and learn from the others as well. Looking up all the references below gives you the gospel and the fair reason for judgement.] If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 1 John 1:8
Do you pass the test? Exodus 20*, Matthew 5:21-22, Matthew 5:27-28, Romans 1:28-32, Romans 2-3 ( see the text here )
It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the Judgment. Hebrews 9:27b ...all have sinned and fall short of the glory/reputation of God... Romans 3:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through ChristJesus our Lord (Mashiach Yeshua our Master). Romans 6:23
Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. I, even I, am the LORD, and there is no savior besides Me.Isaiah 43:10a-11 I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Ezekiel 33:11b Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. Hebrews 9:22b
Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: "I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me.” Isaiah 44:6 I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. Isaiah 46:10a Jesus said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms." Luke 24:44
Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 1 Corinthians 5:7
"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow." Isaiah 1:18a(about Israel in context, yet can apply to all) 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. John 3:16
Exodus 12 THE PASSOVER LAMB
And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send [it] away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness. Leviticus 16:21-22
The next day [John the Baptizer] saw Jesus coming to him andsaid, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" John 1:29
It pleased the LORD to crush him. He has caused him to suffer. If he would make himself an offering for sin, he will see His seed; He will prolong His days, and the pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. Isaiah 53:10
For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate. So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come. Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. Hebrews 13:11-15
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,not a result of works, so that no one may boast.For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10 (Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:16)
For we maintain that a person is justified (declared innocent) by faith apart from works of the Law. Romans 3:28
He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration...through Jesus Christ our Savior. Titus 3:5-6
[Jesus speaking] He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me... He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. John 14:21a, 24a
The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 1 John 2:4
...but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear thesins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him. Hebrews 9:26b-28
Re: John 3:16
So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived. Numbers 21:9
"As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 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..." John 3:14-18a
[ also translated] ...God loved the world in this way: He gave His One Unique Son, so that everyone who trusts in Him will not perish but have eternal life.
[The disciples praying] For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holyservant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur. Acts 4:27-28
[Peter preaching] ...delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. Acts 2:23-24
[Saul/Paul preaching] Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through this man is proclaimed to you remission/forgiveness of sins, and through Him everyone who believes/trusts is justified from all things... Acts 13:38-39a
Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins/misses the mark. Ecclesiastes 7:20
For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God...
1 Peter 3:18a
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name. John 1:12
...they refused to love the truth that would save them. 2 Thessalonians 2:10b
"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." Mark 1:15
[ also translated ]
“The time has come, God’s Kingdom is near! Turn to God from your sins and believe the Good News!” Mark 1:15
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her. Ephesians 5:25
A woman came to [Jesus] with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume, and she poured it on His head as He reclined at the table..."When she poured this perfume on My body, she did it to prepare Me for burial. Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her." Matthew 26:7,12-13
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Romans 5:1-10
Theophany/Incarnation texts:
God is not a man, lest He lie. Numbers 23:19a
God is spirit. John 4:24a
...A spirit does not have flesh and bones... Luke 24:39b
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1 And the Word became flesh, anddwelt among us... John 1:14 Jesus said to them,"...for I came out (emanated) and have come from God..." John 8:42
"...You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews..." John 4:22
"God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." John 4:24
[ also translated ]
"God is Spirit, and only by the power of his Spirit can people worship him as he really is."
John 4:24
Now do some leg work (or see the summary below first):
Matthew 27:50-51 with Hebrews 10:19-22 Isaiah 49, 52, 53, Romans 3, and Romans 4 (whole chapters)
Jeremiah 31:31-34 with Matthew 26:28 & Mark 14:24 & Hebrews 10:29
Ephesians 2:11-13 with Romans 11:17-18
1 Corinthians 15, Luke 10, Isaiah 43:10 Ezekiel 33, Daniel 9:26, John 1:10-12
Put simply: we broke the law and Jesus paid our fine. A good judge can't look the other way or accept any bribes; a full dispensing of justice is the only acceptable thing. Jesus took our punishment in our place. That's what "He died for our sins" means. I never understood that nebulous phrase until 3 years ago, when I heard the gospel explained. Previously I had assumed that the Bible either said it doesn't matter what you believe – you're good enough already (which is self-righteousness) – or that someone has to be worthy or good enough to "enter heaven" by obeying commandments. There's also the idea of someone's goodness and badness being weighed out on the two sides of a balance scale regardless of any faith or lack of faith they had in life. We don't do that in court (set robbers free because they happen to also give to charity), so how could the highest court do that?
With a Being that never sins, deception and lies have to look as bad to It as murder looks to us. Only that Being can execute judgements, and all those judgements are fair. He offers to take the bullet: Jesus can take the punishment for you; God's wrath poured out on Him. His substitutionary sacrifice satisfies God's justice and makes way for mercy.
Grace is unmerited favor; that word refers to God's mercy through forgiveness. Along with that forgiveness comes a transformation resulting in a person no longer wanting to stay in sin; they actually want to obey God. And they're given the ability to battle with their sins on a daily basis, knowing that they already have God's love and full forgiveness. (See this article – obedience isn't about earning favor).
You can look at an elevator and think it'll take you to the top floor – but nothing will happen until you step in and trust yourself to it. And a truly changed nature comes with being truly saved: hating sin (what you once loved to do) & having the enablement and overarching desire to do what's right. Perfection isn't in view here, but moving in that direction is. Diving into sin and swimming there is different from losing balance, falling in, and always turning back to the ladder. That joyful obedience stems from gratitude – the gratitude from having been rescued – and not from anything else.
By the way, just repenting doesn't do anything because it doesn't take care of justice. Without the first Pesach, Israel's history would have been pretty short! Just as those Israelites were physically delivered from death and from bondage through faith in God's provision and promise, many were spiritually delivered the same way – through faith in the covenant. (Romans 4)
*Exodus 20 Explanations & Some Tidbits
The "Ten Commandments" or Ten Words are a summary of God's law/instructions.
Included in those ten statements is a summary of God's moral standard (something which most people have a basic sense of in their conscience – see my "Worldviews" post). The rest of the Torah shows the full standard of "goodness" for all people along with the rest of the laws – sacrificial and governmental rules for God's chosen nation. Jesus takes all the guilt as the temple system foreshadowed, gathers people from various nations from the starting point of Israel, and enables His people to actually walk in true "goodness", which brings real joy.
On Jealousy: If something rightfully belongs to you and you alone (and cannot be shared), you should be jealous over it when it's not in your possession. Spouses belong to each other; and if one of them was caught cheating, the other one would rightly feel both anger and jealousy. ("I am a jealous God...") Only YHWH was worthy of Israel's admiration – not pieces of wood or metal which didn't rescue or create them. It is in the context of wanting what's not yours that jealousy is bad.
On Slavery: First off, it was an invention of man only allowed by God insofar as it was voluntary servitude (for survival – food and housing), in a POW/inmate sort of situation, or for paying off debt. Kidnapping, cruelty, and unwarranted beating were always forbidden. http://bible.cc/exodus/21-16.htm
(Speaking of different people having different roles, what's the problem with that? In order for an office environment to function, the manager has to do the job of the manager, the people in sales need to be working the sales calls, and the janitors – well let's just say the whole world would be a worse place to live in without them. And you wouldn't be happy if someone hired for front counter service spent all their time working in a cubicle away from the customers. The creation and assignment of different roles is not the same as advocating an upstairs-downstairs divide – a Downton Abbey-esque superiority and stigma.
Cultures develop that on their own, and wrongly.)
On the Iniquity of the Fathers: Everyone is accountable for their own sin only, and not for anyone else's. But sin can have horrible consequences here and now that ruin things for multiple people – not just for the one who committed the sin (source). On a slightly related note, no one deserves good things; one Christian radio host said once that he deserves to die in a hurricane. Yet so many of us get unspeakable pleasures in life: the ability to taste good food...pick your favorite thing. And look at the cross. (Romans 2:4)
On Pronouns: There’s no gender with God but we gotta use some sort of personal pronoun rather than the word “it”. I'd just go crazy if we didn't. Plus "it" carries the idea of something inanimate. The majority of pronouns used for God in the Bible are masculine, and that’s probably to get the idea of “His” power across to our human minds – since men are the biologically stockier of the two genders.
Look into this information. Don't think "religion" but rather "truth claims." I think that labels, such as "Christianity," can sometimes be limiting. One single word doesn't do justice as to what it indicates: the massive body of information behind it. It's actually a very Jewish thing to be a Christian. And that label itself is just as limiting: it's not about a culture at the very center, but rather about a being – God Himself – and what it means to have overwhelming peace with God.
