I'm just a 20 year old west coast kid trying to live life.
One of the most spontaneous things I've ever done was start three YouTube channels and a blog all for the purposes of "promoting education." This preceded each case: while surfing the net I just happened to come across one video, one article, or one podcast; the info fascinated or affected me in some way; and after looking deeper into it, I eventually wanted to spread the knowledge on a large scale through the internet somehow.
It all started back in 2008. I had just started my love affair with YouTube. The amount of original comedy and nostalgia you can look up there was just amazing to me. And then I came across a speech...
I had been learning about a lot of things that happen "behind-the scenes" in the porn industry (real-life horror stories) and just felt the responsibility to spread that information. No pats on the back – it just needs to be done.
A little while later, my web browsing led me to some interesting facts about the Bible: ancient Hebrew culture and practices, theology, the full timeline of things, etc. And eventually, after I understood the main point of it all, I knew that it made sense morally.* After a bunch of in-depth studying I put together a big video playlist as well as this blog to document what I learned. It's sort of like a big pin-board for other people to see the stuff I've seen. A notepad for recording thoughts that I don't want to forget – and you get to look on.
All of this just started by accident, but the pursuit of trying to promote non-hypocritical/serious care through Flagger02NMP and continuing the awesome cerebral pursuit that comes with News2urEars are both simply amazing.**
Before there was a playlist of about 170 videos on News2urEars – and long before there was even the idea of utilizing a blog – there was a tiny Google Document. One put on public view. As I read and watched and listened to more and more media, I kept adding text and links to the Doc until the idea hatched that organizing the info to a better degree might be a good idea. Plus, how many times do Internet perusers read off of other people's Google Docs? Blogs are the way to go.
Most of the info from the Google Doc has been taken and expanded in different blog posts here by subject, but I thought it would be a good thing to paste that monolith of text and links*** right here on blogspot – just because some info never migrated over. So here we go! Have fun. :)
-Robby
(Fuller Bio, Facebook)
* Forgiveness in the Bible is never unjust – justice is satisfied. And it isn't immoral – forgiven people hate sinning. I don't know if I'm a believer, but it's fascinating getting immersed in these subjects!
** 1st issue | 2nd issue | 3rd issue
All of these issues are slightly touched upon in this speech I heard a couple months ago.
And the first one is illustrated very well here @22:50 through 28:13. I know the experience.
*** The links are on their own page as well, situated under the the Cool Links tab. You'll enjoy looking through them!
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What is it all about? by News2urEars - Written Fall 2012 (Edited Jan. 2014)
I heard about God, Jesus, and the Bible for almost 20 years and THOUGHT I knew what it was all about.
I DIDN'T.
I never looked into the information, but assumed I already knew.
But this is either the most valuable information you can ever hear, or knowing it will just help you to understand people (by actually understanding what they believe). No longer will you scratch your head saying "What's the Big Deal Anyway?" or "How could someone dedicate their life to a religion?"
The playlisted videos here will teach you what the Bible says its premise or Main Point is. If this information is as valuable as it claims to be, you owe it to yourself and your loved ones (friends, family) to look into it. It will put you on the start of a path of research:
Go ahead and view the videos in the playlist. If you want a text summary of the same information, continue reading this Document or the blog that it evolved into. The speeches, lectures, and sermons here hold a terrific summary, too:
And all of these: Grafted In - Passover | Existence* | Lecture 2 pt.1 and pt. 2 | Apologetics | Paradox vs. Contradiction | Follow the Logic | "Saved"? | A Wretch - Like Me | More Passover | Gentiles? | Hucksters (with slides) - pt. 2a | Usurping
First off, I’ll tell you that I'm not claiming to be a believer. I am just claiming that I’ve come across and researched the accurate information regarding what true believers believe.
What’s called the Bible is a collection of books* comprehensively structured around one point. If you ever wondered what the big deal around it was, read to the end here and you’ll understand. So many people claim to be Christians or claim that they know the truth and it’s somewhat connected to the Bible. But if either of those groups of people reject the Gospel, aren’t changed, and/or don’t have the Bible as an authority in their life, then their claims fall flat.
The chief thing is the Gospel: the main point of the Bible. This good-news-message is presented in such a way through the text of the Bible that all “Jesus-based religions” (or “semi-Christian” groups) can be recognized as having a “different gospel” or no gospel at all. But having the correct main premise is the most important thing.
If there is a “good news message” that claims to be true and give life, what is it? Do we have the original words of the Bible or have they been changed over time? Has the original premise been lost or preserved through time? Well, look into the Dead Sea Scrolls. They are the 2100 year old manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible in the original language! And both believers and unbelievers say that the books of the New Testament are the most reliable ancient texts ever. Those would be the people in the field of textual criticism. This scientific study of historical documents demonstrates that the Bible never went through redactions and revisions. With all the data those researchers have, it's silly to compare the Bible to a game of telephone. The New Covenant/New Testament books were written in Greek, and in the modern day you can find Greek New Testaments being published by manuscript experts. We still have the words in the original languages in which they were penned. I have yet to look very deeply into any of this, but you can check out whatever info’s available online for yourself. So for the time being, just find yourself a reputable modern English translation.
So things haven’t been “translated and retranslated until the original words and meanings were changed and lost.” No. The original writings have not been compromised. We still have the original claims, the very words of the authors, and one single Gospel to appraise.
Throw out false gospels once you notice they don’t match with the Bible’s gospel. If any gospel can be true, only the original one can stand (or fall). And any truth-claim with a chance must be internally consistent and logical (tenable).
The people passing on information through the videos I playlisted are human, so they are prone to error. They might make doctrinal mistakes. But no matter – eat the meat and spit out the bones. You should double check anything you hear and read, anyway. Those errors in and of themselves don't demolish any of the correct information they're trying to pass on, though, like the Gospel.
Okay, so what is this "Gospel" thing anyway? What is the Message of the Bible that I’ve kept referencing to with only one word this entire time?
According to the Bible:
No one can work their way to heaven by doing good deeds or "good works". That would be like bribing a judge in a court of law. God is good and will not turn a blind eye to justice. There’s no balancing scale for how much good-versus-bad we’ve done; like with a murderer who gives to charity, the judge and jury can’t let him go free – and our standard of goodness pales in comparison to God’s. We stand guilty because of our actions and thoughts. We break the specific moral laws of the Creator, and this good judge doesn’t grade on a curve. Each person is evaluated individually – apart from examples like Hitler and the KKK. There’s nothing we can do: going to church won’t do anything and “cleaning up your act” won’t make any difference. There is a need for righteousness and none of us have it. We have earned punishment. (Exodus 20, Romans 1:18-2:16, Matthew 5)
That's where the Gospel comes in. “Gospel” comes from the Old English word "godspell" which just means Good News. And that good news is the availability of forgiveness and righteousness. God can’t turn a blind eye and withhold justice, but he is also loving and forgiving. How can those two attributes not violate each other? Well, look at the Passover and the Day of Atonement. Around 1500 BC a Middle-Eastern people, the Hebrews, were instructed to kill, cook and eat spotless lambs and place the blood on the doors of their houses so that death would pass over them. This led to their freedom from Egypt. And on the annual commemoration of the Day of Atonement, the Chief Kohen would take a lamb representing the nation to the tabernacle and slay it in their place. The idea was life for life – the innocent for the guilty. Those and many more specific instructions and details from their sacrificial system (as well as typologies and predictions written down by Prophets up until 400 BC) foreshadowed and pointed to something that was to happen in the future.
A man named Yeshua Bar Yosef** then came along and claimed to be the promised redeemer that the Prophets spoke about centuries before he was born. You might know him better as Jesus son of Joseph. He was rejected by some, arrested, beaten, and hung on criminal’s cross. It was a bloody death. But there wasn’t just physical agony and asphyxiation. It was even more than that. The Bible says that on that cross Jesus was also enduring God’s full-force anger and wrath against sin. Jesus took the punishment that we deserve. If we trust in the work of Jesus, we can leave God’s courtroom. The fine has been paid for. We don’t deserve that but He did it for us. This free gift is open to all: we can be forgiven and declared righteous not by anything we can do, but because of what He has done. (We broke God’s Law – He paid our fine.) The spotless sacrifice...the Lamb provided by God...God himself in human flesh. And then he rose from the dead three days later – showing his claims to be true – and later ascended into heaven.
As you can now see, the Bible isn’t a rule book of dos and don’ts you follow to get into heaven. The Commandments show our need for a savior. And if a person truly has faith, that means God has made them into a new person. They will have gratitude to God and a desire to obey him. They’ll still sin, but they’ll despise it whenever they do. By the power of God, they’ll grow over time.***
You’ll also notice that this isn’t the “Jesus will fill the hole in your heart and take away all your problems so you can live a bright, happy, flower-child life of joy joy joy” message. That’s totally foreign to the Bible. There are millions of things in the world that can make us happy and feel fulfilled, but do they take care of our sin? Oh, and Jesus promised persecution to his followers.
In a nutshell, the message is all about accountability for our actions and the amazing availability of forgiveness. Mercy can be seen as a pardoning – not being given what you deserve. And then Grace is being given what you don't deserve – a gift.
The Bible is about Mercy and Grace, and any person's objective study of it should arrive at the same conclusion.
scroll for more: footnotes and further historical info
You may copy any part or all of this document to use for whatever purpose. Just be sure to include the video playlist link, too. Cite your sources if you need to.
Like I said, confirm what I’ve typed by your own reading of the Bible. And when given references (such as Hebrews 9:22 or Isaiah 53:5), read everything in context so you know exactly what the author means. The “20/20 Rule” helps: reading the 20 preceding verses and the 20 that follow it.
Footnotes
* The different sections of the Bible are known as the Torah, Prophets, Writings, Gospels, and Epistles (letters written to various congregations). http://blueletterbible.org/
** The English name “Jesus” comes from the Hebrew name “Yehoshua” or Joshua and means
YHWH SAVES.
(Matthew 1:21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.)
Speaking of etymology and name meanings, we use the Germanic word “God” (called-upon one) when referring to the Hebrew “Elohim” (ruler). Elohim is used throughout the Hebrew Bible to refer to people with authority, but has its supreme meaning when referring to the ruler and creator of existence.
And when the Bible says LORD in all caps it is referring to the name YHWH. The accurate pronunciation of that name has been lost to history because a little over 2000 years ago people stopped saying it out of reverence. They didn’t need to do that. But anyway, they used the word “lord” (master) in its place. When Jewish people today open up a Bible printed in Hebrew and see YHWH they say Adonai (“Lord”) instead.
The meaning of Yahweh/Yehovah/Jehovah is connected with the I AM statement in Exodus 3:14-15. God basically tells Moses I exist because I exist (I am the self-existing one)...say to the Israelites “He Exists” has sent me to you. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_Yahweh_mean
Now, back to the name “Jesus.” How did we get that from Yehoshua? Another given name in the Hebrew Bible is Yeshua--a contracted shortening of Yehoshua. And when transferred over into the Greek language letter by letter, it became Iesous (pronounced Yay-soos). Greek has no “sh” sound and the “s” added at the end had to do with grammar or gender. http://jesusisajew.org/YESHUA.php
“Iesous” rendered with Latin letters is IESUS.
And in the English language – about 500 years ago – the letters I and J used to sound identical. French influence gave us the hard J sound, so printings of “Jesus” lost the I/Y sound at the beginning.
That’s where the name “Jesus” comes from. It is equivalent to Joshua. The ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible calls Joshua, Moses’ successor, Iesous.
There is a Hebrew word, yeshuah, which means salvation:
“She (Mary/Miriam) will bear a Son; and you (Joseph) shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21
There also seems to be a prophecy about the name Joshua in relation to the coming Messiah (the Anointed one, or “Christ” in Anglicized Greek). It was written around 500BC. The terms “The Branch” & “Vine” were used to refer to this promised deliverer:
“‘Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou and thy fellows who sit before thee; indeed they are men that are a sign. For behold, I will bring forth My servant the Branch. For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua: upon one stone shall be seven facets. Behold, I will engrave the engraving thereof,’ saith the LORD of hosts, ‘and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.’
‘In that day,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ‘shall ye call every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree.’”
Zechariah 3:8-10
Take silver and gold, make an ornate crown and set it on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Then say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for he will branch out from where he is; and He will build the temple of the LORD. Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the LORD, and he who will bear the honor and sit and rule on His throne. Thus, He will be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices.”’
Zechariah 6:11-13
***Sinning all you want (hating people, etc) is a sign of still needing to be saved. So one can call themselves a believer, think they are one, and not really be one. They don’t know the Gospel or don’t understand repentance. A transformation takes place – that is the sign. Producing “good fruit” and lifelong turning away from evil happens in the life of someone who has really received the free gift. In other words, repentance accompanies true saving faith.
Ephesians 2:8-10
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
The History Section
God’s plan to save the whole world from its rebellion, sin, and decay started with an epicenter. It eventually spread to the whole world. God picked a family which grew into a nation: Israel. And once the Messiah finally came, the message was spread throughout many lands. At least the first 5,000 believers (or followers of “The Way”) were all Jewish by ethnicity or conversion, and following that, Jesus’ closest students and followers traveled land and sea to bring their message to the Nations, grafting those people who were transformed by God into the community.
Concerning the promises of the Messiah to bring world peace, and the fact we don’t have it yet: the Prophets also said that the Messiah would act as a High Priest. Melchizedek and Moses’ brother Aaron were notable Priests. Aaron and his sons had the charge of offering the sacrifices of the people of Israel to God, acting as intercessors. Types & Shadows! Jesus made intercession between God the Father and humanity by his own blood, and is now giving time for people to come to Him. He will come again to judge and restore the world to a peaceful and sinless state. New Jerusalem!
In New Testament times Israel, Judah, Samaria and many other lands were occupied by the Roman Empire. Therefore, Greek was the “language of commerce” like English is today. That is why the New Testament was written in Greek – all so that the Gospel could be spread. The New Testament was written by Jewish people and one Gentile, the physician Luke, and gets its name from the phrase “new covenant” which the Prophet Jeremiah wrote about around 600 BC:
“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord.
“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
Jeremiah 31:31-34
So from the beginning of the history there was a Scarlet Thread: the plan of redemption pictured in types and shadows throughout the Old Testament before the final fulfillment in the events of the New Testament.
Again: God gave men a choice and they all do bad. Therefore, they can’t be in the loving presence of God. But God saves them anyway – and without violating Justice. To show merciful kindness but keep justice upheld, he sends Jesus (the visible representation of the invisible God) to pay the debt which someone must pay. He absorbs the wrath and gives access to a relationship with God.
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? Matthew 5:21-22, Matthew 5:27-28, Romans 2:21-23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23
I, even I, am the LORD, And there is no savior besides Me. Isaiah 43:11
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
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
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This message is often misunderstood or not told – for example, when big-time leaders of large spiritual organizations jumble it together with odd practices and the incorrect “do this to earn salvation” teaching. Remember, the Bible says you can’t earn it. That’s comparable to bribing a judge. In fact, that’s exactly what that is. And a good judge will not take bribes. Justice has to be met, and it has been met at the cross.
And despite all the corruption that happens through word of mouth from false or ignorant teachers, the correct message has spread all around the world these past 1,960 years – preserved within the multiple lines of transmission of the manuscripts and preserved through print since the 15th century.
Anyone is able to be forgiven solely on the basis of Jesus Christ taking the punishment for us. Penal Substitutionary Atonement.
Genesis 1:1-Revelation 22:21
What is “baptism” and “church” all about, then?
Baptism literally means “dipping.” The reason Christians do it is because of ancient Jewish ritual baths called mikvehs. Even now, in modern times, dipping oneself in the mikveh is a symbol of purification. John the Baptist didn’t invent it – it was a common practice in Ancient Israel. Once people started proclaiming that they had faith in Jesus as the Messiah, Redeemer, God-appointed sacrifice – killed in their place to satisfy justice, for the forgiveness of their sins – they used “baptism” or the mikveh as an extra special symbol: as a declaration of their faith, they showed outwardly what had happened to them on the inside. Going down into the water and coming up also gave an interesting parallel in identifying with Jesus: dying to self and rising up to new life with Him. (Lutherans say that it’s more than just symbolic, and they might be right. Their reading of the Biblical texts is pretty convincing.)
The meaning of the word church is “assembly.” Really any kind of assembly or gathering of people for whatever reason. One of the more specific uses of that word in the Bible is for all of the Christians in a local area or the total population of believers worldwide. And the purpose of coming together is to learn and teach each other. There is the opportunity to make really purposeful relationships in which people build each other up, have accountability with each other in terms of sin, and help each other in their spiritual gifts. Iron sharpens iron. And it is all centered on worshipping the God that rescued them. The only reason the Church exists on Earth at all is so that its people will be equipped to go out and spread the Good News.
“Evangelion” or “evangel” is the Biblical Greek term for “good news.” Evangelism, gospelism – whatever you want to call it – the purpose for each person who’s truly in God’s church is to spread the message: explaining why it’s a terrifying thought that God is good (as the preacher Paul Washer says) and explaining the great gifts of mercy and grace through the cross.
Objections answered:
> “I haven’t done anything that horrible that needs forgiving.” Some people might respond so such a statement with “But you’re not perfect.” But I think it might make more sense to the person when you look into how stained their record actually is instead of saying “It’s not shiny clean.”
We spend billions of dollars setting up court systems and building prisons. A charge of emotion automatically overtakes us when we hear of real-life rapes, child abductions, and mutilations in the news. So that shows we’ve got a sense of justice. (Do you believe that there is right and wrong? Where did that come from? Without an external source to define and differentiate the two, every individual is left to their own opinions and no one would legitimately be able to condemn ANY act – it’s their preference.) If God is the definition of good, His sense of justice is fuller and better than ours. With a being that never sins, deception and hatred are big things; “little sins” in our minds are sins that will also be punished since justice can’t blink. Either the perpetrator is punished, or the Messiah in their place.
> “But the Bible’s been changed.” That statement has become a truism. It is really a demonstrably false statement, yet it’s assumed to be accurate. Repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth. I touched on scriptural integrity earlier in this document in a couple places; you can scroll up and read what I typed there. I’ll say here that the manuscripts for the New Testament are far more numerous than the manuscripts of any other ancient/classical work. And you can look into the field of Textual Criticism--very fascinating. [http://bible.org/netbible/index.htm - Greek Manuscript Evidence section]
Great Audio & Articles
If you’ve already watched some of the playlist videos and heard the first three or four speeches contained in the first few links above, here are some other sources to learn from:
Text: Articles and Notes
- Abstract words or words with solid definitions?
- Prophetic Celebrations:
- Letter from an atheist: here
Audio: Radio and Podcasts
Way of the Master Radio:
Dec 13, 2006 - archived August 03, 2012
Aug 15, 2006 - archived December 07, 2011
Feb 27, 2007 - archived January 1, 2013
Feb 27, 2007 (hour 2) - archived January 2, 2013
What is Repentance?
Interview with a blind man
Related articles:
13 Phrases That Produce False Conversions | “Accepting Jesus” the gospel or humanism
13 Phrases That Produce False Conversions | “Accepting Jesus” the gospel or humanism
Paul Washer Sermons
You Can’t Pass These Up!
>Another document of mine: Messianic prophecy in ancient clothing
>Shortlink to this document (that you’re reading right now): www.bit.ly/News2urEars_descrip
Remember to hold new information at arm’s distance and examine it. Even reliable sources (teachers who have the essentials down) can make mistakes (believing aberrant theology about secondary issues). Get the goods and don’t fall for false or misinformed information. “Study to show yourself approved...” http://news2urears.blogspot.com/
Short Summaries (to copy & paste, without the self-referencing parts)
I was semi-Catholic for 10 years (from 3 to 13). Then time passed. And then, three years ago, I learned the Gospel.
Catholicism isn't always accurate. Sometimes there are minor issues (like in every other type of real Christianity), but elsewhere there are huge issues – teachings on the essentials that are not accurate. Divergences in certain authoritative documents from what the Bible says. I did make a mistake about indulgences, though, in an earlier version of this paragraph. Here is the correction.
Historically, the Protestant movement has gotten the main point right – as well as various other post- and pre- Roman Catholic era groups. But these days it seems rare to find any kind of church that isn’t just a club for moralists, legalists, or feel-good “self-helpists”.
Many people teach that if you do this, do this, don't do this, do this, don't do this, don't do this, and do this, then you'll get into heaven; and everyone else is sent to hell for no good reason (or they'll go to heaven too and all that rule following didn't even matter).
But what the Bible says is that moral crimes cannot be overlooked by a good, non-corrupt judge; and God sent Jesus to take our punishment for us and die in our place so that we can be forgiven. That way neither mercy nor justice are violated. They meet at the cross. The demands of justice are satisfied for those who will receive the mercy freely extended to them. One just trusts in Him and in what He did. All good deeds and rule following that follows is a result of being full of gratitude for that unmerited forgiveness. Truly having that trust or faith naturally shows through a changed life.
Since 2000 BC, the time of Abraham, predictions and intricate foreshadowings through Hebrew festivals and symbolic sacrifices were pointing to something great that was to happen in the future. A greater deliverance than the Passover. A spiritual redemption and salvation. Jesus' original name in Hebrew/Jewish Aramaic was Yeshua, which means "Yahweh Saves."
“Cultural Christianity” doesn’t save. Having parents that profess to be believers doesn’t do anything for you. It’s supposed to be about a direct covenant with God. “God doesn’t have any grandchildren,” is something I’ve read. God just has children and enemies whom He both loves.
Someone can be born into a Christian Culture but they can’t be born a Christian. (Substitute any other worldview label there, including alternate terms for “Christian.”) That is something a person always has to deal with personally & individually. And there are logical ways to test a person’s claim that they hold to a certain worldview – just ask questions and see if their answers consistently line up to what they profess.
God is the very definition of good and can't overlook sin: look at the cross.
Yet, He loves sinners: look at the cross.
Because of the suffering death of Jesus Christ and his Resurrection, God can grant people forgiveness.
Justice was served, therefore mercy can be extended.
You can believe than an elevator will take you up to the top floor of a building, but nothing will happen until you trust yourself to it. So put on Jesus Christ the same way you would put on a parachute.
Why would a sin like blasphemy be serious? God gave you life and everything you have – and you used His name as a cuss word to express disgust.
There are believers who have different beliefs from each other (Genesis 1-11 literalism or not, which commandments do or don’t apply, cessationism or non-cessationism), but as long as they have the essentials right, there is no big issue at all with peripherals.
One Essential: "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as 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 so that we would walk in them." Ephesians 2:8-10
God will get all the credit. We don't do anything to be saved from punishment. (Isaiah 64:6) That would be bribery anyway: pushing our good deeds forward to try to cover up our bad. That doesn't fly in a court of law. Obedience comes from gratitude and a new spirit.
"God will go a long way in revealing himself to an honest skeptic. If you've got questions, don't sit passively by. Go get the answers! The walls of Christianity are not so thin that an honest questioner is gonna poke his hand and go, ‘Oh Gosh, I sure wish I didn't ask that question; the whole thing's a farce.’ No no no no no. Listen. The truths of Christianity have satisfied [some of] the greatest minds in human history; and most of us are not even capable of FRAMING a question for which there's not a phenomenal answer. Don't hide behind your duds. Go get answers. Don't withdraw." Pastor James MacDonald
"And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last. And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom." Mark 15:37-38
"For the Torah, since it has a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near." Hebrews 10:1
"Behind the...veil there was a tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies...Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." Hebrews 9:3, 10:19-22
~~~
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 1 John 1:8
~~~
I, even I, am the LORD, And there is no savior besides Me. Isaiah 43:11
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
***
The Bible teaches that God is justice and pure goodness, and will not let people who've made evil choices go unpunished. Think of our court system. Now imagine one not corrupt. Then the Bible teaches through 2000 years of Hebrew History (foreshadowings through holidays and the sacrificial system of the Levites) that God even shows his love to guilty people, sending something/someone to take the punishment in their place. Justice is still met, yet forgiveness is available. And true faith in that gift leads to a changed life of hating sin.
***
Think about a court building. The cases held in there.
Can a good judge let a proven criminal go free?
Even the nicest, most charitable person receives a sentence in an earthly court.
Wouldn’t God be at least as good?
How can light dwell with darkness? Goodness demands that justice be served (punishment).
God is Holy (set apart--distinct from us) and Just, but is also Love.
He does not violate his justice, yet He has made a way for forgiveness.
Jesus died in our place, taking our punishment. Mercy is available. Trust in the sacrifice.
Instantaneous forgiveness--a life of repentance and obedience naturally follows this due to gratitude and a renewed spirit.
Instantaneous forgiveness--a life of repentance and obedience naturally follows this due to gratitude and a renewed spirit.
Who dunnit?
Who killed the one called Jesus?
The one called Yeshua Bar Yosef?
Back when all the people who trusted in Jesus were Jewish ("by birth" or "by conversion") they lifted their voices to God and said, "...truly in this city there were gathered together...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 of the Apostles/Ambassadors Chapter 4
Barabbas was likely a freedom fighter – popular with the people but not with the occupying government.
Pilate was no kind, innocent man. In Luke 13, Jesus was told about the slaughter of some of His fellow Galileans by Pilate at the Temple during a festival.
And simply put, his attempt to "clean his hands" was probably just to get his wife off his back. (A bit of humor, there.) But seriously, whatever he thought about the case, there were some Jews who would oppose the sentencing of Jesus – so in my thoughts his final action was done to prevent further riots against the Government.
Praetorium courtyards could only hold about 100 people, archaeological estimates say.
All this to say that you cannot blame one people group for the death of Jesus.
Neither can you blame a descendant for the crime of their ancestor.
The High Priest, many of the Elders, and the group of individuals they influenced – as well as the Government and the soldiers – were all to blame for their actions since Jesus was not a false prophet, a blasphemer, or a pretender to the throne of Caesar in Rome.
But it was God who orchestrated this event (and wanted it to happen) in the first place.
"Declaring the end from the beginning..." Isaiah 46:9-13
2000 years of covenants, Levitical rites, and many other types & shadows pointed to and led up to this point in time.
Orchestrating all of the circumstances to make things come to pass, and using those peoples' sin to achieve something good, God made this death happen.
Now why did this...
...have to happen?
Creating a universe where "He" is recognized and respected (honored and glorified) for His justice, love, power and goodness, God determined to rescue human beings from His unwavering justice.
Yeah, we know we’re not perfect – no one is “shiny clean”.
But does anyone realize how stained and dirty they actually are?
We repeatedly, willfully, and joyfully do LARGE amounts of things that God would never do – not even to the smallest degree, due to His nature.
Part of God's nature IS mercy, but only corrupt judges can simply sweep things under the rug.
His plan to intervene for humanity, revealing Himself in the process, begins with an epicenter:
we got one man
and his household
- Abraham
then his descendants:
one nation – Israel
and from that nation,
deliverance/salvation/yeshuah
(from sin, guilt, and its consequences) is spread to the world
(Rahab and Ruth, the Ninevites in the day of Jonah, and of course the Apostles or Ambassadors of Jesus to all the Nations)
We broke the Law and Jesus paid our fine.
God cannot forgive at the expense of justice, so Jesus was sent to take the punishment we deserve.
A beating or more, a horrible flogging, and six hours struggling to breathe on a Roman torture device.
He was innocent -- sinless, actually -- but chose to come.
It HAD to be a bloody death; look at the Passover and all the sacrifices of the Tabernacle and the Temple. But it was MORE than physical: on the cross Jesus was taking in ALL the wrath of God that is against evil.
-- a substitute
bearing the
punishment for sin
-- in our place,
taking all of that in for us
Forgiveness isn't earned.
It CAN'T be earned.
When you trust Him and in what He's done, full forgiveness is granted in an instant. The proof that you have faith is a transformed nature. Your faith will lead to love, and that love will lead to joy, and all of that will lead to obedience: truly loving God and truly loving people. That includes happily turning away from sinning whenever we sink back into it, and telling other people about justice, that substitutionary atonement, repentance & faith, and the free and available gift of forgiveness.
Final Section
Ephesians 2:8-10 in layman's terms:
"Going To Heaven" is not spoken about the same way in the Bible as in pop-culture. The Bible speaks of a following resurrection of the dead and then a judgement.
Would you be ready for that?
We're NOT good enough as we are; and cleaning up your act/following religious rules during your life won't get you anywhere either. Forgiveness can't be earned by what you do; that would be a bribe and a violation of justice. God gets ALL the credit for saving people – by coming as Jesus to take our punishment for us. That way justice isn't forgotten and moral crimes (murder, hatred, lust, deception, thievery, etc.) are not overlooked.
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. A truly changed nature comes with forgiveness (a conversion of hating sin--what you once loved to do). And obedience stems from gratitude – the gratitude from being rescued.
2000 years of Hebrew history (from Abraham to the Maccabees) points toward Jesus (Yeshua/Joshua in Hebrew, which means "Yahweh Saves"):
all the intricate details in the Levitical/Kohen service and announced predictions hundreds of years before His arrival.
The arrival of the Messiah as prophesied gives credibility to the Hebrew Scriptures, showing that the creator of the universe did actually show Himself* to the world -- primarily through the Jewish people, God's "starting ground" or epicenter for revelation and deliverance.
* God has no gender, but we gotta use some sort of personal pronoun (rather than “it”). 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 – men being the biologically stockier of the two genders.
Not everyone gets the chance to hear the gospel. In my mind, that fact seems to support Calvinism – the idea that the Bible shows faith itself and a changed will as 100% absolutely and totally caused by God. (This is opposed to the Arminian and Molinist views which see predestined salvation as having to do with “foreseen faith” – God knowing who will accept His free offer of Jesus on their own accord ahead of time.) Everyone would stay in their self-earned condemnation if it weren't for God displaying mercy alongside his justice. He chooses to regenerate some so that they will trust in Jesus and receive unmerited forgiveness (which is, of course, followed by a life of sinning less and less – sanctification).
People don't & won't trust God all on their own, so God compels them to trust in Jesus’ sacrifice. The atonement reconciles justice and mercy, and in the end both are on display: the saved enjoying God on the Earth post-resurrection, and the unforgiven getting the punishment that they actually deserve for their numerous sins. And if someone did get to hear the gospel but didn't trust in Jesus’ offer to take their punishment for them, then that's another additional act of rebellion & the biggest sin possible.
Or maybe the Lutherans are right. Those are my opinions. :)
Death is a free-fall and Jesus is the parachute. Learn what that means. Study everything there is to be studied. The text of the Bible – a claimed message from the universe’s actual Maker – clearly records that Jesus already took your punishment (for rebellion, greed, deception, hatred, lust, and lawlessness) for you if you’ll trust in Him.
All that weight put on His shoulders... And He volunteered. He didn’t owe it to you. That’s love.
If you dreamed that someone saved your life, and you woke up not realizing it was a dream, you might hold that person in high esteem for a few seconds and want to do everything for them. But after you come to your senses and realize it didn’t happen, those feelings will fade. So if you were truly saved by God, your “Christian commitment” or whatever you want to call it will last forever. And if it’s real, it’s also gonna be clearly seen through your words and your life.
Concerning morality:
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?
The source of all our different & imperfect subjective moralities is a real objective and absolute standard. We all borrow from that ultimate standard and alter it to fit our uses.
Justice can't be just an illusion, right?
It's an amazing opportunity I've been given just to hear this good news. Have I responded?...
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You can know about certain stories and events and people written about in the Bible, and at the same time have no idea about the point of it all. Now you do.
Last few Recommendations:
Some super long programs and regular length sermons I’ve heard recently. They all kept my attention.
• Renewing Your Mind: John the Baptist as an “Old Testament Prophet”
The first 50 minutes: People aren’t projects...be real and use gentleness in correcting misled people | A Critique of the "rapture" idea | Bible Bobble on the History Channel | Watching out for the worst false teaching | Last 30 mins on Resurrection | Hucksters (with slides) | Reliability | Text
• The Dividing Line with Dr. James White: Islamic Apologetics | Aramaic and Apologetics | The papacy
Just stumbled upon this. Are you a believer yet?
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